My Third Brew: Morgan's Golden Sheaf.

[simpletotoro]

I'm pretty sure my wort is still fermenting now, after 12 days so i took a hydrometer reading just then and it is 1008... Whats the deal with that?

Someone just said it should be around 1014 but mine is below that and still fermenting.

Any suggestions?

(I tasted it though and it tastes okay!)

hi...try taking another hydro reading tomorrow and if its the same then no problems bottle when you want...as for why its lower then 1014 ...could be heaps of things ...
try calibrating your hydrometre in water...it should read zero...if it doesn't note the reading and adjust all results accordingly...i assume temp of the fluid plays a part in variations as well...also the ingredients that were used...
i just re-read that post and i think they just meant that if you got 3 readings on different days that were below 1014 then you right to bottle...just in case the yeast got stuck ... i wouldn't worry about it too much...as long as you get two readings <or three as said below> that are the same on different days at the end of fermentation then its more then likely finished...as for bubbles may just be the trapped co2 escaping if your fermenter has been bumped or maybe a rise in temp..

just in case your interested this site <below> has heaps of info...note the two on racking and bulk priming...
also you can buy a 25 litre camping container from bunnings for about $15 and a tap for it for about $2 ...
make sure its the one with the wide opening at the top <for cleaning and sanitising >and rubber o-ring...its got a bung in it with a thread... theres another one there almost the same with no tap hole don't get it ......just get a lenght of food grade hose about 1-1.5 metres and your set up for racking and bulk priming...you can do what i've done as well and drill a hole to suit a grommet that will fit an airlock and you've got another fermenter as well.
link
http://www.grumpys.com.au/manual.php3
remember let me know how she tastes...
cheers simpletotoro

*edit...really worsest grammer fixing.

 

[wildschwein]

Don't be scared of bleach as a sanatizer. Just make sure it's an unscented vareity (ie not lemon bleach). In fact Charlie Papazian, an American Home brewer with a degree in nuclear engineering, recommends bleach as a sanatizer in his book "The Homebrewer's Companion," Avon Books (1994). Just use about a 1/4 of cup per 15 litres of cold water and clean everything in it. If space is limited and you don't have a bath tub or big sink buy a large plastic garbage bin and fill that up instead. Soak all your bottles and equipment in it until your ready to fill/use them.

In order to remove any smell from your bottles and equipment just rinse in very hot tap water which helps to evaporate off the chlorine smell.

I wouldn't use any form of carbonation drops as they are probably not sterile. Rather you should boil up about 3/4 cup of dextrose or sugar (for a 23 litre brew) with an eqal quantity of water and use that instead as it will be sterile. If you're an all malt nut like me you could use a cup of dried malt extract boiled with a cup of water instead. Use a sterilized spoon and funnel to distribute the mix evenly among your bottles.

Another problem is that kit instructions do not tell you to boil the sugar component when your mixing up your brew at the beginning. Rather, they always tell you to mix the 1.7kg tin with 1kg of sugar and 2 litres of hot water. This is not good advice as the sugar can have microbes around the granules that can lead to an infected or sour tasting beer. You should, at the very least, boil the sugar component with the two litres of water before putting it into your fermenter with the tin of extract.

 

[mika]

You'll find there's heaps of people who've used carbo drops and never had a problem and bulk priming still has it's own little traps.
I think adding equal amounts of malt extract to each bottle, depending on your measurement technique is a high risk way of priming. If you're measuring with a syringe or something like that...I guess...and if it works for you, even better.

There's some who claim you should not rinse after sanitising, after all why did you sanitise if you're going to expose the bottle to un-sanitised water ?

Then there was that whole thread about whether you sanitise your bottle caps or not !

All of it's gotta be digested and then make up your own mind.

 

[everythingsucks]

Just tasted one then, tastes like piss. I've got the ***** so bad now.

I dunno what it is but all 3 brews have the same weird taste to them. I can't describe it...