First Batch

[Arioch]

Hi

I'm a newb to the board and to brewing. (sorry for the long winded post)

The other day I threw my first batch into the fermenter hoping for the best, but have a question or two if I may.
I placed the batch in on Sunday. It was a Black Rock can to which I added (boiled) some hops and Irish moss as well as DME 500g and Dextrose 600g. The yeast was pitched in at 18C.
I took my first hydro reading from a few scoops of brew from the top of the fermenter (prior to adding yeast) and got a reading of 1022. Now, from what I had been reading that was oddly low. I spun the hydrometer, re-read it 5 times...all 1022. I supposed the large amounts of hops floating around had something to do with it and let it go. By Tuesday night (as I post) I was yet to see any activity in the airlock and decided to take another hydro reading to see if things were working..I took this one from the tap and got a reading of 1032....hmmm. My only guess is that the original reading was inaccurate due to the agitated state of the contents.

Did I take the first reading incorrectly? Should I have taken it from the tap or waited for the sediment to settle?

As to the lack of activity in the airlockthere is about a 1cm layer of foam on top and a slight yeasty smell emanated from the second reading samplewould I be best waiting for another day or two and taking another reading, or better just throwing in another packet of yeast?

Any opinions appreciated.

 

[crozdog]

Hi

I'm a newb to the board and to brewing. (sorry for the long winded post)

The other day I threw my first batch into the fermenter hoping for the best, but have a question or two if I may.
I placed the batch in on Sunday. It was a Black Rock can to which I added (boiled) some hops and Irish moss as well as DME 500g and Dextrose 600g. The yeast was pitched in at 18C.
I took my first hydro reading from a few scoops of brew from the top of the fermenter (prior to adding yeast) and got a reading of 1022. Now, from what I had been reading that was oddly low. I spun the hydrometer, re-read it 5 times...all 1022. I supposed the large amounts of hops floating around had something to do with it and let it go. By Tuesday night (as I post) I was yet to see any activity in the airlock and decided to take another hydro reading to see if things were working..I took this one from the tap and got a reading of 1032....hmmm. My only guess is that the original reading was inaccurate due to the agitated state of the contents.

Did I take the first reading incorrectly? Should I have taken it from the tap or waited for the sediment to settle?

As to the lack of activity in the airlockthere is about a 1cm layer of foam on top and a slight yeasty smell emanated from the second reading samplewould I be best waiting for another day or two and taking another reading, or better just throwing in another packet of yeast?

Any opinions appreciated.

Arioch,

welcome to AHB and the wonderful world of brewing. According to the calculator here your OG (original gravity) should have been about 1.037. My guess why you got a low reading initially is that everything had not been well stirred through resulting in the top of the fermenter being a lighter gravity than the bottom.

Don't worry about the lack of airlock activity. As long as you see brown foam on the top of the wort in the fermenter & a layer of "sediment" building up in the bottom of the fermenter - all is good. Be patient, leave it for a week & test again. Your FG (final gravity) should be around 1.010 - 1.007.

FWIW, the Irish moss isn't needed in a kit beer.

 

[RobboMC]

Lack of airlock activity is usually the result of a poor seal, screw your lid down tighter.

If you've got foam on the surface all would seem to be well as crozdog says..

I have found it's very hard to get an accurate OG reading using extracts and/or kits, it takes a lot of mixing to get a barrel of wort ( the liquid that becomes the beer ) that it the same all the way through. If you want to measure it for your alcohol content, mix and and mix some more once the cold water is all in. Don;t mix hot liquids very much as this can create bad flavours. Mixing below about 25 deg C can do nothing but good as this aerates the wort which helps the yeast get started.

 

[Arioch]

Thanks for the reply.

Good to know about the reading, thanks.
It's a bit hard to tell through the bucket but there appears to be some foam on top. Although this morning it did appear to be like a ring above the water line rather than a layer...

 

[Steve]

Take your readings from the tap. Its much safer. You run the risk of something unwanted falling in the top of the fermenter if you keep taking the lid off.
Cheers
Steve

 

[pint of lager]

The ring is also normal. Your brew is happily fermenting.

Your mix of dextrose and dried malt is a good combination.

What prompted you to add Irish Moss?

It is usually used when brewing an all grain brew, it is added to the kettle to help with haze free beers.

I don't think it will hurt your kit, but don't worry about using it in further kits. Leave it in the cupboard, maybe one day you will tackle an all grain brew.

One further point, most of the kits recommend 20-28 degrees as fine for fermenting your brew. 18-22 is a better range to ferment at.

 

[Arioch]

The Irish Moss was added, as I thought at the time, to help clear up the brew. I had done some reading around and there were some people adding it, along with extra hops to their no boil kits. If as you say there is no point in adding it I will keep it until I am experimenting with making my own wort.

The next brew I will try and make a little less complex....kit, DME and Dextrose only! And I might get some better yeast...

Thanks for all the comments.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Irish moss will only help to clear All Grain brews when added to the kettle during the boil. It will do nothing to your kit beer.

Your reading from the top of the fermenter will be less because the sugar/malt/dextrose mix is dense ( heavy ) and will sink to the bottom of the fermenter. Taking a reading from the tap will give you a higher reading than scooping it from the top. To get a true reading, you will need to mix very well then take a reading. The reason you got a higher reading at day 2 is because the yeast is doing its thing, and due to its action of producing lots of CO2 bubbles this is helping to mix the wort, giving you a more accurate reading

The foam is good. It is your best indication . Airlocks will not give a true indication that a brew is working. In fact throw the damn thing away and just put a bit of tape over the hole. Dont panic, many of us on here gave up on airlocks many brews ago.Airlocks are for skirt wearing fairy brewers anyway...

Hope this help.

And dont be afraid to ask questions either...you will learn a lot

 

[sponge]

Well then, now is a good question time. In having a piece of tape over the hole, where does all the CO2 escape to if everything else around the fermenter is sealed?

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Well then, now is a good question time. In having a piece of tape over the hole, where does all the CO2 escape to if everything else around the fermenter is sealed?

The Tape acts like a one way valve....

 

[sponge]

So CO2 can still escape through the tape? What sort of tape are we talking about? Or is it just that the build up of CO2 in there is enough to slightly lift the tape and escape?

Maybe im missing something very very obvious here

 

[Canumbler]

They're talking slightly lift the tape.

I stopped worrying about an airlock as of my third batch. Fermenter I just sit a piece of glad wrap over the little hole so nothing falls in it, cubes I just don't screw the cap on tight.

 

[Spider]

Spider here, new to the site and back to brewing after many years off, great advice about the air lock. Why not just chuck the lid (keeping the o-ring ) and use gladwrap as the lid with o-ring holding it in place,this also allows you to visually inspect what's going on .

Cheers big ears

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Spider here, new to the site and back to brewing after many years off, great advice about the air lock. Why not just chuck the lid (keeping the o-ring ) and use gladwrap as the lid with o-ring holding it in place,this also allows you to visually inspect what's going on .

Cheers big ears

First post and he's sprouting heretical dogma :lol:

Good to have you back.

 

[Spider]

First post and he's sprouting heretical dogma :lol:

Good to have you back.

Better to start with a Bang!! than a whimper (me Thinks)