Is my Beer ready?

[scottywags]

Hi All,

This is my first post here. I have been reading through for a while and figured it was time to post.

Anyways, I got the BBS Chocolate Maple Porter kit for Christmas last year and decided to make my 1st batch. I wanted to wait until is was cool enough here in Fl so I wouldn't ruin it.
Along with the carboy that I got with the kit I also purchased another 1 gallon Carboy from a brew shop close to me and I am trying to make a cider. I used 1gallon of pasturized apple cider that I got at the supermarket and added some red star Pastuer Champagne yeast to the carboy ....shook it up real good and put the airlock on and now both carboys have been in a dark closet for 2 weeks now.

The Cider has some stuff on top that I am assuming is the Krausen? But the Beer has nothing.
The Cider stopped bubbling about 2 days ago and the beer stopped about 3 days after I put it in the carboy.
I was told by the guy at the brew shop to wait the 2 weeks then rack everything over to a plastic container and add about 2 teaspoons of corn sugar that I bought from him. He said then to go to bottling and wait another 2 weeks before drinking.

Here is a pic of how they sit now

Does this sound right? Any and all help is appreciated..thanks

 

[imperialipa]

I'm not sure about the cider as I have never made it. but for the beer you should really be taking a gravity reading before you add the yeast. then you can take a gravity reading after a few weeks and that will tell you exactly how much activity has been going on with the beer.

 

[kh54s10]

+1

Get a hydrometer and read up on how to use it. That is the only way to be sure what is going on with your beer.

Do not be afraid of leaving your beer in the primary fermenter for 3-4 weeks and then bottling. This timing allows the yeast time to clean up any off flavors produced during the height of the fermentation.

 

[cimirie]

Scotty-

You live in Lake Mary, so I'll assume you went to Hearts Homebrew. Their selection is pretty darned good but their advice (on the few occasions they're willing to offer any) is not really reliable.

They are by and large retired from brewing beer and as such, their methods are outdated. Plus, they are extremely critical of any method that Papazien or Palmer's first edition didn't cover.

I would take the advice here over most anything they say. Now that my rant is over, go back to Hearts and buy a hydrometer. To echo an above comment, that is the only way to tell if a beer is done. Bubbles, krausen, blue fairies... None is an indicator of a brew being finished.

 

[scottywags]

Thanks for the responses, I'm not sure what the name of the place I went to was....It's in downtown Sanford and to be honest I was pretty overwhelmed by the amount of info the guy was dumping on me...so I don't wanna drive the bus over him just yet.
And thanks again...I will go get a hydrometer. Just a question, are hydrometers for beer different than ones for Salt water aquariums?

 

[cimirie]

Thanks for the responses, I'm not sure what the name of the place I went to was....It's in downtown Sanford and to be honest I was pretty overwhelmed by the amount of info the guy was dumping on me...so I don't wanna drive the bus over him just yet.
And thanks again...I will go get a hydrometer. Just a question, are hydrometers for beer different than ones for Salt water aquariums?

Scotty-

If you went to Sanford, it definitely wasn't Heart's. Thank you for the head's up: I had no idea someone had recently opened up shop in Sanford. I may have found a new store!

I know nothing about salt water aquariums, but I'd bet a dollar the hydrometers are different. Same type of tool, but I wouldn't want to share a brew tool with fish.