Bubbling Monster Of Doom

[Haiper]

Hi all. First post here

I have a quick question...

Got a brewing kit (Coopers) for Christmas off my wife after I'd been annoying her for one to use it as a bit of a hobby. I started it yesterday afternoon and went downstairs to the garage today and it is bubbling all the water out of the ferment lock and the foamy stuff is coming up out of the barrel through the lock too. Should it do this?? I'm happy that it's bubbling well, assuming that my yeasty mates are chewing their way through the dextrose.

I've filled the lock back up twice today already. Am I going to go down to the garage in the morning and get violated by a mutant yeast monster lurking under the car??

Other than that it smell nice and beery and is sitting plum on 24deg.

Cheers, any advice would be appreicated. I've searched but couldn't find anything on this.


:huh:

 

[poppa joe]

Is it a Stout..?
Put a piece of plastic tube over inner of of blowoff and into a bottle of water..
PJ

 

[Whistlingjack]

Just a nice, healthy ferment going on there, Haiper.

Sometimes the fermenter doesn't have enough headspace to contain the krausen (foam) and you will get it coming out of the airlock.

A blow-off tube (as poppa joe suggested) is a good idea in this case. Find a piece of flexible tubing that will fit snugly into the grommet and run it into a vessel filled with sanitiser.

By the way, welcome to the forum and the hobby (read: obsession) of home brewing.

WJ

 

[Adamt]

At 24 degrees fermentation will happen a lot quicker than usually desired (and not as well either), and you may end up with crud climbing out the airlock.

You will make drinkable beer but you would be much more happy if you kept it to at most 20C, best around 18C; this will make fermentation much slower (and much more thorough) and will result in a cleaner, better tasting beer.

 

[Haiper]

Thanks for the advice guys. Any tips of slowing the process down a bit. I'm in Tassie as it is and have my keg in the coolest part of the house (the downstairs garage). Short of moving to Maatsuker Island, Antarctica or Canberra I'm kind of in the coldest place in the country as it is. Would wet towels or a couple of ice bricks next to the barrel do the trick??

I might set up a tube system into some sanitiser next time. I'll leave my concoction to run its course as I am keen to know the outcome with the brew simmering at 24deg steady.

Thanks again.

PS It's just the run of the mill Coopers Lager that comes in the kit. I thought that for my first attempt I'd try what was supplied rather than go and run before I could crawl. Either way it's a good learning experience and I won't be buggering up a can I went and bought if it goes belly up.

 

[stillscottish]

Speaking as a Coopers Kit Brewer during the "lazy" years, I brewed them all year round in Qld temps and never found that temperature affected the taste by any appreciable amount. <_<

Campbell

 

[capretta]

a cheapy way of colling it a few degrees i found was placing the fermenter in the laundry sink and putting the plug in and adding some water, then putting a tshirt over the fermenter so the bottom is in the water the arms of the tshirt tied over the top then putting a fan on to blow on the whole shebang. should also reduce the mrs clean up concerns as well.
just remember when lifting the keg it will try to suck water/air back into the fermenter through the airlock so i use a disk of blutack over the airlock to prevent possible contamination.. enjoy!

 

[Haiper]

Thanks capretta, it's little things like considering the suck-back when lifting the keg that n00bs like myself don't consider. FOr now I'm going to leave the keg where it is. I checked it this morning and it's still bubbling away but not frothing like a rabid dog like it was yesterday. What a great smell it was coming into the garage and having that slight hint of brew in the air this morning. I did take the towel off the keg I had pegged on to try and keep the brew at a more consistent temperature to try and drop it a degree or two. In future for cooler brewing beers I might sit the barrel in a clean fish bin with some cold water and experiment with either a wicking system like capretta or use a dripper system and a 20l container on to a towel to keep the water moving.

That's what I love about this hobby, there's so much room for experimentation and invention (being the ******* child of necessity).



Edit: Hmmmmm....actually, I just went downstairs and it's sitting on 26deg. Might have to go and sort out a cooling system this afternoon.

 

[Trough Lolly]

Another trick is to 3/4 fill four PET bottles and leave them in the freezer. Put two on top of the fermenter in the morning and switch with the two remaining frozen bottles in the evening - you can drape a cloth over them to help transfer the cool more efficiently but it's an easy fix for warm ferments - try to aim for 18C for ales and 10C for lagers, especially when you are using superior yeast such as liquid yeast, compared to the stock kit yeast from Coopers.

Cheers,
TL

edit Sp.

 

[Haiper]

10deg? Why do all the kits etc. say to keep a lager between 21 and 27deg? Does a cooler temp mean a longer brew, therefore a better and longer feed for the yeast to convert the sugars???

I cooled mine dow na fair bit yesterday just by sitting the keg in a clean fish bin with an inch of cold water in it and a wet towel draped over the keg. The water seemed to wick up the towel. I'll go down in a second and rinse the towel and change the water. Seemed to wro kreally well here yesterday when the weather was 33 outside and radiating off the inside of the roller door making the garage unbearably hot. Might have to switch to another room.

 

[Whistlingjack]

10deg? Why do all the kits etc. say to keep a lager between 21 and 27deg? Does a cooler temp mean a longer brew, therefore a better and longer feed for the yeast to convert the sugars???

The kits usually include an ale yeast strain to avoid novice brewers experiencing problems with lager strains. They also tell you to brew at these high temps to get the yeast going quickly and ferment quicker, so the beer is in the bottle sooner.

The reason lagers are fermented at lower temps is to reduce the production of "off" flavours.

WJ

 

[capretta]

read up on brewing yeasts,
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=20

but suffice to say that the kit instructions are to be taken with a grain of salt and are designed not to give you good tasting beer but so that even the most inbred novice can make alcohol and not create bottle bombs/lawsuits.

 

[Haiper]

Cool, this is the sort of advice I was after when I signed up for this forum. I've tried dropping my temp down as low as I can be bothered with this first batch (considering it's been sitting at 24deg for several days would it make much difference dropping the temp right down now??) and it's sitting somewhere under 20deg now. I've been sitting here dreaming up ways of cooling that haven't necessarily been done before. I've found an old stainless steel basin big and deep enough for my keg and I've also found some drippers and some PVC pipe and I might have an old evaporative coooer type plate I can get my hands on. Sounds like a recipe for experimentation for my next batch. I'm itching to make some apple cider or ginger beer.

I drained off some of my brew earlier today and gave it a try. It's very bitter still, but I guess that's to be expected. It's still fermenting. It tastes like lager though, and has a particularly nice aftertaste too, so I'm impressed so far. I'll see how this batch goes and then consider racking my next brew after this and see what the differences are.

 

[0M39A]

gday Haiper,

where in tas are you from? i assume hobart with the thbs link in your tag (great people in there, thats for sure). i just moved back to burnie after spending the year down hobart.

when i used to brew in the summer months i kept my brew on a concrete floor with a wet t-shirt wrapped around it and ice in the top of the lid and regular sprayings with a water bottle. was good for dropping the temps a few degrees.

wont have to bother with that anymore, as i just bought myself a fridgemate, and will wire it all up tonight and give it its maiden voyage tomorrow.

 

[neilb]

I'm in the same position as Halper. Got a Coopers Kit for Xmas and scouted out a location based on their instructions. Had it in a closet for 2 days keeping a solid 24 degrees which I thought was perfect based on the instructions. Came looking for threads about the kit and found this - pretty annoyed that my beer might taste off because I've followed their instructions to the tee! Was very careful with every step so I'm pretty pissed off about this. I've got it to drop to 20-22 now and hoping that will help it.

Only other problem I had is that my airlock was only giving off a bubble every 15 mins or so, was keeping pressure but barely moved the bubble along the tube. Cranked the lid once more and it moved a tiny amount and the bubbling sprang into life.

 

[pint of lager]

Learning on batch one that the instructions that come with your kit are next to useless is a guarantee to making great beers.

Good luck with the next one and start repeating, sanitation, temperature control and good ingredients.

Sanitation, every surface that comes into contact with your beer must be cleaned and sanitised. Temperature, 18 for an ale is perfect. Good ingredients, get rid of sugar and use proper brewing ingredients, best sourced at the homebrew shop.

Your brew will be ok at 24, but will be fruity and may have strong alcohol tastes.

Before going any further, brewing can become an obsession.

 

[Haiper]

Learning on batch one that the instructions that come with your kit are next to useless is a guarantee to making great beers.

Good luck with the next one and start repeating, sanitation, temperature control and good ingredients.

Sanitation, every surface that comes into contact with your beer must be cleaned and sanitised. Temperature, 18 for an ale is perfect. Good ingredients, get rid of sugar and use proper brewing ingredients, best sourced at the homebrew shop.

Your brew will be ok at 24, but will be fruity and may have strong alcohol tastes.

Before going any further, brewing can become an obsession.

An obsession you say?? Hmmm the fact I went into the local brew shop today in Hobart and got some more bottles and a can of Blackrock Cider to try out might be testament to that statement. I've also sat in my workshop and built a cooling unit out of an old 20l ag drum, some pipes, drippers and a basin.

I just bottled my first batch today and I must say, so far I'm impressed with the results. I'll see when secondary fermentation occurs just how good I think it is. :huh:

 

[capretta]

those cider kits are ok, but you would do better starting out with litres of preservative free apple juice if you can find some on special. i think its commonly believed that if you boil the crap out of something and evaporate it down into an extract then rehydrate you are removing alot of nicer flavours.

you are truly addicted when you realise that any sugar can be fermented and start scouring the specials bins for anything to ferment.. alcoholic carrot juice anyone? :wub:

 

[beernography]

Neilb I had the same problem with my cooper's fermenter, thinking I had killed off my yeast but it has a crap seal which is too stiff. Replace it with a black neoprene one from your LHBS.

I find Coopers kits/yeasts are very vigourous fermenters, kicking off quickly and making a big foamy krausen. Also found they die off just as quickly. I put down a Cascade kit last brew day and it has been fermenting a lot more steadily although it seems to be finishing off today (8 days later on).

One of the lads who posts on here swears by a gladwrap cover held on by the lid seal, he reckons it expands with the krausen but I haven't tried it personally.

 

[RobboMC]

I'm in the same position as Halper. Got a Coopers Kit for Xmas and scouted out a location based on their instructions. Had it in a closet for 2 days keeping a solid 24 degrees which I thought was perfect based on the instructions. Came looking for threads about the kit and found this - pretty annoyed that my beer might taste off because I've followed their instructions to the tee! Was very careful with every step so I'm pretty pissed off about this. I've got it to drop to 20-22 now and hoping that will help it.

Only other problem I had is that my airlock was only giving off a bubble every 15 mins or so, was keeping pressure but barely moved the bubble along the tube. Cranked the lid once more and it moved a tiny amount and the bubbling sprang into life.

Welcome to the world of brewing. Those Coopers airlocks are often hard to get to seal properly. My trick is to pour boiling water over the sealing ring before screwing the lid on. This softens the sealing ring, as well as cleaning it a bit ( it's not sterlizing as it's not boiled for long enough), making it easier to get a decent seal.

You'll find your batch made at 24 deg C will taste reat. We all started exactly where you are!
My first batch was at 27 deg C and fermented out in less than 2 days, still no-one I offered it too knocked it back!

Always look to make your next batch better than your last, always!