First brew questions

[beerlover87]

Ok so I have my 2.5 gallon batch I started Friday I seen activity the next morning not in the bubbler, but I seen it working inside. It got down in the around 58 degrees last night and when I noticed the the head had went away. So I moved it to a different room to bring up the temp and stirred it up slowly put the lid on and it bubbled for a few after that. The head seems to be foaming back up slowly. What else can I do ? Or should I do also I have a hydrometer and test tube how do I go about pulling a sample and should I ?

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[Puddlethumper]

Do you know what the temperature is where you have the beer right now? Which yeast did your kit have in it? What kind of beer are you making?

 

[mkyl428]

Just leave it alone it will be fine don't stir it any more you don't want to aerate the beer just keep it around 60 and RDWHAHB or in your case a craft brew

 

[beerlover87]

Do you know what the temperature is where you have the beer right now? Which yeast did your kit have in it? What kind of beer are you making?

It's around 72 now its just a IPA that came with my kit the instructions said keep it between 64 - 82 degrees for 7 days for fermentation when it got lower than that in temp it stopped working or so it appeared now the temp is back up it seems to be going back to work

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[beerlover87]

Just leave it alone it will be fine don't stir it any more you don't want to aerate the beer just keep it around 60 and RDWHAHB or in your case a craft brew

The kit said keep it from 64 - 82 why is it bad to aerate just curious I read on another forum that would get the yest working again just a newbie trying to learn

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[sawbossFogg]

Just leave it alone it will be fine don't stir it any more you don't want to aerate the beer just keep it around 60 and RDWHAHB or in your case a craft brew

Keep it at reasonable temps it Krausening early, your stoked.

 

[Puddlethumper]

Most yeasts for IPA's like it a little on the cool side so if you can keep it below 70F you'll probably end up with a better beer.

There's no need to open it to take a gravity reading until it's at least 8-10 days along (probably OK to wait until 14 days). My advice is to keep it in the 65-68F range if you can and just let it rock along and do its thing for a couple of weeks,

At that point sanitize a wine thief or turkey baster and snatch a sample to test for gravity. If it is somewhere around 1.010-1.012 its probably done. Better procedure is to check it again a couple days later to see if the gravity has changed. As long as it has stabilized in the 1.010-1.012 range it is ready to bottle.

 

[farmskis]

The kit said keep it from 64 - 82 why is it bad to aerate just curious I read on another forum that would get the yest working again just a newbie trying to learn

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Once fermentation starts the beer is at risk for oxidation. The reason to aerate first right as yeast is added is to add back the oxygen that the yeast need work. The boil left the wort depleted of oxygen and aerating brings it back into the wort. After the initial aerating you want to keep any oxygen away from it.

 

[beerlover87]

Most yeasts for IPA's like it a little on the cool side so if you can keep it below 70F you'll probably end up with a better beer.

There's no need to open it to take a gravity reading until it's at least 8-10 days along (probably OK to wait until 14 days). My advice is to keep it in the 65-68F range if you can and just let it rock along and do its thing for a couple of weeks,

At that point sanitize a wine thief or turkey baster and snatch a sample to test for gravity. If it is somewhere around 1.010-1.012 its probably done. Better procedure is to check it again a couple days later to see if the gravity has changed. As long as it has stabilized in the 1.010-1.012 range it is ready to bottle.

The kit said it only needed 7 days of fermentation it is one of the deals where your wort mix comes in cans IDK its got me all confused lol people saying let it ferment for double the time the instructions and different temps where they wrong ? Just trying to figure out the art of brewing I know I will make mistakes tho but that's how ya learn I guess

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[Puddlethumper]

The kit said it only needed 7 days of fermentation it is one of the deals where your wort mix comes in cans IDK its got me all confused lol people saying let it ferment for double the time the instructions and different temps where they wrong ? Just trying to figure out the art of brewing I know I will make mistakes tho but that's how ya learn I guess

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If you follow the kit instructions you will make a decent beer. That is one of the cool things about brewing ... beer is really pretty forgiving stuff.

However, most experienced brewers let the beer ferment for at least 8 days, often two weeks or more. Don't worry, it won't hurt the beer one bit. After two weeks you can take a gravity reading to see how much change has happened since brew day. If you didn't test it on brew day then you won't know how much change has happened, but the beer will probably be ready to bottle anyway.

Bottle it up, wait a week or so for it to carbonate. Enjoy.

Cheers!

 

[beerlover87]

If you follow the kit instructions you will make a decent beer. That is one of the cool things about brewing ... beer is really pretty forgiving stuff.

However, most experienced brewers let the beer ferment for at least 8 days, often two weeks or more. Don't worry, it won't hurt the beer one bit. After two weeks you can take a gravity reading to see how much change has happened since brew day. If you didn't test it on brew day then you won't know how much change has happened, but the beer will probably be ready to bottle anyway.

Bottle it up, wait a week or so for it to carbonate. Enjoy.

Cheers!

Do you think I screwed up by stirring it ?

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[Puddlethumper]

Do you think I screwed up by stirring it ?

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Probably didn't hurt it a bit. Keep it cool and leave it to do it's thing for another week or so. You'll be amazed at the great beer you made!

 

[beerlover87]

Probably didn't hurt it a bit. Keep it cool and leave it to do it's thing for another week or so. You'll be amazed at the great beer you made!

Cool it seemed to help it get back doing it sure smells good guess I will find out when I bottle it and condition it for a while. Thanks for the feedback

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[beerlover87]

Well I bottled and it has been almost a week ! Bottles ate nice and firm think I am gonna put then in the fridge to condition I did crack one open and try it..... Fairly proud of my first batch hopefully it gets even better with the month or so in the fridge ;-) thanks for the advice on here great forum

 

[Puddlethumper]

Hey, glad it worked out for you! It'll take a week or two before they're all carbed up right and, if its like most of the beer I've made, it will get a little better with aging.

So are you all primed to go at it again?

 

[beerlover87]

Hey, glad it worked out for you! It'll take a week or two before they're all carbed up right and, if its like most of the beer I've made, it will get a little better with aging.

So are you all primed to go at it again?

I am searching for a all grain recipe that grabs my interest.... Then gotta order what I need if the local home brew supply don't have what I need taking my time to figure out what I got the taste for. But after that first brew I definitely see it being a life long hobby very rewarding. I let my buddy try some and he says I have drank a lot of beer but never met the guy who made it very cool hobby in addition to my jeep / daily driver and a lot cheaper haha

 

[Puddlethumper]

I am searching for a all grain recipe that grabs my interest....

Gotta make beer that suits your palette.

I've been messing around with English beers lately, mostly just simple common bitters. Easy to make, nice flavors without being too malty and low enough ABV that I can have a few and still be functional. A bunch of recipes to try out before I find just the right one. Kind of like finding the right girl.

Best of luck to you! Enjoy!

 

[beerlover87]

Gotta make beer that suits your palette.

I've been messing around with English beers lately, mostly just simple common bitters. Easy to make, nice flavors without being too malty and low enough ABV that I can have a few and still be functional. A bunch of recipes to try out before I find just the right one. Kind of like finding the right girl.

Best of luck to you! Enjoy!

Well if its like finding the right girl ..... That's always a diamond in the rough lol