The RDWHAHB (brewing anxiety) thread

[philmud]

We have continuing rant, and continuing happiness threads, so I thought of start this one. Every brew I do, I have some moments of anxiety over some perceived (or real) problem & I probably just need someone to say RDWHAHB. These things probably don't need a new thread (ironic, seeing as I'm starting this one!)

Current point of anxiety is a kölsch I bottled a bit over a week ago after cold conditioning for 3.5 weeks at 1.5c. Anyway, I was keen to get it in the bottle as I anticipated a longer carb time on account of the CC, but the PET bottle I filled tells me it's pretty close to fully carbed after just a week.

I'm concerned I've jumped the gun and chilled too early. I had 2 consecutive days at 1.010, but it did finish slowly, so maybe I was too hasty. I'm not sure if I should release some co2 and re-cap, or whether it's normal for this yeast (wyeast kölsch) to work quickly for carbonating. Most of my beers take 3-4 weeks to carb after only a few days chilling.

Edit: I'm confident that the priming sugar isn't the issue. 148g for 22L to give me 2.5 volumes

 

[mje1980]

Pop a bottle into the fridge and "test" it tonight, if highly carbed drink them quick. Kolsh doesn't need a long time ageing IMHO. It may just be as simple as it's done bottle carbing already. Has it been warm there ?

Did you bottle at 1.5c????

 

[philmud]

Pop a bottle into the fridge and "test" it tonight, if highly carbed drink them quick. Kolsh doesn't need a long time ageing IMHO. It may just be as simple as it's done bottle carbing already. Has it been warm there ?

Did you bottle at 1.5c????

Hasn't been especially warm, has stayed between 13c-18c in the garage, and I bottled around 10c. Have a bottle in the fridge right now.

 

[Mardoo]

I figure as long as I have that anxiety with every single brew, I'm still a noob. I am also still a noob, but I figure that's when I may be comfortable not saying I'm a noob. Said like a noob, eh?

 

[philmud]

Absolutely Mardoo! This was AG brew no. 12 or 13, still worry about something with all of them. Definitely a noob. It's like the old saying though: "just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not all out to get you!"

 

[TimT]

Did a brew the other day that was rather substantially over the expected gravity (due to variations from the original recipe and some miscalculations on my part). I'd originally been planning to use the (in my experience) low attenuating MJ Newcastle Ale yeast on it - and did indeed go ahead and pitch that yeast - but now I'm worrying that it won't be able to handle the higher gravity and will just leave too much sugar behind.

 

[philmud]

How big was the wort Tim? You could always pitch a second pack?

 

[paulyman]

I anticipate needing to vent here frequently while I get through my first dozen or so AG brews, number 2 didn't go so well.

 

[paulyman]

Did a brew the other day that was rather substantially over the expected gravity...

My second was substantially under, maybe we should merge our errors and hit our targets perfectly.

 

[TimT]

True Prince Imperial. Was going for a gravity around 1.046, it was up at 1.058. Meh, I'm going to let it run its course for now. I think the rising temps this week will help it ferment out.

 

[mje1980]

Hasn't been especially warm, has stayed between 13c-18c in the garage, and I bottled around 10c. Have a bottle in the fridge right now.

Bottling at 10c may contribute. I can't remember exactly but I think it's because at colder temps there is more co2 in solution. It'll most likely be fine though, maybe a little more carbed than you'd like.

 

[squirt in the turns]

Bottling at 10c may contribute. I can't remember exactly but I think it's because at colder temps there is more co2 in solution. It'll most likely be fine though, maybe a little more carbed than you'd like.

Will depend on how warm the beer got after fermentation started to slow down/stop. A lager fermented at 10°C, and which is never allowed to rise above that temperature, will have substantially more dissolved CO2 than a beer that was allowed to warm up, or fermented warm. Calculators such as the tools in Beersmith can work this stuff out.

It requires higher than atmospheric pressure to get more CO2 into solution - CO2 will not re-dissolve or somehow otherwise get into the beer just by lowering the temperature again. So if a beer has been allowed to warm up, factor in the highest temperature it has been at to calculate residual CO2, and thus how much priming sugar it'll need. Temperature of the beer at bottling time has little impact, as I understand it.

 

[philmud]

That's my understanding too. I have the kölsch a few days at 20c at the end of fermentation, so I based the priming calcs on this.

 

[contrarian]

Was trying to brew a RIS last night but after a 3 hour boil finishing at 1am I had too much volume and an SG of 1.070 instead of 1.088, looks like there'll be some DME on my next shopping list.

 

[TheWiggman]

I stress every time I do a yeast starter and I don't see any action.
Crap, the yeast is dead!
The beer is in the cube with hops, I don't want grass!
I put the wort in while it was too hot, shit!

Turn stir plate off, settles, worst nightmares confirmed. Contemplate ordering more yeast.

5h later it's gone milky white with a thin krausen away. RDWHAHB dickhead (again).

 

[philmud]

Hasn't been especially warm, has stayed between 13c-18c in the garage, and I bottled around 10c. Have a bottle in the fridge right now.

Ok, drinking this now. Aside from tasting pretty green, it's also very carbonated. I might "burp" the bottles and cross my fingers that this works out :s

 

[TheWiggman]

Maybe just leave one bottle aside in a special insulated area to see how much it would have actually carbed up in the long run? At least that's what I'd do, to get a gauge on the possible outcome.
Burping bottles... yes that would certainly get my anxiety up.

 

[philmud]

Yeah, it's not ideal but I think the probability of bottle bombs is high, so it's as much a safety measure as a beer improvement one. I agree though, a tester could be in order to see if I'll have dodged a bullet.

 

[manticle]

I made some beer. Will it turn out ok?!?

 

[jyo]

I don't stress out about any of my brews anymore.

However, I do check the fermenting fridge most mornings at 6:30 before heading to work, constantly find myself thinking about my beer during the day, ring and ask my wife to swirl my starters during the day sometimes, and wonder whether the neighbours playing One Direction and Taylor Swift is going to have a negative impact on the final product of my beer.

So, no. All is good here.