Second Brew going well

[Damfoose]

I learnt alot from my first batch, It has been kegged and now moved to the garage after 2 days in the house the garage is a few degrees cooler than the house. So yay me first batch should be drinkable in a few weeks im going to start on it Friday as i start a 2 week break from work then.

So now I am one brew in I have started my second one off. The process went really well this time as I knew what to look out for.

I used cheep asda bottled water and safale-s04 this time the only error i made was due to using the bottled water which was at room temperature it did not cool the wort so I ended up with it at 37 deg C so I dropped the fermenter in the sink and ran cold water around it until I got the temp down to 27 deg by which time SWMBO wanted the kitchen to make dinner.

I rehydrated the yeast at 25 deg so I carefully poured some of the wort into the glass to bring it up to temp gave the wort a really good stir to get a load of air into it and pitched the yeast giving it another really good stir around.

1 day later I have a 2" head in my fermenter and a good load of Co2 coming through the air lock ( I like bubbles ) only problem is I pitched at 27 deg and its fermenting temp is 25 deg seems at the moment 25 deg is going to be my fermentation temp as my first held the same temp.

I hope in a few months when I am more used to kit brewing to move onto brewing using grain I will have to miss the extract brewing due to kitchen restraints and the having to live with the mother in law ( houses are to expensive ) I can't tie up the kitchen for to long

Plan is to use the garage for making the brews have an outside hose tap fitted and use gas for the boils I have been and will continue to research how its done as well as what I need equipment and ingredients wise looks like its going to be fun

On a plus note it will give me more to do on the weekend , Bad bit wife wants me to brew her some wine oh not the white or red stuff but a on of the in-between ones !

[MightyMouth]

Sounds like its going well. I use gas to brew and it works well. I think AG is much better than kits or extract and After the initial outlay for equipment I find it cheaper too. I haven't made wine as it seem that it takes too long, Just do a white wine and add a couple drops of red food colouring she wont know the difference.

[bodmin]

hi
i do wine for my girlfriend to keep her sweet, i use the cantina kits they only take a week to brew and about two weeks to mature and they taste as good as your average 4 to 5quid a bottle from the supermarket. really easy to do as well pretty much brew themselves not like beer which takes love and nurturing. the best bit is they only cost 25pounds and you get around 28 bottles. everyones a winner.

[Damfoose]

Thanks bodmin I shall see about getting that kit..

[Damfoose]

Well five days later this one is still bubbeling at me not as much as when it started but its still at it, I have not taken the lid off it yet as I'm going to leave it until its finished creating Co2 , I think the cooler weather has helped this time around I also wraped the FV in an old puff jacket to try to keep it at a stable temp and Sunlight off it, The brew has had a stableish temp of about 23c all the way through so far which makes me a happy bunny .......

[maxashton]

How often is it bubbling?

[Damfoose]

Its bubbeling about every min or so but not little ones these are proper big bubbles,

[maxashton]

Take a gravity reading mate, that sounds about right.

[Damfoose]

Took a reading much easier now I have a tap at the bottom of the FV reading at 23c was 1014 so corrected its 1015? if my brain is understanding the requirements for temp and gravity. A little high at the moment, so I gave the FV a gentle swish like you would with a bucket turn left then right to raise the yeast that had settled so it goes back into suspension,

I will give it till Sunday before I take another sample to test, It tasted not to bad a little watery but I'm sure it will get better with age.

Oh my Yorkshire bitter I kegged, After almost a week in the garage in the keg tastes good and is clearing nicely small problem on that though I just started a 2 week break !!!!

It's just struck me I as in ME actually made beer that's drinkable ........ hehehe i can do science me ! ( quote stolen from brainiac )

[ADDLED]

Well done that man!
Wish me luck with my fist brew, into its 56th hour in cask, only 616hrs to go! Sneaked a very small sampler this evening just to make sure its making gas and well please to be honest.

[Damfoose]

Update on the IPA that's in brew

Just checked its gravity again it was at 1012 for the third day going so I decided to make up my finnings and put that in as per the instructions which involved giving the brew a very careful stir so as not to introduce any O2.
Blow me the darn thing has started bubbling again so with luck it will clear and hit the wanted 1010 over the next few days so hopefully it will be ready for the keg for Tuesday not that I am in a hurry but it would be nice to get the brew from where it is as i want to change the room around while I am off work for a few weeks.