new

i just bottled first batch, i didnt know what i was doing really but had help from net, supposed to have 20 litres but ended up with 8, smells ok tho, a bit yeasty as i killed the yeast and had to put bread yeast in because i couldnt get more beer yeast for 3 days. oh well just brewed second batch yesterday, an english ipa, went really good, woke up this morning and was bubbling nicely, then i checked 20 mins later and had stopped! i never even touched it, now am at work and cant stop worrying about it. help! i dont have a hydrometer yet will get one next week, should i open it up to have a look and maybe put more beer yeast or leave it for a bit maybe will start again. thank you

Leave it alone. What temp was is fermenting at what type of yeast. As youl learn you can't judge fermentation by the airlock itself. If you brewed a kit the sg will be close to what it needs to be. So wait 2 week then check with hydrometer.

Don't pay attention to your airlocks. They're decieving. All they do is allow gases to escape, creating the bubbling you see. If fermentation isn't creating a lot of gases, it won't bubble. That doesn't mean it's not fermenting.

Leave you beer until you're able to get a hydrometer. Would you rather have to wait a week or two longer, or end up blowing up all your bottles because you bottled too early?

You really should just ignore your beers for 3-4 weeks after you put them in primary. The extra time is VERY benificial to the end product.

about 35, a little too warm i know but its the coldest room in the house, any explanation why it would start then stop like it did?

beermonster1985 said:

about 35, a little too warm i know but its the coldest room in the house, any explanation why it would start then stop like it did?

Click to expand...

You have no way of knowing that it stopped. Just because there are no bubbles does not mean that it is not fermenting.

also any help would be greatly appreciated, i have kit i got from chile (where i am now) and its in spanish and i dont speak spanish yet so its hard to understand obviously and the girlfriend tries to help but doesnt... i have a kit with a big bag of grains and all it says on instructions is use 15 litres with the grain, which i did with my 1st one, dont laugh... i ended up with about 4 litres of wort, i sorted it on my 2nd attempt by calculating how much is soaked up and evaporates during boil. so any more tips will be good, also i have a plastic primary, should i splash out and get a glass one. but would prob be really difficult as there is no brew shops in town and have to get one sent from santiago, about 400 miles away

Welcome to HBT, beermonster!

First - 35C = 95F - WAY TOO HOT! Your yeast may have done everything they could in that short time...
Ales typically need to ferment between 16 to 20C.

next batch, let the wort cool down, ice it down, whatever- get it cooler. Can you get hold of a tub? fill it with cool water, set your fermenter in that, and drop ice (a few frozen water bottles?) in to keep it in the range you want.

During a rolling boil, you'll lose between 4 and 5 litres (assuming 1 hour boil). Are you mashing or do you have extract? If you have dried malt extract or liquid malt extract, then the grains are for steeping. Put them in the cool water, bring the temp up to about 160F (71C) and pull them out.

Then bring to a boil, add about half your extract, and your hops according to the recipe. At 15 minutes left, add the rest of your extract.

COOL the wort down.

when cool, pitch the yeast, and keep in the ice-bath to maintain cool temps for at least one week, preferably 2. Then the temps can come up a bit, but keep in your fermenter 1-2 more weeks (3-4 weeks total).

Many folks use plastic fermenters. you're fine there.

good luck - !

beermonster1985 said:

also any help would be greatly appreciated, i have kit i got from chile (where i am now) and its in spanish and i dont speak spanish yet so its hard to understand obviously and the girlfriend tries to help but doesnt... i have a kit with a big bag of grains and all it says on instructions is use 15 litres with the grain, which i did with my 1st one, dont laugh... i ended up with about 4 litres of wort, i sorted it on my 2nd attempt by calculating how much is soaked up and evaporates during boil. so any more tips will be good, also i have a plastic primary, should i splash out and get a glass one. but would prob be really difficult as there is no brew shops in town and have to get one sent from santiago, about 400 miles away

Click to expand...

It sounds like you're getting some pretty poor quality kits. Some of the lower quality kits come with horrible instructions. You basically have to ignore what they tell you and do your own thing.

I would have soaked the grains in the 15ltrs they say to. Then after soaking at 150-160F for about 30-45 minutes, I would have pulled the grains and started to boil. Once boil begins, add extracts and hops according to schedule (if kit included hops). After 60 minutes, cool down to 70F and top off to 20 liters with more water. Pitch yeast and let it sit for 3-4 weeks.

ok thank you, if your right and the yeasts have done all they could in that short time can i put in more to save it or no???

oh and no extracts just grains

If the yeasts did all they could in that hot temp, more yeast probably won't do anything else - let it sit until you get your hydrometer, then let us know what the reading is - we may be able to tell you more. Leaving it covered for a week won't hurt anything.

Also, if you aren't using extract, just grains, then the directions get more complicated.
Basically, you're converting the starch in the grains into sugar. You need to crush your grains (if not already crushed), hold them in 67C water (3 Liter water per kilo of grain) for one hour, and drain into your boil pot. Rinse the grains with 77C water, top off the boil pot to 4-5 liters over your finished amount, and start your boil.

here's a link to a great thread on all-grain: DeathBrewer's all-grain link

i did that yesterday thanks, just ordered more stuff, will be arriving soon, next im trying an imperial stout, hope this one works out ok, will let you know what reading i get when i get hydrometer. thanks again

ok, the stuff has arrived including my hydrometer, tested it this morning and it is at 112, what should it be??

beermonster1985 said:

ok, the stuff has arrived including my hydrometer, tested it this morning and it is at 112, what should it be??

Click to expand...

Do you mean 1.012? If that's the case, looks like your yeasts did a good job and it's done.
Keep following the directions that are mentioned above by Hang Glider and friends.