Newbie With First Brew

[Strange Dog]

Hi everyone,

I am currently in the process of making my first ever home brew. I bought the coopers kit from BigW a week ago and currently have the lager they provided in the kit brewing away happily.

I measured the gravity (OG?) six days ago and it was 1036. I measured it again today and it was 1021. My quick metal arithmetic tells me that this means it is around 2% alcohol. Unless I will be having drinking sessions of 24 stubbies, this is less than desirable. What did I do wrong? Is it likely that I will need to leave it in the fermenter longer than 6 days before it stabilises?

The stick on thermometer has been showing around 12 degrees the whole time. Could it have been too cold? Do I need a heat belt? I have kept the fermenter covered in a blanket. Btw, I am located in Canberra. (i.e. rather cold in winter)

Will the alcohol content increase while it is bottled? I dont know for sure if the gravity has stabilised as I have only taken one reading (I will take another one tomorrow) but I am concerned that my first brew is going to end up going down the sink

You probably cant tell from this post, but I really dont know what I am doing. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[iJosh]

Hi Dog,

I'm new too but I think I can offer a little advice.

Your temp is pretty low for the Coopers Lager which uses an ale yeast. These yeasts need a warmer temp of ideally 18*C to be happy. I think maybe the fermentation has stalled and the yeast has gone to sleep leaving you with an incomplete FG reading. I'm not sure what the best thing to do is but maybe give the whole thing a slosh around and put it in a warmer room and maybe it'll come back to life.

Hopefully a more experienced AHB member can chime in with a few words of wisdom...

Cheers,
Josh.

 

[Blackapple]

Hi everyone,

I am currently in the process of making my first ever home brew. I bought the coopers kit from BigW a week ago and currently have the lager they provided in the kit brewing away happily.

I measured the gravity (OG?) six days ago and it was 1036. I measured it again today and it was 1021. My quick metal arithmetic tells me that this means it is around 2% alcohol. Unless I will be having drinking sessions of 24 stubbies, this is less than desirable. What did I do wrong? Is it likely that I will need to leave it in the fermenter longer than 6 days before it stabilises?

The stick on thermometer has been showing around 12 degrees the whole time. Could it have been too cold? Do I need a heat belt? I have kept the fermenter covered in a blanket. Btw, I am located in Canberra. (i.e. rather cold in winter)

Will the alcohol content increase while it is bottled? I dont know for sure if the gravity has stabilised as I have only taken one reading (I will take another one tomorrow) but I am concerned that my first brew is going to end up going down the sink

You probably cant tell from this post, but I really dont know what I am doing. Any advice is appreciated.

12 degrees is a bit cold for an ale which most of the coopers kits are despite what it says on the tin.

See if you can warm it up to about 18-20 degrees until the fg is around 1.008.

Heater belts are good, hot water bottles around it, place near the hot water heater if inside, next to the dog.

All these work except maybe the last as the dog could knock it over, or drink it.

Welcome to the forum and the obsession

Cheers

 

[michael_aussie]

+1 .. heat it up .. not too hot though .. as suggested 18-20 seems to be the recommended temp for standard kit yeasts.

 

[raven19]

Welcome Strange Dog!

Yep sounds like a stuck ferment fella as per iJosh's post above..

Give the fermentor a rousing/swirl for a minute or so to get that yeast back into suspension.

An old electric blanket, heat belt, heat pad, etc will help get the temp up to around 18 - 20 mark. Don't overheat it though, mind you up to 25 degrees probably wont hurt the beer too much as a good portion of fermentation has completed.

Can you rack it to a secondary vessel? If so rack it without splashing but make sure the trub in the bottom is swirled up and transferred also.

You really need to get some warmth into it to awaken those lazy yeasties!

There are some great articles to read also for beginner brewers via the articles linky at the top of this page.

Welcome to the fray!

 

[yum beer]

Ignore previous advice Dog,

12c is fine for your ale yeast, it will just take a while longer to ferment out.
yes ideally an ale should be around 18c and its probably something you can look at fixing up for your next brew, but leave it be now.

No you will not be tipping your first brew down ther sink...if you want to do lagers you have the perfect temps at the moment, I am not too far from Canberra and
have similar temps and its perfect for brewing lagers, main thing is you need a proper lager yeast( s-189, s-23, 34/70 ). Apparently a good home brew shop in Kambah,
if your in the area, or try a sponsor by mail.

Just relax and be patient, if you want beer in a hurry, go to your local bottlo, if you want great home brew, take your time, read, ask questions, take advice, try things.

It'll all be good. :icon_cheers:

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Hell, as a newb, I would have preferred 12 deg (knowing what I do now), than 28 (normal newb temp) - you can not only fix this, but starting the brew that low (and it has obviously fermented somewhat) will ensure a better quality beer.

My better brews usually take a good week or two to finish off (with the distinct exception of anything brewed with nottingham yeast).

Whatever you do, don't bottle - you will end up with bottle bombs. Unless you're planning a trip to Beirut, it's probably not advisable.

Keep search, read like crazy (even when nothing seems relevant) - all this information will suddenly start clicking in your head, and by that time, you'll be BIABing and the beer will be competition winning.

Goomba

 

[mwd]

Don't know what yeast you are using presumably kit yeast but when I have used Nottingham or US-05 they have stopped and hibernated below 16C I live in the tropics and find ale yeasts run slow and steady at 18C-20C

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

forgot to mention, I ran US-05 at less than 15 degree nights (and the brick keeps the daytime temp under the house fairly low as well) and the notts, I reckon, would have been below 10 most nights.

Both fermented out well below 1.010, so no issue with that.

You might just need a little patience. Sure a heat belt if you have one, to rouse the yeast (I find a little "bump" on the fermenter helps as well) but don't panic.

Goomba

 

[Strange Dog]

Thanks for the replies.

I will leave it for a few days and see if the gravity has stabilised. My next brew will be a proper lager from a proper home brew shop (the one in Kambah didnt have any starter kits in stock when I went there, hence the BigW Coopers kit), and I will get a heat belt as well.

I figured when I got into this that there was going to be an initial investment of time, effort and money and I am ready for the learning curve. I'm in no rush.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I figured when I got into this that there was going to be an initial investment of time, effort and money and I am ready for the learning curve. I'm in no rush.

This being the case, please research BIAB (brew in a bag) - the two threads are "move to all grain for under thirty bucks" and "stovetop lager" method.

If I was a newb starting out again, I'd want someone to point me to this, save me 11 years of Kits and extract brewing and move onto something that is simple from an intellectual point of view, but requires a little time investment to both understand and implement (but importantly, from an accounting point of view, is still cheap to do).

Please, seriously, you'll love the end result, even if the initial learning curve is a bit onerous. Mind you, not as onerous as un-learning all your K&K ideas and starting again.

Goomba

 

[Strange Dog]

Hi Guys,

I'm back again, 16 days later. Just to jog your memory I am brewing my first brew which is a Coopers "lager" using their starter kit.

Well, it seems the gravity just keeps on dropping. Here are the numbers:

Day #0: 1036
Day #7: 1021 (stirred everything in the fermenter after taking sample)
Day #9: 1013
Day #10: 1008
Day #12: 1002
Day #14: 995
Day #16: 993 (today)

I didn't even know it could go below 1000. So what is going on? Do I need to be worried? Have I created a strange super-mutant yeast?

When I measure the gravity I "degass" the sample by decanting it between two cups at least ten times (not that the samples appear particularly gassy, though some gas is visible). I am also very careful to read the hydrometer correctly. Do my numbers mean my beer is now less dense than water (or more dense?). The samples taste quite nice (as far as warm flat beer goes).

So...thoughts anyone?

 

[Lodan]

Less dense than water and no body whatsoever from the reading,
What temperature is your hydrometer sample?
Is your hydrometer correct? (check by placing hydrometer in a glass of water at 20degC, should read 1000)

Edit: if the beer tastes ok then my guess is that it's a hydrometer/temperature thing

 

[Yob]

I'm back again, 16 days later. Just to jog your memory I am brewing my first brew which is a Coopers "lager" using their starter kit.


Day #7: 1021 (stirred everything in the fermenter after taking sample)



I didn't even know it could go below 1000. So what is going on? Do I need to be worried? Have I created a strange super-mutant yeast?


So...thoughts anyone?

possibly infected.. your yeast should not do this... dunno mate, I would be a little concerned that 'if' your hydrometer is not out of wack (which it may be and for your sake I hope it is..), then, given that it should read 1000 in WATER you now have less sugar than..er water :blink:

you can just leave your sample on the bench for 10 mins... is normal to do this in fact..

How does it taste? smell? er...

I didnt know low 9's were possible :huh:

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Likely:

1. Infection (if you've sterilised adequate, this is unlikely); or
2. Hydro isn't great. As per lodan - check it in 20 deg water and adjust your .993 reading accordingly.

Good idea to put your location in. .993 in Tassie outside - yeah, nothing wrong. .993 in a Brisbane day, in the house - infection city!

Goomba

 

[thelastspud]

Hi Guys,

I'm back again, 16 days later. Just to jog your memory I am brewing my first brew which is a Coopers "lager" using their starter kit.

Well, it seems the gravity just keeps on dropping. Here are the numbers:

Day #0: 1036
Day #7: 1021 (stirred everything in the fermenter after taking sample)
Day #9: 1013
Day #10: 1008
Day #12: 1002
Day #14: 995
Day #16: 993 (today)

I didn't even know it could go below 1000. So what is going on? Do I need to be worried? Have I created a strange super-mutant yeast?

When I measure the gravity I "degass" the sample by decanting it between two cups at least ten times (not that the samples appear particularly gassy, though some gas is visible). I am also very careful to read the hydrometer correctly. Do my numbers mean my beer is now less dense than water (or more dense?). The samples taste quite nice (as far as warm flat beer goes).

So...thoughts anyone?

A few questions first

On day 7 when you stirred the fermenter, did you actually open it up and stir it with a spoon?

People didn't really make it clear above but when they said stir it. What they meant was just swirl the liquid around in the fermenter.
Putting a spoon in the beer makes an infection a bit more likely.

Have you checked your hydrometer? All your problems from low starting gravity to real low finishing gravity could be explained by a dodgy reading.

Grab some room temp water and see if the hydro measures 0. If it doesn't count how many points it is off and then add them to your old readings.

Edit beaten, I type pretty slow with a hangover.

 

[Strange Dog]

The temperatures have stayed around 10-12 degrees (I am in Canberra = very cold). I am using the hydrometer that came with the kit, so I will check its accuracy against water.

When I stirred it I used the large spoon that came with the starter kit and before I used it I ran the entire spoon under really hot water to hopefully sterilize it.

As for the sterilization, the instructions with the kit stated that for the first brew it was sufficient to run everything under hot water, which I did quite thoroughly. I didn't use any kind of "sterilizing" stuff (I should look into that eh?)

I do leave the samples to sit for 10 minutes or more. As for the taste and odour, I am really not in a position to judge. I enjoy drinking New and VB and I have no idea what it should really taste or smell like. I guess that is a skill I will have to develop.

Assuming that this first brew gets poured down the plug hole (a situation I was really trying to avoid, very confidence damaging :"( ) I intend to take the following actions:
a) get a heat belt
B) get brew ingredients from a homebrew shop rather than using the yeast supplied with the can
c) get some sterilizing stuff to clean everything
d) replace my hydrometer if it proves to be inaccurate.

So...yeah.

 

[yum beer]

Assuming that this first brew gets poured down the plug hole (a situation I was really trying to avoid, very confidence damaging :"( ) I intend to take the following actions:
a) get a heat belt
B) get brew ingredients from a homebrew shop rather than using the yeast supplied with the can
c) get some sterilizing stuff to clean everything
d) replace my hydrometer if it proves to be inaccurate.

So...yeah.

Hey Dog,

certainly sounds like youve brewed garden beer.....dont let it get you down, you know more now than you did before this brew.

Get yourself a heat belt if you want....you could quite easily just do a few lagers(at correct temps with lager yeast) until the weather warms up a bit to do ales....if you do want a belt try getting a heat belt for lizards/snakes...a lot cheaper than 'home brew' belts..I have a 3m 30 watt belt, kept my brew around 20c with 13c ambient temp.

Certainly worth getting some better yeast and read up on re-using/washing/rinsing yeast to save yourself some money.

Get 'sanitizer' as opposed to sterilizer.....clean with napisan and then sanitize as per instructions( see home brew shop for options) or Coopers sanitizer from BIG W.

Dont replace your hydro just check it on room temp tap water and adjust if neccessary...they are normally pretty accurate, and if it is out your Og and Fg difference wont suffer.



For your own info and learning bottle a couple of your lager and see how it tastes down the track..it may be alright....keep them somewhere out of the way in case there

is a nasty infection that could cause a bottle bomb....use PET if you can.



Better luck on your next brew mate..

 

[Yob]

Coopers sanitizer from BIG W.

Coopers 'sanitiser' contains sodium met which requires rinsing last time I checked, if you want to invest in a sanitiser... and that IS a good move, go along the lines of Star san or Iodophor which are no rinse sanitisers, which is exactly what it sounds like.. beware any "sanitiser" that instructs you to rinse after using.

sorry to tell you that hot water does diddely to kill anyting except your power bill..

Yob

here are some links from the sponsors if you need help finding what im talking about, have a search, they have been discussed many times.

CB - Starsan 500ml

G&G - Iodophor

 

[Lodan]

Dog, whatever you do, do not chuck the beer until you checked the points suggested above and checked back with us.
Even if your brew is really low gravity, you still liked the sample you tried!