Homebrew Beer Howto

elnino08

Howdy folks,
My St Peters IPA has been in the FV nearly 3 weeks. Fermentation seems to have slowed now, took a hydrometer readin a few days ago and again today and is roughly the same. Should I get her into bottles? Should ferment further in the bottle right? Sitting at 1.011 roughly

BeerNut

No rush, but that sounds about done.

Sky King

I have had ale in my fermenter since 15th October. Lots of work and away times meant i hadn't a chance to bottle it yet

What do yiz reckon? Will it be ok?

oblivious

Sky King wrote: »

I have had ale in my fermenter since 15th October. Lots of work and away times meant i hadn't a chance to bottle it yet

What do yiz reckon? Will it be ok?

Yea, but get bottling :P

Scuba_Scoper

Sky King wrote: »

I have had ale in my fermenter since 15th October. Lots of work and away times meant i hadn't a chance to bottle it yet

What do yiz reckon? Will it be ok?

It will be fine....
I always leave it alone for 3 weeks. Last one was a Muntons Conkerwood that stayed in the fermenter for 26 days. Turned out to be the nicest beer I have done so far.

Whisko

I leave in the fermenter a minimum of 3 weeks aswell.

2 weeks at 18 in a brew fridge then I turn the fridge off. ATM is great because all the yeast drops right out in the cold shed its brewing in.

Sky King

Just tasted aforementioned ale.. actually it's bitter... which I suppose is ale? Anyway who cares, it tastes great! I am delighted! I would prefer a hoppier kick though. Anyone got any advice? Hop tea... chuck it in? Dry hopping? Hop along cassidy?

Thanks!

Whisko

Dry hop.

Never tried a hop tea so I'll let someone else comment. I brew AG.

Antisocialiser

*update*

So, I cracked open the first of my young's lager last night, quite cloudy and not very well carbonated unfortunately. I think I added too much water and sugar (1kg brewing sugar, no LME or spraymalt) and not enough sugar for priming ( only 1/2 teaspoon per 500ml bottle). That being said it is drinkable at least and dry hopping with Saaz created a nice aroma; I'm looking at it as a learning curve. All advice from the forum was very much appreciated!

Last night I started my second brew, a Coopers IPA with 1kg medium spraymalt and 175g brewing sugar. Picked up a 15L stock pot on ebay for 17 sterling delivered and boiled all for about 45minutes. Made up to 19L approx and waited for temp to cool before adding the yeast and tucking it in to sleep for the night. Checked this morning and there seems to be some healthy activity which is good

I plan on waiting until fermentation has ceased and then dry hopping it for a week. Would like more bitterness this time, have some left over Saaz but maybe some Cascade or something would be better suited?

BaZmO*

Antisocialiser wrote: »

*update*

So, I cracked open the first of my young's lager last night, quite cloudy and not very well carbonated unfortunately. I think I added too much water and sugar (1kg brewing sugar, no LME or spraymalt) and not enough sugar for priming ( only 1/2 teaspoon per 500ml bottle). That being said it is drinkable at least and dry hopping with Saaz created a nice aroma; I'm looking at it as a learning curve. All advice from the forum was very much appreciated!

How long have they been in the bottles since they were primed?

It has been quite cold lately so that could've slowed down the process.

Antisocialiser

BaZmO* wrote: »

How long have they been in the bottles since they were primed?

It has been quite cold later so that could've slowed down the process.

2 weeks yesterday, they were indoors but in quite a cool room, would it do any good to transfer them to a warmer one at this stage? :pac:

At what temperature do you think I should keep my next batch when primed?

BaZmO*

Antisocialiser wrote: »

2 weeks yesterday, they were indoors but in quite a cool room, would it do any good to transfer them to a warmer one at this stage? :pac:

At what temperature do you think I should keep my next batch when primed?

The batch you have will still prime given time, just move to a slightly warmer place, but not too warm!, and they should be fine. Around room temperature, 18-22.

Also, 2 weeks is still early. Give it another week or so. Have patience young Skywalker.

tteknulp

Antisocialiser wrote: »

*update*


I plan on waiting until fermentation has ceased and then dry hopping it for a week. Would like more bitterness this time, have some left over Saaz but maybe some Cascade or something would be better suited?

Cascade would be better for ipa ,30 g dry hopped ,1 teaspoon per 500ml works good 4 me i use dextrose ,i batch prime 140g to 23ltrs way easier

Antisocialiser

tteknulp wrote: »

Cascade would be better for ipa ,30 g dry hopped ,1 teaspoon per 500ml works good 4 me i use dextrose ,i batch prime 140g to 23ltrs way easier

I've got a buddy who is going to hook me up with some Centennial which i hear is well suited to an IPA: dry hop with 30-50g for 5days then bottle. Thanks for the advice tteknulp, i think ill batch prime for handyness this time too.

I've read that dry hopping will cloud the beer and I think that's potentially what happened my lager. Anything I can do for the IPA at this late stage?

1013

Ok, so I mananged to leave my IPA in the FV from the brew time in October, until the last couple of days, (just over 6 weeks in the FV...)

I transferred it to a second bin to batch prime it, and then bottled it.

When I transferred it, it was lovely and clear, and there was a decent yeast cake left on the bottom of the main FV.

But, I'm wondering if it was too clear... Does it mean there's very little yeast now in the bottles, which could mean it won't carbonate properly? Or will there be sufficient yeast which will come back to life as there is additional sugar / glucose to munch on?

All thoughts and advice welcome!

BeerNut

The second one. It'll be fine.

1013

BeerNut wrote: »

The second one. It'll be fine.

Thanks for the info BeerNut!

I'm planning on leaving it in a warm place for a couple of weeks, and then moving it to a colder area, so hopefully it will be a bit drinkable for Christmas

BaZmO*

1013 wrote: »

Thanks for the info BeerNut!

I'm planning on leaving it in a warm place for a couple of weeks, and then moving it to a colder area, so hopefully it will be a bit drinkable for Christmas

Don't leave it in a place that is too warm. Room temperature is fine.

1013

BaZmO* wrote: »

Don't leave it in a place that is too warm. Room temperature is fine.

Thanks. I'm going to leave it in the rooom that the FV was in, and the temp of the beer when fermenting, varied around the 18'c mark.

Should be ok I hope.

Whisko

It'll be 100%.

elnino08

Lads any advice on where to store my bottles. Beer was bottled about 2 weeks ago, room is quite cold and looks like a lot of sediment in the bottles. Is this norm,still a few weeks away from being ready? Was in the FV for 3 weeks before bottling.

tteknulp

elnino08 wrote: »

Lads any advice on where to store my bottles. Beer was bottled about 2 weeks ago, room is quite cold and looks like a lot of sediment in the bottles. Is this norm,still a few weeks away from being ready? Was in the FV for 3 weeks before bottling.

In the shed or attic is perfect

BeerNut

elnino08 wrote: »

Lads any advice on where to store my bottles.

The same place you stored your fermenter should be fine. Conditioning is just fermentation.

elnino08 wrote: »

looks like a lot of sediment in the bottles. Is this norm

Yes, just like there was in the fermenter.

paddylonglegs

Folks, about to start brewing for the first time and these arrived with my kit. Have no idea what they, some kind of measuring device but not sure. Little help?

blueshed

this is what you have http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPKsYsKlWOc

blueshed

after you mix your kit in the FV and BEFORE YOU PITCH YOUR YEAST you will put a small sample into the tube then drop the hydrometer into the tube and you get your OG = origanal gravity.

just before you bottle your brew you do the same and get your FG = final gravity.

then it's back to school OG - FG then divide by 7.64 then + .5 to get the strength of your beer

cruhoortwunk

Complete newbie question lads. Anyone recommend a good ale kit for an IPA or a pale ale? Or am I best to get separate ingredients?

BeerNut

I've got good results from the Cooper's IPA and Traditional Draught kits.

As with any cookery, the best results come from using separate ingredients rather than pre-made, but you may not want to invest the extra time and money that that involves.

cruhoortwunk

BeerNut wrote: »

I've got good results from the Cooper's IPA and Traditional Draught kits.

As with any cookery, the best results come from using separate ingredients rather than pre-made, but you may not want to invest the extra time and money that that involves.

On the first batch or two, I fairly sure they will not be great, so I won't tinker too much with ingredients, til I get used to the technique and the equipment

bigron2109

Complete newbie here folks, I got a coopers larger kit for Christmas with all the equipment .

Followed the instructions on the DVD which you get with the kit and the DVD said to leave it in the drum for 2 days and then bottle it after that.

Surely that can't be right ? It would be too soon to bottle it I would haver thought.

Any thoughts please ?