Complete Newbie with some easy questions

[panzerd18]

Confirmed, I have dumped it.

Will try again with an ale I think and higher fermenting temps. More careful sanitizing.

 

[burrster]

darn. At least you've learnt a valuable lesson about sanitation.

Get your brew rig setup before you dive in again. (temp control) The stc 1000 is great once your get it setup as it fully controls the temperature as long as you have a heat source(heat mat, or belt, light usually) and a cooling source(usually a fridge or freezer). It also gives you a more accurate current temp read out too. This way you can eliminate the hassle of wondering about the temp and having to run around altering it. Obviously you could get away with a rug and a heat source for now as its quite cold. Going an ale yeast is a good idea too. For a starters I'd try Nottingham or US 05. Nice easy yeasts. Nottingham can be used down to 15 degrees to make a faux lager too, with out the other hassles associated with lager yeast and lagering.

Keep us posted!

 

[panzerd18]

Hi Burrster,

I have a cheap $25 temp controller from ebay. It is the second picture I posted, underneath the STC1000. It works well for the heating belt but I wouldn't try it with a fridge as there is no compressor delay.

I have made a new batch today. I want to experiment with a darkish ale of sorts.

Coopers Ale extract
500g dry dark malt extract
1kg Coopers brew enhancer 1
Coopers packet yeast


I have tasted the wort and its really nice.

Pitched at temp 22c.

Now if for instance I want to keep the fermentation at 20c, can I take the stick on thermometer/temp controller probes reading on the outside?

Can I count on the outside surface temperature to be whats on the inside?

If not how much should I compensate?

 

[panzerd18]

The bad thing is, after buying a 6 pack of Coopers Sparkling Ale today, it had a very similar taste to what I threw out.

So I think I may have greatly overreacted with my preconceived beginner notions clouding my judgment immensely.

 

[Blind Dog]

The bad thing is, after buying a 6 pack of Coopers Sparkling Ale today, it had a very similar taste to what I threw out.

So I think I may have greatly overreacted with my preconceived beginner notions clouding my judgment immensely.

I doubt you would find the flavours you describe on the other thread in CSA. Did you chuck the Cooper's? If not, you're probably just lsecond guessing yourself and feeling crap about dumping your first batch. If it had a harsh solvent smell & taste as you described, I'd have dumped it too.

I know you know this, but make sure you clean and sanitise the fermenter and everything else thoroughly before you use it again, but don't scrub plastic with anything, try to soak to remove crap if possible. And assuming you have the normal 2 part plastic tap, take it apart and clean and sanitise it before reassembling (there's a thread on here).

 

[Turnloose]

Hi Burrster,

I have a cheap $25 temp controller from ebay. It is the second picture I posted, underneath the STC1000. It works well for the heating belt but I wouldn't try it with a fridge as there is no compressor delay.

I have made a new batch today. I want to experiment with a darkish ale of sorts.

Coopers Ale extract
500g dry dark malt extract
1kg Coopers brew enhancer 1
Coopers packet yeast


I have tasted the wort and its really nice.

Pitched at temp 22c.

Now if for instance I want to keep the fermentation at 20c, can I take the stick on thermometer/temp controller probes reading on the outside?

Can I count on the outside surface temperature to be whats on the inside?

If not how much should I compensate?

During rigorous fermentation (usually around the first 3 days) the yeast will product its own heat, so be careful about over compensating.

Not sure how accurate it can be. I use stick on thermometers at the moment which I know aren't entirely accurate. I keep my beer at 20 degrees according to them and haven't gotten any noticeable off flavors. You can probably rely on your thermometer for ambient temps, which provided they're consistent, will likely be close to what your beer is at.

On to dumping your batch - it may not have smelled right or tasted right at the moment. Yeast does a lot of work - it creates flavors and compounds and then cleans them up. I know that you weren't tasting something like diacetyl, but this article is a good example of how yeast can create a smell and/or flavor and given time, will clean it up. https://byo.com/stories/item/546-diacetyl-homebrew-science

Patience is key to a good brew!

Hope this helps.

 

[burrster]

Hi Burrster,

I have a cheap $25 temp controller from ebay. It is the second picture I posted, underneath the STC1000. It works well for the heating belt but I wouldn't try it with a fridge as there is no compressor delay.

I have made a new batch today. I want to experiment with a darkish ale of sorts.

Coopers Ale extract
500g dry dark malt extract
1kg Coopers brew enhancer 1
Coopers packet yeast


I have tasted the wort and its really nice.

Pitched at temp 22c.

Now if for instance I want to keep the fermentation at 20c, can I take the stick on thermometer/temp controller probes reading on the outside?

Can I count on the outside surface temperature to be whats on the inside?

If not how much should I compensate?

Tape the temperature probe to the fermenter with some foam, or wet suit like material around it, but not between it and the fermenter. This blocks the surrounding temperature from the probe, and makes it more likely to be reading the temperature of your beer. It's as close as you can get with your current setup, and should be good enough.

 

[calobes]

Everyone talks about the stick on thermometers being inaccurate. I have used 4 on my "main fermentor" and all of them have been spot on. Tested with a thermocouple multimeter. I must be lucky

 

[ManVsBeer]

Feel your pain. Been there. Don't underestimate the importance of cleanliness. It's more important than the recipe or type of yeast. Actually, brewing is cleaning with some other processes thrown in.

 

[panzerd18]

Tape the temperature probe to the fermenter with some foam, or wet suit like material around it, but not between it and the fermenter. This blocks the surrounding temperature from the probe, and makes it more likely to be reading the temperature of your beer. It's as close as you can get with your current setup, and should be good enough.

Thanks I have done this. I just made a padding of bubble wrap and stuck the thermal probe underneath it.

I have found my stick on thermometer to be pretty accurate giving me the same reading as a glass mercury thermometer when at ambient temperatures and not stuck onto the fermentor.

Thanks again for all your help. I don't know what I would do without people for advice through the medium of the internet.


How did people go in the old days when there was no internet?

 

[ManVsBeer]

How did people go in the old days when there was no internet?

They brewed K&K unless they were German.

 

[panzerd18]

They brewed K&K unless they were German.

LOL

I read on the Coopers website that brewing lagers is a lot harder because they take longer to ferment at lower temperatures and the chances of infection are much greater than in ales.

Also is it ok to turn the heating belt on and cover the fermentor with a blanket? Or is that just asking to burn the house down?

 

[ManVsBeer]

LOL

I read on the Coopers website that brewing lagers is a lot harder because they take longer to ferment at lower temperatures and the chances of infection are much greater than in ales.

Also is it ok to turn the heating belt on and cover the fermentor with a blanket? Or is that just asking to burn the house down?

If my mate starting out asked me I would say make ales.

Not sure about the house fire, but the belts by themselves will keep your fv at the right temp. I found they can get too hot and need controlling.

 

[panzerd18]

If my mate starting out asked me I would say make ales.

Not sure about the house fire, but the belts by themselves will keep your fv at the right temp. I found they can get too hot and need controlling.

Its actually pretty cold here though. Only 8 degrees ambient in the house. Good for lagers I guess!

 

[AndrewF]

Everyone talks about the stick on thermometers being inaccurate. I have used 4 on my "main fermentor" and all of them have been spot on. Tested with a thermocouple multimeter. I must be lucky

I use a stc-1000 with a thermowell on my fermenter which also has a stick on thermometer. The temperature that is in blue on my sticker is always pretty accurate to what the stc-1000 is reading.

 

[ManVsBeer]

Everyone talks about the stick on thermometers being inaccurate. I have used 4 on my "main fermentor" and all of them have been spot on. Tested with a thermocouple multimeter. I must be lucky

+1. Every stick on thermometer I've used has been accurate after testing.

 

[panzerd18]

I use a stc-1000 with a thermowell on my fermenter which also has a stick on thermometer. The temperature that is in blue on my sticker is always pretty accurate to what the stc-1000 is reading.

Great just the information I'm looking for.

So it seems the fermentor surface temp is very close to the actual thermowell temp.

 

[panzerd18]

Tasted my Brown Ale after 2 days ferment and it tastes terrific!

Still a bit sweet, but the yeast still has to convert the sugars out. Such a difference from the Lager after 4 days ferment. If the brown ale keeps going the way it is, it will be a beautiful beer.


In other news I ordered a new fridge, as my current fridge does not have a freezer. So I will use my old fridge as a fermenting fridge when the new one arrives. I'm looking to buy a STC1000 or buy one prewired from kegking and then I should be good to go!