First Crack At It....

[Pete Donohue]

First off, great forum and a wicked way to get down a rabbit hole for hours!

I have my first Pale Ale (Sovereign Gold Pale Ale) in the fermenter and it seems to be doing all the right things I think.
OG was 1040 on Friday 10am
Airlock started bubbling significantly by 7am Sat
Airlock stopped bubbling by 7am Mon
I am not concerned about bubbles - read enough to know not to worry
Temp has been 20-22 degrees the whole time. Ambient has been down to 10 degrees overnight (Ballarat is still bloody cold!) so been using a heat pad that I just flick on at about 10pm each night.
I'll leave it till Wednesday then take daily readings in the hope that I might be able to bottle on Sunday. Does this sound reasonable or leave it till the next weekend? (time is tight so weekends are when I do stuff!)

Also looking at https://www.keg-king.com.au/mkii-10-30amp-temperature-controller-heat-cool.html and a bar fridge for my next effort. I have a heat mat that I will work into the equation but is there anything else I need to know about?

Thanks again for all the info, calms this newbie down just a little bit

 

[wide eyed and legless]

If you are using a heat pad, don't put your fermenter directly on the top or around it I kept my fermenter 35 to 40 mm above the heat pad when I was using one, they kick out more heat than you realise, I believe KK are selling, or are going to be selling the brew jacket, ideal for fermenting.

 

[Pete Donohue]

If you are using a heat pad, don't put your fermenter directly on the top or around it I kept my fermenter 35 to 40 mm above the heat pad when I was using one, they kick out more heat than you realise, I believe KK are selling, or are going to be selling the brew jacket, ideal for fermenting.

Oh thanks mate. Would I be right to just pop a couple of bits of timber on the pad then the fermenter on top creating an air gap?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Oh thanks mate. Would I be right to just pop a couple of bits of timber on the pad then the fermenter on top creating an air gap?

Yes thats what I used to do it was 40 x 19 mm I used, tried smaller but it still got to warm.

 

[bbqzookeeper]

Also looking at https://www.keg-king.com.au/mkii-10-30amp-temperature-controller-heat-cool.html and a bar fridge for my next effort.

There are plenty of suppliers that may come out cheaper than that place. Not specifically preferring one over the other, and have had good experiences with all of the hb suppliers in the "Springvale" area. Also try eBay or Gumtree. Most of my equipment is an eclectic mix from multiple sources, borne from the pursuit of cost savings.

Also, welcome!

 

[Pete Donohue]

Bit annoyed at myself Last night the house was pretty warm and fermenter was sitting nicely at 20 degrees so I figured I could leave it without the heat mat. Woke up and 7am was down to 16 degrees - but not sure how accurate as the stick on thermometer only has 2 degree increments.

Today should get to 24 deg outside so I figure I'll just leave it alone and make sure it doesn't get too warm

Took a measurement and it's 1018 - so calculated 2.9%. Anything to worry about or just let it keep doing it's thing?

 

[mongey]

let it go. I'd just leave it till its been on at least a week before testing again. you're just wasting beer that will be better when its done.

But I remember testing my early beers every day , so do whatever makes you happy at first

8 days in the fermenter is doable and likely done , but Id probably wait till the weekend after and be sure its done. patience is pretty much the hardest part of homebrewing

depending on the yeast used 16 should be fine for a few hours .is sovereign gold a brand ,neevr heard of it ?.is it a can or a fresh wort kit ?what yeast ?

I have the exact same temp controller and its served me well for 4 years now. I think I got it for about $50 on ebay from memory

 

[Pete Donohue]

let it go. I'd just leave it till its been on at least a week before testing again. you're just wasting beer that will be better when its done.

But I remember testing my early beers every day , so do whatever makes you happy at first

8 days in the fermenter is doable and likely done , but Id probably wait till the weekend after and be sure its done. patience is pretty much the hardest part of homebrewing

depending on the yeast used 16 should be fine for a few hours .is sovereign gold a brand ,neevr heard of it ?.is it a can or a fresh wort kit ?what yeast ?

I have the exact same temp controller and its served me well for 4 years now. I think I got it for about $50 on ebay from memory

Thanks mate, reckon I'll just leave it alone now till next week. Start the hunt for a bar fridge to convert into a temp controlled fermentation chamber

 

[Pete Donohue]

Quick update

Fri 26/09 - OG 1040
Tue 06/10 - SG 1010

Have a public holiday on Friday 9th (Ballarat Show Day) so will take another reading tomorrow and one on Friday. If all the same I figure I will move on to bottling on Friday.

Had a taste and it was not terrible which I was happy about but can tell it has a fair way to go.

Just wondering if it is too late to add some dry hops to the fermenter for a couple of days. I bought some so figure I might be able to use them?

Cheers

 

[mongey]

Quick update

Fri 26/09 - OG 1040
Tue 06/10 - SG 1010

Have a public holiday on Friday 9th (Ballarat Show Day) so will take another reading tomorrow and one on Friday. If all the same I figure I will move on to bottling on Friday.

Had a taste and it was not terrible which I was happy about but can tell it has a fair way to go.

Just wondering if it is too late to add some dry hops to the fermenter for a couple of days. I bought some so figure I might be able to use them?

Cheers

yeah mate,
chuck those hops in.Pellets or flowers ? , if you don't have a fridge to cold crash you will get a bit of hop matter in the bottles with pellets

 

[Pete Donohue]

yeah make chuck those hops in.Pellets or flowers , if you don't have a fridge to cold crash you will get a bit of hop matter in the bottles with pellets

yeah mate,
chuck those hops in.Pellets or flowers ? , if you don't have a fridge to cold crash you will get a bit of hop matter in the bottles with pellets

I have Topaz, Cascade and Mosaic pellets. Any thoughts on how much of which? It's my first ever brew so recording everything as I go so I can recreate if needed.
I have a beer fridge outside that sits around 3-4 degrees. Can I whack the fermenter in there to cold crash? Seeing as I'm a bit of a pipsqueak and the fridge is out in the shed (fermenting in the house), do you think the movement would stir up all the trub at the bottom or will this settle again in cold crashing?

 

[mongey]

I have Topaz, Cascade and Mosaic pellets. Any thoughts on how much of which? It's my first ever brew so recording everything as I go so I can recreate if needed.
I have a beer fridge outside that sits around 3-4 degrees. Can I whack the fermenter in there to cold crash? Seeing as I'm a bit of a pipsqueak and the fridge is out in the shed (fermenting in the house), do you think the movement would stir up all the trub at the bottom or will this settle again in cold crashing?

I haven't used topaz before. my standard dry hop is 50g in 22 liters.. so I'd go 25g and 25g mosaic.I also like mosaic a lot so often just dry hop with it alone


anything you stir moving it will settle again . I brew in the outdoor laundry and bottle in kitchen so I have to carry my full fermenter around all the time. you just don't want to shake it too crazy to avoid oxygenation. but a bit of swirling is fine in my experience

 

[Pete Donohue]

I haven't used topaz before. my standard dry hop is 50g in 22 liters.. so I'd go 25g and 25g mosaic.I also like mosaic a lot so often just dry hop with it alone


anything you stir moving it will settle again . I brew in the outdoor laundry and bottle in kitchen so I have to carry my full fermenter around all the time. you just don't want to shake it too crazy to avoid oxygenation. but a bit of swirling is fine in my experience

Thanks mate - reckon that sounds like a go!

 

[Pete Donohue]

So 30g of Mosaic went in tonight. Will leave it for a few days then cold crash

 

[Pete Donohue]

...and I've moved it to the fridge set to about 2 deg to cold crash. Flavour and aroma has changed considerably since the start and seems great. I'm hoping to bottle on Sunday - I would like to leave it longer but it's not an option currently. I took the airlock out and just popped some sticky tape over the grommet - hope that's ok

 

[mongey]

depends on your fridge. Mine is a little worse for wear when to comes to hard cooling and it takes about 24 to 36 hours to get the beer down from 18 to 2 or 3 . but do your thing and bottle Sunday. and get your next one one ASAP .

I usually just leave the airlock in .I pull it and put a little fresh sanitiser in it in case it gets sucked back but I don't find that it really does as long as the airlock isn't super full . tape is fine I'd as long as its sturdy enough that it wont get sucked in .I've never done it

 

[Pete Donohue]

depends on your fridge. Mine is a little worse for wear when to comes to hard cooling and it takes about 24 to 36 hours to get the beer down from 18 to 2 or 3 . but do your thing and bottle Sunday. and get your next one one ASAP .

I usually just leave the airlock in .I pull it and put a little fresh sanitiser in it in case it gets sucked back but I don't find that it really does as long as the airlock isn't super full . tape is fine I'd as long as its sturdy enough that it wont get sucked in .I've never done it

Thanks man, reckon I will do that. Had a bit of a score at Woolies with discount kits so I've got some to choose from

 

[Pete Donohue]

All done and been bottle conditioning for 2 weeks. I've had a couple of cheeky tastes and it has come along really well. Can tell it needs to sit for a while so going to leave this one for a bit but pretty happy

 

[Milhouse]

Just coming back to what you said before regarding getting a bar fridge to ferment in. Usually due to the compressor hump they will not fit a standard 30l fermenter.

I use a ~200l fridge (Fridge only No freezer) which works well for me as its fairly small but I can still ferment two batches at a time. It still has a hump so I support where the veggie drawer would be to not crush it.

The only way around this is to get a bottom mount fridge/freezer.

 

[Pete Donohue]

Just coming back to what you said before regarding getting a bar fridge to ferment in. Usually due to the compressor hump they will not fit a standard 30l fermenter.

I use a ~200l fridge (Fridge only No freezer) which works well for me as its fairly small but I can still ferment two batches at a time. It still has a hump so I support where the veggie drawer would be to not crush it.

The only way around this is to get a bottom mount fridge/freezer.

Actually upped the ante and went all fridge from FB marketplace I have some aluminium tubing to make a false floor but seems to be cool for now - That and the temp control