My First Batch Is Underway!

[Luxy]

Hi guys!
New in town here to making that wonderful amber liquid at home instead of buying it every week! Much more fun anyway I think!

Just after a bit of advice.
I did a batch about this time last year with a mate and it came out pretty good... although, I didnt do much of the mixing and brewing... it was all done at his place, while I supervised (sort of) with a nice glass myself!
But I want to make my own and get a few longnecks made up to enjoy over the warmer months ahead of us.

Im sure your sick of answering the same newbie questions all the time, but I have done a little bit of reading, but a couple of things I just want to know straight out.
I used a Coopers, Premium Selection, Heritage Larger, with a kg of Beer Muscle Improver to the mix aswell. The rest of the kit was originally bought at the same hb shop I got these ingredients from.

When everything was in the wort and ready for the yeast to go in, the temp was about 35 degrees, I let it sit for about 10mins but it was still on about 31-32 degrees. It said though to put the yeast in if its under 32 degrees as adding the yeast was more important than an ideal temp.
So that was done. Bubbling away nicley the next morning everything is fine I think...

The wort has been on about 20 degrees for the last 16 days as im waiting to get my bottle capper back off another mate. Hopefully putting it into bottles on thursday, which will be about 18 days in the wort. It has slowed its bubbling down to about once every 4 minutes.... will it still be ok does it matter being in the wort for that long... :unsure:

Im not sure how to read the hydrometer properly too.
I just opened the tap before and poured some into the plastic cylinder thingy and it read about 39 or is that 10.5 depending what side I look at it...???
Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

People on here have had a go at me for fermenting ales at 24deg and I know that is on the very high end of the spectrum.

OMG, pitching at 31deg is pretty crazy dude and nothing even I would ever consider...let us know how it turns out...like apricot cider perhaps?

Please note that this is NOT a flame job, just an observation

PZ.

*EDIT* - The search function on here is a little tricky...try sticking to one word, or adding "AND" in between words otherwise it will only match exact phrases...

 

[bonk]

Hi Luxy, welcome to site and congrats on the first brew.

as fingerlickin has already pointed out, 32 is a wee bit high for pitching the yeast, however to late now

brewing at around 20deg isn't to bad and hopefully you'll have a great first brew and some of the links/questions here will help you make better and better brew.

what you can do when you take your next hydro reading is have a taste of the sample, it should taste like hot, flat beer. this will help you get a feel for the beer and what it might taste like at the end.

also with the hydro reading, the bit your after is 1.015. sounds like you have the same model as mine. starts at a red band reading 1.000 then moves down to 10, 20 etc etc. so your number of 10.5 Or 39 is actually 1.015. with out knowing your starting number its a bit hard to say if its finished fermenting yet or not.

hope that helps and i'm sure someone with better knowledge will be along soon to offer more advice, in the meantime

have look at the following topics and keep on brewin
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/Freq...pics-t1151.html

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/10_M...Beer_-t570.html

 

[tangent]

and as GMK points out, tell us in your profile thingy a rough idea of where you're from.
It gives us an idea of: Is it hot, is it cold, is there an awesome HB shop around the corner?

 

[peas_and_corn]

Beer muscle improver? What's in that? From what it sounds like it's a mix of dextrose and malt, if so, how much of each?

 

[Screwtop]

Welcome Luxy,

My regimen: Once fermentation has slowed (length of time depends on viariables such as pitching temp, fermentation temp, amount of fermentable sugars in the wort, type of yeast and colony size pitched) I take a Specific Gravity reading every second day. Two consecutive readings of the same SG indicates the yeasties have finished feeding and are now sleeping. Rack it (check posts here) off the yeastcake to another container (carboy, jerry or cube) to sit for 5 days or more to allow it to clear (some brewers use finings at this stage). Bulk Prime (check posts) back into the fermenter carboy and bottle from there.
Don't stress too much re quality, that will improve with experience. Just brew, brew, brew and have fun. You will soon find that your beer is better than many of the commercial brands.

Go Brew.

 

[DrewCarey82]

If its ur first brew just go carb drops, easiest and you cant stuff it up, I've done carbing with sugar and carb drops and to me using sugar is a slightly better result but not by a great deal.

Keep it simple in ur first brew.

 

[pint of lager]

Luxy, do not worry about racking and bulk priming for the moment. If you wish to expand your brewing skills later, by all means follow up on them then. Keep the process simple, or you will get confused and miss the vital points.

For your first few brews, concentrate and get right the following three points:

1. Sanitation, every surface that comes into contact with your beer must be clean and sanitised. After you finish bottling the brew, rinse out the fermenter, then add some of your cleaner from the kit, top up with water, wait 24 hours then wash out witha soft cloth. Remove the tap, airlock, grommet and oring (if your fermneter is a screwtop) from the fermenter, wash all surfaces with a soft cloth, use a toothbrush to get into the grooves, rinse and you are ready to put the next brew in. To sanitise just prior to the next brew, use some of yoru sanitiser that came with the kit in a spray bottle. Sanitation is one of the most important points for any brewer.

2. Temperature control. The instructions on the tin give a very broad range of temperature. While the yeast will work in the complete range, you get a much better and cleaner flavoured result if you can keep it at 20-22. If you can achieve it, 18 is even better. Have a search through the forum, there are many easy and cheap ways to keep the temp down, unless you live in Darwin. Depending on the fermentation temperature, yeast produce different byproducts, some of which are unpleasant in beer.

3. Good ingredients. Best place for these is from your homebrew shop. Don't be tempted to use regular table sugar, even though the tins say this is ok. Sugar will work but will make the beer thin and lacking in flavour. Spending time in your local homebrew shop will be worthwhile. Most people who work in these shops are passionate about making good quality beer and will pass on great knowledge.

Read lots, there are thousands of posts on this board, many of which are great for beginners such as yourself. Rather than thinking up a question and immediately starting up a new thread, do some research on the board, then, if that doesn't answer your question, append to an existing relevant thread.

 

[DrewCarey82]

Ultra brew is the best supermarket booster by far and the same as many in brewshops.

500 grams light malt, 250 grams dextrose, 250 grams maltodextrin.

Gives u great head and full flavour, fantastic with any beer except stouts and darks.

 

[Luxy]

Thanks for the advice so far guys, and I dont mind getting flamed for pitching to high, thats good info for me!
I would rather know these things as I go along.

I live in Baxter, SE suburbs of Melbourne and having been going to the hb shop in Frankston.
This is where I have bought the kit from, and all the ingredients so far.
Im not exactly sure whats in the Beer muscle improver, the guy at the home brew shop said to add it in with the rest of the ingredients.
Think it was a kilo bag from memory, will have to check again when I get home to see what ingredients are in it.

Im planning on getting a second wort as well the weekend, so I can have 2 going at once, this way I will get into the swing of things more and hopefully learn from my mistakes better!

Thanks for the help so far guys....
Now.. back to the reading!

 

[sosman]

I live in Baxter, SE suburbs of Melbourne and having been going to the hb shop in Frankston.

[post="96095"][/post]​

You should also consider getting yourself along to the Bayside Brewers. Of course you would be welcome at Melbourne Brewers but we might be a bit further away.

If you are interested, PM me and I can send you some contacts.