First Ever Brew! Maybe With Problems Already...

[juicefreakz]

Hey Fella's,

given the site a quick once-over for info, but havent found exactly what im after so hopefully you could give me a hint or two.

Just bought a Brewcraft Brewkit which came with a 'Munich Lager'. Got it goin almost 3 days ago, has constantly been at 22-24 degrees, but the airlock hasnt started bubbling yet. pushing the side of the barrel lets air out of the airlock, so i dont think air is escaping anywhere else?

just wondering how long it should take for a lager to start bubbling, and whether 22 degrees is a good temp for this type of Brew.

Any help is much appreciated!

-Brett

 

[Steve]

Hey Fella's,

given the site a quick once-over for info, but havent found exactly what im after so hopefully you could give me a hint or two.

Just bought a Brewcraft Brewkit which came with a 'Munich Lager'. Got it goin almost 3 days ago, has constantly been at 22-24 degrees, but the airlock hasnt started bubbling yet. pushing the side of the barrel lets air out of the airlock, so i dont think air is escaping anywhere else?

just wondering how long it should take for a lager to start bubbling, and whether 22 degrees is a good temp for this type of Brew.

Any help is much appreciated!

-Brett

If its a true lager yeast you should be brewing it at around 12 degrees. If its an ale yeast you should be brewing around 18 degrees. Lots of kits say they are lagers but they actually supply ale yeats. Dont go by the airlock for signs of fermentation. Look for condensation on the inside of the lid and a thick foam (krausen) on top of the wort also take a reading with your hydrometer. If its dropped from when you first took a reading when you made the kit then its fermenting.
Cheers
Steve

 

[juicefreakz]

If its a true lager yeast you should be brewing it at around 12 degrees. If its an ale yeast you should be brewing around 18 degrees. Lots of kits say they are lagers but they actually supply ale yeats. Dont go by the airlock for signs of fermentation. Look for condensation on the inside of the lid and a thick foam (krausen) on top of the wort also take a reading with your hydrometer. If its dropped from when you first took a reading when you made the kit then its fermenting.
Cheers
Steve

Thanks,yeah thereis a lotofcondensation butnot soo much foam.
The can says ferment at 18-30 degrees, and leave for 5-7 days. im just gonna leave it for 2 days then check the hydrometer reading.

 

[hbg]

Hey Fella's,

given the site a quick once-over for info, but havent found exactly what im after so hopefully you could give me a hint or two.

Just bought a Brewcraft Brewkit which came with a 'Munich Lager'. Got it goin almost 3 days ago, has constantly been at 22-24 degrees, but the airlock hasnt started bubbling yet. pushing the side of the barrel lets air out of the airlock, so i dont think air is escaping anywhere else?

just wondering how long it should take for a lager to start bubbling, and whether 22 degrees is a good temp for this type of Brew.

Any help is much appreciated!

-Brett

Hi, one of the best beers I made last year didn't bubble one bit, so all is probably still okay. Check that the airlock isn't spinning around too easilly. You should be able to see signs of fermentation, being a frothy scum. This indicates that it's working. Also, take a sample and check it with your hydrometer. Then also, check it again in another day or so. The level should have changed slightly.

 

[hbg]

It's just a generic yeast.

 

[cdbrown]

As you read through the posts you'll notice that most experienced brewers will advise not to follow the instructions on the can as the fermenting temp is always too high and the yeast can produce some unwanted flavours. Also you'll see you shouldn't ever rely on the airlock as a guide as generally the CO2 will easily escape through the lid seal - I guess the gas finds it easier to seep through the seal than trying to displace the water in the airlock. Lastly - remove the airlock before pouring for a hydro reading - you wouldn't want to suck in that water

 

[juicefreakz]

yeah fair enough, ive seen all that info. guess coz its my first brew i want it to work to give me more incentive to do more! lol

thanks guys

 

[Cortez The Killer]

Try gladwrap on your next batch instead of the lid + airlock

Search gladwrap on the forum

Cheers

 

[reviled]

Airlocks were created by satan to confuse new brewers. I hold this fact to be paramount. Airlocks have one purpose in life...to stop crap falling into your fermenter. They serve no other purpose. Never trust an airlock, it is a lying, water filled bit of plastic.

end rant.

lol, so true tho, it wasnt long ago I was on here saying "My airlock doesnt work".. Stupid piece of plastic <_< haha

 

[joshlangmaid]

Oh. <_< I thought the airlock was really important. Mines never skipped a beat. A lot of the time if things are fermenting but the airlock isn't bubbling and the water level is dead level, putting some water on the seals and doing it up tight normally solve it for me. I remember my first brew, Didn't put water in the airlock... Of course it was fine print on the instructions

 

[IMPorted]

Me too,

I`ve put down my 2nd brew last Sat night and due to a slight sidetrack that delayed pitching yeast for maybe an hour after K&K mixing. The temp was around 20 maybe 18 as the night got cooler over the hour delay.

Anyway to begin with there was a nice krausen formed up and never any bubbles from airlock which is fine coz it`s a new wort & probably has less resistance for air escape around the lid seal. Now the krausen looks like it has dried up and died off, it`s sitting 2 inches above the liquid final level, there is a gap of noting on the inner walls for these 2 inches.

I can smell a beer woft coming from the wort though so maybe it is working.
I am relying on the home heating to control fermenting temp and when the fire dies in the early hours of the morning it could get down to 10degrees, problem?

 

[buttersd70]

Stable temperature is better, always, however in the real world, it takes a long time for a 23L volume of liquid to significantly change temperature. So remember, it is not the temperature of the room that is the most important thing, it is the temperature of the beer inside the fermenter.

 

[IMPorted]

Stable temperature is better, always, however in the real world, it takes a long time for a 23L volume of liquid to significantly change temperature. So remember, it is not the temperature of the room that is the most important thing, it is the temperature of the beer inside the fermenter.

Yeah, hopefully the temperature inside the brew will be lagging somewhat so it doesn`t have time to catch up to early hour temps as the morning begins to warm the house.
I have aquarium heaters laying around unused, has anyone here tried them?

 

[cdbrown]

yeah fair enough, ive seen all that info. guess coz its my first brew i want it to work to give me more incentive to do more! lol

thanks guys

Hydro readings and the thick foam are good indication your brew works. The best indication is knocking one back aftera few months. You'll soon realise that the airlock plays no part in the incentive to brew - it'll be wanting to make and taste better beer.

 

[Cortez The Killer]

I have aquarium heaters laying around unused, has anyone here tried them?

There's a thread which deals with it in passing here http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...st&p=343675

Cheers

 

[buttersd70]

Yeah, hopefully the temperature inside the brew will be lagging somewhat so it doesn`t have time to catch up to early hour temps as the morning begins to warm the house.
I have aquarium heaters laying around unused, has anyone here tried them?

Never used them myself, but some people have

Easiest way though, in your situation where it is just dropping after the fire goes out in the early am, is to wrap a blanket (or a quilt) around the fermenter before going to bed, and stoke the fire back up in the morning

 

[juicefreakz]

Hydro readings and the thick foam are good indication your brew works. The best indication is knocking one back aftera few months. You'll soon realise that the airlock plays no part in the incentive to brew - it'll be wanting to make and taste better beer.

Lets hope so cdBrown!!

 

[cdbrown]

Lets hope so cdBrown!!

No need to hope my man. Don't be put off if the first batch (or even the first few) don't taste as good as you like. Lots of things change the flavour such as varying temp, a bit too much or too little of brewers sugar, time in the bottle, conditioning or not. It's a fun challenge trying to get the process down correct to get consistent beer. And when you've got a few brews in the bottles it's even more fun brewing while enjoying a past batch. Now I haven't done any brewing at home for a very very long time - but gearing up to get the 2 kits in operation again and am looking forward to having a red hot go.

 

[buttersd70]

And don't forget - most HB, even if its not quite 'right' is better than megaswill any day of the week.

 

[IMPorted]

Today`s the day then.
Same reading as the last couple of days on the hydrometer, (1008) which I thought high so I`m thinking I might rack it into another container for a few more days, get rid of the cloud hopefully too.
The wort is no way airtight, when I pour some into the test jar the water in the airlock doesn`t budge.