two noob questions

Hi guys I did my first batch of homebrew last weekend . I have 2 quick questions for you first is what color should Pale Ale actually be ? Im not a serious beer drinker (But I am willing to learn) and second if my beginning SG was 1040 then why after no more bubbles in airlock would my current SG be down to 1020 and is it correctable ? sorry for asking questions that were in all likely hood already answered..

Ken

Color an depend on alot of things. If you're extract brewing, most pales come out darker than comercial pales just from the boil itself. Reactions in the boil can darken the wort (Mailiard Reaction). Plus some "light" LME is pretty dark in color to begin with.

How long has it been in the fermenter? No more bubbles doesn't mean fermentation is done.

Gary

GASoline71 said:

Color an depend on alot of things. If you're extract brewing, most pales come out darker than comercial pales just from the boil itself. Reactions in the boil can darken the wort (Mailiard Reaction). Plus some "light" LME is pretty dark in color to begin with.

How long has it been in the fermenter? No more bubbles doesn't mean fermentation is done.

Gary

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It has been in the fermenter since saturday am I understand the instructions that came with the kit are not very good from reading other posts on here Im just trying to get an idea of when to start a secondary fermentation .

Saturday as 4 days ago Saturday? I'm on my first batch also but I would say no, wait at least 10 days. I'm at 9 days and my air lock is down to 1:35 between bubbles but I am going to go for 2 weeks as long as my hydrometer readings are the same.

Just one other tip that I've read, the secondary fermentation you refer too is just a secondary or a conditioner. Could be wrong, but I'm learning like you.

Heres a good thread to start with:https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/when-go-primary-secondary-if-all-43014/

2pistonbrew said:

Hi guys I did my first batch of homebrew last weekend . I have 2 quick questions for you first is what color should Pale Ale actually be ? Im not a serious beer drinker (But I am willing to learn) and second if my beginning SG was 1040 then why after no more bubbles in airlock would my current SG be down to 1020 and is it correctable ? sorry for asking questions that were in all likely hood already answered..

Ken

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Airlock activity only means CO2 is escaping. SG tellls when the yeast is done working. Don't worry about it till 3 weeks have passed then bottle/keg it. and why would you secondary a pale ale? If you are not adding anything other than dry hopping there is no need to secondary unless you need the fermenting bucket. If that's the case go buy another and leave it in the primary 3 weeks then 3 weeks in bottles.

2pistonbrew said:

Hi guys I did my first batch of homebrew last weekend . I have 2 quick questions for you first is what color should Pale Ale actually be ? Im not a serious beer drinker (But I am willing to learn) and second if my beginning SG was 1040 then why after no more bubbles in airlock would my current SG be down to 1020 and is it correctable ? sorry for asking questions that were in all likely hood already answered..

Ken

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First off, welcome to the hobby. Second, as others have said the color will be different with extract. The main reason for my post is something that I have not seen touched on yet. The SG is "Starting Gravity" which basically means the amount of sugar available for the yeast to eat. When you said "My current SG be down to 1020 and is it correctable?" When the yeast eat the sugar there is less sugar in the beer. Since the yeast eat the sugar and convert that into CO2 and alcohol. So your SG (should be current gravity reading) is 1.020. You need to check your hydrometer readings over a three day period, when there has not been any hydrometer change then you can bottle/transfer to secondary, whichever you plan on doing. I would not transfer to secondary unless you are dry hopping. So continue to check your hydrometer readings. When it gets to its lowest number, that will be your FINAL gravity. You can use the FINAL gravity in a formula to determine an approximate alcohol percentage. Hope this helps. Enjoy the hobby, it becomes addictive. Also read all you can on this forum and buy some books. Cheers

Thank you all very much I will take your advice, be patient and let it do its thing. The directions that came with the kid said to ferment 48 to 72 hours till the airlock has no more bubbles then transfer to the bottling bucket and bottle. Then store in cool dark place for 3 to 4 weeks. Someone else told me to do the secondary ferment in the Carboy ( I don't own one yet) then bottle in 3 or4 weeks. If you guys think its ok to just let it stay in the fermentation bucket that just means less chance for me to ruin the brew .

Another thing to note about color. In a carboy or bucket you are looking through a lot of liquid and it will look a LOT darker than it will when you only have a glassful.

As already said you need to go at least 7-10 days then take gravity readings. And that there is really no reason that you have to use a secondary at all. I ferment most of my beers for 3 weeks then check the gravity and bottle.

2pistonbrew said:

Thank you all very much I will take your advice, be patient and let it do its thing. The directions that came with the kid said to ferment 48 to 72 hours till the airlock has no more bubbles then transfer to the bottling bucket and bottle. Then store in cool dark place for 3 to 4 weeks. Someone else told me to do the secondary ferment in the Carboy ( I don't own one yet) then bottle in 3 or4 weeks. If you guys think its ok to just let it stay in the fermentation bucket that just means less chance for me to ruin the brew .

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Don't know what kind of kit you have, but......WRONG in general. Ferment for about 3 weeks in low to mid 60's for most ales. Then bottle and store at 70 for another 3 weeks. Then chill to drinking temp for at least 2 days. They just want you to buy another kit fast. WRONG.

brewmedic43 said:

First off, welcome to the hobby. Second, as others have said the color will be different with extract. The main reason for my post is something that I have not seen touched on yet. The SG is "Starting Gravity" which basically means the amount of sugar available for the yeast to eat. When you said "My current SG be down to 1020 and is it correctable?" When the yeast eat the sugar there is less sugar in the beer. Since the yeast eat the sugar and convert that into CO2 and alcohol. So your SG (should be current gravity reading) is 1.020. You need to check your hydrometer readings over a three day period, when there has not been any hydrometer change then you can bottle/transfer to secondary, whichever you plan on doing. I would not transfer to secondary unless you are dry hopping. So continue to check your hydrometer readings. When it gets to its lowest number, that will be your FINAL gravity. You can use the FINAL gravity in a formula to determine an approximate alcohol percentage. Hope this helps. Enjoy the hobby, it becomes addictive. Also read all you can on this forum and buy some books. Cheers

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I think that is not quite right.... SG = specific gravity, the generic term whenever it is taken, OG = original [specific] gravity , and FG= final [specific] gravity.

In the directions did they give you an expected FG (final gravity)??

If they did and you are too far off from it you are not ready to bottle.

What temperature are you fermenting at??


bosco

No worries if you don't have a secondary fermenter. You don't NEED to use a secondary. I don't use a secondary, as about 90% of the cats on this forum don't either. I used to secondary every beer I brewed. Until coming here...

Gary

Just a few points, to help sum up for the original poster:

I agree with everyone who said you don't need a secondary. 3 weeks in the fermenter and then 3 weeks in the bottle to carbonate will give you drinkable beer. It will continue to get better the longer it's in the bottle (up to a point, usually months after bottling).

SG is specific gravity and can refer to the gravity reading at any point in the process. The gravity at the beginning is usually referred to as the Original Gravity (OG), the gravity at the end is usually called the Final Gravity (FG).

Once the gravity stays constant for 3 days in a row, that usually means it's done. But most of us here would recommend keeping it in the fermenter for a full 3 weeks anyway. This gives the yeast time to clean up by-products of fermentation which can affect the flavor of the beer if not cleaned up.

To answer the question about color, here's a handy reference showing the SRM scale and what beers are usually what colors: http://www.twobeerdudes.com/beer/srm
But remember that different beers are different depending on what grains/extracts are used. And also remember, as pointed out previously, that these SRM colors are for judging beer by the glass, not in a big round vessel where it tends to appear darker. Also, extract beers do tend to be darker than their all-grain counterparts ... this is a result of both the extract manufacturing process and the concentrated boil you do at home.

after reading the replies I now know where my thinking went wrong.(and some new terminology ).. I was looking at my specific gravity readings in the wrong way, for whatever reason i was thinking the readings should be getting higher rather then lower.
so now that I'm back on track :
my OG was 1.040 instructions say Beginning Gravity 1.043-1.045
my reading after 3 days with no visible bubbles in airlock was 1.020 so I see that it is working . and the instructions say Final Gravity should be 1.010-1.012
and its currently fermenting at 66 degrees . so I guess it sounds like I'm on the way to trying some home brewed Pale ale .... Thanks a bunch for all the suggestions I will remember what I have been tought..