Have I Stuffed Up?

[DrewCarey82]

G'day Guys.

Brewed my first Coopers brew in the kit provided on Sat and all was going well, but I actually made the mistake of seeing how it was going by half filling a mug.

Now the airlock is bubbling like once every 30 seconds and there seems to be not as much vapour on the top.

I tried rotating the barrel but that only fizzed for abit and then same result :angry:

Before it had slowed down to the shithouse as I had it in front of a heater wrapped in a couple of old woolen jumpers.

I am buying a proper homebrew heater coil thingy today.

Is my beer stuffed.

Advice on what do or not to do purlease!

 

[Jim_Levet]

Don't waste your money on a heater belt. try to keep your temps around 20 degrees C which should be easy to achieve with a beach towel wrapped around the tub. Don't read the instructions on the back of the can. Go to a good HBS or try some of the online info such as How to brew by Palmer
Don't fret. Your brew will be OK with better things to come
James

 

[DrewCarey82]

Don't waste your money on a heater belt. try to keep your temps around 20 degrees C which should be easy to achieve with a beach towel wrapped around the tub. Don't read the instructions on the back of the can. Go to a good HBS or try some of the online info such as How to brew by Palmer
Don't fret. Your brew will be OK with better things to come
James

[post="75699"][/post]​

Dont know man there about $30 and thats for something that I'll probably use heaps + I've been fretting about the temperature something shocking and this is guarenteed to keep it constant.

Might stop by the one down my way which is Kogarah.

Are HBS more expensive then say retail stores or?

 

[JasonY]

DC82, don't worry all will be well. If you put the brew down on saturday then I would be expecting the fermentation to be slowing down (it wont go flat out the whole time you know). If you want to see how your beer is going and take tho opportunity to sample it then take hydrometer samples every day or two and you should be able to tell if you need to worry.

Have a read of http://www.howtobrew.com it is a great resource and will save you a lot of time.

 

[Jez]

"whats Brewing" at Kogarah is good and the owners always good for a chat.

the brew belt you're after may cost an extra 2 or 3 bucks if you buy it from him but the knowledge and advice he will pass onto you is priceless.

the bubbling thru the airlock naturally slows down as the ferment progresses. I'd suggest you just leave it alone & see how it goes.

Relax, don't worry, you'll soon have homebrew

Jez

 

[DrewCarey82]

Any idea what price range for the belt I was told about $30, also what times he open til today do you know?

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[shmick]

You'll probably outgrow the heater belt pretty quick if you are serious about improving your brewing.
If you must have one, be careful using them as they don't have a thermostat.
They deliver a constant heat input which means it must be equal to your heat losses to maintain a constant temperature. Some experimentation with the old jumpers may be in order.
You'll also find that the fermentation process generates some heat internally but not enough to keep itself warm. It will be a few degs warmer for the first few days then cool off after that. Adjust your coverings accordingly.

BTW, when you drain wort from the fermentor, the headspace inside increases and the CO2 will be under less pressure (slower bubbling). It's a good idea to remove the airlock if you are draining any larger amount to stop the liquid in it from being sucked into your brew. This could cause an infection.

Go by your SG readings not 'bubble rate'.
Cant help you with price - I've never looked at them.

 

[Jez]

$30 sounds about right. if you want something more effective you may ant to add $15 to that & buy a heat pad. I haven't used one but I've heard they work better.

dunno his number off the top of my head - search for "whats brewing" at Kogarah (Rocky Point Rd?) in www.whitepages.com.au & give him a ring.

good luck :beerbang:

Jez

 

[DrewCarey82]

So it doesnt matter that it doesnt seem to be bubbling anymore and that the temp has dropped from about 22 to 18 degree's?

What I am worried about is that it only seems to be bubbling once every 30-40 seconds, though from what u's are saying after four days this is the norm or????

 

[RobW]

So it doesnt matter that it doesnt seem to be bubbling anymore and that the temp has dropped from about 22 to 18 degree's?

What I am worried about is that it only seems to be bubbling once every 30-40 seconds, though from what u's are saying after four days this is the norm or????

[post="75717"][/post]​

Sounds completely normal. I put one down on Saturday & it's doing just about the same thing. Leave it until the weekend then check your gravity. Leave it for another day or two & check again - it should be constant. If it isn't keep checking every couple of days until it is. It'll be fine - & forget the heat belt, you don't need it.

 

[PostModern]

Yes, that's the norm. The fact that the heat dropped shows also that the yeast has slowed it's activity. Insulate the fermenter if your ambient is less than 18 for the next few days, just so it finishes off before dropping out.

Personally, I reckon heater belts are a waste in Sydney, unless your house is a freezing building in the southern shadow of a Hurstville home unit monstrosity.

 

[Jye]

What I am worried about is that it only seems to be bubbling once every 30-40 seconds, though from what u's are saying after four days this is the norm or????

This is totally normal, so kick back and have a beer :chug:

As for the heater, you would be better of buying a few more brews with the money, the temp you are currently brewing at is ok.

 

[DrewCarey82]

Alright u's have convinced me about the belt will forget it, just being paranoid cause its my first brew.

Also I hear that putting it in another barrel for secondary femenation is good how much am I looking at for another 30 litre one?

And also I read something about using malt instead of sugar?

 

[Jye]

Also I hear that putting it in another barrel for secondary femenation is good how much am I looking at for another 30 litre one?

When racking to a secondary you want to leave as little head room as possible, so go for a 25L or possible a 20L.

 

[roach]

Alright u's have convinced me about the belt will forget it, just being paranoid cause its my first brew.

Also I hear that putting it in another barrel for secondary femenation is good how much am I looking at for another 30 litre one?

And also I read something about using malt instead of sugar?

[post="75722"][/post]​

Yes forget the sugar or dextrose for your next brew(using sugar produces a cidery taste). As a next step, go to your local HBS, talk to the guy, and pick up one of their booster packs that will include some DME and hops.

 

[DrewCarey82]

I've just the coopers one @ the moment cant remember what size that is.

 

[Justin]

Keep reading your on the right track.

Home brew kits have very simple instructions so that beginners have the confidence to try to make a brew, however to make the best possible brew these instructions fall a little short. Your on the way to making better beer already and you haven't even finished your first batch. Honestly, the more you read the better beer you'll make and the more confident you will be with all the processes. It's a learning curve but worth the effort.

Have you read the www.howtobrew.com site yet? All your questions will be answered and you will gain a lot of knowledge on brewing, it's an easy read.

Yes, you will probably want to get a second barrel for conditioning (or cold condidtioning as it's often called), about $25-$30. It's not really secondary fermentation, I use that term to describe the carbonation of the bottle but whatever rocks your boat. For your first brew I wouldn't stress over using a second barrel. Get this one in bottles and then you can worry about racking the beer into a second fermenter on the next batch. Baby steps , I'm just thinking because you have so many questions and your worrying about every step it might pay to just keep things simple at first.

Also, the use of dried malt instead of sugar is a very good idea. This is the first step to improving a kit beer. Next batch use dried malt extract for sure (get it from the HBS for about $6 a kilo-worth every penny).

Hope it helps. Keep reading and you'll improve out of sight.
Cheers, Justin

 

[roach]

I've just the coopers one @ the moment cant remember what size that is.

[post="75730"][/post]​

Pick up a cube(blue camping water containers) from Bunnings or the like to use as a secondary.

Personally I would focus on getting your technique right(ie fermentation and sanitation) and use quality ingredients/kits first. Then once you are producing a good drop move on to secondaries, hop additions etc etc

Welcome to the madness

 

[Jye]

Have a read though the racking topics and also bulk priming which will save you time.

Link

I've just the coopers one @ the moment cant remember what size that is.

The 30L is fine as a primary but you want the headspace in the secondary to be small to reduce the oxygen in there.

Enjoy reading all the material...your going to be stuck here for days now... muhahahaha :lol: