First Batch Questions

Well, last night I brewed up a batch. Everything went as planned. No boil overs, no spills....

Anyway, what is the normal amount of CO2 blowoff out of my water valve? I know I'm a little anxious to see this whole process working, but I'm worried b/c I'm not really seeing anything come out of the water valve.

Last night after I had poored the wort into the primary, I tried using the Hygrometer, but it didn't really reveal anything. SO, I just made sure that I had my 5.25 gal total volume as the recipe required.

This morning, I looked at the tube that I had my hygrometer in, with the beer sample still in it, and I noticed that lots of stuff had settled. I though "cool." BUT, then I noticed that the stuff at the very bottom looks exactly like the yeast I got in the oversized test tube.

Is it possible that when I was sampling the beer for SG that I got quite a bit of the yeast unintentionally, thereby minimizing the effects of it? Or would it even matter??

I stirred the stufff quite a bit before I took my sample....

BTW, is taking a peek strictly forbidden?

Thanks guys!

I just checked it, and I'm getting airlock activity about 7X per minute. If I brewed it about 12 hours ago, is it on its way?

Thanks!

You're doing fine...relax and have a brew. Next time take your sample before you pitch the yeast.

There is a growth stage for the yeast before they switch to producing CO2. 12-72 hours is normal for that stage.

Opening the fermentor & peeking is a bad idea. You might contaminate the batch.

awesome. thanks guys.

Well, the primary has about 48 hours on it now. I took a peek inside and noticed that that foam has settled about 2" or so from max height, and that CO2 production has decreased moderately.

About how far through the primary container phase do you think I am? When should I switch over to the secondary container?

Is mid to upper 60s to cool for a Bass Pale Ale clone?

Thanks for all of your great help guys,

Mark

You, my friend, have got to learn patience...

Brewing is a NATURAL process that CAN'T be rushed.

If you want it bad, you'll get it bad. ...and bad it will be...

ok, so i did some more reading up, and it seems to me the point of going from primary to secondary is to maximize gunk(?) removal.

from what i read, when the foam begins to retreat you can move tanks (if you want). seems like you can omit this step altogether unless you are looking for clearer beer.

so, since my foam has already begun to retreat, i switched tanks. btw, i tasted some of the stuff in the siphon hose, and boy is it yummy! :cross:

anyway, i hope i didn't mess up the process.

i put the bulb hygrometer in the secondary (looks cool floating upright). it's reading 1.003, and there isn't a whole lot of CO2 activity.

Is my yeast dead? if i'm not mistaken, the SG needs to get down to around 1.001?

I read somewhere that when bubble generation is REALLY slow, it's time to bottle. Did my yeast already conk out?

Hopefully, I just need to be more patient


THANK YOU!!!

What reecipe did you use?

1003 seems a bit low.
At 1000 it will have the body of water.

All beers differ but from what I've read, learnt and experience an example of a standard beer brew would be something along the lines of:

Brew beer and get an OG of 1050 - (this could be any where from 1030(-) to 1070(+) depending on style and recipe.

Primary ferment for 5 - 10 days (for a normal beer) can take any where from 12hrs to 3days to start bubbling. When done Bubbles slow right down and foam drops. At this stage the SG is generaly around quarter of the OG. i.e for a 1050 beer it could be around 1012. (Some people take readings on 3 days to make sure it's finished)

On transfering to secondary fermentrion sometimes starts again so the SG can drop one or 2 points.

All of the above depends on how much of your wort is fermentable and how much is unfermentable.

hi orfy, thanks for the reply.

maybe it's not 1.003.

it's at the 3 hash mark. i think i'm reading it wrong. all i know is that i had a strong go after about 12 hours, then it trailed off, so i went ahead and transferred it. but now, i'm getting very little activity. there is almost no foam on top.

the interlock bubble once in a while. is my yeast exhausted??

The only way for sure is to take a hydrometer reading.

Other ways to guess are bubble activity but that will just show one of 3 things

Fermentaion has stuck
There's a bad seal somewhere
It's finished.

Another way is to taste the sweetness of the wort at the start and now.

Unless any one else can come up with a sure answer I'd say you need to take a proper hydrometer reading.

the example below gives a sg of 1022.5 (If it was a normal hydrometer)



http://www.ertco.com/how_to_read_a_hydrometer.html

i usually let it ferment in the primary for 4-7 days. once all activity has subsided, i then rack to secondary for clarifying and conditioning. depending on the brew (usually an average strength ale), i will let it sit for 5-10 days, depending on my schedule too! then i'll keg it. must practice patience. i know it's tough, especially for the first couple of batches. but, it pays to wait and let it do it's thing.
good luck.

El Pistolero said:

You're doing fine...relax and have a brew.

Click to expand...

HOLY COW....EP is really Charlie Papazzian

DeRoux's Broux said:

i usually let it ferment in the primary for 4-7 days. once all activity has subsided, i then rack to secondary for clarifying and conditioning. depending on the brew (usually an average strength ale), i will let it sit for 5-10 days, depending on my schedule too! then i'll keg it. must practice patience. i know it's tough, especially for the first couple of batches. but, it pays to wait and let it do it's thing.
good luck.

Click to expand...

so if i've already racked to secondary, and there isn't a whole lot of activity, and my reading is 1.03, is the yeast done for?

guess i need to wait til tomorrow to see if the SG drops...

thanks guys

If your reading is 1030 that is high. It sounds like it's stuck.

Making sure the temp is correct may help, so could mixing it a little (But not if you've left the trub in primary)

If that's the case you make need to repitch some yeast.
Yes if unsure you should take readings over 2 or 3 days.

If you really think it's stuck I don't think a repitch would do any harm. Apart from delaying things.

orfy said:

If your reading is 1030 that is high. It sounds like it's stuck.

Making sure the temp is correct may help, so could mixing it a little (But not if you've left the trub in primary)

If that's the case you make need to repitch some yeast.
Yes if unsure you should take readings over 2 or 3 days.

If you really think it's stuck I don't think a repitch would do any harm. Apart from delaying things.

Click to expand...

ok, sorry to keep buggin you guys,

i have the trub left over from last night-- (i think i left the lid on). Can I take some from from the pail and add it? or is it too risky? can't buy more yeast until tomorrow?

just get a hold of some dry yeast, and pitch that into the secondary. no need to chance contamination. just my $0.02 worth....

As above.
Don't use the old stuff, grab some new dry and use that.
It's always worth having a spare sachet for such occasions

orfy said:

As above.
Don't use the old stuff, grab some new dry and use that.
It's always worth having a spare sachet for such occasions

Click to expand...

can i use fleischman's yeast? hehehe j/k!

i can;t pick some up until tomorrow.

will my brew be safe waiting until then?

should i put the whole pack in there? just a little? how about pitch?



thanks again

orfy said:

The only way for sure is to take a hydrometer reading.

Other ways to guess are bubble activity but that will just show one of 3 things

Fermentaion has stuck
There's a bad seal somewhere
It's finished.

Another way is to taste the sweetness of the wort at the start and now.

Unless any one else can come up with a sure answer I'd say you need to take a proper hydrometer reading.

the example below gives a sg of 1022.5 (If it was a normal hydrometer)

http://www.ertco.com/how_to_read_a_hydrometer.html

Click to expand...

Not all hydrometers are read like this. The instructions with mine tell me to read the result at the upper meniscus, not the lower one.

Just make sure and follow the instructions that come with YOUR hydrometer and you should be OK.

threw in some Nottingham. will see if the brew gets revived...

thanks for all the help