isp845

Recipes 

Hello all. I am new to this homebrewing thing. I'll try to make a long story short. I am brewing a cream ale from northern brewer. I followed the instructions (I think).

I boiled and stuck in the fermenter on 12/18/08. The og was 1.064. The instructions said the the og should be 1.042. I checked the temp at 60deg. I pitched the yeast soon there after. It bubbling in the airlock the next morning and had about 2 1/2 in of krausen by the next day. My first question is why is the og so high?

Today the krausen is gone, there is a nasty looking foam around the top of the fermenter. The air lock is getting a bubble about every 3 or 4 minutes.
The beer is very dark. Remember its a cream ale! So, my other question is when does the beer start to clear up or at the very least get lighter?

And my last question is how long should I keep it in the fermenter? I do not have a secondary yet..

I know, I know, RDWHAHB! I don't have any homebrew!

I will try to attach pics if it will let me. Any help from you pros would be greatly appreciated... Thanks.

McKBrew

Recipes 

Welcome to Homebrewtalk.

The reason your OG was so high is probably the result of a common mistake most new brewers make. You added your top up water and did not mix it thoroughly with the wort, chances are your sample came up with more concentrated wort giving you a higher OG.

You are making an extract beer, and these beers will be darker than a comparable all grain batch. Your cream ale might be a little browner, but it will taste good. You can't accurately judge the color of the beer in the fermenter anyhow, and it will look totally different in a glass.

You don't need to use a secondary for most beers. Many of us are not using them routinely anymore. I would reccomend since this is your first batch and you are in a rush to drink it that you keep the beer in there at least 10-14 days before bottling. Once you get some time in and some beer stockpiled you'll feel comfortable keeping it in the fermenter 3-4 weeks.

Another thing that will help with lighter extract beers.... Do a search on the forum for the technique of late extract additions.

Hope I helped. Good Luck on that first batch.

isp845

Recipes 

Thanks McKBrew! I will try to have some patience and wait a little longer. Do you think I should take a hydrometer reading today or just wait that out too?