Dumb newbie questions...

[Mal64]

Hi all, this is my first attempt to brew beer and I may not have done everything correctly...

I read that you were supposed to test the SG daily but this didn't match with leaving an air lock in place... So I did check the SG daily for about a week at the start of fermentation...

What I bottled tasted ok so maybe I haven't stuffed it up?

The second thing that I'm not sure about is how much carbonation should be present after two weeks in the bottle? The instructions suggest sampling a bottle at this time. Mine has enough to make the lid pop but not enough to make a fizz with just a tingle on the tongue. Happily it still tastes like beer although a little sweet...

I've probably made a serious newbie error but if all I have to do is wait then I can do that...

Any advice would be appreciated thanks, Mal...

 

[JDW81]

Hi Mal,

First up, welcome aboard.

Couple of things;

1: You don't need to test your gravity daily, all you do is end up wasting beer and that is never a good thing. Most brewers will leave it in the fermenter for a least a week before taking a sample for testing. I usually leave mine for 2 weeks before I even think about it again. You only start testing when you think it is nearly ready for bottling, and that is usually a week minimum. The most important thing is making sure your SG is table over 48 hours before you bottle, this way you'll avoid over carbonating your beer and having bottles explode.

2: If you're up in Mirboo nth there is a chance you haven't had too much warm weather yet, which will mean your beer will take longer to carb up. For me (out in Werribee) it generally takes a good 4-6 weeks for carbonation levels to be right and the beer to be ready to drink. This of course depends on the style, with some being better with a longer conditioning (stouts for example) with others being good to go after only a short period of time (wheat beers).

The more brews you get under your belt the easier it will become, and take comfort in the fact we've all been the new guy at one point or another. By the sounds of things your first brew is on the way to being pretty good. You'll find it is a very slippery slope from here, and before you know it you'll have more gear than you know what to do with and will be writing long-winded replies to another new guy on the forum.

Hope this helps.

JD.

 

[mkstalen]

Yeah you've made a bit of a newbie mistake.
You check SG more at the end of fermentation. When your readings are the same over 3 days then it's ready to bottle.
How long was it in the fermenter all together?
What were your last 3 days of readings?

If it tastes overly sweet then it may not have finished fermenting and you could end up with bottle bombs (if you bottled in PET bottles then you might be a little safer).

How much fizz after 2 weeks in the bottle depends on the temp the bottles have sat at. If they were up in the mid-high 20s then they should be done, but if they were in the low to mid teens then it could take a little longer. Also depends on how much priming sugar you used.

Give us a few more specific details and we can help a bit more.

 

[Mal64]

Ok, what I should have mentioned is that to test the SG I took the lid off the drum... I couldn't understand why I needed to test it daily until the end of the fermentation as brewmaster suggested or how to do it without taking the lid off (of course it's obvious now) but that's what I did and once I thought it through I stopped. of the mix.

The SG when I bottled the brew was 1003 for three consecutive days and then (due to work commitments) I waited another week to bottle the rest.

The kit came with sugar "lozenges" and I used 2 per bottle (750ml)...

As for temperature: I live in a 100 year old bank that has a very large, walk in, brick and steel safe... So while the temperature is cool at present at about 14 degrees it is constant and warms up slowly and cools down slowly...

Hopefully I haven't buggered it up and I don;t get bottle bombs...

 

[JDW81]

Probably best not to take the lid of your fermenter, you run the risk in introducing bugs that can infect your beer and make it un-drinkable. If your gravity was stable as you suggest then you should be fine. Your vault sounds like the perfect spot to brew, with nice even temps. However at 14 degrees your beer will carb up slowly, it will get there eventually (and be better for the slow conditioning) but it will need more than two weeks.

JD

 

[Mal64]

Thanks JD,

The good thing, I guess is that what I tasted today was quite nice apart from the lack of fizz... I have my fingers crossed.

Cheers, Mal.

 

[Jkpentreath]

Hi matey if the beer finished at 1003 then there was no fermentables left. What recipe did you make. If it was a ale it is going to take a long time to do secondary ferment in the bottle at 14c.

 

[Bribie G]

Won't do any harm to put bottles in a warm place like spare bedroom and keep away from sunlight - nearly all the flavour and character of the beer is produced in the first few days of fermentation and keeping it at 20 degrees or above during carbonation isn't going to do any harm at all. Sometimes if I'm entering a beer in a competition and the bottles aren't carbing up quick enough, there's a little cupboard over the stove that I use. B)

 

[andy@67]

Taking lots of samples is a very common thing with new brewers, I know I did. However if you taste the sample it does have the benefit of teaching you what your beer should taste like at different stages of fermentation. These days I only check the gravity after about a week, however I still take a 10-20 mL taste sample every 3 to 4 days. I am still learning and have recently moved to all grain, I have done 3 BIAB brews, so it is interesting to taste how the beer changes as it ferments. In fact I take a taste of just about every stage and product of my brewing. Even the trub left behind in the kettle, I am working on the principle that if I know all the flavours present at end of the boil I will be able to recognise any that sneak through to the final beer.


Cheers,

Andrew.

 

[jongylary]

ANOTHER IDIOT NEWBIE QUESTION - WHATS TRUB?

 

[andy@67]

Trub is residual hop and protein matter from the boil. Most people try leave as much as possible in the kettle when they transfer to their fermenter/ cube.

 

[Glot]

Is there such a thing as a dumb question?

 

[Helles]

Is there such a thing as a dumb question?

yes

 

[TheWiggman]

Not sure if others do this but I take a sample as soon as it starts bubbling and leave the sample in the hydrometer tube. As long as the ambient temp of the sample and wort remain the same - as mine do because I don't have a fermenting fridge yet - you can check the hydrometer without the need to sacrifice beer. Also prevents possible sucking back through the airlock.

Makes me feel like I'm somehow influencing the beer's performance by spinning the hydrometer daily. Wear a monocle for added class.