Just finished starting my first of what I know is going to be an obsession! Muntons Gold, Dockside Porter. I followed the directions, and my only concern is that by the time I finished adding my cold water to the fermenter the temp had dropped to 70F, so I added the yeast packet and topped the bucket. Now the anticipation grows!
Hoppy New Year ... first batch in!
- Thread starter flyinpig
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first off, congrats!!! welcome to a lifelong obsession!
70's fine. a bit cooler is much better, i ferment most ales at 62.
70's fine. a bit cooler is much better, i ferment most ales at 62.
BamaRooster
Well-Known Member
Welcome....your going to love this addiction, I mean hobby.
HopHeadGrady
Well-Known Member
Awesome. Do post a review of this under the extract section if you can. Really curious to see how this works out. I am going to be making a mash/extract recipe using the muntons gold smugglers ale.
crbrown25
Well-Known Member
Congrats on the new obsession. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days for fermentation to start. Try not to sit there and stare at the airlock for hours on end. (i know it's tempting) Instead, spend the time scouring this forum, reading as may threads as possible. There's alot to learn about the art of brewing, and most of the info can be found here. Homebrewtalk is the resource that i have found most valuable in my short brewing career. Prost!
Upon advice from DIY shop, and to free up my primary, I moved to secondary glass, re air locked. SP 1018+/- , gave it a taste, very skunky 68* flat beer. Hopefully some age and clarity will develop then bottle in about 7-14 days.
you should never remove the beer from the primary before FG is reached and stable, despite what the guy at the 'DIY'(?) shop told you. if FG isn't reached, you need the yeast that was in primary to be present to finish the job.
Yeah,unless you're adding fruit,oaking,etc,you really don't need to secondary. At least let the beer reach FG in primary 1st. I don't secondary myself unless I'm needing to add something off the yeast as above.
i think he had a decent reason, to free up a fermenter, i've done that before. but the timing's all off. i'd've just used the carboy as a fermenter for the second batch, even if it was a five gal carboy, i'd make it a 4 gal batch.
Yeah,some folks wanna get it into secondary to free up the fermenter. But they should realize there are steps that can't be short cutted in the name of speed. Patience & time are among the most important aspects of brewing.
couldn't've put it better myself, man. i think you earned a mystery beer in the fridge for the second day in a row! 
HopHeadGrady
Well-Known Member
Oh no. That beer does not need a secondary. I was going to try this one out. Keep us informed with how it turns out but it seems you may have killed off the fermentation before it was done. I am not sure if you should re pitch a bit in the secondary, one of the experienced guys here can chime in.
I have the Muntons Premiere Gold Midas Touch Ale and the Smugglers Ale fermenting now. Smugglers is on day 4 and is having an epic fermentation. Looks wicked and smells better. I will post some pics of mine when ready. I did partial mashes with hops for mine. They are part of mash extract recipes I came up with. The Yeast that comes with the premiere kits is fantastic, it's putting a beating down on my smugglers ale which came in 1054.
I think between the two of us we have the Muntons Premiere Line up nailed down. Hahaha.
I have the Muntons Premiere Gold Midas Touch Ale and the Smugglers Ale fermenting now. Smugglers is on day 4 and is having an epic fermentation. Looks wicked and smells better. I will post some pics of mine when ready. I did partial mashes with hops for mine. They are part of mash extract recipes I came up with. The Yeast that comes with the premiere kits is fantastic, it's putting a beating down on my smugglers ale which came in 1054.
I think between the two of us we have the Muntons Premiere Line up nailed down. Hahaha.
As a matter of fact,man,somebody put a 12 pack in there...& it wasn't me. A little more vodka,a little more beer...
...Hail to the king,baby! 
HHG,it sounds like you hit the ground runnin,man! cool!
...Hail to the king,baby! HHG,it sounds like you hit the ground runnin,man! cool!
HopHeadGrady
Well-Known Member
As a matter of fact,man,somebody put a 12 pack in there...& it wasn't me. A little more vodka,a little more beer...
yeah, I am fully addicted to the art of beer now.. I know the LHBS store guys all by name now, and boy do they love me.
They have a rewards program and I am rackin' up the points.. haha. 6 batches since Dec 28th.... Hahaha. My family and friends are all waiting for beer to finish. My basement is almost done being finished and then it's time for a 3 tap keg system. Just in time for the NHL playoffs... Haha... It's looking like my Lager is going to be ready in perfect time. Its by far my baby of all the batches I have going.I'll mail you some samples for your help when it's ready!
As a matter of fact,man,somebody put a 12 pack in there...& it wasn't me. A little more vodka,a little more beer...
man, i wish that happened at my house. i'm stuck here drinking my simarillo pale ale... oh wait... i'm doing that on purpose cuz it's OH SO GOOD!
FWIW, i left it in primary for 22 days, then to bottle. 4 weeks in bottle, then 4 days in the fridge. just like we're talking about now, good beer takes good time!I have been 24hrs+ without airlock activity, so when I opened it even to test I was going to secondary. The box directions say to bottle after 5-7 days and allow it to clear in the bottles. I figured I can let it sit in the secondary and do the same, prime then bottle. (by DIY I meant LHBS)
airlock is pretty meaningless, it's just a vent. only gravity readings can tell you if a beer's finished. by that i mean, stable FG over three or more days. and i know what kit instructions say, doesn't mean i'd recommend that anyone follow them.
you're right that you can clear a beer in secondary, but (this is a big but) a beer should be at FG before you worry about clarity. until FG is reached, all those yeasties that make the beer cloudy are serving a purpose. the purpose being to ferment your beer down to FG.
next time when you notice that krausen dropping back, let it sit til it starts to drop clear. then start your FG readings. i've found that if you're only looking to clarify the brew and not adding thing after fermentation, that a secondary isn't needed. i can get very clear beer in the primary vessel. chances are your beer's fine and will hit FG, but there's a risk of it not fermenting more after transfer.
flyinpig said:
this, this, this!
Patience = better beer! 3 weeks in bulk conditioning (primary + secondary, if you choose to use one) and then at least ten days bottle conditioning before you chill it for a few days. You'll see posts in here about decent beer grain to glass in 10 days. I've done it myself. But those are brewers who really know their process to a T. For the BEST beer, there's no way to beat a little time!
i use carboys to ferment in because i was just like this when i first started. i like to see what's going on in there. try to disturb the bucket as little as possible, but i don't blame you for wanting to see. it's how we all learn about fermentation, watching it happen before our eyes.
Honestly, I probably would not have ever touched it had I not wanted to start another batch and directions and LHBS said it wouldn't bother. Checked recommendations of Muntons, they say 1014 or below for bottling....if nothing else I learned that I need to primary in a higher location for my siphon to work effectively! BTW, THANKS!
no prob. when it comes to FG, you won't always hit the numbers spot on, although you should try. just make sure gravity is stable before racking a beer. especially before bottling.
BaddogBrewing
Active Member
Welcome to the club...hobby...sickness...obsession.. or whatever you want to call it. You made beer! Keep on keepin' on!
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