couple mistakes, hope to salvage

[tar1010]

This morning I noticed my airlock was no longer offgassing bubbles. I know there could be multiple reasons why. I'll tell you what I know I did wrong and hopefully someone can help me to salvage my batch. First mistake was pitching the dry yeast and not stirring well. That didn't seem to be a problem because my airlock was bubbling furiously after the first night. Halfway thru the first day in the fermenter, I noticed some sediment in the airlock seemed to be preventing normal opperation of the airlock. So I covered the hole with a santized plug, and cleaned and resanitzed the airlock before quickly replacing in the fermenter. Immediatly the airlock started bubbling again....until this morning. So now what? Is it stuck, ruined, or did I just expirience the fastest primary ferment ever?

And it was an extract IPA kit. kinda sad if I screwed that up.

 

[hoppymonkey]

Relax, It is just fine. Wait a week or so and check the gravity.

 

[tar1010]

thanks. after I posted, I checked a few older posts and got the same feeling that I've just got first time jitters. I'm glad this happened tho, it got me to join homebrewtalk...which I think is going to be very helpful in brews to come!

 

[jmprdood]

Airlock activity is the worst indicator of fermentation....did you take an OG reading with your hydrometer? The only real way to know is that fermentation is complete is for your FG to be steady over a few readings spaced over a few days.

Let it sit for a couple weeks in the primary and you should be good to bottle. Leave in the bottle for a couple of weeks at 70F +- and it should be ok.

Relax, you're makining beer...


Cheers!

 

[JLem]

It sounds fine - no need to worry. Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew (or a nice craft beer if this is your first batch).

 

[tar1010]

Since I am going to do two stage with a carboy, should I wait to check the FG until I am ready to transfer into the carboy? I just don't want to risk contamination by removing the lid and taking a hydrometer reading.

And yes, being that this is my first batch and I need a supply of bottles, I am enjoying a few Birkshire Brewing Co tall boys!:rockin:

 

[RM-MN]

You have tho order wrong. You should check the final gravity until your beer is ready to transfer to the carboy, not when you want to transfer. In fact, if you do a bunch of reading here on HomeBrewTalk you will find that many of us never use a secondary unless we are doing something special to our beer. It does just fine in the primary fermenter for 3 to 4 weeks and then we rack it onto the priming sugar in our bottling bucket an proceed to bottle. Since I've been doing it this way my beer is very clear and there is very little sediment in my bottles.

Your beer should have a layer of CO2 above it and enough alcohol in it to discourage most infections. Using the proper sanitation techniques you will have little chance of contamination. If you leave your beer alone for 2 to 3 weeks before you sample you will not need to sample as much either.

 

[JLem]

Since I am going to do two stage with a carboy, should I wait to check the FG until I am ready to transfer into the carboy? I just don't want to risk contamination by removing the lid and taking a hydrometer reading.

And yes, being that this is my first batch and I need a supply of bottles, I am enjoying a few Birkshire Brewing Co tall boys!:rockin:

There's lots of debate over this, but I am in the camp that will tell you not to bother with the second carboy unless you have a good reason to use it. The beer will be fine sitting in the primary vessel for quite some time. For most beers 3-4 weeks in primary then bottle. I only use a secondary vessel if I am bulk aging for months or adding fruit or oak. Some will dry hop in secondary too, but more and more folks are dry hopping right in primary as well.

What kind of beer is this and why would you be moving it to the second carboy?

 

[tar1010]

It is an extract IPA from Brewer's Best. I was just going to use the carboy because the directions in the kit advised me to do so. I don't mind leaving it in the primary. So it's ok to remove the lid and check the gravity? So long as I resanitize before replacing the lid?

 

[JLem]

It is an extract IPA from Brewer's Best. I was just going to use the carboy because the directions in the kit advised me to do so. I don't mind leaving it in the primary. So it's ok to remove the lid and check the gravity? So long as I resanitize before replacing the lid?

I would say just leave it in the primary. You can dry hop directly in the primary too.

Perfectly fine to remove the lid and check the gravity. Just don't be too cavalier about it - beer is resilient, but you still want to be careful about not introducing contaminants and oxygen. I like to mix up some star san in a spray bottle and spray the outside lip of the bucket/lid when opening. I also use a sanitized glass Pyrex measuring cup to scoop some beer out to measure the gravity. Don't bother putting the sample back though - this way you don't need to sanitize your hydrometer setup. Besides, you should be drinking your hydrometer sample to see how things are coming along.

 

[tar1010]

I like the way you think kind sir...I will do just that. And report my findings!

 

[tar1010]

I transferred to the secondary tonight. I know a lot of people don't do secondary, but I wanted a bit more clarity to it so I went for it. OG was 1.056...FG 1.013. that means 5.6% ABV right? Oh and it tastes great! Not bad for my first batch, ready for more! hitting the new shop I found that is close to me tomorrow morning Thanks for the advice. :rockin:

 

[JLem]

I transferred to the secondary tonight. I know a lot of people don't do secondary, but I wanted a bit more clarity to it so I went for it. OG was 1.056...FG 1.013. that means 5.6% ABV right? Oh and it tastes great! Not bad for my first batch, ready for more! hitting the new shop I found that is close to me tomorrow morning Thanks for the advice. :rockin:

Congrats! Sounds like it is coming out nicely.

(note: the beer would clear up just fine in the primary )

 

[MuchoGusto]

I transferred to the secondary tonight. I know a lot of people don't do secondary, but I wanted a bit more clarity to it so I went for it. OG was 1.056...FG 1.013. that means 5.6% ABV right? Oh and it tastes great! Not bad for my first batch, ready for more! hitting the new shop I found that is close to me tomorrow morning Thanks for the advice. :rockin:

You don't have to use a secondary for crystal clear beer. Irish moss, 1 tsp. rehydrated, the last 15 min. of the boil works wonders. It's dirt cheap, easy to use and works every time. My beer is crystal clear without using a secondary.

 

[unionrdr]

I get clear beer by process alone & a highly flocculant yeast. Even cheaper that way. The numbers look good,& it'd clear up just fine in primary. That's what I do.

 

[Brak23]

You are good. Those aren't even really mistakes. haha.

 

[bottlebomber]

You did nothing wrong. If you had put a screw cap on the carboy and it exploded that would be doing something wrong. You're golden.