Doh. Think i might of mucked up

[monkeyjason]

Got a young's bitter kit for Christmas. Instructions really didn't go in to much but I followed them.


Kept brew in a brew bin, between 18- 21 for six days. But didn't take a hydrometer reading.

After six days, took reading of 1.010 and have preceded to bottle.

Sounds like I've missed a lot out from what I've read? Also will I know how strong / week it will be?

Thanks

 

[luke2080]

Does the kit not list the expected Starting Gravity? If so, you could base it off of that. You wouldn't have missed the SG by much.

The real only thing you've missed, is most people here would have left it in your fermenter for 3-4 weeks. 6 days is short. The yeast may have hit the Final Gravity, but they are still cleaning up the beer.

But regardless, now just let it sit in the bottles for 3 weeks, I'm sure you'll be happy with the results of your first batch, and learned a bit about the process this first time through.

 

[monkeyjason]

No nothing in the instructions, so have nothing to work on really.

Kit say keep warm for two days then keep cold for two weeks.

Gonna pop it in the shed for a month and fingers crossed.

Next time when should I take my first reading? Just before I ad the yeast?

Thanks man.

 

[JLem]

No nothing in the instructions, so have nothing to work on really.

Kit say keep warm for two days then keep cold for two weeks.

Gonna pop it in the shed for a month and fingers crossed.

Next time when should I take my first reading? Just before I ad the yeast?

Thanks man.

Keep the bottles warm for at least 2 weeks - 3 would be better - before chilling. They need time to carbonate.

Yes, the first reading should be taken just before pitching the yeast.

What was your recipe? We can probably help you figure out an approximate starting gravity.

 

[monkeyjason]

Ah ok. Thanks man. Two weeks in the warm then. Instructions haven't been much cop so far then.

I don't have a recipe, it was a kit for the first brew (walk before I run) so heated a tin and poured in, mixed and added yeast.

Working out the do's and don't s though.

So really it's ferment for min two, bottle warm for two - three weeks then chill, followed by enjoy.

Hydro reading before yeast then before bottle, the difrance x 131 for vol?

 

[cervezarara]

If you tell us how much malt syrup and sugar (if any) you used, and your volume, we can calculate the original gravity and alcohol content for you. I think Young's bitter is about 3.7% abv, though, if that's what the kit was trying to reproduce.

Ideally, you should take your original gravity reading after the wort has cooled (most hydrometers are calibrated at 15.5*C) and before you add your yeast.

 

[JLem]

Ah ok. Thanks man. Two weeks in the warm then. Instructions haven't been much cop so far then.

I don't have a recipe, it was a kit for the first brew (walk before I run) so heated a tin and poured in, mixed and added yeast.

Working out the do's and don't s though.

So really it's ferment for min two, bottle warm for two - three weeks then chill, followed by enjoy.

Hydro reading before yeast then before bottle, the difrance x 131 for vol?

Yeah, most kit instructions are less than stellar. The 2-3 weeks in the bottle is not a hard rule - more general guideline - each beer will carbonate differently. Some will take longer, some shorter, so before you chill them all down, make sure that they have the proper carbonation level. Also, the carbonation time is temperature dependent: warmer = faster.

Like mentioned above, we can work out the original gravity with the amount of extract you used and the total volume of beer you made.

 

[thewurzel]

I think I understand
you using just a can of youngs bitter kit like these in the link below. not to be confused with Youngs Brewery

Youngs Home Brew: UK's No1 Wholesale in Home Brewing

Did you boil? add hops?

or like I remember from my days in England, many years ago when people just added these cans to water and some sugar and fermented out in a bucket.

 

[monkeyjason]

That's the one. Little tin. Just add sugar and water. Made 40 pints.

 

[Joppo]

This one?
Youngs Harvest Bitter Beer Kit
It says 4.2%

 

[thewurzel]

welcome to the world of Home brewing

you might want to do some reading up there is all sorts of good information on this site

next time you could use the kit as a base
add DME (dried malt extract) instead of sugar, to increase the gravity
boil it up with some hop additions
and cool it before add the yeast

you will end up with a much better product

look in the Extract area of the forum
Extract Brewing - Home Brew Forums
and the recipe database
Recipe Database - Home Brew Forums

 

[monkeyjason]

Cheers for the help guys