Yeah! First brew under way.

venquessa · 12-31-2011, 02:05 PM

Hi,

I'm Paul from the UK. Just bottled my first brew. Lager (I hope)

Relatively easy kit I got. Powdered bleach sanitizer. A can of extract gunk/syrup stuff, an 1Kg of sugar 5 gallons of tap water and leave sit for 4-6 days. Bottle and prime it, leave for 2 days, cool it down and wait for it to clear.

Sounds easy... Suppose we'll find out.

I don't expect my first brew to be godly but drinkable would be good.

Current analysis/evaluation and concerns...
The fermentation kicked pretty quickly, by the next morning (12 hours), there was a thick head of foam on the barrel and the lid had puffed up. SG was around about 1.03.

Over the next 4 days the foam receded quite a lot and the SG fell to 1.01, the broth actually started to smell like beer rather than that syrup stuff, definite smell of alcohol. Though, that's a given really

I left it 2 more days (6 in total) until the SG stopped falling and had settled close to 1.00. The bubbles on the top had thined right out and the beer was changing it's "tone" in appearance. I could see daylight coming through the top of the mix now.

So this morning I set about bottling it. 1 litre PET bottles. I found it a little tricky to regulate the amount of sugar per bottle and think the first 10 ended up with about 1/2 a teaspoon, I was aiming for 2/3s of a teaspoon (or one barely heaped, near level teaspoon, but some spilled out.

I'd thankfully figured out what would happen next, didn't bother fiddling around adding more sugar and had the cap ready to seal the bottle before bad stuff happened to my carpet!

The second ten I realised I could funnel the sugar into the bottle with my hand, so they got the 2/3 teaspoons per bottle.

I left maybe a little too much head space. The necks are very narrow towards the top, not much beyond the standard mouth size for CET for an inch down from top and I left that as head space.... on most. Less on a few, more on a few.

I'm thinking they may be under sugared and it will be flat, but ... we'll see. I can already see the top inch of beer clearing to golden lager like stuff!

Kit says to leave them 2 days in a warm place or until they start to clear. Then put them in a "cool" place for up to 2 weeks or until they clear enough to drink.

Now I hit trouble. The bottles do not fit upright on my beer fridge shelves. I expect that lying them on their side will cause the sediment to collect there and that would be bad.

So... I have a room that is around 15*C, or the downstairs meter cupboard that's near outdoor (2-8*C). If I store them there until they look clear enough to drink, then move them to the main kitchen fridge for a day or two, will that work?

I'm expecting the lower the temp, the more CO2 will stay in the beer, but can this be accelerated to only a small period in proper cold at the end of the phase?

Thanks,

Paul

jump_xiii · 12-31-2011, 02:13 PM

Sounds a lot like the first kit I did a couple of months ago. If so it will be drinkable, but reading what everyone on here says, and from the experience of my first brew, the 4 to 6 days is barely enough, and leaving it 2 or 3 weeks will make it better. My second brew is in the fermenter now and has been for 2 weeks.

I can't comment much on bottling. I've only done it once and the process was a disaster but the beer turned out ok. I put the sugar in the bottle first, then the beer on top before capping? Sounds like you did it the other way round maybe? I used a plastic funnel.

Good luck and welcome.

BTW I'm in the uk too, Southampton to be exact- where are you?

**birvine** · 12-31-2011, 02:17 PM

Three or four weeks primary in a room about 16°C then bottle condition for about the same amount of time in a 20°C room. These will greatly enhance your end product.

Welcome to a great hobby!

B

**comer88888** · 12-31-2011, 02:24 PM

Hi welcome. What yeast did you use?

venquessa · 12-31-2011, 02:30 PM

Hmmm. Okay, this lot got 6 days at about 23*C. My room is always warm, even though it's been not far above 0 (32F) outside. Mostly due to electrical stuff like computers and a well used beer fridge putting out heat. The radiator is set to "low". 3 thermometers read, 23 (wall), 22 (floor), 25 (desk) 29 (above the PCs). Between 70-80F. So for lager I assume this is not the right room?

We don't heat the bedroom, as I tend not to sleep well in a warm room, so it would be sitting around 16-18C during the day (in winter) and maybe 20C at night while occupied. Sounds like a better room for lager primary?

I remember my brother started primarying his lager for nearly 2 weeks. I'll leave the next lot on longer

Thanks.

Jump_xiii I'm up in cold, wet, bleak, Northern Ireland. You guys where shouting about record temps this year and drought. We had non-stop wind and rain all summer

A least the winters been mild so far with only one cold snap.

venquessa · 12-31-2011, 02:34 PM

Yeast was a non-descript silver bag that came with the kit. Kit was a "Young's brew kit."

**birvine** · 12-31-2011, 02:36 PM

Usually lagering is at much cooler temps. That being said, depending on the yeast you use it might actually be an ale. Some kit say 'lager' but include a general purpose yeast which is for ale? lager? I'm sure other will chime in, but to start off, maybe use that cooler room for the time being, and read a few threads on here about lagering.

B

jump_xiii · 12-31-2011, 02:46 PM

My first batch was Young's lager.

I bottled it mid November and it is starting to taste really decent now. I just had one!

Note the use of the word 'decent'

I will get said again and again, but patience is the key! You will enjoy your brew just because you made it yourself, then you'll start to wonder how you can make the next one better... That's if you're anything like me.

**comer88888** · 12-31-2011, 02:48 PM

IF you are making a true lager check this out.
How to Brew - By John Palmer - When to Lager
Lagers require a lot more attention with temps and need a diacetyl rest. That is why I was wondering what yeast you used. They also require more time in the fermenter then 6 days. You might be making an ale like someone said before.

badbrew · 12-31-2011, 03:02 PM

I wonder if you measured the 1.03 right. It's pretty low. I assume it was higher than that 12 hours after you started.