Have Now 3/4 Made My New Batch

[jamieh]

hey fellas,
im part way through making my brew now...finally..!....i added in the larger, then a kettle full of boiling water, then got the rest of out the can, added more boiling water, then added the syrup stuff (came with the dextrose..1.2kg of dextrose that i added)..i have a 30L fermenter.....added more hot water(just the container full of the syrup... then the dextrose, then filled up to 21 litres of tap water (cool/warm)...its now at 25 litres and is between 22- 26 degrees...can i add another litre of cold water? how full can my fermenter be?

 

[buttersd70]

Mate, think of it like cordial...."how much water can I add to this cordial?"....the answer to that, is, you can add as much water as you like....hundreds of litres, if it comes down to it. The more relevant question is, "how much water should I add". The answer to that is, enough to make it strong/weak enough for your own tastes....

If I were you, I would leave it as it is. Any more water, you will end up with a weaker (and thinner) beer.

 

[chappo1970]

.....Any more water, you will end up with a weaker (and thinner) beer.

Wot like that Pommy crap that you brew?? h34r:

Chap Chap

 

[jamieh]

how to i use the hydrometer? how far do i fill it up, reading it ,etc?

 

[bum]

The easy way is to fill the tube with the hydrometer in it. You basically have enough when the hydrometer is floating. You take your reading level with the top of the liquid. Make sure the wort (liquid in the fermenter) is really well mixed first so your reading is as accurate as possible.

 

[jamieh]

http://img228.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=25072009001.jpg....2 photos of my hydrometer readings.....let me know if that looks right or what u guys think...

 

[bum]

No pictures are showing up. Just tell us what the numbers are at the top of the liquid.

 

[jamieh]

numbers are...the liquid is at the line of where beer start (line is right on LOW SG)....is that ok???
Its right on 30 (top end of beer start) so im assuming thats 1130?

 

[jamieh]

o and my liquid in my fermenter is around 27L....im guessing that will be a weaker beer...like 3.0% or something?

 

[bum]

Depending on a couple of variables, yeah it'll be about 3.1%-ish if you're bottling. Your OG is 1030.

In future do not just keep adding cold water until the temp is right. Obviously adding cold water to change the temp is useful but going so high over your desired volume will make a big difference to your beer. It is better to not put so much hot water in at the beginning and add hot water later if the temp is too low. You'll work out what method works best for you in a few brews.

[EDIT - I think the moderators might have been giving you a subtle hint when they moved your last thread, jamieh. If you're asking about making kit beers they'd probably prefer you asked in the kit brewing forum]

 

[jamieh]

no worries...its actually piss easy to make the beer....just gotta get the hot/cold water side of things right next brew mate! ill just my next post ill put in the other section....just thought my comments were more general questions

 

[thylacine]

how to i use the hydrometer? how far do i fill it up, reading it ,etc?

The 'pointy end' down isn't an effective strategy.

And cooling water overnight greatly helps. eg. I refrigerator cool 15 litres as well as putting an additional 5 litres of cooled water into the freezer a couple hours prior to brewing. Then fill to 18-19 litres, check the temp and decide whether I need hot, warm, cool, cold additions.

 

[bum]

no worries...its actually piss easy to make the beer....

Yeah, but don't worry, you'll keep reading thing here that'll inspire you to make things much more complicated pretty soon!

ill just my next post ill put in the other section....just thought my comments were more general questions

Nah, man, not a big deal. Your questions are ones that maybe we all had when beginning and you'll get a better response if you put you questions in the place where the people best suited to answering your question might read it.

 

[Bribie G]

Jamie, if you have the 'standard' Aussie 30L fermenter like most of us have, then a useful rule of thumb when making 'normal' quantity kit brews is to fill it until you just go over the 'ridge' that goes all round just under the handles.



This gives plenty of headspace for any fierce foaming that you might get. Then at the end of fermentation I would top up with a litre of water that has been boiled and then cooled (to remove oxygen).

You should then end up with an ideal amount to bottle off 30 tallies plus maybe one extra if you are lucky. For a typical kit plus a kilo of fermentables you would end up with about a 4.5% alcohol brew, around the same as say Toohey's New.

 

[buttersd70]

Jamie...main point is, relax. Beerfingers put up a post the other day, which is (apparantly h34r: ) something I said....."relax...it's not f*kn rocket science". (I don't remember saying that....I must have been well cut. :lol: ).

But the point is valid. Don't stress over it. It's beer, not life saving surgery. It's a hobby. Have fun with it.

There is a link in my sig...faq for the new brewer. Have a read of it. There is an article section on the top right of the page....go there, and have a good read in the beginners section.............lots of useful info. Then, if you need clarification on what you've read, by all means, post the questions.

But, in the words of Willie (in Lock Stock)...."chill, Winston."

 

[Renegade]

I'm salivating just thinking about that beautiful beer you'll be drinking in a few weeks.

Well, not really, that was just a pep-talk. Hope it all went well.