Newbie Questions

[panpac]

Hi Guys,
I last brewed my own beer about 20 years ago with varied success. That kit is now long gone. I have just built a home bar in my garage and decided to brew again. I purchased a Coopers kit from Kmart on the weekend and put my brew down on Sunday. I have used the Lager with the kit with no added ingredients.
First mistake - I didn't sanitsie anything - just rinsed fermenter out with water - is this OK?
Second mistake - I didn't insert sediment reducer into tap. Will this be OK?
It is now day 4 with no bubbling from the airlock - reading the forums this shouldnt be a concern as I can see there is plenty of action happening in the fermenter.

So my questions:
1. Because there is no airlock action - when should I take my first reading?
2. Do I just draw out of the tap for reading?
3. The fermenter has no measurements on the outside - so after adding my 2 litres of boiling water to mix brew - I then added 21 litres to total 23 litres. Is this right or should I have added a full 23 litres of water?
4. Do I need to sanitise the brand new PET bottles?

Sorry for the questions but I'm obviously keen to have something "reasonable" for my first time.

 

[jbowers]

I'm pedantic and seem to love taking readings all the time. If you were a rational person, a first reading might be a good idea when the krausen seems to have died down mostly.

Yep, just go out of the tap.

That seems right, depending on the kit. Did you take a gravity reading once you had topped it all up/mixed it in?

Yeah, I reckon sanitising them is a good bet. They are clean, so dont bother washing them. Just fill up a bucket with enough no rinse solution to fill a few bottles, keep them in there and filled for 30 seconds/a minute, and then just empty them back in, repeat with a few more bottles.

 

[panpac]

Thanks for yor help. No unfortunately I didn't take a reading at the beginning. Think I'll wait til Sunday ( 1 week ) before I take the first reading.
What solution do you suggest?

 

[chappo1970]

Ok simple answers

So my questions:
1. Because there is no airlock action - when should I take my first reading? 4 days into the fermentation approximately or when the kraussen has died down.
2. Do I just draw out of the tap for reading? Yep into you hydro test jar
3. The fermenter has no measurements on the outside - so after adding my 2 litres of boiling water to mix brew - I then added 21 litres to total 23 litres. Is this right or should I have added a full 23 litres of water? Sounds right to me but I haven't done a kit in a long time so maybe a more k&ker can give you better advice.
4. Do I need to sanitise the brand new PET bottles? Yes get into the habit now plus it wouldn't hurt really.

IIRC you SG for a standard kit should be 1.044 or there abouts.

Cheers


Chappo

 

[panpac]

so will it still be ok without using the sediment reducer?

 

[Flash_DG]

so will it still be ok without using the sediment reducer? yep, most people on here don't use them anyway.

Are you sure the fermentor doesn't have markings on the side? they are raised but have no colour just the white of the fermenter plastic.

 

[raven19]

Sediment reducer? Is that the plastic 'cone shaped thingy' on the back of the tap?

If so, I removed mine ages ago with no ill effects.

The yeast cake wont go above the tap in a normal brew, so it shall be fine.

(Welcome back to the fray after 20 years).

 

[spazhead]

so will it still be ok without using the sediment reducer?

I used mine for the first couple of batches but gave up and havent used it since, 35+ batches

 

[Frag_Dog]

so will it still be ok without using the sediment reducer?

Yeah it will be fine.

I would try and not open the tap 100% when filling your bottles / hydro jar so you don't suck up the sediment with the faster flow. But even if you did, i doubt it would make a big difference.

edit: (beat 3 times)

 

[panpac]

Thanks guys - feeling a lot more comfortable now.

 

[chappo1970]

so will it still be ok without using the sediment reducer?

Be fine! It's really a gimick in my books plus just another item that has to be cleaned and or can harbour nasties.

 

[manticle]

First mistake - I didn't sanitsie anything - just rinsed fermenter out with water - is this OK?

I wouldn't recommend doing this again. You might be lucky but I'd invest in some good sanitiser or learn to use chlorine bleach properly. At the very least boiling water but my recommendation would be to use that after chlorine (helps drive away the residue as well as doing a bit of extra sanitising on its own).

Second mistake - I didn't insert sediment reducer into tap. Will this be OK?

Sediment reducers are a big pain in the rear from my experience. There are better ways to reduce the sediment you get in a brew. Read up on fining and cold conditioning

It is now day 4 with no bubbling from the airlock - reading the forums this shouldnt be a concern as I can see there is plenty of action happening in the fermenter.

Correct

So my questions:
1. Because there is no airlock action - when should I take my first reading?

First reading should have been taken just before pitching the yeast. Because it's a straight KK kit, this is not really a concern as the OG will most likely be around 1040 and be pretty standard. It's just good practice for anytime you play around with other types of brewing. A main reason I'd recommend it even for simple brewing is that dropping gravity is a surefire way to tell that the brew is fermenting (so then no airlock action doesn't become a concern).

Since you mised that one, wait till krausen has died off as others have said.

2. Do I just draw out of the tap for reading?

Yes - into the hydrometer tube (if yours came with one - something tall and thin with enouigh volume for the hydrometer to float in will suffice). Discard or drink the first little bit as it may give a false reading.

3. The fermenter has no measurements on the outside - so after adding my 2 litres of boiling water to mix brew - I then added 21 litres to total 23 litres. Is this right or should I have added a full 23 litres of water?

Total = 23. Next time your fermenter is clean, measure where 23 L sits and make some increment markings on the side with a permanent marker.

4. Do I need to sanitise the brand new PET bottles?

I would - a quick rinse and sanitise.

Sorry for the questions but I'm obviously keen to have something "reasonable" for my first time.

Keep the temperature constant and around 20, leave the brew for a few more days after it's finished fermenting and if you can put it in a fridge for another few days do that too. Should get something more than reasonable if you do that.

 

[panpac]

First brew update - bottled on Saturday - OG remained steady for 3 days. I tasted samples and they tasted like warm, flat beer so that's a good start i guess.
Brew seemed to be quite clear with a good aroma.
Now the hard part - waiting 2 weeks........................

 

[Frag_Dog]

First brew update - bottled on Saturday - OG remained steady for 3 days. I tasted samples and they tasted like warm, flat beer so that's a good start i guess.
Brew seemed to be quite clear with a good aroma.
Now the hard part - waiting 2 weeks........................

Just start your next brew..... That will help the weeks pass. Nothing worse then finnishing your last beer when you don't have anymore on the way...

 

[Yeastie Beastie]

2. Do I just draw out of the tap for reading?

Taps in my eyes are bacteria fun parks.
My tap does not get opened until it is time to bottle, then I spray a small amount of sanitizer up there 'just in case'.
I do however take readings daily. My airlock are the non 's' bend type, off the shelf ones with a lid and a tube in the centre. I simply sanitize a length of airline tube, take the lid off my airlock, stick that tube down there, syphon out some liquid and take the reading from that.

 

[apd]

First brew update - bottled on Saturday - OG remained steady for 3 days...

panpac, I'm assuming 'OG' was a typo but just in case:

OG = Original Gravity which is the Specific Gravity (SG) that your beer starts at. You get your OG by taking a hydrometer reading before pitching your yeast as manticle said above.
FG = Final Gravity which is the SG your beer ends at.

Good luck with your two week wait.


Andrew

 

[panpac]

So is the colour/taste at bottling a good indicator of the beer quality down the track? Can you normally expect a bad beer is the colour/taste isn't great at bottling stage?

 

[MarkMc]

3. The fermenter has no measurements on the outside - so after adding my 2 litres of boiling water to mix brew - I then added 21 litres to total 23 litres. Is this right or should I have added a full 23 litres of water?

Should be 23 litres total - so 2 litres of boiling plus 1 litre of goo out of the can - then another 20 to top up.

This does not have to be exact, and a number of brewers drop to 20 or even 18 to get slightly higher alc% or stronger flavour.

 

[bum]

Total = 23. Next time your fermenter is clean, measure where 23 L sits and make some increment markings on the side with a permanent marker.

This is debatable. The 23l mark on the Coopers brand fermenters is about 25l, if memory serves, but their instructions (wonderful documents of truth that they are) tell you to fill up to this mark. My assumption would be that the kits are designed to be made up to the 25l with 2l under the tap not getting bottled. I know I've bottled more than 23l by following the kit instructions in the past - just required some judicious tilting.

Anyway, my point may be somewhat pedantic and if the 23l only does fall short of what Coopers suggest it'll most likely turn out a better beer anyway.

 

[manticle]

This is debatable. The 23l mark on the Coopers brand fermenters is about 25l, if memory serves, but their instructions (wonderful documents of truth that they are) tell you to fill up to this mark. My assumption would be that the kits are designed to be made up to the 25l with 2l under the tap not getting bottled. I know I've bottled more than 23l by following the kit instructions in the past - just required some judicious tilting.

Anyway, my point may be somewhat pedantic and if the 23l only does fall short of what Coopers suggest it'll most likely turn out a better beer anyway.

From memory the coopers instructions say fill to 23. The Morgans instructions I found on my desk last week say the same (make up to 23 litres). I guess that's why it's best to measure it out once yourself with water and make your own increments.

@panpac: Tasting your beer at all stages of fermentation is always a good idea to get to know what's happening but don't be put off that the beer doesn't taste as you want it to yet. It needs to mature and there is a big difference in beer between day 1, day 14 and day 107.