admirals reserve

[valhalla76]

Hi there, im new to homebrewing and this is my 1st go, started off last thurs my admirals reserve kit in the fv and it went mad 12 hrs later. Settled down lots now and only producing smallish bubbles took a hydromter reading n think it said 1020 or 1018 gonna leave it another day or so but does this sound about right? Looks quite cloudy at the mo, i wasnt going to add anything to the ale in the keg and just syphon it in there, would it be ok like that or should i add something? Many thanks.

[sjw7]

I think you should be aiming for 1010 of you can get there. I did that kit a while ago and it turned out very well although i think i only got the final gravity to 1012. Keep taking a reading every day and if it stays the same for a couple of days then the fermentation has finished if its near 1010 or it could have stuck if its much higher. If its stuck try giving the sediment at the bottom a gentle stir to wake the yeast up again and it may go down another couple of points.

cheers

simon

[jimw86]

Its only been in there for 5 days so all appears well. I haven't done this kit myself but I would assume you should be expecting a FG of around 1012-1010. I like to keep my beers in the FV for a minimum of 10 days to get the most out of the yeast. As long as your brewing it in the temp range of 22-25'c I cant see any reason why this shouldn't ferment out fine. I would leave it a full 10 days and start to take hydro readings on the 8th day. Once you have a constant reading for 3 days its time to keg.

When you syphon the beer into the keg you need to add 85g of sugar to the keg. Do this before you start syphoning the beer in and you should get a lovely beer with plenty of Co2 in the keg to dispense a majority of the brew.

Hope this helps.

[valhalla76]

Thanks me ducks! Great help, does it need to be special sugar or would normal white sugar do the job? Cheers

[jimw86]

Anything other than white sugar would be a waste in my opinion.

[6470zzy]

Anything other than white sugar would be a waste in my opinion.

Don't be afraid to prime with spray malt, it works a treat.

[jimw86]

But at such a small amount its not really going to impact on the flavours and its a bit of a waste to open 500g of SM only to use 85g of it. You could end up losing alot of SM for not much gain. That and you would have to make it up at a later date to use in a brew.

But thats just me.

[valhalla76]

Thanks all! Much appreciated.

[KevP]

Unless you happen to have 80g or so of SprayMalt lying around then it's pointless using it to prime, good ol sugar will do.

[scottmoss]

I have also got an admirals reserve on the go being new to this game I find I stick by the instructions probably a little closer than I need to. The instructions say bottle after 4 - 6 days but in my case this is clearly not so. It is now the 8th day and bubbles continue to rise, took hydrometer reading this morning and is just about falling into 1012 so would agree that 10 days would be ideal.

Rhinoale,

What do you think of the california con wines? i've only done there Merlot and it was fantastic, so good I got another kit waiting for me to start!! Have you tied any of there whites?

Cheers