My first batch

Hi and Happy Easter

I started my first batch on Friday afternoon. If any of you an remember what its like. The anticipation and the wnering about all the unknown stuff....

Anyway..What does fermentation look like, an how do I know when to take any action?

I was expecting more action from the airlock. The most I saw was one bubble a second, and now it is down to one bubble every 5-7 seconds.

My recipie said nothing about using a secondary fermenter, does that mean that I don't use one or are they assuming that I would know that?

E

Most recipes that come with kits don't mention secondaries, but it ia a good idea. Forget the recipe and listen to us

That is fine for airlock activity, wait till friday to transfer to secondary after you have taken gravity readings wed-fri that are stable. If no hydrometer, wait fo about 90 seconds between bubbles or till friday, whichever is longer, then transfer to secondary.

Congratulations on your first brew.

Thanks for the advice and the congrats. I can't wait to start my next batch, I am ready to go out and buy more pails and carboys, just to kep the operation going...

I do mave a meter the reading initialy was 40 right on target. So I should read it again wed and thursday??? What am I looking for?

So for the secondary use what am I doing during that process?

well..today I have no bubbles in the airlock...should I move it over or ust let it sit a couple more days

I wouldn't move it yet, wait a full 7 days; just because the airlock activity has stopped, that doesn't mean fermentation has stopped.

For hydrometer readings you are looking for two things 1) the specific gravity at that reading (if your OG was 1.040 you are looking for a FG of 1.010 which would be 75% attenuation), 2) to have reading on consecutive days that do not change; this is the only way to know without a doubt that fermentation is complete.

Note: if you get hydrometer readings that seem high (say 1.020) on consecutive days you may have a stuck fermentation; remedies include bringing the temp up, swirling the fermenter to rouse the yeast, and repitching as a last resort.

Looked into the pail today and everything was gone from the top. I took a reading and the gravity was 10.

I took this as an ok to move to the secondary. Its a couple days early but hey...

Of course I couldn't resist taking a lil' taste...Not too tasty at this point. Hopefully a couple weeks in the secondary and a few weeks in the bottle will cure that

I'd leave it in the secondary at least 2 weeks. The typical routine for brewing is 1-2-3. That's 1 week primary 2 weeks secondary and 3 weeks bottle conditioning. Not much fermentation goes on in the secondary, it just allows time for the sediments to fall to the bottom.

I bottled my first batch 2 weeks ago. I tried 1 bottle after 1 week and let me tell you... you will be more than glad leaving it in the clearing tank (secondary) for 2 weeks. The beer finishes with a nice clear body. Also make sure you try your best for 3 weeks for bottle conditioning. Patience is what makes good beer IMO!!

Have fun!

Thanks Nexus..I will certainly leave it in there. I am just going out to buy more equipment, so I can have more going on at the same time.

PLUS I have to get some wine and cider going too....

NYeric said:

well..today I have no bubbles in the airlock...should I move it over or ust let it sit a couple more days

Click to expand...

note: if you are using a bucket and not geting any bubbles in the air lock it would be wise to chek the seal around the cover (a good way of doing this is to push down in the middle of the cover and see if it buddles)

when i was in the primary of my first brew i came home after having a few and had the bright idea of looking inside my bucket and didnt seal it up right and promptly passed out * after eating good food that is * it tourned out just fine but it was scary as hell the next morning

happy brewing. flaes

Yep I did check that...I remember reading that some where. I really have to believe that fermentation was over and the reading was on target.

Hope all is well....My only concern was the taste. I have heard some say that when they transfered the beer it tasted like beer...flat...but beer. MIne did not taste *bad* but not good either. I would hate to bottle it all up and have it taste like @$$.

We are just alike then. As I've said, I brewed my first batch 4 weeks ago. I just bought a new 6.5 gallon fermenter (glass so I can see the action) just the other day. I got to wait for Friday (pay day) and I am going to order new beer ingriedents and go to the store and get 5 gallons worth of apple juice. Going to make me a cider on the side

Yeah, more fermenters the better IMO It's just nice having less of a lag time as possible!

OK I know what some of you will say, BUT....

My first batch flew through all the stages....It was a kit from my LBS and the instuctions said to ferment in the primary for one week and bottle. It said nothing about using a secondary.

So here is where I am....In the primary for four days and in the secondary for three days. The beer looks and smells wonderful the readings on the hydrometer are dead on.

Should I bottle? Or should I force myself to wait another week?