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I just tested my first beer with the hydrometer, it as been in the fermenting bucket for only four days but it as stopped bubbling now, the temp is a steady 24c now, but when i first made the brew up it was at 36c, the instructions said to put yeast in regardless as yeast activation is more important than temp at that stage, it came down to around the 26c mark a day later and was bubbling away lovely. Fourth day now and no bubbles so i have decided to take a reading.
It looks like lager, smells like lager although still cloudy as a few bubbles within test tube, i tasted it it tastes ok for such a short time frame, my question is this:
does the reading shown read as 1.1020 or have i read it wrong (first reading marker)
If shes the same tomorrow should i transfer to beer barrel and give her a couple of weeks or so.
Thanks.
P.S. sorry for image size could a guru resize it maybe - or is that ok?
Can you give us the recipe please, and the yeast you used?
From what I can see from your image, your OG was at about 1.042, and your 4 day reading was at about 1.012. That's a drop of 30 gravity points, or an apparent attenuation of about 71%. It should probably still drop a little lower than that. Without knowing more details it is difficult to say.
Contrary to the instructions you followed, they are wrong as far as temperature is concerned. Pitching yeast at 36°C and fermenting at 26°C is not recommended good practice. The usual wisdom (with exceptions for certain styles such as Saison etc) is to ferment Ale yeast at 18-19°C, and Lager yeast at 9-12°C. If you go much above those ranges, you risk off flavours, esters, and fusel alcohol production. None of those are desirable in your beer.
It is encouraging you think it smells and tastes OK at this stage, so we can hope you've "got away with it" this time.
I wouldn't look at bottling or kegging any brew before at least 2 weeks. I currently have an Amber Ale in the fermenter, which will be bottled tomorrow after 2 weeks in the fermenter at 18°C, and the last few days at 2°C.
My usual practice is to chill my wort to as low as the immersion chiller will take it inside of 20 minutes chilling post boil, then transfer to the fermenter. That's placed in my fridge, and I don't pitch my yeast until it drops to my desired temperature. That can be later that evening, or the next morning. Never caused a problem for me.
I'd suggest you read through the stickies on this forum on how to improve your brews and processes. It should give you a good start. Kit instructions are not written to ensure you get a good brew, they're written only the ensure you don't fail to get a fermentation started.
Warra sir, again you provide an excellent response ( could get some abuse for that) however you talk about a minimum of 2 weeks....I'm always thinking infection if the brew is say ready to bottle via sg readings prior to that. I understand the co2 coverage so should you just from day one not check the readings until 2 weeks is up?
CheersBB
A barrel a day keeps the doctor away. Drink more piss.
Thanks for that it is a standard coopers lager kit with the the standard yeast sachet provided. I will take another reading in the morning it currently as a temperature of 22c so it as dropped a little more, it is also bubbling slightly now and then i sat there waiting for it to do it (sad sack me)...
+1 to warra's comments about the kit instructions being bullshit. Bubble, proper temperature control is a massive step you can take toward producing really good beer. There are plenty of techniques you can use, just search this forum. By far the easiest is to stick your fermenter in a fridge with a temperature controller set for your desired fermentation temp.
barrelboy wrote:should you just from day one not check the readings until 2 weeks is up?
CheersBB
That's how I do it, and a few others too, I believe. 2 weeks should be enough for most ales to finish if you're fermenting at warra's recommended temps (lager temps will take longer). Stuffing around removing the airlock to take samples repeatedly is more likely to invite infection than just letting the beer sit after fermentation has finished. Just take a reading at 2 weeks, another 1 a couple of days later, and if they're the same, it's all good. Leaving the beer on the yeast cake can cause off flavours, but that takes longer than 2 weeks.
If you think it's fine, give it a go. I have had some temps during ferment creep up a little bit, and stil had very reasonable results. Might struggle with the lager though. FG 1012, I would leave it for a few more days yet, maybe put in a fridge for a few days after that before you bottle. I've been brewing in not perfect temp conditions ever since I started and it rarely makes my results undrinkable. The closer you can be to the before mentioned temp range, and more stable the temp however, the better.
If you have a laundry cupboard or a spare one in the kitchen, chuck the next one in there.
Cheers
Yeah i have it in a spare linen cupboard, front of house it's cooler no sun to speak of. The reading today is the same as yesterdays, should i just leave it in the cupboard for another couple of days and sit on my hands so to speak.
The temp is down to 18c i left the window open last night really windy here, so thats helped if not to late...
Thanks...
I'd leave it as is. I recommend you give it two weeks from pitching your yeast. Even though it's finished fermenting, the yeast continues to work on cleaning up unwanted fermentation by-products. Your beer will continue to get better for a while. Bottle it after 2 weeks in the fermenter.
I know it can be difficult, and we are all impatient at times, but all you need to do is to adjust your brewing schedule so you have enough stocks on hand to give you the time to follow this process.
Bottled my Amber Ale just now into 31 longnecks. Was in the fermenter since 21 March, so 20 days all up. Hydro sample tasted brilliant, and I have high hopes for this one. OG 1.052, FG 1.012. Yummy.
Last edited by warra48 on Sunday Apr 10, 2011 4:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Ok will do, thanks for that.
I did taste it and it is very strong in the old % areas, i am not that interested in strength, more so flavour. This was just to start my brewing days off, my next effort i want to try a ale of some type.
Thanks again, will speak in a couple of weeks after i have transfered to my barrel, and had another sneaky gulp at her.
As is said to many new brewers......Relax!
Good beer takes time & patience.
As long as you have been diligent with your hygene, it will be fine. just leave it for a fortnight & all will be good! (do not keep opening it up or taking samples as this will introduce air-born bugs)
One last thing please.
When i barrel (plastic none pressurised variety) my beer do i add anything else to it, or just the beer screw the cap and then wait another couple of weeks or more?
Thanks.
Bubble wrote:One last thing please. When i barrel my beer.
Does not compute!!!
What do you mean?
It should be in a plastic fermenting barrell now...yes?
So after a fortnight it's gets bottled with some sugar......yes?
Or are you doing a wood/barrell aged beer?
Why would you be barrell aging a simple Lager?
According to the instructions you transfer and let the gases from the beer pressurise the barrel, i think?
Or should i just forget about the plastic barrel next time and go buy a steel one and gas as you guys have been on about?
Thanks.
The idea of charging a plastic vessel with naturally formed Co2 would have a few floors, I would think.
1. Most plastics are not totally permiable, they will leach & loose pressure over time.
2. Just by pouring out of it will depleat the pressure & eventually you will have flat beer,
Neither of these points are really valid if you intend to drink the whole thing in one sitting but I doubt it.
You can get set up with a full keg system if you wish but it will be expensive, for some thing you are maybe not sure will become a long term thing.
Best to walk before you run!
Get yourself 30 glass largies (ask your work mates, neighbours & friends) put a teaspoon of sugar in each then cap with crown seals.
Alternatively you can use the Coopers 600ml PET bottles you get from Big W, I'm not a fan of these but they are readily available.
P.s. If it were me, I'd be fermenting in the Barrell to make it easier to bottle through the tap, it would be easier to take Sg samples as well.
I've never seen a kit like that before. Most of ours over here are like your barrell, just a single vessle but with a big screw on lid & a hole for an airlock.
Cheers, Mick.
Last edited by billybushcook on Tuesday Apr 12, 2011 3:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Welcome Bubbles, now don't get down about all this because brewing your own beer is really satisfying. Mick is right, start with bottles until your confident in brewing and then you could look at other methods. Initially I'd go for the Coopers pet bottles as you don't have to worry about dangerous explosions if you bottle and your brews not right. Once your confident then off you go. Remember this forum is about info and helping, so hang in there.
Cheers BB
A barrel a day keeps the doctor away. Drink more piss.
Bubble, I'm guessing that the can in the pic of your kit is some kind of "real ale"? A couple of minutes googling revealed that those plastic barrels seem to be popular up-over. Their intended use appears to be for secondary fermentation, conditioning and dispensing, as per the instructions you mentioned. King Keg seems to be the preferred manufacturer, and their lids include a valve that vents pressure at 10 PSI. So you would get some light carbonation, and you'd have a bit of pressure to force the beer out when you open the tap (although gravity will do this for you anyway), but you won't get a level of carbonation suitable for the lager you've brewed.
Corny kegs rock, but to get a complete set up in one go will eat a few hundred bucks. I'd go with the suggestions to just bottle it. Your beer will be fine where it is while you source bottles.
