Primary fermentation - how long can I leave it? And how can I get the lid on quickly?

Ok two not very related questions:

First off, I'm using a kit to do my third batch after a fairly bad 1st batch, and a much better tasting second batch. The kit I have is a coopers English Ale one. Not great tasting but I'm still trying to get a good handle on the whole brewing thing so I can move up to partial mashes without worrying too much about my setup.

Anyway, I was wondering if there's any benefit to leaving my wort in the primary fermenter for longer than it needs to reach it's SG (not sure if that's the right term..?) eg is there a benefit taste wise to just leaving it for a long time in this state? If so, how long is a good amount of time?

Second question, totally un-related. When I've done these kits, the instructions state that you want to get the lid on the fermenter as soon as you've added all the water and yeast. I found the third time again a very nerve racking experience. How long do I have? I'm always careful not to breath into the fermenter etc and I make sure I have super clean hands and that everything is as clean and sterelized as possible but I worry there might be something floating around in the air. It's tricky to get all that syrupy stuff out the can (even after warming the can up.) Does anyone have any tips for speeding that up?

I almost feel fully confident doing the kit beers now... getting there! Got a chest freezer and temp control unit at the weekend so keeping it at the right temp is no longer a prob!

JohnRobert said:

Ok two not very related questions:

First off, I'm using a kit to do my third batch after a fairly bad 1st batch, and a much better tasting second batch. The kit I have is a coopers English Ale one. Not great tasting but I'm still trying to get a good handle on the whole brewing thing so I can move up to partial mashes without worrying too much about my setup.

Anyway, I was wondering if there's any benefit to leaving my wort in the primary fermenter for longer than it needs to reach it's SG (not sure if that's the right term..?) eg is there a benefit taste wise to just leaving it for a long time in this state? If so, how long is a good amount of time?

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Kits typically recommend 7 days. Most advice I've read recommends longer, usually 2-3 weeks as longer time helps improve the beer. Myself I go with 2 weeks - I reckon that's a good length of time, although an additional week wouldn't hurt, but I got more beer to brew.

JohnRobert said:

Second question, totally un-related. When I've done these kits, the instructions state that you want to get the lid on the fermenter as soon as you've added all the water and yeast. I found the third time again a very nerve racking experience. How long do I have? I'm always careful not to breath into the fermenter etc and I make sure I have super clean hands and that everything is as clean and sterelized as possible but I worry there might be something floating around in the air. It's tricky to get all that syrupy stuff out the can (even after warming the can up.) Does anyone have any tips for speeding that up?

I almost feel fully confident doing the kit beers now... getting there! Got a chest freezer and temp control unit at the weekend so keeping it at the right temp is no longer a prob!

Click to expand...

I don't think they mean you've got to get it on in a split second or anything, just that you shouldn't leave it sitting around with the lid off for hours, so don't panic about it.

Empty your can, you can use a spoon to scrape out excess but don't worry about getting it all out. Just fill the empty can with boiling water and then toss that into the fermentor and you'll end up with a clean can.

Of course, I should have just put a bit of boiling water in the can! I did that on the second brew, not sure why I forgot about it on the third. Hmmz.

Anyway, thanks for the tips!

JohnRobert said:

Of course, I should have just put a bit of boiling water in the can! I did that on the second brew, not sure why I forgot about it on the third. Hmmz.

Anyway, thanks for the tips!

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and don't burn yourself on the hot can!

Also a good tip.