Problem With First Brew

[WitWonder]

Not at home now.

I have a feeling I had a brainfart and confused my hydrometer from my testing tube. I think the hydrometer may have been in the testing tube but I just floated the whole thing to get the reading. But I did suspect that may have been the case and tried to open but the top didnt seem to be able to open.

http://www.brewcellar.com.au/beerrange/pc/...p?idCategory=62

That's what the tube looks like.

I'll have to go home and try to open it again. Weird.

The glass thing with numbers on it? That's a hydrometer. Fill the triangle-based thing up with beer and float hydrometer in that. I wouldn't advise doing your hydro readings in your fermenter. They fit them with taps so you can get beer out, you know?

 

[bluejay]

Thanks for all the helpful replies guys. That's about all you can help me with now untill I go home and try to take a hydro reading.

Pretty impressed with this forum so far. I'm sure I'll frequent it quite often as I progress with my brewing

 

[manticle]

From your description I thought that might be the case bluejay.

Cylindrical thing with triangle base = testing tube. Glass stick with bulb at the bottom filled with lead = hydrometer.

 

[bluejay]

Actually anothe question came to mind. How do you get an accurate temperature reading with the adhestive thermometer. On mine the scale goes up by 2 degrees at a time, and 2 consecutive are always highlighted (one in blue, the other in green, from memory). Is the real temperature an average of both or something?

 

[Steve@PMF82]

The green number is the one you want, if its hard to read shine a torch on it

 

[Siborg]

Thanks for all the helpful replies guys. That's about all you can help me with now untill I go home and try to take a hydro reading.

Pretty impressed with this forum so far. I'm sure I'll frequent it quite often as I progress with my brewing

That's great! :icon_chickcheers:

Always good to see new brewers entering the scene. Be sure to put your location in your profile too. There'll probably be a brewer nearby who's willing to share knowledge with you face to face.

 

[big78sam]

I have a feeling I had a brainfart and confused my hydrometer from my testing tube. I think the hydrometer may have been in the testing tube but I just floated the whole thing to get the reading. But I did suspect that may have been the case and tried to open but the top didnt seem to be able to open.

You're not the only one. I did this for a while when I first started.

The stickers on the side of the fermenter are good for an approximation. I've found them to be within a couple of degrees. If you want to get more accurate down the track you can buy a tempmate or similar temperature controller. There are lots of threads about how accurate the probes on these are and where to place the probe, i.e. tape to the side of the fermenter, in the wort, etc. It's not crucial to be perfect at this early stage though, around 18 to 20 by the sticker is fine until you get a bit more experienced. You will notice the difference between 18 to 20 and 25.

 

[BobtheBrewer]

When I started brewing I floated my hydrometer in the vessel too but infection risks aside, it's really hard to read.

A bit OT but I've been meaning to ask this question for a long time. How do you take your samples from the fermenter? I brew my lower temp brews in a chest freezer with a Tempmate, and ales on the cement floor with ice bottles packed around. I've recently started BIABing and after I get my stocks up ales will be done in the chest freezer too. It's a bit difficult to lift them up and take a sample from the tap every day or so. (If using an airlock, have to remove it so the water in it isn't sucked into the brew). I generally leave them for a couple of weeks until I think fermentation should have ceased.
Bob

 

[felten]

You could attach a short length of tubing to the tap, or if you have room, raise the fermenter off the ground a little bit so you can fit a sample cup under there.

You don't really need to take one every day though, just OG and then take a few when you think it's done to make sure the FG is stable/reasonable.

 

[peaky]

That's one of the good things about fermenting in a fridge. Open the door, take a sample, close the door :icon_cheers:

 

[bluejay]

Hey Guys,
Just got home and tested my Beer with Hydrometer (properly!) and it's in the Beer Ready range. Given that it's been in there since Boxing Day I'm going to skip the getting 3 consistent readings and just assume it's completely fermented.

It was actually pretty exciting opening the tap and pouring some beer into the hydro test tube. It came out looking like proper beer with a nice head on it. I gave it a taste and it was a bit fruity and sort of sour, but better than I would have thought. Hoping it gets better in bottles though!

 

[Cocko]

So you now need the same reading for 3 days before bottling!! Yeah?

Sorry, skipped through the thread but just didn't see anyone mentioning the old 3 day rule...

Doesn't mean you have to test it everyday, just saying when it hits a reading and then a reading 3 days later = same, should be ready for bottling..

2c.



EDIT:Sorry: Re-read RdeVjun said so... carry on.

 

[hoppinmad]

Have to admit I've never been that big on testing gravity during fermentation. I just don't see the point really.

Take the original gravity and the gravity three days after you see total loss of yeast activity. In 95% of cases that will mean fermentation is finished and there are no fermentable sugars remaining. If you are seeing readings above 1.016 then you may want to look at problematic issues such as low fermentation temperatures or possible yeast health issues arising from use of oldish kits or extreme temp fluctuations during ferment, etc.

I realise you are still a newbie but in my opinion there is no better investment than sourcing an old bar fridge and attaching a cheap ebay thermostat to it to control your fermentation temperatures. Will cost you less than $60 and your beer making will become so much easier and predictable. Anyway, that is my 2c.

Great pressie and hope you really enjoy the brewing experience!

Cheers,

Hoppin

 

[Brown_hound]

Hey Guys,
Just got home and tested my Beer with Hydrometer (properly!) and it's in the Beer Ready range. Given that it's been in there since Boxing Day I'm going to skip the getting 3 consistent readings and just assume it's completely fermented.

It was actually pretty exciting opening the tap and pouring some beer into the hydro test tube. It came out looking like proper beer with a nice head on it. I gave it a taste and it was a bit fruity and sort of sour, but better than I would have thought. Hoping it gets better in bottles though!

Hey buddy.

Good to see you've sussed out the hydrometer.

Fruitiness is a pretty normal sign for fermenting at temperatures as high as you have.. As well as alcohol and CO2, fermentation at those temps can produce fruity esters and fusel alcohols... I am concerned though...

Sour?

Sourness indicates the very real possibility of an infection...

 

[manticle]

Given that it's been in there since Boxing Day I'm going to skip the getting 3 consistent readings and just assume it's completely fermented.

Don't.

You don't have to take 3 consistent readings - just consistent readings over 3 days that are in the ballpark you'd expect for that brew. This is something you will pick up as you brew more but particularly early on, don't assume a brew is ready because of time/number of days etc.

Yeast is a living organism that doesn't always work to a schedule. Bottling too early can have nasty results and your beer will actually benefit from some extra time in the fermentor before being bottled.

 

[rude]

There is a lot to take in bluejay but its not rocket science .

As you have noticed heaps of crew here want you to make good piss without their early mistakes in the brewing stage.

We are all gunning for you

There has been some good advice here Manticle always chimes in with good basics never tires from it

'll put my 2 bobs worth in & thats if you can control the ferment temp for an ale at 18c you can leave it for 2 weeks with no detrimental effects even longer but eventually you'll get autolisis ( very nasty taste )

It is another way for the yeast to clean itself up so then after originally checking original hydrometer reading you can then check at the end of two weeks to see if it has reached disired gravity (attenuation)

You have a good girl make her a nice brew mate & all the best

 

[bluejay]

Hey Guys,

Sorry Sour wasn't the right description. Just tried again to get another hydro reading and it's not sour at all, but kind of weak and watery, but slightly less fruity I think from last night.

The reading is 1015, which although it is in the range is still quite high, right? I think I'll take your advice and wait for a consistent reading over 3 days. Don't want to get into the habit of cutting corners now. I'm just so eager to have my first brew ready though! But it's better to put the effort in now to make it right.

I'll definitely look into getting a fridge to temp control down the track. atm I've got an old fridge that doesn't really work (it sets the safety switch off) so I might just putmy next few brews in that with some frozen bottles to try and maintain a constant temp. Anyone got recommendations for for good kit lagers for my next brew? Guess i'm getting a bit ahead of myself though!

Anyways, I'll check the readings tomorrow and the day after to see if it gets any lower than 1015.

Cheers for all the tips guys

 

[Siborg]

Hey Guys,

Sorry Sour wasn't the right description. Just tried again to get another hydro reading and it's not sour at all, but kind of weak and watery, but slightly less fruity I think from last night.

The reading is 1015, which although it is in the range is still quite high, right? I think I'll take your advice and wait for a consistent reading over 3 days. Don't want to get into the habit of cutting corners now. I'm just so eager to have my first brew ready though! But it's better to put the effort in now to make it right.

I'll definitely look into getting a fridge to temp control down the track. atm I've got an old fridge that doesn't really work (it sets the safety switch off) so I might just putmy next few brews in that with some frozen bottles to try and maintain a constant temp. Anyone got recommendations for for good kit lagers for my next brew? Guess i'm getting a bit ahead of myself though!

Anyways, I'll check the readings tomorrow and the day after to see if it gets any lower than 1015.

Cheers for all the tips guys

Good stuff, Bluejay.

1.015 is a little high for that style of beer (what was the original gravity? did you measure?) Measuring the original(OG) and finishing (FG) gravities can actually help you work out the alcohol content in your beer.

Trust me, leave the beer in the fermenter a tad longer. Fermentation will have slowed down, your airlock will have stopped bubbling (which I think we already established), the krausen (foam) would have started to drop, and the yeast will start to form a cake down the bottom. The yeast will still be fermenting, just a little slower as they are now swimming in alcohol and different metabolic pathways are used to break down the more complex sugars.

If you were to bottle at 1.015, just remember that you will be adding more sugar in the bottling process. The carbonation drops provided (I assume thats what you have) are designed to yield a certain amount of carbonation in the bottle. If you have existing sugar still in the beer that hasn't been fermented, and still can be, then add your carbonation drops you will have probably more carbonation than you want and than what the bottles can hold (BOOM)

I have always played it on the safe side and given it an extra day or so. It won't harm your beer at all (as long as its not like 30 degrees), and actually serves to make the beer a little better.

Keep us posted. I'd like to hear about your first bottling day.

 

[bluejay]

Gravity reading was again steady at 1015, so I'll wait till tomorrow morning for another reading and then start bottling if it's the same again.

Perhaps a reading on the high side is consistent with the fact that it didn't bubble for very long and with the foam subsiding pretty quickly?

Maybe the yeast (just the one from a kit) was kind of old or something and didn't work as well as it would normally?

Should next time I rehydrate and proof the Yeast as John Palmer explains in his online book?

 

[Siborg]

Gravity reading was again steady at 1015, so I'll wait till tomorrow morning for another reading and then start bottling if it's the same again.

Perhaps a reading on the high side is consistent with the fact that it didn't bubble for very long and with the foam subsiding pretty quickly?

Maybe the yeast (just the one from a kit) was kind of old or something and didn't work as well as it would normally?

Should next time I rehydrate and proof the Yeast as John Palmer explains in his online book?

Definitely give re-hydrating a go next time. I don't ever bother proofing or making a starter for dry yeast. Just a simple re-hydration.

It should still go down. What temp is it currently on? If its above 18, it should definitely still be fermenting. The yeast has to work a little harder to eat those last few points of sugar so be patient. Remember it won't hurt your beer to leave it a little longer... in fact it will most probably make it better.

What was the kit again? was there a use by on the can/pack of yeast?

How many days was it from the start until the krausen dropped?