Is my first brew going okay?

[Brubaker]

Hello

A noob brewer needs some advice if you would be so kind and help putting his mind at ease.

I started a brew kit of Coopers "Real Ale" on the Sunday 4th April using the kit and a kg of what I think my local supplier said was beer enhancer? It smelled malty like Horlicks if that helps. I am not using sugar. As its my first attempt I am in the dark as to what to expect as my brew is well...brewing.

I need a few pointers of what to do next and when.

On Sunday it started fermenting and a good few inches of foam appeared that evening with the airlock bubbling merrily every ten seconds or so. My bin is semi transparent so I can see stuff going on in there. Now its only Tuesday evening and the foam has died down leaving a thin layer of foam (couple of mm)on the brew, some clumps off dark stuff on the side of the bin where the foam previously was and CO2 production has really slowed down. The airlock is now only letting a bubble through the airlock every 3 to four minutes. A thin layer of sediment is building up on the bottom of the bin again just a couple of mm.

I've been paranoid about the room temp as its difficult for me to maintain a steady temp in my house but I have done my best within 2 or 3 degress.

Basically, does this sound like its going okay and at what point should I test the gravity? Do I wait till the bubbling has almost completely ceased, say every 30 minutes or so?

Also I will have to open the bin lid to get to the brew to test the gravity as it doesn't have a tap on it, if it is not low enough will it be okay to just seal it back up and test again a couple of days later?

Finally, what kind of sugar should be used to prime my bottles when the time comes? I think the shop that supplied my equipment said table sugar would be fine but I was absorbing a lot of information at the time and could be wrong. I have some good quality cane sugar if that can be used for priming?

Thanks

[Mogwyth]

Sounds perfectly OK

Wait until it has completely stopped bubbling you can't bottle/keg till then anyway before testing and then leave a day then test again, when you get several constant measurements, it's ready to bottle. Don't worry about opening the lid I might open mine 3 or 4 times, just don't leave it off for any length of time. As for priming sugar I don't think there is much difference going to be made between ordinary sugar or brewing sugar it's what I use for some of my brews. On the other hand if you were to use honey or molasses cane sugar or dark spray malt, ie strongly flavour sugar sources then they could add a bit to the beer.

HTH

Bill

[Scotty]

everything sounds fine to me, no worries!

What sort of temperature is the room in question? My kitchen (where I allow fermentation) fluctuates between 18 to 23c regardless of time of year and have no problems. As long as it doesn't get too hot or too cold then it'll be ok.

I tend to check gravity after about 5 days or so or when the bubbles or foam on the top of the liquid has died down. I then recheck twice over 48hrs and if it has remained at the desired final gravity then I will go ahead and bottle. If the brew 'sticks' at say 1.020 on your hydrometer, then I would be inclined to gently rouse the yeast at the bottom with a sanitised spoon and keep an eye on the gravity over the next 48hrs.
Don't worry about opening the lid. My vessels have an opening for an airlock but I don't use them, instead I cover with a clean tea-towel and I have never had any problems. Most brewers have open FV's and don't seem to suffer problems.

Personally, I have found ordinary cane sugar to be the best for secondary fermentation. It seems better than glucose (brewing sugar) as it gives better carbonation.

HTH!

[Brubaker]

Thank you both for the quick response. I'lll be able to relax a bit now.

The temperature of my room was fluctuating from 19 to 23C. Last night I borrowed a small portable radiator for the room and ran it on a low setting to prevent the a temperature dip. The lasy two nights have been colder due to the weather. My house is very shaded all year round so remains cool. I'll consider a heat belt or pad next time round.

Fingers crossed I can start bottling some time over the easter weekend. I am bottling back in to the 2 litre PET bottles as I dont have enough glass bottles yet and I'm playing it safe this time round in case I overprime. The other half wouldn't apreciate exploding bottles this early in the game. When I think of the number of botles I have thrown in the recycling I could kick myself.

I'll post an update as things progress.

Thanks.

[Ditch]

I'll consider a heat belt or pad next time round.

Fish tank heater with built in, externally adjustable, thermostat is much more accurately controllable. Set and forget

[Benson_JV]

As ditch said, get an immersain (sp? I've been drinking ) heater. I personally use these, and my dad uses brew belts, he has to fiddle quite often to get the desired temp, whereas i plug in, leave, and forget for a week or two.

[Ady1975]

here's a tip if you're using a brewbelt. I found, as i'm sure many of you have, it doesnt want to be on constantly to maintain a good temperature. in fact, it probably gets a bit too warm when left on constantly.
I use a timer on my plug, it's one of those ones with the little switches on so you can set it to turn on and off every 15 mins.
and that's the tip! it works perfectly for me, last time i had it set to be on for 15 off for 30mins.
there's always a way to fiddle with equipment used for brewing isn't there!!!

[brysie]

dont know if it helps,

i always put clingfilm over the top of my fv`s now.[under a loose lid]
that way i can have a butchers` every day without worrying about dandruff etc falling in and spoiling things.