My First Kit - Is It Stuffed?

[BrownCow]

Hi all,

Bought myself the Brewcraft Starter Kit with a Munich Lager that should have FG 1008. Mine has been fermenting since Sunday before last (12 days now), and the air-lock activity stopped on Monday (5 days ago) but the SG is stuck at 1016. I pitched the yeast when the little thermometer sticker thing on the side of the fermenter was at 28deg, chucked it under the house where it has been at very consistent 22deg ever since.

Everything went smothly when chucking it all together, except I screwed up the following:

1. When sprinkling the yeast on top of the wort i dropped the packet, doh, it only just touched the top of the wort before i grabbed it out, but a very small amount of yeast went gummy and got stuck to the packet.... i didnt think it would have that much effect because it was a very small amount.

2. I forgot to get an OG reading. (nice one).

Ideas?

 

[Parrothead]

Sounds like some of the experiences I've had!

I would say that if your FG stays the same for two or three days, go ahead and bottle. There are many things that figure into OG's and FG's, so if your beer doesn't hit the exact "target", I wouldn't worry. I'm not familiar with Brewcraft [don't have 'em here in the US] - so I don't know what kind of yeast is provided - ale, lager or a blend like some Cooper's kits. That may figure in to your reading. Either way, I don't think you have cause for concern.

 

[Hefty]

I'm currently lagering a Brewcraft Dutch Lager that has ended up at 1.016 even though I was expecting it to go a bit lower. What were your ingredients? They have an effect on gravity readings.
Like Parrothead said, as long as the reading's the same over two or three days you should be ok.
Also, for a rough idea of OG, plug your ingredient amounts (in kilograms) into the calculator on the Brewcraft website.

Jono.

 

[EK]

Sounds OK. I would let the initial temperature drop further when you pitch yeast...but I have had some great ones work out from pitching at the same temp.

I would bottle after three days of consistent readings like Parrothead said.

EK

 

[BrownCow]

Also, for a rough idea of OG, plug your ingredient amounts (in kilograms) into the calculator on the Brewcraft website.

Jono.

All that I put in was the Brewcraft Munich Lager Kit (1.5kg) and 1kg of dextrose. Calculator says OG 1.040, FG 1.006, I am stuck at SG 1.016, so doesnt really match up....

The SG hasnt changed for at least 4 days, so bottle it ya reckon, eh? And just see how it turns out?

 

[chovain]

Ideas?

I wouldn't worry too much. The packet hitting the wort isn't going to kill the yeast: If anything, it could lead to infection, which would make the wort ferment faster, not slower.

It's hard to know if the beer's finished at 1016 or not. It does seem a little high, but I never seemed to be able to get the kits down to the SG they claimed on the labels. Do you remember what kind of sugar/malt you added, and how much? If you added 1kg dextrose, I'd expect it to go a bit lower. If you added 1.5kg extract, you might be in the ball park.

To be sure, before bottling, leave the fermenter another couple of days at a slightly higher temperature if you can. The higher temperature isn't going to give any nasty flavours at this point (most of their work is done). You might also consider very carefully stirring up the trub with a well sanitised paddle or spoon. (Don't mix oxygen in there, and hold your breath to avoid infection ).

If it still doesn't drop after a couple of days, go ahead and bottle.

Edit:

Calculator says OG 1.040, FG 1.006, I am stuck at SG 1.016, so doesnt really match up....

Assuming the 1040 is right, I'd definitely expect to see a lower FG. I'd personally expect something in the range of 1010-1012.

 

[BrownCow]

Do you remember what kind of sugar/malt you added, and how much?

If this makes sense - it was what came in the starter kit, 1kg of: dextrose (500g)/malt (500g)?

But it definitley was only 1kg all up in a single bag.

 

[Canumbler]

Pick up the fermenter and give the whole thing a bit of a swirl (avoiding splashing).

Leave it for a few more days and see if the gravity's changed. If it hasn't, bottle. 1.016 is highish but still well within drinkable range.

 

[EK]

The SG hasnt changed for at least 4 days, so bottle it ya reckon, eh? And just see how it turns out?

I would.

EK

 

[BrownCow]

OK, just because I am a super-noob, and the temp here in Newcastle has dropped so much in the last 2 days... (global warming, my arse!) I am gunna chuck the fermenter on top of the hot water system (sits at about 22-23deg if I chuck a 2L milk bottle full-o-water in there for 24 hours) for the next 2 days to *encourage* the yeast to have a bit more of a go (unlike the aussie cricketers at the moment - minus Gilly of course) and see if i can budge that 1016 SG, otherwise the bottles are out and away we go.

 

[muckey]

I'm new here myself. I do K&K myself and have never seen 1 get down to the FG on the packet
I normally rack of after 2 days of the same final grav. Sometimes I have to burp the containers because ferment kicks over after racking.

Ultimately I dont have too many concerns because I keg the final product

knowing the OG would certainly help in this case because you want to make sure it's finished not stalled but it doesn't sound too far off

Cheers
Mark
PS - gday to everyone else on the forum

 

[0M39A]

with just a can of goo and 1kg dextrose i would definatly expect it to drop a bit lower than 1016 thats for sure. try giving it a rouse and see if anything kicks off again.

sorry i cant give you any experience with that particular can and yeast.

funny though, use a brewcraft munich lager can today, but i mixed in with it 1kg of dried malt extract, 300g white sugar, 30g saaz @ 20min, 20g saaz @ whirlpool and have it fermenting with s-23 @ 11C, so apples and oranges really

 

[tcraig20]

If this makes sense - it was what came in the starter kit, 1kg of: dextrose (500g)/malt (500g)?

But it definitley was only 1kg all up in a single bag.

Are you sure that it was a kilo of dextrose?

Just that you mentioned you bought a brewcraft starter kit. These usually ship with a munich lager tin and a packet of brewblend #15. Its a mix of dextrose/malt/corn sugar (500g/250g/250g).

If you were working with the stuff that came with the kit, it should be brewblen #15, not dextrose.

Unless of course they've changed the kits since I bought mine

Assuming its brewblend 15, your FG should be around 1.012 by the calculator, but I have a vague memory of mine being a bit higher. I wouldnt recommend bottling on my vague and slightly inebriated recollection though

 

[BrownCow]

Ok, the SG didnt change for 5 days, even with a little poking and prodding, so I bottled it on Sat arvo, and i will see how it goes (I will post the results here in a few weeks if there was anyone else following this).

Just that you mentioned you bought a brewcraft starter kit. These usually ship with a munich lager tin and a packet of brewblend #15. Its a mix of dextrose/malt/corn sugar (500g/250g/250g).

Yeah, you may be right about that one. I had lots-and-lots of unfamiliar terms and ingredients flying around when i chucked my first kit together, so it is quite possible that you are correct. Brewblend #15 definitley sounds familiar.

From this experience, I have learnt to write everything down in my 'Brew Journal' as I go, this way when people ask questions i can answer them accurately!!!

 

[BrownCow]

OK, a week in the bottle now. Have a small amount of white sludge sitting in the bottom of the bottles (~1mm), hope this goes away with time...?

Will open a bottle in another week (so 2 weeks in fermenter, 2 weeks in bottle) and give it a try - not expecting too much, but I am a little impatient to at least see what it may be like!

 

[chovain]

OK, a week in the bottle now. Have a small amount of white sludge sitting in the bottom of the bottles (~1mm), hope this goes away with time...?

That's quite normal. Make sure you leave them upright in the fridge (after the two weeks for carbonation), and the sediment will actually go quite firm in the cold. When you're pouring, try not to rouse the layer too much, and leave the last centimetre of liquid (stop pouring if/when you see any of the sediment start to float up around the neck of the bottle).

There are two causes for this sediment:
1. Excess suspended yeast and trub often makes it from your fermenter to the bottles, and drops out in the cold.
2. Some yeast will always stay in suspension. You need that yeast to do the carbonation. As it eats the priming sugar, it will cause more sediment.

To reduce the effect of the first kind, there's a couple of approaches you can take:
* If you've got a spare fridge in your garage or shed or whatever, then get yourself a second fermenter. When your been is ready, throw it in the fridge for a day, then transfer it from one fermenter to the other. Let the second fermenter sit in the fridge another few days to a week, and a lot of the sediment will drop out before you bottle it. You can probably still do it with a single fermenter (just put it in the fridge for a week before you bottle), but it won't be as effective.
* If you don't mind spending a hundred and something dollars, you can get a filter from Craftbrewer (see sponsor link up the top). That's probably overkill for you though, and you'd want to discuss it with others first, but would allow you to produce really clear beers.

There's not much you can do about the second cause. If you ever get around to kegging, the priming sediment is eliminated though, because most people carbonate their kegs with pressure instead of priming.

Edit: Clarify when to put in the fridge

 

[BrownCow]

Ok, thanks for that Mark, will keep that in mind for future brews. I probably disturbed the fermenter too much as well when moving from under the house, all the way up to the kitchen before bottling. I will be a little more organised next time, as I have an area to do everything without moving the fermenter from start to finish....

 

[Thunderlips]

Doesn't that Munich lager kit came with a proper lager yeast?
Brewing it at ale temps of 22c and above might make it taste a bit, er, funny.

 

[BrownCow]

Does it? oh well, I was sort of resigned to screwing the first one up.

But do I have a Black Rock Dry Larger (with some Hops in there, and a Saflager yeast) in the fermenter at the moment, due to be bottled this weekend. It is in my old fridge (got one of those FridgeMates - cool bit of gear!) brewing @12deg, so it should come out nicer so i wont judge the results of Homebrew on one slightly screwed-up batch!

 

[Thunderlips]

Does it? oh well, I was sort of resigned to screwing the first one up.

Actually, now that I remember, Munich lager was the second kit I made, a few years back.
My first attempt was the Coopers draught kit that came with the Coopers fermenter kit.
I tossed that because it was infected, or at least I thought it was.

I also brewed the Munich lager at ale temps because I had no ferment fridge at the time. I was also bottling at that stage.
What I remember most about it was how much better it was than the usual megaswill I was drinking at the time, Tooheys New, VB etc.
I was totally surprised because I really didn't expect it.
I had a big smile on my face and from then on I was hooked.
Kegs soon followed