First Brew - feeling a bit lost

[treacton]

Hi guys,

I am trying to brew a Coopers Pale Ale clone, I'm using the coopers kit & 1kg of malt booster (same ingredients as brew enhancer 2 apparently).

The gravity has been the same over two days, twice, but the beer still tastes very sweet. It looks and smells like beer, but it does look cloudy. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure I'm taking the readings correctly, but if they haven't been taken correctly they are at least consistently incorrect. I don't have a suitable jar so I'm using the tube the hydrometer came in. I do the readings at 20*c and have a fridge controller set to 19*c

Is it ready to bottle?

Should I be concerned by the sweet taste?

There's a ring above the wort in the fermenter, a friend said that was normal and is just where the head was and that it's not an indication of infection.



Pale Ale Attenuating

ID 2
Recipe Coopers Pale Ale Kit
Category Pale Ale
Primary Started 7 days ago
Target Temperature 19.0

Comments Coopers kit expires: 29/11/15; With 1kg of Brew Blend - Malt Booster 15 instead of sugar (contains: light dry malt, corn syrup / maltodextrin, and glucose/dextrose) - should enhance mouthfeel, body, flavour, and head-retention).


Brewing Records:

 

[pat86]

If you've only had it fermenting for 7 days, you would do well to leave it in the fv for another week anyway. The extra time will give the beer more time to settle out. 1011 is a legit fg but if I was in your shoes, I would give the fermenter a gentle swirl by rocking it a bit and then test again in say 4 days.

 

[HBHB]

At 1.011, I'd expect it to be pretty much done, given the gravity is stable and you've used an enhancer with a bit of maltodextrin in it.

It'll taste a little sweeter than normal from the maltodextrin and given it's not a really hoppy or bitter beer, the balance is going to tip more towards malt than anything. It'll also taste a bit sweeter because it's a bit yeasty and uncarbonated at this early stage.

edit: as pat has said above ^, it won't hurt it to sit on the yeast cake for a few more days anyway.

Once bottled, that will settle in about 2-3 weeks and at 6-8 weeks, it'll be much better.

Cheers,
Martin

 

[treacton]

Thanks for the tips.

The reason I'm a little bit antsy is largely because I've been told that leaving it in the fermenter for longer than 4-8 days will significantly increase the risk of fermentation because the yeast is likely not active. I would assume the yeast is no longer active just because the airlock is showing absolutely zero signs of activity.

That said, I'm willing to heed the advice of people more experienced than I am, so I'll leave it for a few more days. I guess I'll give it a little shake and do readings on days 9 & 10, and bottle if it looks clearer and FG is stable.

As I'm leaving it in there for a few more days, is there any harm in adding other things for extra flavour? I hear the CPA kit tends to stay a bit bland. Otherwise no big deal, there's always next time.

 

[indica86]

If you cleaned and sanitised then there is no increased risk of infection.

Airlock is irrelevant and quite often activity can be taking place without bubbling.

No need to shake, you'll just disturb the crap at the bottom of the FV needlessly.

No harm in adding a "teabag" of hops for 2 or 3 days at this point. Something fruity will set it off. Hops are naturally anti-bacterial so no issue there, just be quick.

As for tasting sweet, the APA kit has minimal bitterness so that is understanable.

 

[Cocko]

If you really want a 'Coopers PA' style beer the best thing to do is use their yeast.

It may seem daunting but is really simple and fun.

Just a thought.

All the info you need here!

Happy brewing.

 

[pilgrimspiss]

When you finish fermentation there is quite a bit of alcohol in there and anit bacterials from the hops. I've left beer in the fermentor for 4 weeks while I'm away at work (temp controlled) with no dramas what so ever. Beer was originally brewed for its 'keeping' properties and lasting longer than water.

 

[pk.sax]

Raise the temperature back to 22. You've done the bulk of the fermentation at 19/18, now it needs to finish off. The higher temperature lets the yeast finish off and also clean up some fermentation by products (diacetyl). That should take another 2 days at least.

Then turn the temperature right down to 4C or even 0C actually. This is called cold crashing, the cold + time causes the yeast to drop out of suspension leaving relatively very clear beer.

Good luck.

 

[Pogierob]

Since it has only been fermenting for a few days don't worry about it for at least two weeks after you added the yeast.
Don't worry about it looking clear, the clearing comes after bottling and it sitting for a few weeks. This allows the yeast to ferment out and then clean up after itself.

I would suggest next batch you do, buy a decent yeast from a homebrew shop. Ask them which is the most suitable yeast for the style you are making. Example. Us-05 for ales.

As far as taking your readings, simple fill the tube enough so the hydrometer doesn't touch the bottom and give the hydrometer a little spin to remove any air bubbles that might have clung to it and you are all good.

The scum ring around the top is just from where the krausen formed and then dropped. Nothing to worry about in the time frame of a couple of weeks.

 

[treacton]

Thanks for the info all. I'm going to head to the store tomorrow and buy some hops, and hope that helps balance the fruity-sweet flavour and give it a bit more complexity.

I don't think my beer fridge can get as low as 0*c, if I can get it down to 10* is that still worthwhile? I heard that cold crashing increases the time it takes to mature (or something along those lines), is there anything to that?

Thanks again for helping me out. I'm having the time of my life with this stuff but there is a bit of a learning curve.

 

[HBHB]

Keep it simple. See if your local shop has "Amarillo" in a 12 or 15 gram bag and drop the bag in dry and let it sit for 4-5 days for a nice lift.

 

[Camo6]

Cold crashing helps drop out a lot of the yeast in suspension so it can sometimes take your bottles a little longer to carbonate but they'll get there in the end. Just make sure you store your bottles somewhere warmish to allow the yeast to do its thing.

10*c probably isn't going to have much effect over a short period so I'd be inclined to bottle at your ferment temps to let the yeast get straight to work on your priming sugars.

 

[Dan Dan]

Information overload? Don't worry. Congratulations, you've made beer. It's all good. Give it another week or so, bottle and relax. Then read up some more for a few weeks. Then try it. Congratulations! You made beer!

 

[wynnum1]

Keeping the bottled beer cool and away from light also will help .