Coopers Pale Ale Question

[noballoz]

Hi all

After not making a brew since my uni days 20 yrs ago I've started one up. Things have changed alot since then. We just used to wack a tin of coopers with 1kg of good old csr sugar and everything seemed to turn out fine.

Since reading this site I've found there can be alot more to it than the good old days. There are some really helpful people with a wealth of knowledge.

My question is..... Will my brew be ok if it has been racked after 6 days of 1st fermentation at 17c ?

coopers pale ale tin
bag of stuff from westbrew (had malt,dextrose)
wort to 20lt
safale yeast s04 pitched @ 25c
sg 1040
fermented at constant 18c for 6 days then racked 3 days ago
todays reading is 1018 and there seems to be a very thin white film on top

My feeling is that I racked it off too soon without letting 1st ferm. to complete. I can't give a good reason why I did this.

If anyone could offer any advise it would be appreciated. Prepared for the worst so don't hold back folks.

Cheers

 

[T.D.]

As long as you racked it into another fermenter and plan to leave it in secondary for a while, you are looking ok. 1.018 is too high for this kind of brew, especially with a OG of 1.040. You should be looking to get it down around the 1.010 mark. I would leave it in secondary for another 1-2 weeks.

Keep an eye on that thin white film too. If it looks a bit like spider web crossed with a greasy bubly film it may be an acetobacter infection. I've had one or two of these in my time and they are relatively minor infections. The go is to drink the beer as fast as possible, as it will start to get a really harsh edge to it after 2-3 months. It always seems to taste fine in the short term though. I am getting ahead of myself a bit here though - it may not even be an infection. Just keep an eye on it.

Good luck with it, and welcome back to brewing! :beer:

 

[noballoz]

Thanks T.D.

Will certainly keep an eye on it and if you think I should drink it quickly, who am I to argue. Afraid I've caught the bug now and I'ts full steam ahead. The guys at the local hbs are getting to know me real well.

Next is a morgans blue mountain lager inc dextrose,light dry malt, corn syrup with hallertau hops and saflager s-23 yeast. If I'm missing anything out on this one I'd be open to suggestions ? I certainly won't be in such a hurry to rack it off.

Cheers