Have I Buggered It Up?

[jerrycashman]

Hi guys,

Help! I think I might have broken my first brew... what I did was;

Got a 'Brew Cellar' starter kit... fermenter, bottles, all the bits...
Also got a Black Rock 'Whispering Wheat' tin and a bag of Wheat Beer booster/improver sugar.

What I thought the guys at the shop said to do was to use the Black Rock tin, and the sugar from the starter kit AND the booster/improver... which has given me;

+ 1.7kg Black Rock tin
+ 1kg sugar from the starter kit
+ 1.25kg wheat beer booster sugar

Now that I'm reading through this site, I'm starting to think I maybe should have *replaced* the 1kg sugar from the starter kit with the booster/improver sugar... not add them together...

Have I just created 30 bottles of lollywater?

Jerry :-(

 

[Supra-Jim]

Quite possibly, do you have your initial (OG) gravity reading? This will tell you if you have added too many fermentables to the mix.

:icon_cheers: SJ

 

[jerrycashman]

Quite possibly, do you have your initial (OG) gravity reading? This will tell you if you have added too many fermentables to the mix.

:icon_cheers: SJ

No I don't unfortunately... I didn't take a reading... I found a site that suggested that for your first couple of brews, a simple way to start was to ignore the hydrometer and to simply use times when deciding to bottle... So following that advice, I sterilized really well then left the brew in the fermenter for 14 days (visible fermentation had stopped after 5~6 days) before bottling.

I'm pretty sure that fermentation was totally finished, so hopefully all the sugar has been converted... does this mean that the alcohol % is likely to be up?

Jerry

 

[unterberg]

Well the kit itself is quite nice with some extra wheat malt.

So I think just the booster would have been ok.
The extra kilo of sugar will probably make this beer quite strong around 7% if you had that in 23 liters.
So that might offset the taste a fair bit - strong alcohol taste + watery due to a lot of sugar used.
You wont have much IBUs in it which is not really a big problem since its a wheat beer.

 

[Supra-Jim]

No I don't unfortunately... I didn't take a reading... I found a site that suggested that for your first couple of brews, a simple way to start was to ignore the hydrometer and to simply use times when deciding to bottle... So following that advice, I sterilized really well then left the brew in the fermenter for 14 days (visible fermentation had stopped after 5~6 days) before bottling.

Jerry

Thats some pretty crappy advise there, no offense intended, but ALWAYS use your hydrometer. This will give you an indication of fermentation, when its complete, if you have a stuck ferment, avoiding bottle bombs etc.

Relying on the air lock is not good, and there are many posts here that cover that.

I guess seeing as though they are bottled, time to taste em. Good Luck!

:icon_cheers: SJ

 

[jerrycashman]

Thats some pretty crappy advise there, no offense intended, but ALWAYS use your hydrometer. This will give you an indication of fermentation, when its complete, if you have a stuck ferment, avoiding bottle bombs etc.

Relying on the air lock is not good, and there are many posts here that cover that.

I guess seeing as though they are bottled, time to taste em. Good Luck!

:icon_cheers: SJ

Ahh well.. traps for young players eh?

I'll put one in the fridge and give it a go tonight... thanks guys....

"cover me... I'm going in... "

h34r:

 

[raven19]

Ahh well.. traps for young players eh?

I'll put one in the fridge and give it a go tonight... thanks guys....

"cover me... I'm going in... "

h34r:

If it gushes everywhere when opened, and seems like it was ready to explode, best to uncap all the other beers and recap or maybe transfer to PET. Or transfer a few to PET so you can get a better indication of carbonation by giving the PET bottle a squeeze.

 

[jerrycashman]

If it gushes everywhere when opened, and seems like it was ready to explode, best to uncap all the other beers and recap or maybe transfer to PET. Or transfer a few to PET so you can get a better indication of carbonation by giving the PET bottle a squeeze.

Ahh... good suggestion thanks... they are in PET now, I'll go give em a quick squeeze...

(there's something I don't get to say often

Jerry.

 

[caleb]

Just call it a "Belgian Strong Wit"... kinda like "La Chouffe"

It will probably be pushing 6.5-7% alcohol.

Might be a bit thin in the body though, with all that sugar! Was is dextrose or cane sugar you used? What was in the wheat beer booster?

You'll only know for sure when you drink it. If it's a bit off, just don't take that as indicitive of all home-brew...

 

[theMISSIONARY]

How long was it in the fermenter and what temperature?

 

[atkinsonr]

Just to add that as with most kit brews, it will be better after about 8 weeks of aging in the bottle.

Might even turn out to be a real beauty!

 

[jerrycashman]

How long was it in the fermenter and what temperature?

I started the brew on Jan 8th, Fermentation was evident on the 9th and I left it in until the 24th... so around 13/14 days total...

I got the fermenter temp down to 24c before adding the Yeast, which I hydrated for a couple of hours in cool boiled water.

The fermenter stayed within a degree or two of 24 for most of the time...

On a slightly different topic... how accurate are the plastic stick-on thermometers supplied in starter kits? Should I get something better or do they work Ok?

 

[jerrycashman]

...
You'll only know for sure when you drink it. If it's a bit off, just don't take that as indicitive of all home-brew...

No worries there... if it's wrong... I know what I did

 

[The Big Burper]

Jerry,

Don't open a bottle yet, it will be too young and probably taste crappy,

Give it 6 weeks at least, then try it. There is nothing in what you have said that means the brew will be "off". 14 days in the fermenter is a goodly time for fermentation to finish
and the beer to start clearing. Take your gravity readings next time, but I think this brew will turn out a bit strong, but will be OK,

cheers
Dave

 

[unterberg]

I agree.

Since its PET bottles there is no danger. Maybe try one after 2 weeks in the bottle but more time should definitly be beneficial.

 

[jerrycashman]

Jerry,

Don't open a bottle yet, it will be too young and probably taste crappy,

Give it 6 weeks at least, then try it. There is nothing in what you have said that means the brew will be "off". 14 days in the fermenter is a goodly time for fermentation to finish
and the beer to start clearing. Take your gravity readings next time, but I think this brew will turn out a bit strong, but will be OK,

cheers
Dave

Ok... Thanks Dave... a bit late however

She's strong alright... got a real buzz going after 3/4 of a bottle... but yes, does have a very funny taste... I can see that one of the next challenges is going to be acquiring a whole new vocabulary to help describe beer tastes... the first impression I had of this was a mildly 'orange' taste... with a funny alkaline (does that make sense?) after taste... is there a common language for tastes that people use for home brew?

In any case, thanks for the advice... I'll wait another week or two before trying the next bottle... cheers. j

 

[caleb]

So it was drinkable, though. I mean, was it BEER!

You DO know a wheat beer should be citrusy and fruity, or perhaps spicy, with a slightly tart finish. Sounds like it might just be a normal wheat beer type taste. It will definitely taste "odd" if you were expecting a VB type lager. (But the taste will grow on you)

Anyway, congratulations on your first brew.

:icon_chickcheers: