Progess

[thanme]

Howdy,

So I decided to check on my beer today, and it seems to be going ok. Well, from what I can tell, but I don't really know because it's my first So a have a couple of noob/paranoia questions

I put my brew down on Sunday with an OG of 1041

I know I've read somewhere about what to expect taste wise as time goes on, but I forget what goes where. Is overly bitter at this stage normal?
SG today was 1020. Does that seem right? Not too fast/slow? I expected it to be higher than that for some reason.

Lastly, my final plan is to dry hop on Saturday, cold crash from Thursday morning and keg on Saturday. Is that realistic?

I have to admit, my semi-fermented wort smelt GREAT. I can really smell the hoppy aroma. Very exciting Also I'm over my "OMG IS IT INFECTED?!" paranoia

 

[discoloop]

It's probably not infected and it's not going to taste right til after it's bottled. Relax and enjoy the process, dude!

 

[chappo1970]

<Snip>
I put my brew down on Sunday with an OG of 1041

I know I've read somewhere about what to expect taste wise as time goes on, but I forget what goes where. Is overly bitter at this stage normal?
SG today was 1020. Does that seem right? Not too fast/slow? I expected it to be higher than that for some reason.

Lastly, my final plan is to dry hop on Saturday, cold crash from Thursday morning and keg on Saturday. Is that realistic?

I have to admit, my semi-fermented wort smelt GREAT. I can really smell the hoppy aroma. Very exciting. Also I'm over my "OMG IS IT INFECTED?!" paranoia

Howdy to you NME,

I'll try to answer some of your questions...

Yes it will be a bitter but what you have described in normal.
1042 down to 1020 in 5 days is bang on, maybe a tad slow but nothing to worry about, I suspect the colder ambient temps are at play here. Do you have any temp control?
By the sound of it and your hydro reading your ok to dry hop it now if you want. Generally you should dry hop after high kraussen, in other words, when the foamy mess on the top of the fermenting wort has died down.
Generally I wouldn't cold crash until fermentation is finished which is when you get 2-3 consecutive hydro readings the same over a few days. Brewing involves a lot of patience but yes it sounds realistic provided the yeasties live up to their end of the bargain.
Sounds like you have it under control there.

Cheers

Chappo

 

[QldKev]

As already said, if it tasts ok, even thou a bit bitter, it is ok.

Could be worth stating what you are brewing, yeast, and temps with these posts to make diagnosis clearer.

QldKev

 

[thanme]

Ok. That's reassuring

Reciepe looks like this:

1kg Malthouse dry "Beer Ultra" pack (contains 500g Light Malt, 250g Dextrose, 250g Corn Syrup)
1.7 kg ESB Pale Ale kit
15g Amarillo @ 20mins
15g Amarillo @ 5mins
15g Amarillo @ 0mins (Dry hopping)
Safale US-05 Yeast

Have a tempmate sitting on 19 degrees with a 0.5 degree tolerance.
I have the probe attached to the side of the fermenter covered in blu-tac, and the temperature seems to match what the stick on themometer reads, so I assume that's ok.

Chappo: Yeah I guess I was basis my timeline on the hope that it would be fininshed fermenting by then, but we'll wait and see

I'll worry at lot less about all this second time around

Oh yeah. When you say after high krausen, am I able to just open the fermenter to have a look without risking any problems? I obviously need to open it to whack the hops in, but I've refrained from doing so in the meantime.

 

[chappo1970]

Ok. That's reassuring

Reciepe looks like this:

1kg Malthouse dry "Beer Ultra" pack (contains 500g Light Malt, 250g Dextrose, 250g Corn Syrup)
1.7 kg ESB Pale Ale kit
15g Amarillo @ 20mins
15g Amarillo @ 5mins
15g Amarillo @ 0mins (Dry hopping)
Safale US-05 Yeast

Have a tempmate sitting on 19 degrees with a 0.5 degree tolerance.
I have the probe attached to the side of the fermenter covered in blu-tac, and the temperature seems to match what the stick on themometer reads, so I assume that's ok.

Chappo: Yeah I guess I was basis my timeline on the hope that it would be fininshed fermenting by then, but we'll wait and see

I'll worry at lot less about all this second time around

Oh yeah. When you say after high krausen, am I able to just open the fermenter to have a look without risking any problems? I obviously need to open it to whack the hops in, but I've refrained from doing so in the meantime.

NME,
So glad to hear you have a tempmate. I reckon it improved my brewing 100% once I had temperature controlled fermentation. Unfortunately some noobs can't see the value in it hence why I asked, I know it's a cost thing but it's a once up investment, IMO it's very important to turn out good beers either kit or AG. Anyway I rant on...

Ok no need to remove the lid if you have one of those translucent fermenters just peer in and see if the scum ring has formed and the foamy stuff on top has died away. Oh also remember to spray heaps of sanitiser around the lid before taking it off to pitch the hops.

Cheers

Chappo

Edit Gramarararara

 

[thanme]

Yeah. I spent way too long reading before I got started and wanted to do it properly It's been great though. If it didn't work so well, I reckon I'd be out there every couple of hours to make sure the temperature was ok


It's translucentish Ok cool. I honestly wouldn't have thought of that. Thanks!

 

[Scruffy]

Also remember, time is another ingredient - really frustrating on your first brew! Make sure you have your next one ready by time this one runs out...
Also, Amarillo for your first! You won't want to use anything else now!!! Well maybe nelson sauvin...

 

[thanme]

The main reason for "rushing" is because I'm going away for 2 weeks next Sunday, so I want to get it all bottled/kegged before I go
And yeah, 2nd brew is planning for the day after I get back, but I don't like my chances of the first one lasting that long I can see myself moving up to double batches very quickly....

I've always been a sucker for JSGA, hence my choice for Amarillo! It was either that or Cascade for my first one.
I tried this Knappstein Reserve Lager on the weekend which claimed to be made with Nelson Sauvin, and I think we're going to get along just fine too

 

[chappo1970]

The main reason for "rushing" is because I'm going away for 2 weeks next Sunday, so I want to get it all bottled/kegged before I go
And yeah, 2nd brew is planning for the day after I get back, but I don't like my chances of the first one lasting that long I can see myself moving up to double batches very quickly....

I've always been a sucker for JSGA, hence my choice for Amarillo! It was either that or Cascade for my first one.
I tried this Knappstein Reserve Lager on the weekend which claimed to be made with Nelson Sauvin, and I think we're going to get along just fine too

Do I hear another poor innocent brewer slipping down the slope? Guys, seriously, do hear it too?

I reckon it won't be long till we see the good old "Cherry Popper" thread he was NME is talking?

Cheers

Chappo