Help!

[Broke 'n Thirsty]

Hi Guys,

With all your help I managed to get my first batch of brew bottled and is now teasing me to be poured down my neck! I started a second batch last friday and decided to do a Geordie Larger Kit. I used a bag of Beers enhancer this time and all was going well by Saturday. However by Monday night my fermenter was as dead as a Dodo! This morning I gave it a gentle stir but still nothing through the airlock. Surely this is way to fast as the temp has been a steady 18c.

Any one got any ideas what is going on here.

Cheers

[kfm]

Do you have a hydrometer reading?

[Broke 'n Thirsty]

Sorry forgot about that, as far as I can see it is around .012

[kfm]

1.012 is not unusual for a lager kit. My last few Cooper's Aus stopped fermenting around there. Best to take readings for a couple of days and if remains steady at 1.012 then it's done. If the trend is downwards, let it settle until you have 2 consecutive identical readings over 2 days. As a precaution, if bottling I am mindful of a brew that has stopped higher than 1.010 and tend to ease back a bit on the priming sugars. If it's going in a keg, the PRV will vent any excess pressure so no worries

[farmhousekeg]

.....all was going well by Saturday. However by Monday night my fermenter was as dead as a Dodo! This morning I gave it a gentle stir but still nothing through the airlock. Surely this is way to fast as the temp has been a steady 18c.

Any one got any ideas what is going on here.

Cheers

I think that sounds fine, especially as its now at 1.012 and its taken 5 days to get there - easily possible if you've got an active fermentation going on. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine.

[Broke 'n Thirsty]

Thanks guys for that, just seems hell of a fast, about four days only. I will take another reading tomorrow and then bottle if still the same, hopefully opening and closing the lid will not effect it.

Thanks again, I can sleep tonight! lol

[kfm]

Enjoy

[Broke 'n Thirsty]

This is a quick update to my earlier post.

I decided to get this batch bottled and popped along to ASDA and bought a load of 1ltr soda water platic bottles. Being a lazy bugger I gathered that if I empty the contents out I would not need to sterilise as they should already be sterilised. I mixed in 170gm suger into my 23ltr bottling bucket and filled the bottles. I left them for one week at 18c and they have been in my garage for three weeks.

I tried one this weekend and took a few sips and tossed it down the drain. It still has not totally cleared and has not much flavour at all. It aslo seem too lively, almost like a normal beer diluted with soda water!!!! Seriously dissappointed after my first batch of coopers lager was so good and was drinking it within two weeks.

Could anyone explain what has happened here?

[fractureman]

erm sanatise everything you use
not sure if this is the problem you have but I wouldn;t put my beer in a bottle which I hadn't first known myself to be cleaned & steralised

[Broke 'n Thirsty]

I normaly do, but thought that since they were new and had soda water in them then they should still be sanitised. I literally opened them, poured out the contents and filled them with beer. You could be right, but I hope not as it will be criminal to throw away twenty odd litres of beer!!!!!

[fractureman]

maybe give it some more conditioning in the bottle before tossing away, it may clear up & improve in taste

[podge1]

next time mate spend the extra 2 quid and get the coopers kit that is probably the main difference

[Broke 'n Thirsty]

Thanks guys for the replies,

Think I will leave it a couple more weeks before giving it the death sentence! I have another youngs larger bottled behind it and have a Coopers in the fv downstairs, same as the first one i did. Fingers crossed should be okay for Christmas.

Thanks again.

While I am posting, I read with interst somewhere in the forum that some guys use the yeast sludge for their next batch of beer. Does this help the quality? one thing that worries me is how do u store it while cleaning and sanitising your vessel?

Any comments on this one?

[EoinMag]

Thanks guys for the replies,

Think I will leave it a couple more weeks before giving it the death sentence! I have another youngs larger bottled behind it and have a Coopers in the fv downstairs, same as the first one i did. Fingers crossed should be okay for Christmas.

Thanks again.

While I am posting, I read with interst somewhere in the forum that some guys use the yeast sludge for their next batch of beer. Does this help the quality? one thing that worries me is how do u store it while cleaning and sanitising your vessel?

Any comments on this one?

The best way to do it is to wash the yeast with acid, the next best way is to wash the yeast with sanitised water. The next best way is to pour your yeast cake into a second clean fermenter and pitch your yeast on top, the least satisfactory way to do it is to pitch the new wort onto the old cake in the old dirty vessel.

The second method is the easiest, you can find instructions if you go to www.homebrewtalk.com and then search for yeast washing, there is an illustrated article there on it.

I'm going to start acid washing yeast soon to see what results I get, saves me buying new yeast all the time.

[Broke 'n Thirsty]

maybe give it some more conditioning in the bottle before tossing away, it may clear up & improve in taste

This just goes to show how useful this site is!

I nearly did the unthinkable and tossed this batch down the drain! Another week on and I tried another bottle last night. I could not believe what a difference that has made. The beer has definately settled, not as lively and is certainly drinkable. I think it is personal taste here but it is no where as good as my first coopers. The beer is still not perfectly clear so will leave it a little longer, maybe the flavours will improve.

If I had gone by the instructions then the batch would of been a gonna, thanks to you guys there will be many more hours of happy drinking!

Cheers