Amber Ale Fermentation

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kyle6286

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Hi guys,

I brewed my first batch of beer using Midwest Supplies Autumn Amber Ale on Saturday night. Everything has been going fine. Within the first 12 hours, the airlock had a lot of activity. This persisted until today when I got home from work. It hasn't really done much since. I'm using a 6.5 gallon plastic fermenter so I can't see what's going on inside and I don't want to open up the lid and risk any type of contamination. I used the dry yeast, Munton's, that the kit came with. It's been in a room with temperatures ranging from 64-67 degrees fahrenheit. I never took a SG because I didn't have anything to take a sample of the wort. I have a hydrometer and I just ordered a wine thief so hopefully that comes in soon. Any help is appreciated. I'm hoping things are fine and I've read a lot on this forum that you should wait at least a few days before you start to worry about fermentation, but I just wanted to be prepared. Thanks for any help!
 
Give it 2-3 weeks and then check with your hydrometer to see where it's at... Taste the first sample, and then take a second 2-3 days later (taste that one too)... That will help you to determine when the yeast is finished with the brew (not just fermenting, but done with it's other duties too)... Once everything is done, bottle the biotch up! Let it ride 3+ weeks at 70F before chilling one down for 4+ days and pouring a nice glass of it... If it's all in order, then chill some more down and enjoy...
 
Great, thanks for the help guys! I really appreciate it. And I have to ask, since I've seen this numerous times on this forum, what does RDWDAHB mean lol?
 
Yeah, everything's fine. I have one 6.5 gallon bucket that must not form a perfect seal, because I never get airlock activity on it. But somehow, in the end, beer is made (fortunately, the CO2 created by fermentation prevents bad stuff from getting in).

One of the indicators that fermentation is/was underway is a krausen ring (a ring of crud above the wort). A way to see it without opening your lid is to hold a flashlight against the top of your bucket. Obviously lower ambient light amplifies the effect.

I'm a dunce and have now brewed ~12 batches without screwing one up too bad. So RDWHAHB indeed! :mug:

Also, glad you're trying Midwest's stuff out. I was just in there today picking up the Rocky Pale Ale kit w/ the Wyeast Headwaters Ale yeast. Great folks, great products.
 
Starting gravity for that beer is 1.042-1.046

I've made that beer and I really liked it. Oddly I liked the beer when it was fresh off it's 2 weeks bottle conditioning..and liked it less as it aged (5+weeks). Enjoy though, no nothing is wrong. My batch I brewed on Sunday only had active bubbling for less than a day. Let it sit and ferment, getting the same reading from a few samples (different days) is the only way to truly know the beer is done fermenting.

I've never used Muntons yeast, I learned that if I wanted to keep using dry yeast, Safale US-04, or US-05 was a very safe stable yeast. I've only used the US-05
 
Thanks for all the help guys. I took a hydrometer reading last weekend and it was 1.012. This Saturday will be two weeks fermenting. I'm not sure how much more it is fermenting now so I will probably take a reading Friday night and then again Saturday. If nothing changes from those two, time to bottle!
 
I would space the readings by 2-3 days (more if you can)... That way you're more likely to catch slower movement. Going just one day apart, depending on your hydrometer (unless using a refractometer) might mislead you to thinking it's ready...

Either way, it's best to also taste a brew when it's only been fermenting for two weeks (if you're thinking of bottling already)... IF there are any 'off' flavors, give it another full week on the yeast and sample/test/taste it again...

Patience with home brew is most often rewarded by much better home brew.
 
I'm glad I came across this thread. I am a local near Minneapolis and I just picked up the exact same kit from Midwest Supplies. I definitely will keep an eye on this thread. Will likely be starting up a similar one in the next day or so when I start my batch tomorrow.

Hope all is well on your end! Keep us posted.
~RP
 
redpenguin01 said:
I'm glad I came across this thread. I am a local near Minneapolis and I just picked up the exact same kit from Midwest Supplies. I definitely will keep an eye on this thread. Will likely be starting up a similar one in the next day or so when I start my batch tomorrow.

Hope all is well on your end! Keep us posted.
~RP
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Thanks. It's been in the fermenter for 13 days so I decided to take a reading last night. When I opened the lid, I noticed there wasn't any krausen on the top but there was the ring of "residue" around the edges. Not sure if there's supposed to be any krausen at this stage though, since this is my first batch. However, it sure did smell like beer :) My gravity reading was about 1.012. Does anyone know the exact final gravity for this beer? Anyways, I took a reading last weekend (one week in the fermenter) and the reading was about 1.017. I know, why did I take a reading so early in the fermentation process? I was impatient, being my first batch, and from now on, I won't take any readings until 2-3 weeks. My question is, is it possible that my beer could have fully fermented by week one? I'm not objecting to leaving it in the primary fermenter for one more week, but I'm just wondering if it's necessary. If not, I will bottle this weekend. Any help is appreciated.
 
Are you just planning on single stage fermentation? I would maybe get a glass carboy and secondary ferment for at least a week so you end up with a much clearer beer. I'm actually brewing the same kit right now, it's only been in the fermenter for 2 days (lots of airlock activity), but I'm planning on 2 weeks in primary, 1 in secondary glass carboy, and then 2-3 in bottles to form the carbonation. Keep us updated with your progress!
 
wku0515 said:
Are you just planning on single stage fermentation? I would maybe get a glass carboy and secondary ferment for at least a week so you end up with a much clearer beer. I'm actually brewing the same kit right now, it's only been in the fermenter for 2 days (lots of airlock activity), but I'm planning on 2 weeks in primary, 1 in secondary glass carboy, and then 2-3 in bottles to form the carbonation. Keep us updated with your progress!
Click to expand...

Leaving the brew on the yeast/in primary for that additional week will result in just as clear a brew, if not more so. Moving it 12-24 hours to where you'll siphon into the bottling bucket will also result in less trub moving over into the bucket, and possibly bottles.

The 'need' to rack into a carboy/vessel to clear has been disproven all over the place. I get beautifully clear brews by leaving them in primary for the duration. Plus, this means less work for me, less risk of contamination, less risk of oxidation, etc... IF you WANT to rack, go ahead, but you'll get just as clear a brew without doing it.
 
I'm going to bottle tonight. It's been in the primary for 3 weeks now. I'll let you guys know my FG as well as the taste and clarity of the beer. Last weekend, I took a hydrometer reading and dispersed the rest in a cup. I figured I'd taste it. I was surprised how much it tasted like beer, only two weeks into fermentation and no carbonation. I'm excited to try a little tonight before I bottle. I will keep you posted.
 
So I bottled on Friday night. It took a little bit longer than I anticipated as this was my first time and I haven't developed any efficiencies yet in regards to cleaning and sanitizing the bottles. Also, I used the dishwasher to sanitize my bottles and I don't know if I'll do that again. My dishwasher doesn't have a sanitize option so I just used the high-temp scrub and it took more than an hour. Next time I'll just use star san. The only question about bottling was when priming, I used 2 cups of water to boil per Palmer's instructions as opposed to the 1 cup that my kit called for. I noticed this after but I'm assuming it won't make a difference. Other than that, everything went well. I have them in boxes by the case (24) in a spare bedroom with a small blanket over them to protect them from light. I'd say the temperature in the room right now is high 60's so this should be good. I might try one this weekend. If not, I'll definitely have one in two weeks and let you know how it turned out. By the way, my FG was 1.012.
 
Sounds like you have beer. Congratulations. Sounds about right for bottle conditioning maybe a little low but that is better then a little high temp wise. No need for the blanket to protect them from light if you used brown bottles and they are in a box. The day before you are ready to try one put it in the fridge and let it get nice and cold then enjoy. Probably be about two weeks or so before it is ready but if you are like the rest of us with the first brew you will want one after the first week. Take notes on the tasting and see how it improves with time. Again congratulations.
 
flyingwmelon said:
Sounds like you have beer. Congratulations. Sounds about right for bottle conditioning maybe a little low but that is better then a little high temp wise. No need for the blanket to protect them from light if you used brown bottles and they are in a box. The day before you are ready to try one put it in the fridge and let it get nice and cold then enjoy. Probably be about two weeks or so before it is ready but if you are like the rest of us with the first brew you will want one after the first week. Take notes on the tasting and see how it improves with time. Again congratulations.
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Thank you. Funny, the instructions from Midwest supplies say to store them between 60 and 70 degrees. Considering this is an ale, I thought that was low. I'll try to get them somewhere warmer since you're saying that might be a little cool. Thanks for the help. I'll let you guys know how they taste as they age. I was able to get 50 twelve ounce bottles so I don't think I wasted much at all.
 
216038_820138513824_14301441_41189416_1437745_n.jpg


Here it is after one week bottled. I only put two in the fridge to try tonight and they're surprisingly good for one week in the bottle. I can't wait to have more in a couple weeks!
 
Just give the rest enough time to actually carbonate before you open another...

-2 for only waiting 1 week before chilling a bottle and opening it.
+1 for changing the pic to one we can actually see.
 
I only put TWO in the fridge! It was my first batch and I was curious what it would taste like after one week. Plus, as a newbie, I wanted to record the process and the changes the beer goes through as it ages. I won't open anymore for two weeks. Hopefully, they'll be even better.
 
redpenguin01 said:
Awesome kyle! I'm about to bottle in a couple days here. Right behind you brother.
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Nice, let me know how it turns out. My wife and my friends tried it and they all loved it. That's saying something for only being in the bottle for a week.
 
This is going to be my first brew. I'm itching to get started. I'm in the process of buying a short sell and am putting off brewing until after I move. I don't want to try to move a fermenting beer.

I plugged the recipe into some brewing software, and I'm a little concerned about the flavor balance. The bitterness ratio (in addition to most of the numbers) is low for the style. I'm considering tossing in another ounce or so of Hallertau. At the very least, I think I'm going to add the extract at the end of the boil to try to get the most out of the hops.
 
redpenguin01 said:
Got mine bottled up yesterday. Samples taste pretty good so far.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
Click to expand...

Congrats. I'm gonna try another one tonight. It's been bottled for two weeks now. By next week I'll start putting a 6 pack in the fridge at a time.
 

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