isaacandreas
Member
I am a beginner. I thought I knew my stuff. I read everything I could find about home brewing, purchased the setup, thought I had it down, read the instructions six times and a few over while actually getting the brew started..
Sounds great.. a rookie rising in the ranks, taking his first steps towards a home-brewing-master... and I bought coopers lager thinking it was ale.
I didn't know the difference in fermenting lager and ale, and somehow I missed that it is so much differen't in temp.
So I brewed my first batch of Coopers Original Lager in my 5 gallon carboy (thinking it was ale), I had to make a airlock overflow with a milk jug because I didn't think about the foam (as my 7 gallon fermentation bucket lay dorment..) I fermented it for 10 days at 73-75f in my closet, wrapped in a towel to avoid disturbance from my wife's thrice daily shoe change. After one week, I dropped my hydrometer in the carboy, and with so much reidue on the top I couldn't see where it sat. I guessed it was okay, and as the airlock was bubbling once every 45 seconds I thought it was fine to bottle, so I did.
After bottling I got self-concious, and researched, realizing that even without a hydrometer reading you should wait for a much longer intervol between bubbles than 45 seconds. I figured there was nothing I could do, started my second batch (in the bucket) imidiately.
anyway to the point... my beer is very sweet. Its been two weeks, and after sending my english bitter ale to the secondary (learning to use the hydrometer this time) I taisted it, and it was not at all sweet like my first batch was. It tasted great!! I chilled and cracked my first beer from my first batch after bottling for two weeks, and its over carbonated and very sweet. But I couldn't expect more see'ing as its lager fermented at a dramaticly wrong temp. Its not bad, and for my first batch its really tasty. I have had three and I am feeling pretty good, its just VERY sweet and carbonated too much. I assume that it was not done fermenting, and I primed and bottled too early, making it carbonate too fast and too much. It doesn't foam over when I open the bottle (yet) but compared to the one I tasted a week ago its too far.
My question...
I've been pondering if its a good idea to open and recap each bottle. I think the yeast STILL has sugar to eat because its quickly becoming MORE carbonated, so I am thinking if I release the pressure and recap, it can finish fermenting without having bottle bombs on my hands. Either that or fridge it all and drink it as it is (like I said, I feel pretty good right now, minus the sweet flavor of the brew) any thoughts? Should I my idea on a bottle or two, and in a couple days see if its still producing CO2?
I am clearly a beginner and an idiot, but I am proud my first batch is getting me drunk none the less.
Thoughts? Ideas? Insults?
All welcome!!
Sounds great.. a rookie rising in the ranks, taking his first steps towards a home-brewing-master... and I bought coopers lager thinking it was ale.
I didn't know the difference in fermenting lager and ale, and somehow I missed that it is so much differen't in temp.
So I brewed my first batch of Coopers Original Lager in my 5 gallon carboy (thinking it was ale), I had to make a airlock overflow with a milk jug because I didn't think about the foam (as my 7 gallon fermentation bucket lay dorment..) I fermented it for 10 days at 73-75f in my closet, wrapped in a towel to avoid disturbance from my wife's thrice daily shoe change. After one week, I dropped my hydrometer in the carboy, and with so much reidue on the top I couldn't see where it sat. I guessed it was okay, and as the airlock was bubbling once every 45 seconds I thought it was fine to bottle, so I did.
After bottling I got self-concious, and researched, realizing that even without a hydrometer reading you should wait for a much longer intervol between bubbles than 45 seconds. I figured there was nothing I could do, started my second batch (in the bucket) imidiately.
anyway to the point... my beer is very sweet. Its been two weeks, and after sending my english bitter ale to the secondary (learning to use the hydrometer this time) I taisted it, and it was not at all sweet like my first batch was. It tasted great!! I chilled and cracked my first beer from my first batch after bottling for two weeks, and its over carbonated and very sweet. But I couldn't expect more see'ing as its lager fermented at a dramaticly wrong temp. Its not bad, and for my first batch its really tasty. I have had three and I am feeling pretty good, its just VERY sweet and carbonated too much. I assume that it was not done fermenting, and I primed and bottled too early, making it carbonate too fast and too much. It doesn't foam over when I open the bottle (yet) but compared to the one I tasted a week ago its too far.
My question...
I've been pondering if its a good idea to open and recap each bottle. I think the yeast STILL has sugar to eat because its quickly becoming MORE carbonated, so I am thinking if I release the pressure and recap, it can finish fermenting without having bottle bombs on my hands. Either that or fridge it all and drink it as it is (like I said, I feel pretty good right now, minus the sweet flavor of the brew) any thoughts? Should I my idea on a bottle or two, and in a couple days see if its still producing CO2?
I am clearly a beginner and an idiot, but I am proud my first batch is getting me drunk none the less.
Thoughts? Ideas? Insults?
All welcome!!
