Howdy from a new brewer

Hey all! It being just after Christmas, this is another new brewer post! I'd been tempted and intrigued for a while with many videos watched and articles read. Christmas came and I decided to treat myself! Boxing Day (Dec 26) saw me use my first 'kit' which was a pilsner type effort.

I'd done a lot of reading into it all so the instructions left me with a slight eye brow raise. But still, I went with them exactly! Although I'm now going to do things when it comes to the end of fermentation slightly differently!

So far I am 3 days in and it's been left alone to do its thing:



There a line that wasn't there yesterday which I take to be the foam you'd expect! The only concern I have is that there hasn't been any activity in the airlock at all! I've done a few discrete checks to make sure it isn't blocked. I'm just telling myself to be patient!

The instructions reckon it's ready to be put in a barrel/keg within 5 days of it being set up with another two days at room temperature prior to going into a cooler environment for several weeks. Does that sound about right? I think what I will do is take a hydrometer reading at 5 days and see where I stand!

Looking forward to it anyway and I will keep this thread updated with my progress. Already scouring for new recipes and such but got to walk before I can run!

NOOOO!!!! Get a hydrometer (if you don't have one already) and wait about two weeks before you check the gravity. Then check the gravity over a period of 2-3 days. If you get the same reading on multiple consecutive checks, THEN you should transfer to the keg.

Oh, and welcome to the asylum... the inmates are in control!

Hello and welcome to the addiction of home brewing.

The line is from the kaursen. The lack of air lock activity doesn't indicate anything so don't worry about it. Also the instructions on fermenting times are usually wrong so should ignore them also (yeast can't read and don't really care what they say). Generally what quite a few people do is wait 10-14 days then take a hydrometer reading then wait another 2-3 days and take a second hydrometer reading. If the readings are stable then you are ready for bottling/kegging (even though you might still want to wait a few more days to let the yeasties finish cleaning up after themselves).

You're doing a pilsner-type, so that means a lager, right? That should be fermenting at a colder temp than room temperature I believe.

Are you using ale yeast or lager yeast?

Hi all, nice to be here! I did have a few concerns with the time scales mentioned. It basically stated:

5 days-@ room temp.
Into a barrel with sugar and left for two days at room temp
Into a cool dark space for 2-4 weeks.

SaguaroMan said:

You're doing a pilsner-type, so that means a lager, right? That should be fermenting at a colder temp than room temperature I believe.



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This was my major concern and in the end I erred on the side of just following then instructions!

Also thanks to everyone for the welcome!

Do you knw what type of yeast you used? There are a few "pilsner" kits that use an ale yeast instead of lager and I am thinking that was what you got.

That was the conclusion I came to because it was un-named. The guy in the store suggested this kit because it is the most user friendly. He did warn me that it wouldn't make a 'pure lager' but rather a tasty hybrid type. To be honest, I'll settle for something drinkable! Looking to move to a more DIY instead of kit approach for my next brew!

Ok going on the hybrid comment I would place my money on it having ale yeast and not lager yeast, but you really should keep your temps in the low 60s at least for the first few days. The fermentation process is an exothermic reaction so internal temp of the beer can be 5-8 degrees warmer than room temp which could lead to off flavors.

Ah that's a bummer if that's the case. Ive been at a very consistent 70 odd (21-23 degrees Celcius) ie room temperature like it said in the instructions!

The more I read, the more I'm getting concerned about how this will actually turn out! However, if nothing else I'm becoming familiar with process etc.

It will still be good, but it is just advisable to keep the temp in the lower range of the yeasts temp for the first few days. First beer is always a learning process and as you go you'll keep tweaking your process as you learn more things. So don't let these posts discourage you, but just remember to keep it in mind for your next batch.

DFHEK said:

Also thanks to everyone for the welcome!

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Yes, welcome to the addiction lol

Quickly, before zee Germans get 'ere...

DFHEK said:

Ah that's a bummer if that's the case. Ive been at a very consistent 70 odd (21-23 degrees Celcius) ie room temperature like it said in the instructions!

The more I read, the more I'm getting concerned about how this will actually turn out! However, if nothing else I'm becoming familiar with process etc.

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It should still be drinkable. May have some odd flavor, but hey... it's a learning experience.

Thanks guys for the words of advice. I'm aiming for nothing more than drinkable in this batch. Just have to wait and see how it all turns out!

The temperature of the batch it's self is around 21c. Ambient being lower today. Going to hydrometer tomorrow just to get an understanding of how it is (or isn't) developing.

I would honestly leave it alone until after 10 days (be best to let it go for 14) at the minimum; the more you mess with it the more chances you have of introducing an infection. Also right now there is a nice protective layer of CO2 on top of your beer that will keep all of the nasties out of it; if you go messing with it you'll remove that layer, and again invite infections into your beer. The biggest and hardest thing for a new brewer to learn is patience, but it is also one of the most important things to learn when it comes to making great beers.

Trox said:

The biggest and hardest thing for a new brewer to learn is patience, but it is also one of the most important things to learn when it comes to making great beers.

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Big +1!

If you read a lot, pay attention to sanitation, and learn to wait...you'll really enjoy the fruits of the hobby. Welcome to the forum!

Thanks again guys! You've won me over. I'll give it the full two weeks and see what happens!

Ill need to tidy the area up a bit so I can convince the outlaws to let it stay there for that length of time!

Right, so I got ants in my pants and decided to start a second batch for the outlaws benefit and just because I'm on vacation. Found a nice simple recipe that I wants to try for a dark lager. Got a cool place looked out: the recipe to make 5 gallons looks like this:

2.5 kg of dark malt extract
200g of crystal malt
100g of halletaur hops
Saflager s23 yeast.

Does that seem like a gentle escalation in difficulty for a novice brewer given the first (no idea if successful yet) came totally from a kit. Also, no sugar? The first had me throw a kilo in! Does that seem right?

You want to keep that yeast cooler than 70. Low fifties would be a pretty good start. You would also want to cold condition it for least a month.

So, thought I would give an update on how this has gone. I gave it a full 10 days and took a hydrometer reading to hedge my bets. Then left it a further 2 days and measured again. Readings came back the same so I called that done, added a priming solution and fired it into the keg. The keg was then stowed in the cold and dark for the last 3 weeks or so. Got over excited so decided to try it yesterday. Lovely! Good head, cloudy but not overly so. A nice taste, with a good balance of bitterness to other flavours. Nothing off or unpleasant. Going to let it alone for another while to see how that develops! So far so good!

The 2nd batch I set up, the dark lager type. I did that in keeping with the principles you all explained i.e. this one was fermented at down around 12-15 degrees Celsius internal temperature for a full 14 days (well, 13) before being transferred into bottles around 2 weeks ago. These bottles were given a week at room temp then put back into the dark for the last week and for another 2/3 weeks before consumption. Again being a weak man, I cracked one open today. Was absolutely lovely! Hops notes developing quite nicely, Im hoping the balance between malt and hops equals a bit more to make the hops a little more evident but Ill wait and see. Reminds me slightly of Brewers and Union if anyone is familiar with that?

Loving it so far, planning a 3rd batch!