Tell me if I was right or wrong in saying this?

Hello Gents, here's my situation. My buddy and I made our first batch Wednesday night. Everything went well and got it in the Primary. OG was 1.055. Fermentation was slow to start and my buddy was worried. I told him to give it another day and we'll see. Of course it took off without a hitch. Now 24 hours later it seems to have stopped, now he's worried again. I told him we'll wait until Monday evening and if it still isn't bubbling we'll take a hydrometer reading and see what it says. Am I correct in saying this and being patient. I don't think it would hurt for it to sit in the primary for a little while longer. Has anyone else had lag fermenting times in the primary.

Thanks,
RAZ

well all i can say is that i'm pretty new at this, and i have done three batches, and it seems that i have some sort of issue with everyone i do!! nothing bad, its just that i get all impatient with no activity!! but i've learned that if you just relax everything will be fine! my novice advise would be to take a gravity reading today and wait till tomarrow and take another one to see if the fermentation is surely done.

There are a few people who have perfect ferments every time, but they don't post here. The rest of us accept slow starts, blowouts, mysterious floaties and spontaneous re-starts of the process. You have a plan and it's a good one.

Your buddy needs to do a bit of reading and learn the art of waiting for it.

I've read about people getting complete fermentation in a couple of days. Mine always take 10 - 14 days. I don't think it will hurt anything by letting it wait, especially since you have had at least some fermentation take place. If you haddn't had any bubbling, I would have more concerns about potential infection and would recommend pitching new yeast right away.

Stick with your plan. Wait until Monday. If it doesn't start back up, take a gravity reading. If its too high, you may have a stuck fermentation and may want to stir it gently (enough to mix it back up but not entrain air and oxidize it) and/or pitch new yeast.

If you have reached your final gravity then you just had a really active and quick fermentation and you're ready to rack.

Like the Elder God of Homebrew (Charley Papazian) said, RDWHAHB. It's difficult, but it is the one most important thing a newbie has to learn.

Relax. Don't Worry. Have A Home Brew.

david_42 said:

...Your buddy needs to do a bit of reading and learn the art of waiting for it.

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I like that. Well said!

I am using a pail. I believe I will be buying a couple of glass primaries. They aren't that expensive. I'm pretty sure I have as good as a seal that the pail will allow. I don't think I could trust a piece of plastic to seal as good as rubber. Plus there is more surface area to cover on the pails versus a small hole on the carboys. I take a reading on Monday and let you guys know how it goes. If you need more info on what I have to give you a better idea, let me know. Thanks guys.

I've only brewed three batches, but each time waited one week before opening the fermenter (I use plastic buckets) to take gravity readings. All three batches turned out fine.

RAZ said:

I am using a pail. I believe I will be buying a couple of glass primaries. They aren't that expensive. I'm pretty sure I have as good as a seal that the pail will allow. I don't think I could trust a piece of plastic to seal as good as rubber. Plus there is more surface area to cover on the pails versus a small hole on the carboys.

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The pails have a pretty good seal, the one I got (7.5 gallon) from Northern Brewing had a rubber gasket. I can't remember if our smaller fermenter (6.5 gallon) has a rubber seal or not.

I would suggest getting a nylon brew hauler if you are going to deal with moving glass carboys or use a better bottle and a carboy handle. I have found the carboys to be awkward to carry, especially if there is any moisture on your hands or the bottle.

We (knock on wood) haven't had any issues with the fermentation, other than some slow starts. They generally complete in 7-14 days. I think that the patience is the best course.

These are all just observations from our paltry two months of brewing.



Gedvondur

www.howtobrew.com Tell your buddy do some reading and you wiil find each bach gets better and better. Its a crap shoot too just jump in and start brewing .

Well kids, racked into the secondary Monday night and all is well. I took a gravity reading and it was 1.020 with an OG of 1.055. A little higher than I expected but still in the range that the supplier told me. Will the gravity still drop a little while in the secondary? I did notice a little fermentation start up again after racking.

RAZ said:

Well kids, racked into the secondary Monday night and all is well. I took a gravity reading and it was 1.020 with an OG of 1.055. A little higher than I expected but still in the range that the supplier told me. Will the gravity still drop a little while in the secondary? I did notice a little fermentation start up again after racking.

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Yes, it may drop a few points in the secondary. I hope you like malty beers though!

Just a little unsolicited advise though, if you don't mind... It looks like I made the same "mistake" as you when I was starting out and the result was an AMAZINGLY tasty brew! You see, I thought that making a strong beer was just a matter of using more fermentables. I shunned weaker beers. But then I came to realize that brewing high gravity beers actually requires some attention to details, especially aeration and pitching a big starter. As a result, if you aren't using a starter or aeration, you can get nearly the same amount of alcohol using a lot fewer fermentables just by adding fewer fermentables. The yeast attenuate better in lower gravity environments (though the result will be a lighter, less malty beer).

For example, my Scottish Ale started at 1.047 and ended at 1.010, for an alcohol volume of 4.86. Compare that to my ESB that started at 1.052 and finished at 1.017 for an ABV of 4.61%.

I'm not saying what you did was wrong. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I really like malty beers! I'm just saying that you may have gone past the point where adding fermentables gives you more alcohol and now you're just getting body and maltiness unless you aerate really well or use a starter. What I'm saying is: Your beer will be malty and delicious, just like mine have been, but you need to refine your techniques if you want your beer to be strong as well.

That's just a little unsolicited tip. Hope it doesn't make me look (or you feel) like an ass. It's just something I have been thinking about lately. Cheers!

I'm not worried about alcohol content as much as I am taste. If the beer is good to the palate, that is all that matters. Everything else will fall into place.

RAZ said:

I'm not worried about alcohol content as much as I am taste. If the beer is good to the palate, that is all that matters. Everything else will fall into place.

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That's a good attitude. I really loved my first ESB. It really was a great beer, but the high residual sugars seemed to make the fermentation drag on a long time. Tell your friend that if he wants things to be done quicker, he should brew something under 1.050. My Scottish Ale finished fermenting, went to secondary, and cleared in about 10 days (though I bottled it a few days too early, IMHO. The yeast still seemed to be having some fun in the bottles and giving me some awesome farts when I tested one for carbonation :rockin: ).

Anyway, I prefer my ESB, but for the impatient folks, just explain that there's a reason why high-alcohol beers cost quite a bit more. Getting much over 5% and a complete ferment to a low-to-middle FG really is a bit of an artform.

RAZ said:

I am using a pail. I believe I will be buying a couple of glass primaries. They aren't that expensive. I'm pretty sure I have as good as a seal that the pail will allow. I don't think I could trust a piece of plastic to seal as good as rubber. Plus there is more surface area to cover on the pails versus a small hole on the carboys. I take a reading on Monday and let you guys know how it goes. If you need more info on what I have to give you a better idea, let me know. Thanks guys.

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Pails are just fine. You don't even need to seal the cover. When the beer's fermenting, large amounts of CO2 are being produced and the flow is out of the bucket, not in. No need to worry about air getting in. Even after fermenting is done, it will still give off CO2 in the beer, just as soda will go flat if not sealed. Also, CO2 is heavier than air, so the beer will have a layer of CO2 protecting it.

david_42 said:

There are a few people who have perfect ferments every time, but they don't post here..

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yes we do

Alrighty, out of the secondary and into bottles. Final gravity was 1.016 with O.G. of 1.055. So far so good. Now a waiting game for conditioning. I want to thank all you folks for answering any questions I had and hope to brew and tip a few glasses with you someday.

RAZ