Back in the saddle

[inthedark]

Right then, after my last disaster, it's time to have another go.

From the last time, I think I learned that:

1. Need to get more O2 into the mix
2. Yeast on the tin is suspect
3. Can't leave temperature to chance

So, for 1 I've used one of the paint mixing paddles as suggested by someone else here - didn't fit into my cordless drill's chuck so had to carefully use the high speed corded drill - lots of scope for mess making!

2 - bought some Safale S04 and used that instead.

3 - built a thermostatically-controlled light bulb (thanks for that suggestion, whoever that was!) and found a cupboard where I can keep the temperature pretty stable.

Pitched yesterday, and it's bubbling away nicely now. Here's hoping second time I'll get something drinkable...

[oxford brewer]

Right then, after my last disaster, it's time to have another go.

From the last time, I think I learned that:

1. Need to get more O2 into the mix
2. Yeast on the tin is suspect
3. Can't leave temperature to chance

So, for 1 I've used one of the paint mixing paddles as suggested by someone else here - didn't fit into my cordless drill's chuck so had to carefully use the high speed corded drill - lots of scope for mess making!

2 - bought some Safale S04 and used that instead.

3 - built a thermostatically-controlled light bulb (thanks for that suggestion, whoever that was!) and found a cupboard where I can keep the temperature pretty stable.

Pitched yesterday, and it's bubbling away nicely now. Here's hoping second time I'll get something drinkable...

No1.
Did that today for the first time and it is soooo easy aerating this way(cheers DaaB...i think)

No2.
Safale-04 is good,i have also had fair reults with Danstar Nottingham yeast and SafebrewT-58

No3.
My latest brew is about 5 hours old(strong activity from the airlock(40/min) and is at 22c in the dining room.Temp will drop a degree or so in the next week(if i can stop the wife whacking up the heating )

Hope this beer is drinkable for you,just dont be put off by a few bad results!

[inthedark]

Well, after one week, the bubbles stopped coming out of the airlock and two readings a day apart confirmed that it had stopped at 1012. It tasted incredibly bitter though, and was very cloudy. I decided to leave it another week to see how things went.

The second week having past, I cracked the lid again today. Gravity still at 1012 but it now tastes of beer! Still quite bitter, but not as wincingly as last week. Some other beery flavours are also coming through.

It's almost clear too - not completely but pretty damn close.

So - can I bottle or barrel it now? Will it clear further during conditioning? Will I be able to wait that long?

[inthedark]

10 days in the fermenter then straight to the barrel

or, if bottling

wait for a steady SG then leave for a further week at least before bottling. (which is pretty much what I have done with my latest brew)

So I have the choice of doing either now then?

[guest5234]

Those are just guidelines.

When bottling it pays to leave it in the fermenter a little longer as it will mature quicker and cut down on the sediment. (beer matures better in volume).

When barreling, 10 days in the fermenter allows for complete fermentation and allows for some of the sediment to drop out before transfering. The keg is in effect a secondary fermenter and will mature beer just as well as if it were in a secondary fermenter.

These are just my guidlines for 2 different instances, your beer wont be ruined if you you decide to try other timings.

If you leave it in a carboy for a time till it becomes clear before bottling, will there be another yeast in suspension for the bottle conditioning to take place.

[inthedark]

Right then, I've decided not to bottle this lot, seeing as it'll be ready around Christmas so I shouldn't have any problems getting through it before it's past it. Primed and racked to a keg this evening and put it back in the same cupboard as it was fermented (at the same temp).

Should I move it to somewhere cooler after a period, or just leave it in there? I might need the space for the next brew

[inthedark]

If you have somewhere around 13 deg then put it there after a week.

I don't think anywhere indoors is going to be that low - is the shed likely to be stable enough? I don't want to risk it getting too cold at this late stage!

[inthedark]

My legendary patience appears to be deserting me I just had to pour a little off to gauge progress (actually it's a learning thing - what does 'too early' mean in real terms!!)

I opened the tap and promptly got a pint of foam. It shot out of the barrel at quite a rate. I guess that gravity (the newtonian kind) pushes it out a bit quicker when it's full - is that the only reason? I obviously don't have a problem with the amount of CO2 in the brew...

Tastes not bad though - not completely clear but that might have been partly to do with the foam. And the bitterness is subsiding.

[Andy]

I always used to find that the first pint out of a barrel was not 100% clear as it included yeast/trub deposits which had found their way into the tap + tubing. Subsequent pints were always crystal clear.

[inthedark]

DaaB, I did try reducing any CO2 pressure by cracking the lid open to see whether excess unabsorbed CO2 was the problem, but it was still there. it just came out more quickly than I expected. I'll try the shed if it becomes uncontrollable.