James Squire Amber Ale

[Elderfi]

Hi All!

I attempted my first brew last night, a James Squire Amber Ale. The kit came with a tin or Black Rock malt extract, a pouch of Mangrove Jacks blonde larger malt extract, two sachets of yeast and copper tun hops... and two set of instructions.

One set said to put sugar in, the other did not make any reference to sugar at all. I put a kilo of Coopers brewing sugar in with the brew. I spoke with guy at work who is an experienced brewer and he told me the pouch malt extract would have had enough sugar for the brew. I fear I have overdone the sugar and potentially ruined my brew?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks!

 

[yum beer]

The malt extract is sugar, essentially.
I doubt you have ruined your brew, you certainly may have made it a lot more alcoholic, which may not be a bad thing.
What was your SG, that should give some idea as to whether you should or shouldn't have added sugar.
I would expect your brew should have started around 1.042, with extra sugar may be 1.050 or a bit higher. Probably an extra 1% alc if it wasnt required.
Keep the temp around 18c if you can.

 

[Elderfi]

I foolishly didn't check SG (you are referring to gravity yeah?) I saw on a you tube video that you should do this. However, the brew is sitting around 18c. I kept everything very sterile and was carefull and precise. So fingers crossed! Should I add priming sugar when bottling? ( i have the drops)

 

[carniebrew]

If you're using the carbonation drops, you won't need priming sugar.

Jump over to this thread and have a good read, it'll answer many of your early questions. Post back here if you need clarification on anything?

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/9233-frequently-asked-questions-for-the-new-brewer/

 

[DarkFaerytale]

she'll be right, let it ferment out, after 2 weeks check your final gravity is stable over a few days and bottle as normal. bet it comes out fine (if not a little more alcoholic than normal.)

it's your first of many beers, relax, take this time to go buy another fermenter and start another batch.

 

[Elderfi]

Thanks for the reassurance guys I will check the gravity tonight when i get home. Oh one other thing, I was unsure with the two sachets of yeast so I put one in and about half an hour later decided to put the other in. I dont think fermentaion had taken palce yet, would this be an issue?

 

[BeerNess]

Thanks for the reassurance guys I will check the gravity tonight when i get home. Oh one other thing, I was unsure with the two sachets of yeast so I put one in and about half an hour later decided to put the other in. I dont think fermentaion had taken palce yet, would this be an issue?

That'll be fine, and actually might be better, if you have accidentally added more sugars than intended, double pitching the yeast might actually help. No problem from getting extra air/oxygen in the fermenter so early, after the fermentation starts ( you should see anywhere from 1cm to 10cm of krausen foam form) it's important to reduce exposing the contents to any oxygen to bare minimum as the yeasts are starting to do less aerobic and more anaerobic action.

Relax Dont Worry Have A Homebrew!

Carnie's post link above is a great place to start, if you catch the dreaded Homebrewers Fever, think about getting John Palmer's book How to Brew on your xmas wish list - nice gentle introduction to the neverending world of beer! =)

 

[DarkFaerytale]

or read it online for free

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

 

[hellbent]

yellow text on fawn background isn't a great idea.....

 

[yum beer]

yeah, what the shit is that about.
Had to open topic to see what it was.

 

[fletcher]

yeah, what the shit is that about.
Had to open topic to see what it was.

amen. i couldn't see anything. what's with the yellow on a white background?

 

[roverfj1200]

Yellow text....AAAAAAARRRRRRHHHHHHH




Yeah should be OK albeit 7% abv.


Cheers

 

[Elderfi]

Hi guys it will be two weeks in the fermenter tommorow. It looked as if it had stopped fermenting today, I took a gravity reading and it settled on 1020. From everything ive read, this seems high? It tasted good though, slight aniseed taste but alot nicer than what I though it would taste like.

Should I some how sanitize the tap from the frementer before i bottle? since beer has passed through it now?

Finally, is taking a hydrometer reading whilst still fermenting an issue?

thanks guys

 

[Lodan]

Hi Elderfi,

Yes, spray a bit of sanitiser on the tap now that you have drawn beer through it. There is no harm in checking SG whilst fermenting and it is alsways best to do what you have done, take the SG sample through the tap rather than throwing the hydrometer into the fermenter

Your reading seems high still. Can you take another sample and measure the temperature of the beer? If the temp has dropped too low your yeast have stalled

 

[Elderfi]

Hi Lodan, thanks for the advice. The thermometer on the side reads around 18c, i think it may still be fermenting. ill check again in 48hrs and see. Im expecting a high alcohol volume could this be the issue? when i drank the sample it tasted slightly carbonated