drunkenfud
Member
I am a homebrew newbie, 2 days into fermenting my first batch. It's making me as fretful and anxious as a new mother!
I live and work in a small country town in South Korea, the beer available to me is terrible, so I decided to give making my own a go. After picking up The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian, and browsing the forums at the excellent homebrewkorea.com, I ordered some supplies and got to work.
Like many beginners, I figured my best choice was brewing from an extract kit. Having visited an great microbrewery in Seoul the previous weekend (Craftworks, an oasis in a sea of mediocrity), and having enjoyed their pale ale, I chose this pale ale kit http://www.esbrewing.com.au/esb-3kg-american-pale-ale.html. I got it from a Korean homebrew site, so there were not as many available choices as there would be in a Western store.
I followed the instructions on the tin - mix with 2 litres of boiling water, pour into a fermenter which already has 2 gallons of water in it, and top up to 22.5 litres (or 1 imperial gallon). I was using bottled water (my tapwater tastes second-hand!), and was pouring from a height to get as much oxygen as possible into the mix.
The hydrometer I was using didn't come with any type of cup. I tested it with a tea cup of water - not deep enough. I tested it with a 500ml beer glass of water - not deep enough. I tested it with a tall glass designed for Erdinger wheat beer, it was deep enough and showed water as 1000. Fair enough, but I didn't want to take that much wort out of the fermenter each time I wanted to take a reading! I sanitised it with diluted bleach, and rinsed it in boiling water, then put it directly into the fermenter. The reading was 1025.
My impression is that this is way, way too low for this type of beer. A little later, after having put on the lid and airlock and sprinkled the dry yeast on the surface without stirring (as per the instructions on the tin), I was feeling the side of the plastic fermenter. About 2 thirds of the way down, I could feel hot-spots, making me think that the extract was suspended midway. Not wanting to take the lid off, all I could think to do was pick up the fermenter and give it a shake.
On the first night, there was some froth due to the pouring, which settled down. Now, 48 hours later, I can see through the plastic sides of the fermenter that 2-3cm of foam has formed. There are some tiny bubbles in the airlock, but no consistent flow. The plastic fermenter is supposed to be 10 (I presume US) gallons. 5 imperial gallons fills it about 75%. The lid doesn't have a good seal, and is being held in place by gravity alone.
Anyway, I'm worried that the wort hasn't mixed properly, that the yeast is apathetic as a result, and that I'm going to end up with 22 litres of sweet, barely alcoholic liquid when it comes to bottling time.
Any thoughts or advice welcome. Is there something I should do, or should I just RDWHASSKPIOB (Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Sub-Standard Korean Pale Imitation Of Beer)?
I live and work in a small country town in South Korea, the beer available to me is terrible, so I decided to give making my own a go. After picking up The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian, and browsing the forums at the excellent homebrewkorea.com, I ordered some supplies and got to work.
Like many beginners, I figured my best choice was brewing from an extract kit. Having visited an great microbrewery in Seoul the previous weekend (Craftworks, an oasis in a sea of mediocrity), and having enjoyed their pale ale, I chose this pale ale kit http://www.esbrewing.com.au/esb-3kg-american-pale-ale.html. I got it from a Korean homebrew site, so there were not as many available choices as there would be in a Western store.
I followed the instructions on the tin - mix with 2 litres of boiling water, pour into a fermenter which already has 2 gallons of water in it, and top up to 22.5 litres (or 1 imperial gallon). I was using bottled water (my tapwater tastes second-hand!), and was pouring from a height to get as much oxygen as possible into the mix.
The hydrometer I was using didn't come with any type of cup. I tested it with a tea cup of water - not deep enough. I tested it with a 500ml beer glass of water - not deep enough. I tested it with a tall glass designed for Erdinger wheat beer, it was deep enough and showed water as 1000. Fair enough, but I didn't want to take that much wort out of the fermenter each time I wanted to take a reading! I sanitised it with diluted bleach, and rinsed it in boiling water, then put it directly into the fermenter. The reading was 1025.
My impression is that this is way, way too low for this type of beer. A little later, after having put on the lid and airlock and sprinkled the dry yeast on the surface without stirring (as per the instructions on the tin), I was feeling the side of the plastic fermenter. About 2 thirds of the way down, I could feel hot-spots, making me think that the extract was suspended midway. Not wanting to take the lid off, all I could think to do was pick up the fermenter and give it a shake.
On the first night, there was some froth due to the pouring, which settled down. Now, 48 hours later, I can see through the plastic sides of the fermenter that 2-3cm of foam has formed. There are some tiny bubbles in the airlock, but no consistent flow. The plastic fermenter is supposed to be 10 (I presume US) gallons. 5 imperial gallons fills it about 75%. The lid doesn't have a good seal, and is being held in place by gravity alone.
Anyway, I'm worried that the wort hasn't mixed properly, that the yeast is apathetic as a result, and that I'm going to end up with 22 litres of sweet, barely alcoholic liquid when it comes to bottling time.
Any thoughts or advice welcome. Is there something I should do, or should I just RDWHASSKPIOB (Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Sub-Standard Korean Pale Imitation Of Beer)?