Scotster

Recipes 

Hi, i'm a complete newbie. I saw an advertisement for the King Keg just before chrimbo. My GF bought me the kit as a prezzie along with one of the lager kits. I followed the instructions to the best of my ability although i did not have a thermometer or hydrometer at the time. Last week i was getting fed up waiting for the lager to clear so i thought i would taste it anyway. It tasted very very alcoholic even though i only added 1kg of sugar as per the instructions and was extrememly cloudy. This was after 6 weeks in the barrel. Last week i got a new kit so poured the old one down the drain. I started from scratch and i bought a thermometer and hydrometer to help with my efforts. everything seemed to be going fine although the fermentation seems to have stopped. I checked it last night (6 days in) and the reading was still at 1020, It started at 1044. Today will be the seventh day even though according to instructions 7 should be the maximum. How can i tell if everything is ok with a pressure barrel? Any advice on what i could be doing wrong or something else that i should be doing.

Yesterday i ordered a fermenting bin, syphoning kit and an airlock. Next time i try it i am going to try fermenting in the bin, syphoning into the barrel for a few days then bottle the lager to see if that helps any.

I'm at a loss though and my interest is fading

Scotster

Meant to ask, what is the approx timescales. 5-7 days fermentingat 20C? 5 days in barrel at 20C? Couple of days in bottles at 20C then 2 weeks in bottles in a cool room 10 - 15C? I have picked up bits and pieces from different sites but they are all brewing differently from me so i'm never sure which advice to follow

Janx

Recipes 

1) 7 days is really short to produce drinkable beer. My beer takes more like 3 weeks on average.

2) Don't ever add corn or cane sugar. That stuff doesn't belong in beer.

3) Why did you dump out the first batch? Sounds like it could have been OK...not infected anyway. Cloudy is no big deal. Guys who have been brewing forever chase clarity as a goal. It's a tough one. But hazy beer can taste awesome.

4) Everything is almost certainly OK.

5) With your new kit, start the ferment in the primary, let it sit in there one week. Then rack to the secondary fermenter and leave it there for 2 weeks or so (until ALL activity has stopped in the airlock and yeast has fallen out of suspension). Then bottle. Let it condition, and you'll have great beer.

Your first batch probably tasted bad because of the sugar. I have no idea why kits tell you to use that crap, because it frustrates people when their beer doesn't taste good. Then they lose interest.

Stick with it, mate. You can make great beer. My brother and I make all of the beer for our house and every party we have and most of our neighbors. We have three taps on the back porch. It's like a pub that doesn't charge. It's worth the effort

If you have any other specific questions or anything, I and others here are happy to help. Let's try and get your next batch done just right and I think your interest will be restored

__________________
Oh don't give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
No, don't you give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
For my head will fly, my tongue will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die
Won't you pour me one more of that sinful Old Janx Spirit