First batch in the fermenter....

[myersn024]

Hi all, I'm brand new to the site and wanted first of all to say hi.

Over the weekend, I visited the local homebrew shop and purchased a Muntons Wheat Beer kit. All went well during the brewing process and overnight I had a problem with my airlock. The fermentation kicked off with a bang...almost literally. The airlock wasn't seated exactly right and a lot of foam came out and made a big mess. Anyway, with that fixed the fermentation continued vigorously for about 36 to 48 hours and since has slowed drastically. I don't have a hydrometer to read SG, but I'm hoping that everything is going according to plan. I'll post back after I bottle it and let everyone know what the uncarbonated beer tasted like.

Wish me luck.

 

[Sconie]

I'm in the same boat. I just put my German Oktoberfest Kit (http://www.homebrewery.com/beer/beer-kits-lagers.shtml) in a 6.5 gallon carboy Sunday night.

I may have a Problem with my fermentation problem though. It was "vigorously" fermenting for the first 24 hours, but now there doesn't seem to be much going on; just the occasional bubble coming up through the water in the fermentation lock.

 

[mbreen01]

Don't worry about it; some yeasts ferment faster than others. Fermentation can also be affected by the quantity of active yeast pitched, amount of oxygen, etc. In short, some beers will ferment within 36 or so hours and some will take over a week. Have a beer, forget about it and just rack to secondary in 5 days or so. I usually try to rack to 2nd once the fermentation substantially slows (either that or I'm lazy and just rack in 7 days). You'll also notice that the beer will begin to clear from the top down once the majority of fermentation has completed.

Marc.

 

[Sconie]

Thanks, your post has brought me much relieve. I'm going to chill and have a Hoegaarden now.

 

[myersn024]

That eases my mind some too. I have the fermenter covered with paper to keep the light out, so I decided to check it this afternoon after work. It was already starting to clear from the top down. I really need a hydrometer. That'll definitely be at the top of my "to buy" list before I start brewing the next batch.

 

[Exo]

I've lost an inch of wort/beer to blow-off using a German Ale yeast...no biggie!

mbreen01, is that a lager yeast? What temp you fermenting at?

 

[Sconie]

New Possible Problem!

I left the door open to the closet containing my Carboy for the first day and a half. Light obstructed by blinds on a north facing window hit my carboy (with nothing covering it) through the crack between the door and the door frame. The light which lit up the room also hit it. I've since covered the carboy with a black t-shirt.

As I said before thought the churning inside the carboy subsided after a day.

 

[myersn024]

Well, after three days of vigirous fermenting and then three days of nothing I decided to transfer my first batch to bottles. I know I should have transferred to secondary, but I don't have one (I'm about to make a purchase of some better equipment). Anyway, after transferring to the bottles I was a little nervous about the state of the yeast since I hadn't seen any activity in the airlock since last Tuesday morning. Well, after putting the sugar into the bottles I could barely get the cap back on fast enough to keep it from spewing out. I guess the yeast was in good shape after all. I'll report back in about a week or so to let everyone know how they're handling the bottle conditioning.

 

[Exo]

Yea, let us know how many bottle-bombs you managed to eek out!

 

[myersn024]

Hopefully there won't be any bottle bombs. I'm using plastic Dasani water bottles. They should be able to hold the pressure as long as the caps are on good and tight.

Anyway, after about 12 hours in bottles, the carbonation process is well under way. The bottles are already hard like the beer is carbonated and they're starting to clear. There's a bit of sediment at the bottom of each bottle and they're looking pretty good. In relation to other beers the color is about the same as a Sammy Adams Boston Lager. I hope it tastes good....I'll be supremely dissappointed if it sucks.