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Pete

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Hi all,

I'm brand spankin' new to the forum, and the artform of brewing as well. My first ever batch, a Black Rock Pilsner Blonde was started on Wednesday 10/3/04, and was happily bubbling away on Thursday Night/Friday morning. It was also bubbling away this morning (Sunday 14/3) when I got home from work at 6am, although not a vigourously as previous days. I just checked on it then 5.40pm and watched the airlock for about 10 mins. No joy, the airlock has stopped bubbling.

So based on the signs I've been reading over the past 4 days the beer is definately fermenting. There was airlock action, a residue at the top of the fermenter, so on and so forth.

I was of the impression that beer takes about 7-9 days to full ferment. 4 days seems to me to be a little too quick.

What could possibly be wrong? What should I do?

Yours in the consumption of cheap alcohol, :chug:
Pete
 
Pete - I wouldn't stress. Have you by any chance taken a sg reading? If the sg is below 1.014 you can safely bottle because it's done. What temp have you fermented it at? if the temp was too high then it could have easily fermented in 4 days.

Chatty
 
hey pete, welcome to aussiehomebrewer.

ferment time can vary depending on about a million different factors. i wint go into all of them now, but some important ones are temerature, type of yeast, and amount of fermentable sugars.
as your pilsner is a lager type beer, the kit may have come with a lager yeast. these will generally fermenent best at cooler temperatures. about 16-20C or even cooler. this will usually cause the fement to take a bit longer, but four days is nothing to worry about. it is very likely still fermenting, you just cant see it.

do you have a second fermenter? if so, using this to transfer the beer to for another week or two, or more, will help in clearing the beer. even so, a few more days wont hurt it, and will help prevent any post-bottling accidents. good luck
joe
 
Thanks for your advice fellas.

Re the temp - I have kept it pretty constant between 21-24 degrees. I pitched the yeast at 22 degrees. The fellas at Country Brewer recommended 22-23 degrees as the perfect temp. Ah well, if worst comes to worst I have got a 15L tub of 'Fresh Wort' Aussie Pale Ale which is due to go in next. I have to keep reminding myself it is only a hobby. The main thing I'm worried about is the throttling I'm going to get by my workmates, as it's all they've been hearin about for the last 5 days.

I took an SG reading just after posting the msg - it is at 1016, down from an OG of 1040. When I took the reading, I noticed the beer was a little cloudy and gassy. After I took the reading I had a sip of it and it was sweet and fizzy, almost had a champagne like sweetness to it. Didn't taste that off, but definately isn't beer yet although it had a beer-y flavour. Then again, I wasn't expecting it to look or taste like beer yet. How should the beer taste at time of bottling? Is a tangy sweetish beery flavoured liquid normal?

Also, I have a sachet of finings, when should I throw those puppies in? Do I have to stir them around or just chuck em in and leave them?

Re a second fermenter - I don't have one but I'm thinking of buying one. Is that called 'racking' the beer? Whats involved, do I simply drain one of fermenters into the clean one and just let it sit?

Questions Questions Questions - how much time have you blokes got?

Cheers
Pete
 
Gday Pete

Mate dont think about getting a second fermenter do it..i am only just a begginer like yourself and was told by a mate go for the 2 fermenters becuase you can rack the beer and cold condition and bulk prime the beer

racking the beer after fermentation of 5 days you drop to your clean fermenter and then place in fridge if you can cold condition for 2 weeks or just simply leave the beer sit at least 2 days some people leave it for another week/2weeks then after this you will bulk prime then bottle your beer

to bulk prime is simple just take your sg reading if it is 1010 for example add 160grams of suger/dextrose to 300 mls of water place this into fermenter and drop your beer

I hope i am putting you on the right track if not i am sure others will correct me as i am just new to homebrewing myself

cheers
ozdevil
 
A good cheap option for a second fermenter is to get a jerry can from Big W or somewhere like that. Only about $20.

When you take your SG readings, it will taste really sweet to start with. As the yeasties eat up all the sugars, it will start to taste more like beer. Changes in SG are the best indicator of fermentation. Sounds like you are pretty much on target.

Have the SG readings levelled out, or is it still dropping?

Wreck.
 
racking is a fancy name for transferring the beer, When you bottle, Essentiually, you are racking from the fermenter, into bottles.

I rack at about day 5, Normally around 1014ish, leave for a few days, Then i rack into my cold conditioning tub, Where i leave for a further week, Then bottle. My CC fermenter was about $20 from bunnings, Which has a tap but no airlock.... Otherwise it wouldnt fit in my fridge

Im yet to see the difference racking and CC made, as i have only done it to one brew, which i bottled yesterday

I dont bulk prime, I did a couple times and had mixed results..... So i just use my little funnel and measurer and boom boom boom

Finnings is supposed to go in around say 3 mark, Ive never used them so i wouldnt really know......

Once primrary fermentation has finished, dont go leaving the brew sitting on the yeast cake for too long, Thats normally why we rack off, then time isnt such a factor....

People on here have all the time in the world (well some of us) So keep asking questions, ;)

Ben
 
-Dump the finnings, even if i dont rack, my beer is still very clear. Finnings tend to settle some of the flavor out of the beer.
-$17 from Bunnings for a 23L container for bulk priming, $3 for gromet & airlock from local HBS.
-Up the priming sugar to 180grams for 22.5L if using Dextrose. Bulk priming is the go, just make sure you get a good mix between the sugar solution and the wort without airating.
And keep asking questions.
 
Hi Pete, welcome to the hobby and forum.

If you are worried, sanitise your brewpaddle, open the lid and stir the yeast at the bottom, of your fermenter back up into the beer. That will ensure the last 5 or so points will get fermented out.

Don't be in too much of a hurry to bottle: let your beer ferment one week, leave the yeast to settle out for another week. Heck, even four weeks sitting in the primary won't hurt your beer unless the temp is in the forties!

As well as giving yeast time to settle out, unwanted volatiles have a chance to come out of the beer and permeate into the atmosphere, whereas once capped, nothing gets in or out the bottle.

Racking to a jerry gives you a chance to age the beer a bit longer without preventing you from starting another batch. You can also dryhop, lager etc. You can also bulk prime, a great time saver

FWIW, I have a doppelbock in a cube in my fridge since mid Jan, will bottle that end May



Jovial Monk
 
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