First brew - confused about boiling step

[reckoner]

Hey guys,

I just started off my first brew, however I think I may have done something wrong.

The instructions that came with my brewing kit said to pour 2 liters of boiled water into the fermenter, then add the bag of dextrose and the can of malt/syrup (I forget what it's called), then stir it all up and add cold water to the 6 gallon mark.

All of the instructions I've read online say you have to boil it all up for an hour. The instructions I used gave no mention of this.

So my question is - will my beer be ok? It seems to be bubbling away nicely..

Also, when I sprinkled my yeast on top, some of it touched my hand. Is the beer likely to get an infection?

Thanks for any info!

 

[RugenBrau]

What kind of kit do you have?

 

[amandabab]

you don't need to boil a pre-hopped extract kit.

 

[reckoner]

What kind of kit do you have?

I got it from a brew shop, so I assume it's something they put together themselves.

Most of the gear seems to be Essencia branded.

It came with Coopers European Lager.

 

[mattd2]

Exactly as amandabab said, sounds like you got a Coopers type kit with hopped malt extract - sometimes called "kit & kilo". No need to boil these, as for the yeast - although you want to avoid the wort/yeast touching unsantised thigns I am sure that this would not have cause much to be concerned about.
What temp are you fermenting at? I just ask because normally those types of kits get you to ferment quite high (this helps make sure you fully ferment out but does sometimes cause flavour issues if it gets too hot). You would want to aim for 18-20°C.

 

[reckoner]

Exactly as amandabab said, sounds like you got a Coopers type kit with hopped malt extract - sometimes called "kit & kilo". No need to boil these, as for the yeast - although you want to avoid the wort/yeast touching unsantised thigns I am sure that this would not have cause much to be concerned about.
What temp are you fermenting at? I just ask because normally those types of kits get you to ferment quite high (this helps make sure you fully ferment out but does sometimes cause flavour issues if it gets too hot). You would want to aim for 18-20°C.

It has been averaging around 22-25 degrees Celsius. At once point it reached 28 degrees, but I quickly ventilated the cupboard it's sitting in and the temp dropped back down. Hopefully that won't cause any issues.

The back of the Coopers can said 18-30 degrees is preferable.

It's still bubbling away slowly so hopefully all is well. Quite excited to bottle it!

 

[mattd2]

...The back of the Coopers can said 18-30 degrees is preferable...

Yep, that's is what I meant by the Cooper's kits usually saying to ferment high

 

[reckoner]

Thanks all, appreciate the help

 

[reckoner]

Another question -

I just checked the beer, and it seems to have stopped bubbling. I only started it 2 days ago.. It was bubbling about once per second yesterday.. Temp has stayed around 22-25 degrees Celsius but it did reach 28-29 at one point..

Could something be wrong?

 

[unionrdr]

No,it's fine. You see akk that fast bubbling during initial fermentation. It'll then slow down or stop bubbling as it slowly,uneventfully ferments down to FG. Did you use a hydrometer to check OG? You'll need to do that at the 2-3 week mark to test for a stable FG as well.

 

[reckoner]

No,it's fine. You see akk that fast bubbling during initial fermentation. It'll then slow down or stop bubbling as it slowly,uneventfully ferments down to FG. Did you use a hydrometer to check OG? You'll need to do that at the 2-3 week mark to test for a stable FG as well.

Ok, thanks for that. I was under the impression that it should still bubble away slowly for a week or so.

I'll check the OG tonight.

 

[freisste]

Don't. First of all, it is already fermenting, so it is too late for an OG. Second, it is likely too early for a FG. Leave it alone (I know, this is the hard part) until it has been in the primary at least two weeks. Then check for a FG a few days prior to when you want to bottle. Then on bottling day, check again. If it is lower than the previous time, it isn't bottling day. If the reading hasn't changed, prime and bottle.

 

[reckoner]

Don't. First of all, it is already fermenting, so it is too late for an OG. Second, it is likely too early for a FG. Leave it alone (I know, this is the hard part) until it has been in the primary at least two weeks. Then check for a FG a few days prior to when you want to bottle. Then on bottling day, check again. If it is lower than the previous time, it isn't bottling day. If the reading hasn't changed, prime and bottle.

Alright, I'll leave it for now. Thanks!

 

[unionrdr]

Guess I should've clarified. OG,or Original Gravity is when you get the wort & top off water well mixed in the fermentor,but before pitching yeast. FG,or Final Gravity,is as the name implies. When FG is stable 2 days apart,you're good. That's what checking it over three days means. Check it,wait till two days go bymcherck it on the "3rd" day.

 

[reckoner]

Guess I should've clarified. OG,or Original Gravity is when you get the wort & top off water well mixed in the fermentor,but before pitching yeast. FG,or Final Gravity,is as the name implies. When FG is stable 2 days apart,you're good. That's what checking it over three days means. Check it,wait till two days go bymcherck it on the "3rd" day.

Right, thanks for clarifying. I didn't check the OG unfortunately.. but i'll give it another week then check the FG.

 

[reckoner]

Another question -

I used the hydrometer for the first time 3 days ago (7 days into the brew) and the reading was 39 (which the conversion chart tells me is 1.015).

I did it again today and it hasn't changed.

Does that mean its finished? The reading seems a bit high

 

[unionrdr]

Reading of 39? Conversion chart? What scale are you reading? The scale to use has a marking of "1.000",which is water gravity @ 66F. The the numbers going down the scale of "10,20,30,40,etc. In between those are smaller lines denoting increments of 2,or "2,4,6,8". So at 2 lins past the "20",you'd read "1.024".

 

[reckoner]

Reading of 39? Conversion chart? What scale are you reading? The scale to use has a marking of "1.000",which is water gravity @ 66F. The the numbers going down the scale of "10,20,30,40,etc. In between those are smaller lines denoting increments of 2,or "2,4,6,8". So at 2 lins past the "20",you'd read "1.024".

Hmm all I saw was that it was sitting at 39, and on a little conversion chart that came with the hydrometer, 39 corresponds to 1.015.

I'll take another look after work..

 

[reckoner]

Ok figured it out. It's at 1.012

 

[Ogri]

1.012 is a very respectable FG from an extract kit. drink the sample and see how it's come along taste-wise then a couple of days from now pull another sample and if the FG is the same you're OK to bottle, BUT.............as has been mentioned before, you might want to let the brew sit on the yeast cake for another week, or two, as that'll give the yeast a bit of time to clean up some off flavours/smells.

 

[reckoner]

1.012 is a very respectable FG from an extract kit. drink the sample and see how it's come along taste-wise then a couple of days from now pull another sample and if the FG is the same you're OK to bottle, BUT.............as has been mentioned before, you might want to let the brew sit on the yeast cake for another week, or two, as that'll give the yeast a bit of time to clean up some off flavours/smells.

Thanks for that. I gave it a taste yesterday. Initial taste was good, slightly sweet but I don't mind a slightly sweet beer. However it had a very metallic after taste. Should I be worried or will that go away after I bottle it?

 

[Ogri]

Thanks for that. I gave it a taste yesterday. Initial taste was good, slightly sweet but I don't mind a slightly sweet beer. However it had a very metallic after taste. Should I be worried or will that go away after I bottle it?

I can't say for absolute sure, but it's possibly from the addition of dextrose and just needs more time to mellow out a bit. Leaving your brew on the trub/yeast cake for three weeks before bottling makes a noticeable difference and bottle conditioning for at least three weeks, then sticking a couple in the fridge for at least 3-4 days before drinking sees even more pronounced improvements in flavour, carbonation, overall drinkability.

I'd imagine that the metallic aftertaste you are picking up now probably won't be noticeable 5 or 6 weeks from now.

 

[reckoner]

Thanks again. If the FG is stable then I think I'm going to bottle it on Friday because I'm going away for a couple of weeks. Hopefully it'll taste ok, Friday will be 2 weeks since brew day.
Either way, once it has been bottled I'm going to get straight into brewing a new batch with all I've learnt from this one.

 

[Ogri]

Yeah, try to get a swamp cooler set up so you can keep temperatures low and constant during the first few days of vigorous fermentation with your next brew and you'll be amazed at how much of an improvement it'll be over your first brew.

Actually, I just read back through the thread and noticed that your brew reached temps of up to 29 deg C during the initial stage. That may have produced a few fusels which might explain the metallic after-taste. If that's the case, from the experience of my first ever brew, which hit slightly higher temps admittedly (maybe even as much as 32 deg C), I just finished the last bottle of that inaugural brew a week, or so, ago. It had been bottled for just over a year and still had a slightly metallic after-taste, but then again it never really had much of a sweet flavour up front other than a hint of bubblegum. Was still drinkable and the few people that tried it were quite impressed but after that my brewing jumped up a level or two due to using a swamp cooler.

Best of luck with this brew and all your future projects.

 

[reckoner]

Yeah, try to get a swamp cooler set up so you can keep temperatures low and constant during the first few days of vigorous fermentation with your next brew and you'll be amazed at how much of an improvement it'll be over your first brew.

Actually, I just read back through the thread and noticed that your brew reached temps of up to 29 deg C during the initial stage. That may have produced a few fusels which might explain the metallic after-taste. If that's the case, from the experience of my first ever brew, which hit slightly higher temps admittedly (maybe even as much as 32 deg C), I just finished the last bottle of that inaugural brew a week, or so, ago. It had been bottled for just over a year and still had a slightly metallic after-taste, but then again it never really had much of a sweet flavour up front other than a hint of bubblegum. Was still drinkable and the few people that tried it were quite impressed but after that my brewing jumped up a level or two due to using a swamp cooler.

Best of luck with this brew and all your future projects.

Thanks for the info, much appreciated!

Even if this brew turns out a bit average, it was a fun process and I've learnt heaps. I guess that's what it's all about - experimenting until you get an amazing tasting brew!

 

[reckoner]

Just thought I'd post a quick update. The beer has been bottled for 8 days now. I know that's not long enough but I opened one and gave it a taste. Much to my surprise it was well carbonated and didn't taste half bad!

Pretty happy at this stage!