Fermentation Activity

[wait...what?]

So I jumped in to my very first batch last week on tuesday and it is now wednesday of the very next week and Im getting ready to bottle soon.

Here is my question.

there is some undesirable activity taking place on the top of the wort. very small specs of what looks to be mold..

Is this type of thing common or should I take the hit and realize i need to sanitize longer and tougher next time??

Basically.. What type of stuff should i see floating on the top of my wort after one weeks time??

 

[ajf]

RDWHAHB,
One week in the primary is too early to consider bottling.
What you are seeing is almost certainly small clumps of yeast rising to the top of the beer, and this is perfectly normal after one week in the fermenter.
Leave it for another couple of weeks before you even consider bottling, at which time the "undesirable" activity will probably have ceased.

-a.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

It's yeast Krausen. RDWHAHB.

 

[wait...what?]

"RDWHAHB" is exactly what?

Sorry what i meant to say is that now all the wort prep/first time visual bubbling excitment/stress etc etc is over i will need to start thinking about the next stage..

i appreciate the feedback from you folks.. The old man at the supply store felt the need to mock me wilst trying to impress my girlfriend for some reason..

anyways.. i will be back with future questions and updates..

thankyou and goodnight.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Relax Don't Worry Have A Home Brew

Or a craft beer, if none is available.

Either rack to a secondary for 2 weeks or (like I do) leave it in the primary for 3. Then rack to bottling bucket, add disolved corn sugar, stir, then bottle.

1 week Primary, 2 weeks Secondary, 3 weeks in the bottle (though sampling is OK)

Or 3 weeks Primary and 3 weeks bottling.

A "Secondary" is really a conditioning vessal, for most part, for letting the yeast drop out.

 

[DeathBrewer]

"Relax, Don't Worry, Have A HomeBrew!" (after they're done, of course)

you should tell that old man to F off and find another supplier. He should be willing to help you out if he wants u to buy his junk.

You don't need his advice anyway. This community is truly inspiring!

 

[ProfLight]

What Death dude said.

The first time I saw something that looked like it could be mold on top of my beer, I got my reading glasses and saw that it was very very tiny bubbles in a little grouping and the way that the light was hitting it looked like mold fuzz. When I could SEE it, I knew it wasn't something ugly.

Tony

 

[wait...what?]

Oh excellent.. I'll have to go take another closer look..

yeah this commmunity seems very helpfull so far.. i appreciate it..

Until the Next time!!

 

[wait...what?]

BTW..

My second question goes as follows..

If somewhere down the line im deciding to do a larger batch of brew does ingredient quantities just proportion up steadily with all other amounts or do i need the same amount of yeast no matter how big the batch?

 

[CBBaron]

BTW..

My second question goes as follows..

If somewhere down the line im deciding to do a larger batch of brew does ingredient quantities just proportion up steadily with all other amounts or do i need the same amount of yeast no matter how big the batch?

Yes and no.
The grain, extract and hops will scale proportionally, however yeast is a live organism. If you are using liquid yeast then a larger starter may be helpful. If you are using dry then a second packet may be helpful. Neither are necessary as the yeast will multiply to eat up the extra sugar. Its just how long and how hard they have to work that changes. Also bigger beers (higher OG/ABV) require more yeast than smaller beers. A 5% ABV 10 gal batch should not need any more yeast than a 9% 5gal batch.
Craig

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

If you are doing partial boils, an adjustment to you hop utilization must be done. Full boils and you can just double the recipe.

Downlaod promash or beersmith, they have scaling abilities.