Fermentation Question

Redshift

Another n00b question here, i've looking around for advice but there is much contradiction.
I am doing my first beer brew, i've had moderate success with wine before.
Im doing a coopers dark ale which I started last Tuesday OG was about 1.041
I noticed today that most of the foaming has gone so I took another gravity reading which was about 1.019
I tasted the sample and it had a yeasty flavour some bitterness but no sweetness.
It tasted like you would expect from a flat ale but very green.
I expected a FG to be a bit lower but i'm not sure, the absence of any sweetness makes me think it's done but the 1.019 reading leads me to believe it's not finished.
I used coopers Brew enhancer 1

I would appreciate any advice for this novice brewer:D

BeerNut

Leave it alone. It'll be ready when its ready.

willabur

patience is the key, it may not drop below 1019 at all. Once it has stayed at this gravity for 3 days then you can bottle it safely.

I have found before that transferring to secondary wakes the yeast up a bit and drops the gravity again by a couple of points. Either way I have bottle beers at 1020 and they have turned out great, once they have conditioned and aged you will have a fine beer.

Try priming some bottles with Honey - it takes ages to carbonate so be prepared to leave the bottles aside for 3 months. Fantastic results!!

Martyn1989

OP remember that although the yeast may be finished fermenting it can still be conditioning the beer, improving the flavours and clearing it. I think most of the experienced lads will nearly always recommend up to 3 weeks and more between primary and secoundry.

Redshift

Thanks for the Tips, I checked it again just now and It's down to 1012
The foam has all gone now, from what i've read around the various forums the consensus seems to be leave it sit for two or three weeks to allow the yeast to clean up. Taste wise it's not too bad at all and if it was cold and carbonated it could be damn good:)

I'll probably give it another week and bottle it up. I will try the honey idea i'm intrigued by it.
I don't mind waiting at all especially if there is nice beer at the end.:pac:

Thanks again, will report back on how it works out

willabur

I was had a look at palmer last night regarding honey.
He states that because it contains some wild yeast it needs to be pasteurised before use in beer making. He suggests boiling it up for 10 mins with water and then adding in after primary fermentation. However I have read elsewhere that you can lose the essence of the honey if you use it too early. I used it in a porter by simply squirting about a table spoonful into a 750 ml bottle and as I said before the result was positive when left for 3 months.

gothictwilight

i haven't did homebrew for a while. But when i did it i did my mix and left well alone. it always seemed to turn out ok

Redshift

My first brew will be two weeks in the bottle tomorrow, the bottles felt nice and firm to squeeze so I stuck a couple in the fridge for a few hours.
Then the moment came, there was a nice hiss on opening the bottle - a good sign I thought.
Then came the pour which I completed in one go leaving a small bit in the end of the bottle which sure enough contained some sediment.

I now had a pint glass of ale with a nice looking head, on holding the glass up to the light the ale presented a dark ruby red colour but otherwise crystal clear.

The moment of truth at last and what can I say but OMFG I had hoped for something drinkable but this by far exceeded my expectations I am geniunely astonished that I could brew something that tasted this good in my own kitchen. It was a really nice pint which was followed by a second:)
I plan to leave it another week before trying some more to see how it develops with time. but for now i'm very pleased with the result.

sharingan

Redshift wrote: »

The moment of truth at last and what can I say but OMFG I had hoped for something drinkable but this by far exceeded my expectations I am geniunely astonished that I could brew something that tasted this good in my own kitchen. It was a really nice pint which was followed by a second:)
I plan to leave it another week before trying some more to see how it develops with time. but for now i'm very pleased with the result.

Our work here is done ;-p

Nobody waits 6 weeks (minimum) to get a drinkable version of the cheapest supermarket beer. Every brewer I know is an impatient sod, we are all in for the quality and expressiveness.

Sharing great, home brewed beer wine or cider in appreciative company is a great feeling.

wet-paint

Truth. myself and three friends got together last weekend, and shared about six types of beer, ale and cider. God, the chat was nerdy but even the worst type of drink was more than palatable.

leggit

wet-paint wrote: »

Truth. myself and three friends got together last weekend, and shared about six types of beer, ale and cider. God, the chat was nerdy but even the worst type of drink was more than palatable.

Some of the nerdiest conversations I've ever had were over homebrews!

DeadSkin

wet-paint wrote: »

Truth. myself and three friends got together last weekend, and shared about six types of beer, ale and cider. God, the chat was nerdy but even the worst type of drink was more than palatable.

Yep, meself & the old man are gonna down a few home brews over the weekend, he's been bending the ear off me since I told him I started making my own