# Airlock stopped bubbling!



## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

Hey guys. So I started home brewing for the first time on Saturday. I have put down a Morgans Dark Ale and a Morgans Cerveza. The dark ale started too bubble about 18 hours after being down. Which has now stopped bubbling day 3. The Cerveza hasn't started bubbling yet. Temperature has been at roughly 23 until this morning when it was down at 21 being a cooler night. Which is when I noticed it had stopped bubbling.


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## Siborg (20/5/14)

Welcome to the wonderful world of homebrewing. No bubbling in the airlock can mean a couple of things:
1. Your fermenter isn't air tight and CO2 has found an easier way out than through the airlock (probable)
2. Your yeast isn't fermenting at all (improbable)
3. Your yeast has finished fermenting (probable after a few days, and at higher than 20 degrees temperatures).

Don't stress about the airlock. Take a gravity reading before you add yeast and every day after (if you like). A hyrdometer from your local homebrew shop (LHBS) will help you with this.


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## sp0rk (20/5/14)

Ignore the airlock, take gravity readings


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

Thanks for the replies guys. When testing the gravity reading, what am I actually looking for. What reading is good or bad. Or is that all explained in the instructions etc.


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## Bribie G (20/5/14)

When you get a few brews under your belt and are getting consistent results, consider ditching the lid and airlock and use Gladwrap, using the rubber O ring out of the lid to hold it in place.

This gives you a window onto the brew - after the "normal" number of days when the beer starts clearing from the top, I know it's just about finished - do a gravity reading then give it a few more days to settle then bottle / keg.





Edit: re gravities, it depends on the style of beer but for most kit beers you are looking for the final gravity of the beer to be about 1010 or less. Should be in the Kit instructions.
For example if the gravity were to read 1018 then it's still not ready and you could get gushers or bombs if you bottled at that stage.


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

Okay I will bypass the brew shop today and grab one, thanks for the replies


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

Also should I be dropping my fermentation degrees down too 20 when I drop my next two brews?


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## Online Brewing Supplies (20/5/14)

Or you could ditch the glad rap and leave the lid on and just do gravity reading like you should.
Nev


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

I'll be getting a meter today. So I'll give it a test and put results here


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## Bribie G (20/5/14)

When the fermentor is empty, run your finger round the rim and you will probably find two little ridges made by both halves of the blow-mould. Slice these off with a box cutter / Stanley Knife to make it seal better. Then holding the cutter at 45 degrees just run it lightly around the inside of the rim to pare off any messy bits of plastic left when they moulded, and you'll almost certainly get a perfect seal for your next brew.

Another thing is not to overtighten as that can distort the O ring and leave a space for gas to escape rather than go through the airlock.


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

As much as I would like a perfect seal I'm not going too be attempting too make it better myself with a Stanley blade. I spend good money too buy good products not for me too possible destroy it with a Stanley knife. Thanks for the advice though, but I won't be attempting that sorry.


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## Bribie G (20/5/14)

Regularly did that with all my fermentors in my airlock days and when I ran a LHBS we did that as a courtesy for all our customers.


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

I'll take a look at mine and see how bad it is. Thanks for the info. Doing abit of reading on the site now, think I'm getting too far ahead of myself for only being at my first brew.


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## H0U5ECAT (20/5/14)

Instead of ditching the whole batch, wait about 7 days from the day you pitched your yeast.
Everything should be fine.
Did you get the foam forming on the top?
If so, you just don't have an air tight seal. Don't worry.

and check your gravity readings too. if it's at about 1010 as Bribe said, then it should be fine to bottle.

CO2 is heavier than O2 and will push it out.


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

Okay thanks. My brew had foam too start with from adding water, the dark ale was bubbling but had now stopped. And the cerveza hasn't bubbled yet, but I'll be doing a gravity check this afternoon. Thanks


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

If the gravity reading is 1010 and it's fine too bottle. It's only been down three days, isn't that too quick? Also how low can the gravity reading go before the brew is no good? Thanks


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## mkstalen (20/5/14)

That is very quick. But if it's temperature is mid-high 20's then then that's quite feasible. Most ale yeasts work best in the high teens to low 20's. High temps can produce some odd flavours. 

Sent from my Samsung S3 using Tapatalk.


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## mkstalen (20/5/14)

The gravity won't keep dropping. Gravity of water is about 1.000, you'll never get lower than that for beer (some ciders do) most beers will finish between 1.005 and 1.015 but depends on lots of different factors. 

Sent from my Samsung S3 using Tapatalk.


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## snapbowen (20/5/14)

I put 2 brews on Friday lunchtime and they stopped bubbling yesterday, will wait till late tomorrow and take a reading. Temps were around 22-24 celsius.


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## fcmcg (20/5/14)

i always wait 2 weeks before bottlimg.Lets the yeast finnisg and clean up after itself,,,,Also makes sure you dont have bottle bombs ~


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## boybrewer (20/5/14)

Test the hydrometer in water first to see how accurate it is . In water it should read 1.000 if it reads higher than that adjust the reading accordingly . That is in water it reads for eg 1.004 and you get a reading of 1.014 from your wort cause its not beer yet , then the reading will be 1.010 . The water temp should be below 25 * C for an accurate reading . For ales try to ferment at around 18* C this will give you a better flavoured beer . It will also take a little longer to ferment but it will turn out better .


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

Thanks for the replies guys. Got home this afternoon and did gravity testing, brews are both at 1010! So temperature at 23-24 degrees for 3 days and the brew is ready too be bottled. I am also keeping a dairy on everything we do and how each different brew goes, will be bottling tomorrow if ready is still the same. And another two brews will go down.


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## manson81 (20/5/14)

I wouldn't bottle it after 3 days, regardless of whether FG is reached or not. Leave it at least another week so the yeast can clean up after itself...


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## CrookedFingers (20/5/14)

Yes.…above….good advice.


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

Okay, well everyone seems too have different opinions. The people at the home brew shop here, tell me too bottle it tomorrow. Everyone on here has different opinions on how long also. Sorta makes it hard too know when haha. Considering it's my first brew I don't have a lot of knowledge. At the moment it's at FG, it smells fine, and doesn't taste too bad. I'll keep and reading and seeing what I find and what people say. Thanks for all your help


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## manson81 (20/5/14)

If your lhbs is saying to bottle after 3 days, find a new one. 

Think you'll find 99% of the people here will say to leave it at least a week from pitching, mostly 10-14+ days. 

I only go less than 10 (but at least 7) if I need to fill a keg. Most are 14 days.


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## Bribie G (20/5/14)

Grammar nazi.

to


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

Okay and what happens if the brew begins too from a skin? Does it matter?


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## Bribie G (20/5/14)

To be honest, too true


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## Ducatiboy stu (20/5/14)

A skin is not good.


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## bradsbrew (20/5/14)

What do you mean by "a skin"? If it's foamy bubbly stuff, that's ok. If it's white spider webby stuff that has big white bubbles, that's bad.


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## Alexpanda (20/5/14)

Okay so my uncle brews dark ale at the same temp here as this brew I have done, if he leaves his ferment longer then 5-6 days it begins too from a skin. I guess I'll just watch it and see how long it will last for. Does it matter if I take the lid off too have a look in?


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## boybrewer (20/5/14)

In general most brewers would leave it for at least another week so the yeast can clean up after itself and you will also end up with clearer beer .


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## CrookedFingers (20/5/14)

I find it easy to work on the 14 day timing.
If I brew on a Friday night, I should say start fermenting on a Friday night, I will wait two weeks to bottle. Then it's not a school night and I can get on the beers while doing it !
Fermentation should be done by then and as stated above the yeast has had ample time to clean up.

CF


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## Alexpanda (21/5/14)

Ok so leaving it for two weeks. When do you pitch your yeast? Do you pitch it straight away on the first night you put it down or do you wait a couple of days. I pitched mine straight away as it was cold enough to do so


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## Alexpanda (21/5/14)

Also does it matter if I take the lid off too have a look in?


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## rehabs_for_quitters (21/5/14)

Best to leave the lid on and take samples from the tap, removing the lid is just inviting an infection and infected beer tastes like arse,

By skin on it do you mean a creamy whitish brown fluffy thing or a thin white stringy looking skin?


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## CrookedFingers (21/5/14)

Yeah as rehab says, leave lid on. 

Yep, two weeks from pitching yeast. 
Serves two purposes, I can forget it for two weeks and the yeast has lots of time to party.

CF


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## Alexpanda (21/5/14)

I'm not sure what type of skin yet as I am not at that stage. My uncle says he begins too get a skin after 5 days so he always bottles at day 5-6. I will be leaving mine longer and see what happens. I'll take another gravity reading this afternoon and see where it's at still.


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## yum beer (21/5/14)

You can bottle your beer as soon as you have 2 days stable readings in the range you expected.
Your beer will taste better and be clearer if you leave it 5-7 days after you reach steady readings. Which you will appreciate no end.
If your brew forms a skin then it is probably infected and it won't make a difference if you bottle at day 5 or day 55.
Take the lid off your brew twice only...once to add dry hops if doing so, twice to check how it is right before bottling.
If your cleaning and sanitisng is up to scratch then there is no reason to expect an infection and if you don't get a weird taste in your hydro samples then nothing to worry about.


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## Siborg (21/5/14)

What everyone is talking about is conditioning. I've left a beer (at around 4 degress for weeks - this is called lagering but you should do this for longer for a lager).

Right now, the yeast in your batches will be shutting down and going to sleep because there isn't any more fermentable sugar for them to consume and also because there has been an increase in the amount of alcohol which, surprisingly, yeast don't tolerate too well. But while this is happening the yeast continue to consume certain compounds that cause off-flavours/aromas in your beer. 

When I was new to brewing, I was on here asking similar questions and the one thing that the whole forum kept yelling at me was to leave it. So I did and I've never looked back. Each batch was made better due to the advice I slowly started implementing from this board.

So in your case, take a gravity reading. Take another one the next day, and the next day. If all three are the same, then fermentation has finished. After that, try and drop the temperature if you can. You'll find that temperatures will drop a bit because fermenting yeast causes kinetic energy so basically fermentation can bring some heat to the batch. The longer you leave it at colder temperatures, the better and clearer your beer will taste. In this case, I'd aim for 5-7 days if you can wait that long. 

Before you plan your next batch, post it up here, get some opinions (most members will agree on basic processes) and then work out what you are going to do differently before you begin. If you can get a decent, controlled fermentation and conditioning, you will make better beer.


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## Alexpanda (21/5/14)

Okay yes I'll be doing another reading for the today and tomorrow if they are still a stable reading, ill bottle it either Friday night or Saturday! Which will be the 7 day mark. And for next brews I put down I'll let everyone know what cans I buy and what everyone thinks for dextrose etc. thanks for the help everyone


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## Alexpanda (21/5/14)

Also as much as I would like too keep the temperature down, at the moment I'm not sure how I would do that, my setup is in an old fridge that doesn't work, has thermostats setup with a heatmat and trying too figure out what else I can run into the fridge too cool it down. Such as an aircon but not so big haha


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## n87 (21/5/14)

ice bricks, softdrink containers filled with frozen water.
put as many in the fridge as possible and rotate them as they thore

it would take a while to cool down the fridge... but thats the no extra equipment way


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## Alexpanda (21/5/14)

Yeah the problem with that is I'm not home during the day. I'll give it a go and see how well it works.


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## RobboMC (21/5/14)

It's more a case of waiting until the gravity reading stops dropping. If you get the same gravity reading 2-3 days apart ( assuming it's significantly different to the starting point )
then chances are that's as low as the gravity is going to go. Once a brew starts bubbling then the laws of chemistry dictate that it will stop until there are no more sugars for the yeast to devour unless you drop the temperature and put the yeast to sleep. At 21 deg C overnight temp you haven't done that, so chances are it's finished.

Relax and remember that the laws of chemistry are on your side. Live yeast in a barrel with any sort of sugars will equal fermentation - it's inevitable unless you kill the yeast at 40 around deg C or put it to sleep at around 14 deg C ( assuming ale kit yeast )

Assuming you made the Dark Ale to the kit specs the original gravity ( OG ) should have been around 1035 so you will probably be looking for final gravity ( FG ) of something near 1012 to 1014.

3 days of no bubbling for the Cerveza is a concern, especially at 21 deg C. Do you have any more yeast to pitch in? When at the HBS maybe get a sachet of dry yeast. It is possible the yeast that came with the can was dead, it happens more often than we would wish for, and usually to new brewers that rely on the cans when beginning. All it can take is for a truck driver to leave the cans in the sun for a day.

Be careful if you open the barrel to not let in any contamination. One way brews can become infected is opening to add more yeast.
Perhaps even try and trickle the dry yeast in through the air lock hole, I have done that before and it worked.

Some brewers also suggest rehydrating by stirring the dry yeast into TEPID water at about 28 deg C before adding to the barrel. Others deny this helps, so make your own decision.

If you haven't worked out yet, you will soon need a decent thermometer.


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## RobboMC (21/5/14)

CrookedFingers said:


> I find it easy to work on the 14 day timing.
> If I brew on a Friday night, I should say start fermenting on a Friday night, I will wait two weeks to bottle. Then it's not a school night and *I can get on the beers while doing it !*
> 
> 
> CF


Not a good idea mate. Many brewers have ended up with either flat beer, bottle bombs or infected bottles from making mistakes when drinking while bottling.

I think a better practice is to have a couple of beers AFTER completing the bottling. Makes the washing and rinsing a bit more tolerable.


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## n87 (21/5/14)

RobboMC said:


> Not a good idea mate. Many brewers have ended up with either flat beer, bottle bombs or infected bottles from making mistakes when drinking while bottling.
> 
> I think a better practice is to have a couple of beers AFTER completing the bottling. Makes the washing and rinsing a bit more tolerable.



At least make sure the batch is primed and in the bottleing bucket, and all the bottles are steralised before you have one...


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## RobboMC (21/5/14)

Alexpanda said:


> Also as much as I would like too keep the temperature down, at the moment I'm not sure how I would do that, my setup is in an old fridge that doesn't work, has thermostats setup with a heatmat and trying too figure out what else I can run into the fridge too cool it down. Such as an aircon but not so big haha


At least by using an old fridge you are removing a lot of the day/night temp variation. Some brewing writers say this does as much damage to the brew as the actual temp being too high.
In use an old fridge to store my beer, and it gets switched off about April for the whole winter. In Autumn and Spring I run it about 3 hours a day to keep the temp down in the mid-20's.

Look on eBay, you can usually get an old working fridge pretty cheaply. Anyway for your first brews you are doing better than me. Great to hear the Cerveza is at 1010.

One trick I use is to run the fermenter seal under hot tap water at 60 deg C before fitting. Not only does it clean and kill any stray yeast particles, this softens the seal and allows you to screw it down super tight. Can be hard to get off later though.

Remember that a bubbling air lock tells you one thing, that there is gas passing through the air-lock. From this we infer there is fermentation, but as I wrote previously, fermentation is like
a person on water slide, once at the top of the slide you simply MUST slide down.


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## Siborg (21/5/14)

Alexpanda said:


> Yeah the problem with that is I'm not home during the day. I'll give it a go and see how well it works.


I used to use an old, dead fridge. Ice bricks are the way to go, the bigger the bottle, the longer it will last, so chuck a couple in. You'll eventually work out how many to use and how long they'll last.

Keep your eyes peeled for a fridge that will fit a fermenter in it. You'll want a bar-sized fridge that doesn't have a fixed freezer unit. The one I had was just screwed in so I removed it. Now I just hook the fridge up to a temperature controller (plenty of these around if you search) and it regulates the heating belt and fridge to keep the brew at what temp I want.

Start small though. I did a few batches in the dead fridge until I found a decent brew fridge (for free) and, with regular swapping of ice bottles, got some nice brews out of it.


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## Alexpanda (21/5/14)

Ok guys just did another test on the beer. Cerveza is at 1010 and the dark ale is at 1011. I'll leave it and give it another test tomorrow. Going too try hold out until Saturday which will be 7 days. Temperature is about 21 degrees.


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## jaypes (21/5/14)

Airlock = $2 piece of shitty plastic
Hydrometer = Scientifically calibrated testing apparatus


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## CrookedFingers (21/5/14)

RobboMC said:


> Not a good idea mate. Many brewers have ended up with either flat beer, bottle bombs or infected bottles from making mistakes when drinking while bottling.
> 
> I think a better practice is to have a couple of beers AFTER completing the bottling. Makes the washing and rinsing a bit more tolerable.


haha let me clarify.
I DO NOT ever condone the over consumption of alcohol !
Also have never had a bottle bomb or bottle infection.



n87 said:


> At least make sure the batch is primed and in the bottleing bucket, and all the bottles are steralised before you have one...


This is pretty much exactly when I have a beer. Once I am ready to roll.
Then I can enjoy a couple !

Just one other thing…..how long does it take to bottle a batch at your house ?
It usually takes me an hour, maybe hour and a half. Not really enough time to even get a buzz IMHO. Too busy bottling to drink too much ! 

Happy bottling yo :beerbang:
CF


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## Ducatiboy stu (22/5/14)




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## Alexpanda (22/5/14)

What does kittens mean??


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## unionrdr (22/5/14)

Usually,when the rapid bubbling slows or stops,only initial fermentation is done. It'll then slowly,uneventfully creep down to a stable FG. Typically 10-14 days if you got the rehydrated yeast or starter to within 10 degrees of the wort temp at the time of pitching. This prevents shocking the yeast & increasing lag time. Then I usually give the beer 3-7 days after FG is reached to clean up any excessive by-products of fermentation & settle out clear or slightly misty before bottling.


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## Alexpanda (22/5/14)

Okay thanks. Saturday will be 7 days from when yeast was pitched. Planning too bottle on Saturday, gravity reading have been the same for the last two days, will read again this arvo and if stable still, will bottle Saturday like planned


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## Ducatiboy stu (22/5/14)

Alexpanda said:


> What does kittens mean??


Many years ago there was a man named Butters...


And the legend of the kitten was born. 

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/29962-just-made-my-first-brew/?p=415762#entry415762


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## H0U5ECAT (22/5/14)

Secondary fermentation...

Crap. Wrong thread


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## Bribie G (22/5/14)

Alexpanda said:


> Also as much as I would like too keep the temperature down, at the moment I'm not sure how I would do that, my setup is in an old fridge that doesn't work, has thermostats setup with a heatmat and trying too figure out what else I can run into the fridge too cool it down. Such as an aircon but not so big haha


Using frozen bottles (assuming you have some spare freezing capacity in another fridge or freezer) is a good method and if you are away from home most of the day, is very appropriate. Put bottles in and let them do their thing during the day, then in the evening swap in some fresh frozen ones that have been freezing while you have been absent.


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## Alexpanda (23/5/14)

Ok thanks, I'll be giving it ago and testing how many it take each day etc. I have now tested my brews three days in a row, cerveza is at 1010 and the dark ale is at 1011. I will be bottling them Saturday, which is the 7 day mark.


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## slcmorro (23/5/14)

Thought you were going to wait a couple of weeks like everyone suggested?

I know it's exciting and you want to get the beer in the bottles faster so you can drink it, but if you can hold off and wait another week it'll be a better beer for it. Bottle it next Saturday.

On a side note, I'm surprised everyone's being so friendly and helpful. Usually it's just 'Use the search function', as there's heaps of threads just like this one with all the answers already. Hats off.


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## CrookedFingers (23/5/14)

It's good beer week slc !!!

We're all happy !!



CF


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## Alexpanda (23/5/14)

I was going too wait slc but, I think I have fermented this brew at a too high temperature for it too last another week. Unless that doesn't matter? The next lot I do, I'll leave it for 14 days that's for sure. I was going too do Dr Smurtos golden ale next but I still think I'm abit too new too be attempting that just yet, so I'll just be grabbing a coopers can, and seeing what I can do.


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## Alexpanda (25/5/14)

Okay so bottled the brew at day 7. Looked fine and very clear inside. I have now purchased a new fridge and put another two brews down, a Dutch larger and a golden ale, both will now ferment at 18-20 degrees for 2 weeks before I bottle this lot. Thanks for all your help!


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## Yob (25/5/14)

You have it hooked up to a temperature controller?


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## manson81 (25/5/14)

Your lager won't go too well at 20 degrees mate. You'd want that down at 12...


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## Alexpanda (25/5/14)

Yeah it's hooked up too a temperature gage. Oh hmm that's going too be hard too have it at 12 when the golden ale needs too be 18-20. Maybe I won't brew largers.


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## Ducatiboy stu (25/5/14)

manson81 said:


> Your lager won't go too well at 20 degrees mate. You'd want that down at 12...


You can brew lager's at 18-20.... At least 1 brewery I know of does all the time.


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## Alexpanda (25/5/14)

Ok sweet thanks stu


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## Bribie G (25/5/14)

The yeasts S-189 (swiss lager) and s-23 can be fermented at ale temperatures.


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## Alexpanda (25/5/14)

It's a mangrove Jacks Larger, with the premium yeast that comes with the can


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## luggy (25/5/14)

Lager


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## Alexpanda (26/5/14)

I do know how's it's spelt, I keep getting auto corrected and didn't notice  it's now added into my dictionary.


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## luggy (26/5/14)

Nice one


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