first time

[WI_Brew_boy]

So I got a 6gal bucket kit from Someone who had it for a long time, it came with an extract kit of October fest. Brewed it as the instructions read, cooled it to 70° and pitched the yeast(which was dead) no fermentation after 3 days so pitched a new yeast. Took of like a rocket and I let it go for 6 days.I got inpatient and took a gravity reading, it was at 5% so i bottled it (I know now that I should have kept it in the primary for 2 weeks not 6 days) do you think I will be ok or am I going to have a case of broken bottles in a week?

 

[bd2xu]

Well Oktoberfest is a lager so if the yeast was in fact lager yeast it should have been fermented in the 45-55 range. Then you're supposed to "lager" it by keeping it in the low 30s for a few weeks. Sounds like you brewed a lager, alr style, so it will taste different.

Past that, what was your final gravity? 1.0?? I assume you took a reading before and after to determine alcohol? 6 days is not long and it could very well still be fermenting. Did you add priming sugar at bottling? I'd take precautions against explosions at least until its chilled down, at which time they should be safe.

 

[WI_Brew_boy]

Yes i added the priming sugar before bottling. I'm not even sure I took the final gravity reading right. I put my hydrometer in and it has three different scales on it, one was alcohol % and the beer level was at 5 . It fermented at 55°

 

[bd2xu]

I've never used the % readings on the hydro, just the SG, such as 1.060. Maybe someone else can comment but bottom line is after 6 days it was most likely not ready to bottle so I would treat those bottles with caution.

 

[WI_Brew_boy]

Ok thanks

 

[WI_Brew_boy]

It had been one week now and no explosion. Do you think I'm in the clear?

 

[bd2xu]

I've never experienced bottle bombs, thankfully, but based on what I've read ... I know carbonation can take a couple weeks. I'd give them one more week at room temp, protected with a garbage bag over them or something. Then put them all in the fridge. After a couple days, test one. When the yeast go to sleep they won't be producing anymore gas so theoretically after a couple days in the fridge you are safe.

 

[J8D]

So I believe that the “5%” you read as your gravity before bottling was around 1.037 hydrometer reading. I found this by looking at a hydrometer label that had a percentage scale on it as well. If this is indeed the case you should not have bottled. They could blow up. I would take a bottle and open it carefully under a towel, outside, and then poor that back into your hydrometer jar and take a reading from the scale that that reads something like “1.035, 1.040, 1.045”. If you are below 1.020 then you should be fine. If you are higher, then you could have enough fermentables left to get some nice pressure in the bottles assuming you have enough yeast or oxygen left to keep fermenting.
What kind of yeast did you pitch and how much the first time? If you pitched a single vial or packet of lager yeast it may have NOT taken off like a rocket within the first three days because lager yeast typically takes longer to get going than an ale yeast. I have pitched quart starters and had them take a couple days to get rolling. Did you aerate the wort?
What kind and how much yeast did you put in the second time? If it got going right away, and you only pitched one vial or packet, I am guessing it was an ale yeast. Six days of fermenting is enough to finish if it isn’t a big beer and the yeast is good. However, at 55 degrees, and if not an ale strain that can still do well at that temp (like Nottingham, Pac Man) then you likely did not get full fermentation.
Lots of unknowns but you still have brew underneath your belt. The good thing from this whole ordeal is the lessons learned. The first brew is typically a crazy one for any first time brewer. Just making something that looks and taste kind of like beer is great for the first time or two of brewing. Yet, a trained monkey or a pig with thumbs can be taught to make beer. It is making good beer and being able to brew consistently that is the trick. This will come from learning your processes and a high level of attention to detail. Temperatures, times, gravities , and specifics are key in brewing. Plus, if you are seeking assistance from others here, the more (accurate) info you can provide, the better assistance you will get. I hope this helps. Good luck. Be sure and get everyone in helmets and safety goggles!

 

[bd2xu]

So I believe that the “5%” you read as your gravity before bottling was around 1.037 hydrometer reading. I found this by looking at a hydrometer label that had a percentage scale on it as well. If this is indeed the case you should not have bottled. They could blow up. I would take a bottle and open it carefully under a towel, outside, and then poor that back into your hydrometer jar and take a reading from the scale that that reads something like “1.035, 1.040, 1.045”. If you are below 1.020 then you should be fine. If you are higher, then you could have enough fermentables left to get some nice pressure in the bottles assuming you have enough yeast or oxygen left to keep fermenting.
What kind of yeast did you pitch and how much the first time? If you pitched a single vial or packet of lager yeast it may have NOT taken off like a rocket within the first three days because lager yeast typically takes longer to get going than an ale yeast. I have pitched quart starters and had them take a couple days to get rolling. Did you aerate the wort?
What kind and how much yeast did you put in the second time? If it got going right away, and you only pitched one vial or packet, I am guessing it was an ale yeast. Six days of fermenting is enough to finish if it isn’t a big beer and the yeast is good. However, at 55 degrees, and if not an ale strain that can still do well at that temp (like Nottingham, Pac Man) then you likely did not get full fermentation.
Lots of unknowns but you still have brew underneath your belt. The good thing from this whole ordeal is the lessons learned. The first brew is typically a crazy one for any first time brewer. Just making something that looks and taste kind of like beer is great for the first time or two of brewing. Yet, a trained monkey or a pig with thumbs can be taught to make beer. It is making good beer and being able to brew consistently that is the trick. This will come from learning your processes and a high level of attention to detail. Temperatures, times, gravities , and specifics are key in brewing. Plus, if you are seeking assistance from others here, the more (accurate) info you can provide, the better assistance you will get. I hope this helps. Good luck. Be sure and get everyone in helmets and safety goggles!

Empty faucets? Shame! ;-)

 

[WI_Brew_boy]

Yeah lots learned. I am brewing a newcastle clone next weekend. I think an ale is more suitable for my set up and experience level.

 

[bd2xu]

Yeah lots learned. I am brewing a newcastle clone next weekend. I think an ale is more suitable for my set up and experience level.

Ale is easier in many ways, lots of homebrewers never do a lager. If you want something lager like a cream ale, American wheat, or maybe a kolsch or California common are good.

 

[JLem]

The % alcohol scale on the hydrometer is really a "potential % alcohol" scale and is primarily used by wine/cider makers to know where their product will likely end up. Basically, it tells you approximately what the ABV % would be if all of the sugars in the sample were fermented out (which happens with wine and cider). Beer does not ferment out completely so this scale is pretty much useless brewing beer. When you read "5%" what you were actually reading was that there was enough sugars in the sample still to yield another 5% ABV if completely fermented...which means there was still quite a lot of sugars in there. Bottling then was mistake, and potentially dangerous.

As already mentioned, use the specific gravity scale to get your original gravity (OG) and a final gravity (FG). OG will generally be from 1.040 and up (though mostly in the 1.045 - 1.075 range unless you are making very strong beers). FG will generally fall between 1.010 and 1.020.

You can then estimate ABV by the following formula:
ABV(%) = (OG - FG) x 131

 

[WI_Brew_boy]

I opened one and it is very carbonated. Bubbles like crazy the entire time its in the glass. The taste is a different story, because of the premature bottling not many of the sugars were fermented and resulted in a super sweet beer. It tastes like strong Carmel with no bitterness at all. Compete fail!

 

[chris_ce]

If you learned something then it wasn't a complete fail.

 

[WI_Brew_boy]

Good point. I did learn how to make liquid cardboard in 12 days.