G'day All, Great Site! First Time Brewer Here

[Brett Campany]

Hey everyone. A very good friend got me onto home brewing so the wife and I have kicked off with what we hope will be a good brew.

The first batch we did was a Coopers Stout hit a hint of Golden Syrup. That was bottled about 4 weeks ago now, will give it two or maybe three weeks more.

I got bored a couple of days ago and did a kit of Cascade Pale Ale...... but she's not bubbling yet.....is this normal??

Anyhow, might have beginners luck or 30 bottles of vinegar, either way I'm looking forward to really giving it a shot and seeing how these brews come up.

I'm living in Port Kennedy in WA, not far from Mandurah and perth so there's plenty of places to get some great advice and some great products but I hope you guys don't mind if I bombard you with a few questions and experiences every now and then.

Wish me luck!

 

[goatherder]

welcome aboard Brett!

About the pale ale. Are you sure your fermenter lid has a good seal? It can be fermenting away without being sealed perfectly and you won't see bubbles in the airlock. Sneak a peak at the beer and see if there is foam (krausen) on top. If there is, she's apples so don't worry about it. Also, what temp are you fermenting it at? Too low and the ferment will be slow.

Did you take a hydrometer reading at the start of the ferment? If so, this is a good way to check if your fermentation is going OK. Take another reading, if the reading is lower than the last one, then the yeast is doing the business.

Chances are you won't end up with vinegar. don't toss him out just yet.

Have you tasted the stout yet. 4 weeks and I wouldn't have been able to help myself. Best give it a taste, tell us what it's like!

 

[James Squire]

Welcome and all the best Brett.

Browse around and do a stack of reading here and you can learn as much as you want to learn. So many experienced and helpful minds are here every single day and all are always willing to give answers/tips/advice. Good luck with the brews and enjoy your time here.

JS

 

[Brett Campany]

Cheers for the advice guys. I think there's a good chance of "testing" the Stout tomorow as it'll be 4 weeks on the day.
:beer:

 

[Zizzle]

The Cascade kit yeasts are slow starters. It says so on the packaging.

The are other factors such as temperature, and how much oxygen is in your wort when you pitch the yeast. But you'll pick all that up if you keep reading here.

Also good beers you should be able to drink after a week in the bottle. But of course will taste better with time.

 

[Trent]

Welcome to the site, Brett
I hope that you enjoy it alot, and learn heaps. I think that the best way for you to start learning would be to check out all the "airlocked" threads, they are ones that have invaluable info in them, for new and experienced brewers alike. There are some of the best homebrewers in Australia on this site, putting in their 2 cents worth on all manner of subjects. Basically, just go to the top of the page, and click on the link to "home". Then, my you can click on any of the different categories the threads go under, and the first few in each category will always be the airlocked ones. My advice would probably start with the "brewing questions/FAQ" or whatever it is called, start reading, and then take it from there. You dont have to do that, of course, but it will save you from asking questions that have already been covered many times, and it will probably teach you alot. I am sure that your Pale Ale will be fine, as goatherder said, you will probably find unseealing fermenters discussed in one of the airlocked threads somewhere!
All the best, and make sure to tell us how that stout turned out.
Trent

 

[Brett Campany]

OK, the second batch is bubbling like a champion, it's actually keeping me up at night! So I think all is good there.

As suggested the wife and I cracked a bottle of the Coopers Stout. She's been in the bottle for 4 weeks to the day. Strong taste but not much fizz. Good head on her but yeah not as fizzy as I'd like.

Was thinking about keeping it another 2 weeks before we crack another. When I bottled this one I only put 2 carbonating drops in each bottle. Might try 3 for the next batch.

Any comments?

Cheers guys

 

[Sloth]

As suggested the wife and I cracked a bottle of the Coopers Stout. She's been in the bottle for 4 weeks to the day. Strong taste but not much fizz. Good head on her but yeah not as fizzy as I'd like.

Hey Brett, I hope you're talking about the beer here and not the wife. She might not be to pleased otherwise!

In regards to the lack of carbonation, make sure that the bottles were stored at a get temperature for fermentation. If you stored them somewhere to cold, back of the garage maybe, then the yeast may have become dormant and carbonation didn't complete. If everything else went ok this is a likely option.

Sloth.

 

[Brett Campany]

As suggested the wife and I cracked a bottle of the Coopers Stout. She's been in the bottle for 4 weeks to the day. Strong taste but not much fizz. Good head on her but yeah not as fizzy as I'd like.

Hey Brett, I hope you're talking about the beer here and not the wife. She might not be to pleased otherwise!

In regards to the lack of carbonation, make sure that the bottles were stored at a get temperature for fermentation. If you stored them somewhere to cold, back of the garage maybe, then the yeast may have become dormant and carbonation didn't complete. If everything else went ok this is a likely option.

Sloth.

hahaha even the handbrake got a laugh out of that one!

we've been storing the beer in the kitchen next to the fridge so we're moving the stock to a spare room that gets a bit of sun through the arvo.....sounds like a gardening show doesn't it!

 

[Screwtop]

Welcome Brett, your Stout sounds about right, give it longer to carb, it has been cool. Now that you have joined us here one thing is for sure, your beers will improve. Try a search on "bulk priming" it's the best method of priming your beer before bottling, easier than sugar or drops, and you can then bottle into any size of bottles even mixed sizes. Keep brewing and keep learning, there is always something more to learn here.

 

[andrewl]

Brett, welcome to the team!
I personally like my stouts/ales etc with a bit less carbonation then the lagers etc. But as we all know it's each to their own. As screwtop said, you should invest that little bit of money into getting a second fermentor and start bulk priming. Every beer gets the exact same carbonation through the batch. Just something to put in the back of your mind. Anyway, good luck brewing!

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[PistolPatch]

Welcome Brett!

Was just in Port Kennedy the other day on a visit to Perth!

Thought I'd give you two direct links to help you get started. These links have heaps of answers in them (including your ones above) and are being improved all the time. They are:

Frequently Asked Questions For The New Brewer
Outline To Using The AHB Website

Things bolded and underlined in these threads are subject headings, all other underlined stuff is a link though to even more information.

Will probably be doing a fair bit of work down your way later in the year so please fill your fridge fast!

Cheers
PP

 

[Brett Campany]

Nice work guys, I've been thinking about getting a second fermenter so i might just have to put that on the list!

PP, sounds like a plan, throw me a PM on yuor way over here and you can test some beers and tell me what you think.

I've bookmarked those links and will study through them tonight.

Cheers

 

[DrewCarey82]

The Cascade kit yeasts are slow starters. It says so on the packaging.

The are other factors such as temperature, and how much oxygen is in your wort when you pitch the yeast. But you'll pick all that up if you keep reading here.

Also good beers you should be able to drink after a week in the bottle. But of course will taste better with time.

Beg to differ I think that all beers benefit from atleast 2 months and more if you can manage it.

Just my oppinion though.

 

[Brett Campany]

The Cascade kit yeasts are slow starters. It says so on the packaging.

The are other factors such as temperature, and how much oxygen is in your wort when you pitch the yeast. But you'll pick all that up if you keep reading here.

Also good beers you should be able to drink after a week in the bottle. But of course will taste better with time.

Beg to differ I think that all beers benefit from atleast 2 months and more if you can manage it.

Just my oppinion though.

I could manage that..........I'll be crawling up the walls but I'll manage....... :unsure: