Is My Brew Ready Yet?

[mishabella]

Hi All,

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year.

My brew is taking forever, it is a lager and has been brewing at 11C since 4th Dec, has this been too long, I just read that it should take between 4-7days, is that for lagers too or just ales.

My original reading was 1040, now 1004, is it ready?? My understanding is 1000 is the reading for when ready.

When I first put the brew in the tester it was bubbling a lot, this means it is still fermenting doesn't it?

I also read somewhere or someone told me that I should put it at room temp for a day before bottling, is this true?

Thanks all

 

[Pumpy]

Looks Ok to me if you have used a lager yeast now siphon off into a steralised glass carboy or plastic water containeer and fit an airlock drop the temp to 5C and leave for a few weeks then you can allow to warm up to room temp for a day to remove any sulphurous flavour given off by the lager yeast .

if you have used a ale yeast then leave at 5C for a week for the yeast to drop out of suspension ,to clear then keg or bottle .

Pumpy

 

[dicko]

Hi mishabella

With a lager yeast, 3 to 4 weeks should see it done. If it is 1004 then it is probably as low as it is going.
I assume at those SG readings it is a kit beer that you are brewing.

Bubbles in the test sample is CO2 in suspension, just let it stand for a while to take the reading.

You could raise the temp for a day but this temp rest should be done at approx 1/2 final gravity, in your case around sg 1018.

I would just bottle it and let it prime at room temps for 2 to 3 weeks then lager it at fridge temp for as long as you can stand not drinking it.

BTW you have posted this twice so you might ask a moderator to delete the other post.


Cheers

edit; I see the other post is now gone.

 

[mishabella]

Looks Ok to me if you have used a lager yeast now siphon off into a steralised glass carboy or plastic water containeer and fit an airlock drop the temp to 5C and leave for a few weeks then you can allow to warm up to room temp for a day to remove any sulphurous flavour given off by the lager yeast .

if you have used a ale yeast then leave at 5C for a week for the yeast to drop out of suspension ,to clear then keg or bottle .

Pumpy

Ok now you have thrown me, this is my second brew, my first brew I just put straight into bottles from fermenter when it was ready, is this why it is undrinkable?

Do I need to get another fermenter to transfer the brew into before bottling?? Also drop to 5C and leave for a few weeks???? Oh this brew is taking forever, so you telling me I can't taste my brew for another 6 weeks at least?

 

[Coodgee]

mishabella,

The length of fermentation depends on the yeast you used.

True Lager yeasts should be fermented at 9-13 degrees and true Ale yeasts should be fermented at 17-20 degrees.

A number of factors will determine how long the wort takes to ferment but the temperature is the main one. Other factors include aeration of the wort, amount of yeast pitched and the amount of fermentables (sugar ) in the wort.

I assume you did a kit brew? the yeast usually sold with kit brews is an ale yeast. Ale yeasts don't normally like fermenting at 11 degrees. they will either be very slow or just stop all together. but seeing as your beer has dropped from 1040 to 1004, it looks like it's done it's job pretty well!!

1004 is a pretty good figure for the final gravity of a kit brew. You can tell when the yeast has completely stopped working because the gravity of the beer will not change over a few days. So, if in a few days, your beer is still sitting at 1004, you will know that it's finnished doing it's stuff.

When you are sure that the yeast is done working, you can do two things -
1. Bring the temperature of the beer up to room temp for 48 hours then bottle.

2. slowly lower the temperature of the beer till it gets to 1-2 degrees. Leave it in this state for 4 weeks optimally. This is called lagering the beer, and helps to give the beer a crisp, clean flavour and settle out all the yeast so it will be crystal clear. Then bring the temperature up to room temp for 48 hours and bottle.

you don't have to lager the beer but it will make it better.

tell us your ingredients and your method and we can help some more.

Hope this helps.

 

[mishabella]

Hi mishabella

With a lager yeast, 3 to 4 weeks should see it done. If it is 1004 then it is probably as low as it is going.
I assume at those SG readings it is a kit beer that you are brewing.

Bubbles in the test sample is CO2 in suspension, just let it stand for a while to take the reading.

You could raise the temp for a day but this temp rest should be done at approx 1/2 final gravity, in your case around sg 1018.

I would just bottle it and let it prime at room temps for 2 to 3 weeks then lager it at fridge temp for as long as you can stand not drinking it.

BTW you have posted this twice so you might ask a moderator to delete the other post.
Cheers

edit; I see the other post is now gone.

Oh your option sounds so much better than Pumpy's, I don't want to wait any longer to bottle, already been a month.

 

[Tony]

Hi mishabella

most beers dont firment down to 1.000

They generally only attenuate down by about 70 to 80%

this means that if your beer starts at 1.040 and attenuates down by 80% it will stop at 1.008.

that means your beer is done.

As pumpy said (imagine it with a great pommy accent ) rack it to a clean firmenter or plactic cube and chill it to 4 deg for a couple of weeks to cold condition and them bottle it.

Bobs your uncle.

any confusion or questions........ just ask.

cheers

 

[mishabella]

mishabella,

The length of fermentation depends on the yeast you used.

True Lager yeasts should be fermented at 9-13 degrees and true Ale yeasts should be fermented at 17-20 degrees.

A number of factors will determine how long the wort takes to ferment but the temperature is the main one. Other factors include aeration of the wort, amount of yeast pitched and the amount of fermentables (sugar ) in the wort.

I assume you did a kit brew? the yeast usually sold with kit brews is an ale yeast. Ale yeasts don't normally like fermenting at 11 degrees. they will either be very slow or just stop all together. but seeing as your beer has dropped from 1040 to 1004, it looks like it's done it's job pretty well!!

1004 is a pretty good figure for the final gravity of a kit brew. You can tell when the yeast has completely stopped working because the gravity of the beer will not change over a few days. So, if in a few days, your beer is still sitting at 1004, you will know that it's finnished doing it's stuff.

When you are sure that the yeast is done working, you can do two things -
1. Bring the temperature of the beer up to room temp for 48 hours then bottle.

2. slowly lower the temperature of the beer till it gets to 1-2 degrees. Leave it in this state for 4 weeks optimally. This is called lagering the beer, and helps to give the beer a crisp, clean flavour and settle out all the yeast so it will be crystal clear. Then bring the temperature up to room temp for 48 hours and bottle.

you don't have to lager the beer but it will make it better.

tell us your ingredients and your method and we can help some more.

Hope this helps.

I didn't use a Kit that was already made up but I asked for the ingredients for Carlton Draught, and I was given Tin of Beermakers Lager (i think) , Malt Extract 1kg, and Saflager S-23 Yeast 11g.

Do I need to get another fermenter to put beer in before bottling, or can I bottle straight from the fermenter it brewed in?

 

[dicko]

Oh your option sounds so much better than Pumpy's, I don't want to wait any longer to bottle, already been a month.

Coodgee's comments are good re his two options for bottling or lagering, and as he said if you can tell us the kit/recipe and the type or brand of yeast then we all may be able to offer some more accurate advice.

A lager on your second brew is a real challenge.

I would also be concerned why your first brew was undrinkable.
Did you get it tasted by an experienced brewer or your local home brew shop to try and get to the root of the problem?

Cheers

 

[mishabella]

Coodgee's comments are good re his two options for bottling or lagering, and as he said if you can tell us the kit/recipe and the type or brand of yeast then we all may be able to offer some more accurate advice.

A lager on your second brew is a real challenge.

I would also be concerned why your first brew was undrinkable.
Did you get it tasted by an experienced brewer or your local home brew shop to try and get to the root of the problem?

Cheers

The first brew was also a lager, suppose to be like Stella, the temp never really got below 24C, I didn't know you had to put water in airlock so bacteria prob got in, only myself and my Dad has tasted it and we just can't drink it, has a horrible after taste, it is very cloudy, and just revolting really.

New brew is suppose to be Carlton Draught, Tin of Beermakers Lager (I Think), 1kg Malt Extract, and 11g Saflager S-23 Yeast.

I wish someone told me not to start on Lagers, I will be really upset if this one turns out crap too.

Do you suggest a good Ale Recipe easy to make that has similar tastes to Carlton Draught, or maybe crownies.

 

[dicko]

The first brew was also a lager, suppose to be like Stella, the temp never really got below 24C, I didn't know you had to put water in airlock so bacteria prob got in, only myself and my Dad has tasted it and we just can't drink it, has a horrible after taste, it is very cloudy, and just revolting really.

New brew is suppose to be Carlton Draught, Tin of Beermakers Lager (I Think), 1kg Malt Extract, and 11g Saflager S-23 Yeast.

I wish someone told me not to start on Lagers, I will be really upset if this one turns out crap too.

Do you suggest a good Ale Recipe easy to make that has similar tastes to Carlton Draught, or maybe crownies.

When you are starting out it is best to keep it all as simple as possible.
Ales are a lot less complicated than lagers
Cleanliness of all your equipment is a must, use a good no rinse sanitiser and clean everything thoroughly.
Pick a good brand kit - a Coopers draught is a good one to start with.
Dont use sugar but try and get a brew enhancer type package to add with the tin of extract.
Dissolve the enhancer in a small amount of water and bring it to the boil for a few minutes to kill of any nasties.
Cover it and let it cool to below 30deg c. Stand it in a sink with cold water.
Add this and the contents of the tin of extract to your CLEAN fermenter.
Top up with water (tap water is good because it is clean).
Make a note of the SG.
If the temperature of your wort is around 22 deg then pitch your yeast. You can get an ale yeast from your HB shop or use the one that came with the Coopers kit.
Fit the lid and air lock and ferment at approx 20deg c for 5 to 7 days.
Check the SG and if it is the same over two consecutive days and has dropped around 75% then you are ready to bottle.
Clean all bottles thoroughly and prime them with sugar. A little measure scoop from the HB shop will get you by for this at this stage.
Fill each bottle to about 30 millimetres from the top and cap.
Store at room temp for two weeks.
Chill a couple and enjoy.

There is a lot of other methods and ways to improve kit beers but if you get the basics right then you can move onto more advanced procedures as you become more confident.

I hope this helps and good brewing,

 

[mishabella]

When you are starting out it is best to keep it all as simple as possible.
Ales are a lot less complicated than lagers
Cleanliness of all your equipment is a must, use a good no rinse sanitiser and clean everything thoroughly.
Pick a good brand kit - a Coopers draught is a good one to start with.
Dont use sugar but try and get a brew enhancer type package to add with the tin of extract.
Dissolve the enhancer in a small amount of water and bring it to the boil for a few minutes to kill of any nasties.
Cover it and let it cool to below 30deg c. Stand it in a sink with cold water.
Add this and the contents of the tin of extract to your CLEAN fermenter.
Top up with water (tap water is good because it is clean).
Make a note of the SG.
If the temperature of your wort is around 22 deg then pitch your yeast. You can get an ale yeast from your HB shop or use the one that came with the Coopers kit.
Fit the lid and air lock and ferment at approx 20deg c for 5 to 7 days.
Check the SG and if it is the same over two consecutive days and has dropped around 75% then you are ready to bottle.
Clean all bottles thoroughly and prime them with sugar. A little measure scoop from the HB shop will get you by for this at this stage.
Fill each bottle to about 30 millimetres from the top and cap.
Store at room temp for two weeks.
Chill a couple and enjoy.

There is a lot of other methods and ways to improve kit beers but if you get the basics right then you can move onto more advanced procedures as you become more confident.

I hope this helps and good brewing,

Hey, sorry for the delay in replying.
Thanks for the advise, I have been using carbonation drops, that's cool yeah?

 

[peas_and_corn]

some people like them, others don't. When I used them I found the bubbles to be a little large, but other people haven't had the same issue. The benefit is that they are easy to use- no fussy measuring. Go for it this time and if you don't like it, then you can experiment with bulk priming

 

[mishabella]

some people like them, others don't. When I used them I found the bubbles to be a little large, but other people haven't had the same issue. The benefit is that they are easy to use- no fussy measuring. Go for it this time and if you don't like it, then you can experiment with bulk priming

Yeah I like the no mess, no measure factor.

Cheers

 

[dicko]

Yeah I like the no mess, no measure factor.

Cheers

I am not a fan of "carbonation drops".

I suppose you just drop them into the bottle and that makes for an easier bottling procedure.

Unfortunately, once they have been touched by human hands they are a real source for contamination during secondary fermentation (bottle carbonation and conditioning).

Peas and Corn is correct when he says "you can experiment with bulk priming" and you can if you want to. The priming method I suggested is safe (relative to infection) and needs no other equipment purchase except for a few cents for the measure.
Once you have got basic methods of cleanliness and preparation sorted out and a brew that is at least correctly attenuated and drinkable , then by all means go to bulk priming as your next step.
Most people who give brewing away after a few attempts usually say that their brew tastes s#ithouse, and this is usually a result of not getting the basics right from the word go.

I hope this helps

Cheers