So I have started brewing using king keg top tap system. It has been 15 days now and ran some off to check with a hydrometer if things are working fine.
At 9 days the reading was 1.060 and now has a reading of 1.018.
Have removed the keg to a cooler climate as mentioned in the instructions. What I pulled off has a pale cloudiness to it and comes out with a pretty good head on it (i.e there is some force behind it when i opened the side tap.
The smell is pretty yeasty sharp, but not unlike what you would find in cask conditioned ales when they have started to bring up sediment. (i know this as I used to run a bar).
My question I guess is whether I'm on the right track, and should I just leave it to clear for the next seven days.
I did taste it and it did leave a yeasty taste in my mouth but nothing unpleasant and could taste an underlying beer taste.
As a side note the beer I'm brewing is the old faithful Woodfords Wherry. (no surprises there by the amount of posts on here about first time brewing).
Another question would be, should I bottle it or syphon it off at any point. I've read about primary and secondary feermentation and confused as to whether I should have taken action during the 2 weeks it said to brew.
Gaz
First time at brewing
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gazzatrone
After posting this I found the instructions and left the King Keg in a cool place, I also ran off a couple of pints and placed them in a bottle with a couple of spoons of sugar and left it close to a radiator.
Now I don't know what condition the King Keg beer is in as I haven't checked yet. I thought I would give it a full 10 days before that. I'm realising that all my checking is going to leave me with an empty barrel.
But from what the couple of pints I have a hydrometer reading of 1.008-10ish and a really reddy brown colour, and a liquid that smells of beer now that it has started to clear. Doesn't taste to bad either.
On a side note, adding the extra sugar and leaving it close to a radiator kicked off the yeast and it fermented pretty profusely. I'm just wondering if I placed my King Keg in a cool place to early.
Now I don't know what condition the King Keg beer is in as I haven't checked yet. I thought I would give it a full 10 days before that. I'm realising that all my checking is going to leave me with an empty barrel.
But from what the couple of pints I have a hydrometer reading of 1.008-10ish and a really reddy brown colour, and a liquid that smells of beer now that it has started to clear. Doesn't taste to bad either.
On a side note, adding the extra sugar and leaving it close to a radiator kicked off the yeast and it fermented pretty profusely. I'm just wondering if I placed my King Keg in a cool place to early.
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CyberPaddy66
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Buzz
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fivetide
Gazzatrone,
I started off with a fermenter and one KK and it's all been great fun, although there were loads of things I didn't understand and got advice on with my first brew. And there still are. And I still am.
Get a bucket with a tap for about £11.99 from a HBS and ferment in there for 7-10 days. Drink your other beer in that time and santize the barrel!
Next siphon the new brew into your barrel and keep it in the warm for a week and then in the cool for 3-4 weeks.
That's what they told me at the time, and it worked
I started off with a fermenter and one KK and it's all been great fun, although there were loads of things I didn't understand and got advice on with my first brew. And there still are. And I still am.
Get a bucket with a tap for about £11.99 from a HBS and ferment in there for 7-10 days. Drink your other beer in that time and santize the barrel!
Next siphon the new brew into your barrel and keep it in the warm for a week and then in the cool for 3-4 weeks.
That's what they told me at the time, and it worked
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gazzatrone
Cheers guys for the advice.
Decided to bottle the beer from the keg So i can get another brew on the way, so leaving the beers in the shed to settle. Although having said that, me and me dad polished off a pint each and I'm surprised at how good the stuff tastes even now. (i left the keg in the shed after fermenting indoors) Its been pretty chilly in London the past week, so hopefully cool enough.
Result: a faintly cloudy beer with a chestnutty colour to it and tastes pretty clean with a nice thick white head. (i'm not a southerner. I like my beer to look like a beer and not dishwater)
Looking forward to brewing with grains etc instead of the canned stuff. I know it maybe a little tricky but I think the cans are a big cheat, but brilliant if you want to learn basic brewing.
And if I need any advice well I know where to come for it.
1st Brew - Woodfords Wherry. Not sure about abv% still to figure that out.
Decided to bottle the beer from the keg So i can get another brew on the way, so leaving the beers in the shed to settle. Although having said that, me and me dad polished off a pint each and I'm surprised at how good the stuff tastes even now. (i left the keg in the shed after fermenting indoors) Its been pretty chilly in London the past week, so hopefully cool enough.
Result: a faintly cloudy beer with a chestnutty colour to it and tastes pretty clean with a nice thick white head. (i'm not a southerner. I like my beer to look like a beer and not dishwater)
Looking forward to brewing with grains etc instead of the canned stuff. I know it maybe a little tricky but I think the cans are a big cheat, but brilliant if you want to learn basic brewing.
And if I need any advice well I know where to come for it.
1st Brew - Woodfords Wherry. Not sure about abv% still to figure that out.