Hi all, new to brewing, and i have a question too!

[Hetheria]

Hey everyone!.

I've been a craft beer drinker for a long time and only just recently decided to take my hand up in home brewing.

on easter weekend (friday the 29th of March) I did my first home brew extract kit.

I used a cascade pale ale extract can with brew enchancer #15 and a small tea bag of armarillo hops
I only mixed 20 litres into the fermenter and pitched the yeast that came with the can at 22 degrees,
My original gravity was 1.050, the expected final gravity on the instructions under the lid is 1.004~1.006

It has now been two weeks, over the course of fermenting I have tried my best to maintain a temp of 19~22 degrees.
but once the temp dropped to about 15~16 degrees and I noticed a lot less activity on the airlock, like it almost stopped (this happened about Thursday the 4th of april) I flicked on the heater pad and got her back to about 22 degrees and the fermentation/airlock activity resumed as normal

It has been in the fermenter for 2 weeks now exactly. I tested my gravity reading last night because it is 24 hours before i intended to bottle and i got a gravity reading of 1.019~1.020 (hard to read these damn things).. Is this gravity reading a little too high? I gave it a taste and it tastes like a coopers pale ale with a bitter after taste, being non-carbonated and not aged in the bottle yet i expected this. I can see through the lid of the fermenter that there is NOTHING on top of the wort/beer, it clear and clean with a little bit of gunk on the side of the fermenter from fermentation. it all looks normal.

So I ask this! being a first time brewer, is it ok to bottle if i get another reading tonight of 1.019~1.020? Will it cause bottle bombs? is my yeast just going really slowly and should i leave it for longer? does it matter that i didn't add the extra 3 litres?

 

[hsb]

1020 still sounds pretty high. Fermentation can still be happening without visible signs.
But, yes, less water is going to mean higher OG/FG than expected.

Normal practice would be to rouse the yeast (very gently stir it up using a santised something), give it a couple of days, then take hydrometer readings over a couple of days to see if it is stable.
You can check your Hydrometer skills/calibration with Water, might be a good idea too, 1020 might not be 1020.

I'd err on the side of caution, what's the rush? Rouse, give it a week, see if it's moved. Get planning your next in the meantime..


BTW - there is a 'Delete' button at the bottom of your posts, if you want to fix your double post.

 

[Hetheria]

Thanks I'll try this!

I couldn't find the delete button on my original post, I'm new to this forum!

I'll sanitize my spoon tonight and give it a tickle, I'll check the hydro in a glass of water too.

my next brew is probably going to be a full grain fresh wort 17 litre bottle from Grain and Grape.

edit: Added a pic of my beer that i tested in the tube.

 

[wbosher]

You've obviously already done some research, so you've probly read the words "be patient" several times already, you're likely to hear it again. :lol:

Two weeks is usually ample time for a kit beer to be ready to bottle, so it would seem that something has gone a little wrong here, assuming your hydrometer isn't telling porkies. If it's the plastic Coopers one, there's a pretty good chance that that is the case, although one would suspect that it would have also lied about the OG which looks about right. As hsb said, calibrate it in 20 degree water, should read zero.

Rousing the yeast should do the trick though, but if not you can always pitch some more.

 

[Scottye]

Hey Hetheria

I appreciate that you have done your research as Wbosher suggests. I'd ask just one thing and that is if you degassed your sample, if not how long did you let it sit. Any Co2 bubbles will float your hydrometer and give you a high reading. I know that the Coopers kit yeast will keep working at 16oC, not sure about Cascade but if the yeast was fresh it wouyld seem strange to stall at this temp. I mainly use Wyeast Ale yeasts now and I am never concerned about 16oC. Having said that a constant 18oC is a safe way to brew.

 

[Hetheria]

degassed? I'm not sure.

I lifted the fermenter onto the table and let it sit for a few mins...

I turned the tap and took a sample, during this i did not remove the airlock from the top.
after taking the sample I let the sample sit on the bench for about 5 minutes to let the bubbles disappear so i could see the surface of the liquid

I dropped in my hydro and waited for it to settle and took the reading.

 

[wbosher]

It's a good idea to give the hydrometer a spin in the liquid to dislodge any CO2 bubbles attached to it. This can cause the hydrometer to float a little higher than it should.

EDIT: Having said that, I'm not sure that a few bubbles would cause it to go that high - 1.020...I could be wrong though, it has been known to happen a few times. :lol:

 

[Hetheria]

I have a kit can of cascade imperial voyage pale ale, I used the included yeast

I'll try that technique when measuring.

I'll sit back, give it a tickle and relax, don't worry and have a home brew.

 

[hsb]

Congrats on your first brew! Looks/sounds like you're doing all the right things, especially patience and temperature control. I'm sure it'll be a good'un.
Chances are you won't give it long enough in the bottle to go *boom* anyway, being your first and all I'm sure you'll be keen to chug it all in a hurry!!
But safe is deffo better than sorry!

 

[Hetheria]

I'm happy to wait!

I planned on letting it age in the bottle for like 6 weeks anyway.

when i make my stout I'm going to age it for 3 months +

I have a leather bound journal i purchased in a small town in Ireland in 2008 that I've never had a use for until now,
So I'll bet taking tasting notes, gravity readings, temps, fermenting duration's and etc so I can make a log of the good batches I've had and hope to replicate them. I will even add notes for tasting at 1 months, 3 months, 6 months and, 9 months after bottling.

I really want to learn what aging does to a beer, when beers are at their peak.

I also want to go CRAZY with flavours, I want to make a honey beer, I want to make a reece's pieces stout even if i have to invent a recipe. I want chocolate/orange stout, I want cherry beer with raspberry. I just want to go insane and create things i cannot purchase pretty much.

sorry for the rant but that is my motivation for home brewing!

but last and foremost I want to share these beers with anyone who appreciates beer and wants to go outside the dan murphys and BWS store bought beers and extend their taste buds beyond what they think beer can be!

It will be an exploration mission for my self as much as anyone willing to drink with me

edit: I guess the last part was my "welcome/about me" post!

 

[Scottye]

It's a good idea to give the hydrometer a spin in the liquid to dislodge any CO2 bubbles attached to it. This can cause the hydrometer to float a little higher than it should.

EDIT: Having said that, I'm not sure that a few bubbles would cause it to go that high - 1.020...I could be wrong though, it has been known to happen a few times. :lol:

Fair call wbosher
Just checked my notes to see the difference for me with my first two brews, with identical fermentables, 1st brew not degassed =1.014; 2nd brew degassed 1.009.

 

[Hetheria]

how do i do this degassing you talk off?

 

[Scottye]

Hey Hetheria

You draw of your hydro sample and get two cups. Pour the sample into one of the cups and then pour the sample back and forward between the cups about 20 times, as the Co2 escapes the sample will foam up.. Pour back into your hydro tube and float the hydrometer.

 

[Hetheria]

cool! I will do this tonight. and report back my findings!

thanks to everyone for the help so far! is very much appreciated!

 

[Gavo]

To degass the sample you can also spin the hydro in the sample. The idea is to be sure there are no bubbles on the hydrometer or in the sample. If the hydrometer is one of those Coopers ones then they are hard to use. A good step is to buy a good hydrometer as they are more accurate and easier to use.

 

[wbosher]

The Coopers one is a reasonable hydrometer, and if calibrated properly is not hard to use. Having said that though, I prefer glass.

:icon_offtopic: Slightly OT, why the hell do the numbers always point away from you after you give it a spin? It's like it's laughing at you.

 

[poppa joe]

I would not be taking the lid off and stirring...At such a late Ferment..You are only asking for Infection..
Leave the lid on and gently swirl...In my opinion the lid should NEVER come off during ferment..
MY 2 Cents
PJ -_-

 

[Scottye]

The Coopers one is a reasonable hydrometer, and if calibrated properly is not hard to use. Having said that though, I prefer glass.

:icon_offtopic: Slightly OT, why the hell do the numbers always point away from you after you give it a spin? It's like it's laughing at you.

Hey wbosher
Your observations re the numbers is absolutely spot on, can't think of any scientific explaination for that and like you I am sure it happens every time.
As for calibration I agree, I snipped some of the red tip off mine and it is now spot on. I have two Coopers hydrometers and a glass one that a mate gave me. The glass one is shorter and harder to read, especially with my ageing eyesight.
For lots of people it is what you are used to I guess.

 

[Hetheria]

ok, results from the weekend...

I tested in a glass of water... 1.000~1.001 at room temp water (20 degrees cel)

I took a sample and threw it back and forth between glasses 20 or so times (kinda lost count) and then tested and i got back about 1.018...
And i spun the hydro in the sample too to dislodge any bubbles stuck to it.

i lifted the fermenter slightly and held it off the ground and then twisted back and forth, creating a gentle vortex in the bottom which dislodged the yeast off the bottom and kind of kicked it back up into the beer. I think it settled back down again anyway.

since there has been no air lock activity!, I have not once opened the lid of the fermenter at all...

I've decided to keep the beer at 20 degrees and I'll leave it for another week or two and test again... maybe the yeast has just slowed down A LOT.

a mate of mine has some coopers yeast i can pitch if it doesn't drop below 1.010, maybe the yeast died? who knows...

still, lets leave it and sit on it for another week or so. the fermenter is sealed, theres no sigh of infections at all. patience cannot hurt.

 

[wbosher]

..."patience cannot hurt."...that, my friend, is the key

Give it two or three more days after rousing the yeast back into suspension (don't need to wait another week), and then take another reading. If it still hasn't changed, then pitch some more yeast.