AG#1 (A return to brewing after 16 years)

[DarloDave]

I've had some yeasts that seem to have been giving up then for some reason kick started into life again, so just give it time and it should slowly drop down.

Also, good to see another brewer based near boro on here

[Jon474]

It is with great sadness that I must report the death of AG#2.

SG stopped at 1.027 on Tuesday.

Attempts to rouse with stirring, the addition of a second yeast starter and finally, aeration with great (possibly violent) agitation, sadly all proved unsuccessful and a final reading this morning confirmed that SG had indeed remained at 1.025

No flowers at the family's request but donations can be sent to the British Red Cross.

J

[Jon474]

Well. I didn't tip it away it away. As someone on here suggested, I left the body in a corner. Left it well alone. Lots of CO2 is getting produced because the lid on the FV is bulging.

Down to 5.8 Brix.

Smells okay. It's just taking a very long time.

Probably the cold weather/cold nights are stopping the yeast in its tracks once the temperature drops below 15C and the lag time to get the yeast active again is longer than it takes for the beer to warm uo during the day and then be cooled again at night. It can't be getting warm enough.

J

[delboy]

Well. I didn't tip it away it away. As someone on here suggested, I left the body in a corner. Left it well alone. Lots of CO2 is getting produced because the lid on the FV is bulging.

Down to 5.8 Brix.

Smells okay. It's just taking a very long time.

Probably the cold weather/cold nights are stopping the yeast in its tracks once the temperature drops below 15C and the lag time to get the yeast active again is longer than it takes for the beer to warm uo during the day and then be cooled again at night. It can't be getting warm enough.

J

How come your bucket is bulging, are you not allowing the co2 to escape by cracking the lid or putting on an airlock, you don't want a fermenter blowing the lid off and emptying its contents all over the place.

[Jon474]

Cheers delboy, I have cracked ithe lid now, no fear. Bear in mind I thought this brew was dead and buried and I was going to be away in Bristol most of the week so I did not hurl the beer into the compost bin but instead sealed up the lid and stuck it in the backroom and left it. No-one was more surprised than me to see, on my return from Bristol, evidence of continuing activity - a bulging lid on the FV and a 0.4 point drop in the Brix reading.

I am struggling to understand the WLP005 yeast I am using. I made up another batch last Sunday (AG3) and put in my last tube of WLP005 (via a 750ml starter) and all seemed to go well for three days. Thick coffee coloured head, bubbles, lots of sediment forming on the base of the FV. Reading first thing Weds said 6.2 Brix - reading last night 6.1 Brix. Still evidence of bubbles and a small thin head on the FV but no drop in SG. I am still rousing this yeast but it won't be safe to do so for much longer.

I am beginning to think that either I have the witches curse, or my temperature control is poor. Perhaps the cold overnight temperatures (it has been very cold here in N Yorks) are causing the yeast to go dormant but that the rise in temperature the next day is not sustained for long enough to let the yeast reactivate and start working again? Does that make sense? In an attempt to sort this out (I cannot yet build an FV fridge)I have nicked an Aleman idea from another thread and bought a 50W immersion aquarium heater. I have put the FV into a water bath and put the heater in along the bottom of the tub. I've set it to 20C so I'll see what happens.

J

[Jon474]

Make way for the numpty.

Okay...lesson learned now. Learn how to use your equipment before it really matters. Tonight I had a series of a humbling moments...d'oh.

I've got two batches of beer on the go both of which have stopped at around 6 Brix. I can't get them to move from this number. I have worried about this, despaired, agonised, gone over my processes again and again - have I introduced some contaminant into my system? Tonight I thought I would do a couple of hydrometer readings to prove that I could use a hydrometer before finally writing off both batches. Hmm..after temperature correction AG2 was at SG 1.016...and AG3 at SG 1.020. Hang on...refractometer says 6 Brix = SG 1.024...what's up here. So, after far too long a period of time and after my humble "not-so-smart-after-all-are-you?" moment, I finally learned what a Brix refractometer measures and, more importantly, (thanks to GW's Beer Engine for this) what it doesn't ,and so what the Brix readings I have been taking actually mean.

As a result I have casked AG2 tonight. FG 1.016 is done enough for me. It's been in the secondary for ten days after all. Discovered that my racking tube is too wide - it's 12.7mm ID and to my mind allowed too much of a vortex to form in the tube giving rise to appearances of frothing/aeration in the body of the tube itself. I will move down to 6mm hose before I rack off AG3. Still, I am now the proud father of 10L of a fine looking, almost perfectly clear, great smelling beer. I tasted the leftovers and they were pretty good as well. It's not too high on the ABV scale - I think I worked it out at 3.53% (but after tonight I am not certain about anything anymore) - but it will do as my first AG attempt. Have named this brew "HTFDTEGF? Ale". I'll give it four weeks in the cask and then stick it into some recycled London Pride bottles.

Thanks to those who gave me help/support over the last two weeks.

J

[Jon474]

Well...cracked open a bottle of this tonight. There was no AG1 in the end - it went down the sink, sadly - but AG2 was in a cask for a month and it's been in the bottle for three weeks, so plenty of time to start working on its stuff.

Verdict...a gentle fffff on opening the bottle. Smells good. Looks reasonable. Not a bad mouthfeel. Slight haze. Nice Fuggles aroma and a deep but pleasant Challenger taste. It didn't ferment far enough and so it is lacking in ABV (just 2.6%) and could have done with that tang that comes with a higher alcohol level but I have drunk worse light beers. However, I think it will still benefit from a few more weeks in the bottle.

Some pictures of my first brew...



There are some bubbles of CO2 on the bottom of the glass.



It managed to have a bit of a head.



A long way to go yet but this was a start.

[Capper20]

It came back from the brink then. Well done. With the fermenting I have one on the go now in FV2 with an airlock that is at 10 days and each time I think that I can bottle it it then goes on a rampage and bubbles every 30 seconds and relaxes for a couple of hours. I reckon the temp is fluctuating a lot in the kitchen. Patience I think...

[Jon474]

Thanks Capper. I have learned v quickly that reading about brewing, learning the theory and then putting that into actual practice are very different things.

Yes, I reckon good temperature management is one of the key factors during fermentation. Learned this the hard way. To try and even the fluctuations out I am using a big water bath at the minute with an aquarium heater but want to sort out a fridge/cabinet when I get the time and money (and have negotiated with the wife about where it can go!).

My worry about leaving an FV for longer than 10 days is infection - I use open to the air FVs - buckets and a loose fitting lid. I am thinking about trying out one of the 25L closed lid fermenters (the ones with the narrow neck and the red lids) and use a proper airlock for an Easter brew. See of it improves things and if I can leave it going for longer.

Thanks for the encouragement.

[FlourPower]

Sorry, only just seen this or I might have been able to comment on the brix readings.

I'm very happy that it's worked out for you, lets hope AG4 and 5 go swimmingly!

[Jon474]

FlourPower, I would really welcome a Refractometer-101 lesson if you have the time? Perhaps on a separate "Equipment" thread? I have lost a bit of faith in the refractometer - purely because i don't really understand what it is telling me - and have gone back to using the hydrometer.

Thanks for the kind comments.

[kay-jay]

hi

HTFDTEGF ale???

perhaps 'how the feck did this eventually get finished' ale? glad to see it worked out in the end, i'm sure future results will provide the expected abv now that you have better control of the fermentation temperatures!

KJ

[FlourPower]

FlourPower, I would really welcome a Refractometer-101 lesson if you have the time? Perhaps on a separate "Equipment" thread? I have lost a bit of faith in the refractometer - purely because i don't really understand what it is telling me - and have gone back to using the hydrometer.

Thanks for the kind comments.

I'll be honest, it'd be useful for getting the gravity on the run offs but would not be particularly accurate for the fermented product. There is a post on here I think that does discuss them!

[Jon474]

kay-jay
Spot on! Thanks for the kind words. Embarrassed to see how far I have come in two short months - not least because of the help I have received on this forum.

Yes, temperature control during fermentation has been one of the key learning points for me. I have just casked AG5 - Styrian Madness with a final FG of 1.011 from a start of 1.045 - giving me a nice warm 4.5% ABV.

AG6 - Easter Bunny - is being brewed on Easter Sunday. Bring it on.