Is Is Your Beer Contaminated? Ruined???

Should you dump it?

NO,

[ame="http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=30&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-GBfficial&hs=R1q&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=RDWHAHB.&spell=1"]RDWHAHB.[/ame]
If you don't know what the above means then please do a little reading.
www.howtobrew.com is a great place to start. Please look for the 1-2-3 method. Even if you don't want to follow it you should know why it is recommended.

Beer can take up to 3 days to get going.
You can't bottle it after 1 week.
The gunk on top is supposed to be there.
Brewing with more than 1/4lb of sugar will give your beer an off taste.
You should leave the brew at least three weeks before bottling.
The only way you will really know if it's done is to use an hydrometer.

Questions are good, it helps people learn.
But if you want to do a good job with your beer then it's worth asking and reading BEFORE you start.

Today's a super-concentrated day for these types of questions! I feel like I'm filling in for the bird here!!!!

can please explain how the hydrometer tells me its done. ive taken my initial reading and adjusted for temp. 1.041.

http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixA.html

hydrometers explained.

When you get the same reading with the Hydrometer 3 days in a row it should be ready to rack or bottle.

roflamo. rdwhahab.

LIONS_FAN2539 said:

can please explain how the hydrometer tells me its done. ive taken my initial reading and adjusted for temp. 1.041.

Click to expand...

If after a week it's 1020 and the recipe says 1010, then it's not done.
If it's 1021/1010 then it's done enough to move on if it's had a week or so in the primary.

so the only way to tell is if you have a recipe thats gives you the final reading goal? im new so thanks for helpin me, i know the hydrometer is important.

go download a demo of ProMash, create your recipe in it and it will give you a starting and ending reading for your Hydrometer... I did this for my Porter (which i created) and found my start right within the number...

That's the ideal. As you get more batches under you, it'll become a bit more intuitive, but as you are getting started I would stick to recipes that give you this info (almost all will). If you don't have it, you can get an estimate using programs like ProMash or BeerSmith, but those are just estimates.

Where it gets complicated is for really BIG beers, or beers that include a lot of unfermentable sugars (like lactose, or maltodextrine). For most "regular" beers, a reading of 1020 we would know is clearly too high - but there's a lot of grey area.

Normally a yeast will have a known attenuation i.e how much it will ferment.
It depends on the recipe though.
A very general standard is a normal brew/recipe will finish at around 1010/1012. Big Beers, High Gravity recipes may only get down to 1020 or so. Unless you don't care and want to go alone then it's best to stick to known recipes/instructions until you know what you are doing.
With extract recipes then unless you make a mistake, do something wrong then you are not likely to have a problem. But even so the only way that you can be sure it's gone to plan is with a hydrometer.
When it comes to AG then you are really pushing it if you don't use one. Not only will you not know if it's finished but you'll not know if you have a strong enough wort to start with.

LIONS_FAN2539 said:

so the only way to tell is if you have a recipe thats gives you the final reading goal? im new so thanks for helpin me, i know the hydrometer is important.

Click to expand...

It is a little more involved, Lions. Basically what a hydrometer really tells you is how much sugar has been converted into (mainly) alcohol and Carbon Dioxide by the yeast. Like others have mentioned in this thread, how much they'll actually convert is dependent on a few things, with an important one being the strain of yeast you use in the brew. Some yeast are able to consume more of the sugars (just what they have become good at doing). The degree that they do this is a term called attenuation. A recipe that gives you the final goal number is good, but if you change the yeast this number could change. It could also change if the yeast is older and/or is given improper conditions. That is most of it in a nutshell. As you learn more (read Palmer's guide online if you haven't already), there are some other factors too.

But, basically if you have good fresh yeast, follow a simple recipe and read up on what Palmer, Papazian or what other time tested fellow brewers have instructed many to do you should be fine. I haven't been on these boards terribly long, but I have seen many folks get very worried about hydrometer readings. As I think of it, both Papazian and Palmer spend very little time talking about them because as long as you follow good procedures you should be alright especially to start and especially with extract recipes.

orfy said:

Brewing with more than 1/4lb of sugar will give your beer an off taste.

Click to expand...

Actually . . . gotta disagree with you on this one. Some English ales and a lot of Belgian ales are brewed with more sugar than this. It can be done. In fact, if done correctly it imparts a nice dryness to the finished beer. If yeast health is optimal, most sugars should ferment completely leaving no flavors at all.