Gunky Shite

[stevenaggett]

Hi fellas,
i'm new to this so you might have to beer with me...lol.
Started my first brew kit 5 days ago, when i opened it up to take a hydro reading i discovered that a ring of ferral brown gunk has formed on the walls of my fermenter. should i leave this as it is? or stir it through?
also while i am here il mention that my airlock doesnt keep two different water levels as the instructions said it should, i have tightened my fermenter as much it can (now tighter than a nun) but still both levels are the same.
I am also going to add my clearing agent(finnings) tommorow although reading some other forums some people have poo pood using it????

 

[poppa joe]

The ring is natural ...Leave it DONT touch anything...Its called Kraussen....
Cheers
Pj

 

[tdack]

Woo hoo! Something my limited knowledge can answer...

The brown ring is fine, it comes from the fermentation, don't stir it in though, you've got enough stuff in there already and you don't want to stir it up.

Don't worry too much about the airlock, as long as you get a foamy top on the wort in the first few days everything is going well (this is where the brown ring is made) and you should have a nice layer of CO2 formed on top of the wort keeping most nasties out.

Finnings I'm not too sure on as I haven't used them.

 

[pokolbinguy]

a ring of ferral brown gunk has formed

Don't worry about this, this is the Krausen (spelling?) and is completely normal. It is formed from the ferment causing the wort to bubble and rise (like froth in a milkshake). This froth then dries and forms the "brown gunk"

Just leave it be and add your finnings if you wish.

Cheers, Pok

 

[ibast]

Woo hoo! Something my limited knowledge can answer...

The brown ring is fine, it comes from the fermentation, . . . . you've got enough stuff in there already

Leave it out. This is a brewing forum

 

[Canumbler]

Lol, have a taste of that brown gunk and then ask again whether you should stir it in

If the krausen has already been and gone and left that crap on the sides then your airlock is not likely to do much from here on in no matter how well you seal the fermenter.

Relax, sounds like it's going fine

 

[RobboMC]

When you put in the airlock, press hard on both sides of the fermenter to push the water up in the airlock.
If you can't hold it there for, say, 20 seconds, then you know you have a leaky seal. Also, check the O-ring
around the base of the airlock.

One trick is to rinse the seal with boiling water to make it softer. It's a recurring issue with screw on fermenter lids.
This would help with the O-ring as well.

 

[petesbrew]

...when i opened it up to take a hydro reading...

Waldo,
I assume you meant you opened the lid to dip in your hydrometer tube?
Don't do that, you don't want to risk infecting your brew. Take your sample from the tap.
Cheers
Pete
p.s. Welcome to a fantastic site, you'll learn heaps.

 

[0M39A]

Some people like to open the lid on their carboy and drop the hydrometer straight into the wort.

imo this is totally stupid and unnecessary and will eventually lead to an infection.

use a hydrometer tube and pour some wort out via the tap and take your reading in that.

 

[stevenaggett]

Thanks fellas,

1 more thing, when i made my brew i sprinkled (sounds homo i know) the yeast over the top. i have heard other people say 'when stirring in the yeast'?????
should i be a sprinkler or a stirer?

 

[tcraig20]

Gunky Shite? Almost sounds like an Iraqi DJ

Sorry, probably had one too many tonight

Thanks fellas,

1 more thing, when i made my brew i sprinkled (sounds homo i know) the yeast over the top. i have heard other people say 'when stirring in the yeast'?????
should i be a sprinkler or a stirer?

I just dump the yeasty beasties on top. Never had a problem with them not kicking off. They'll dissolve soon enough in the wort. Stirring might get them going a couple of hours faster.

 

[tdack]

One trick is to rinse the seal with boiling water to make it softer. It's a recurring issue with screw on fermenter lids.
This would help with the O-ring as well.

After the comment on my previous post I hesitate to add this, it's all in the name of brewing though ....

I've found a thin coat of personal lubricant (yeah, KY) or vaseline on the o-ring helps get a good seal

Thanks fellas,

1 more thing, when i made my brew i sprinkled (sounds homo i know) the yeast over the top. i have heard other people say 'when stirring in the yeast'?????
should i be a sprinkler or a stirer?

From everything I've read the more oxygen you have in your wort initially is beneficial to your yeast. So I make sure I vigourously stir my wort while I add the yeast.

 

[beernography]

Thanks fellas,

1 more thing, when i made my brew i sprinkled (sounds homo i know) the yeast over the top. i have heard other people say 'when stirring in the yeast'?????
should i be a sprinkler or a stirer?

I recommend starting your yeast (and reading the document attached to that thread), then sloshing it in

Also I would consider your application of it more homo if perhaps you daintily sprinkled the yeast in, from a slender pale hand decorated with a large silver ring, while wearing cut off shorty shorts and an earring in your "gay ear". Oh, and if you said "yeatht" it would be a dead giveaway for sure ;P

I recommend silicon spray for dodgy fermenter seals, too. It's inert, food grade and in aerosol form so the risk of contamination is minimal, unlike KY jelly.

Speaking of which, an ex-mate demanded I return a crummy old aquarium heater he had loaned me years ago when we were friends. I put it in a plastic bag with a tube of lubricant attached, along with a note that said "This is to help you stick your heater up your arse. Enjoy!". Haven't heard back from the cockhead