First Home Brew Process...

[jmm20010]

So I have put my first batch of beer on ferment and it looks very cloudy, it almost looks like a sandstorm in the bottom half of the carboy. Is this normal? And the "beer" appears to be VERY dark for a "light ale."

 

[Shaneoco1981]

It will appear to be a lot darker then it actually is. That happens. And as far as cloudy goes, that is completely normal. There are not many beers that are meant to be clear. Cloudy is par for the course. Congrats on your first batch and welcome!

 

[jmm20010]

Thank you so much I am so relieved. This site is so helpfull!!!

 

[jmm20010]

I also had a question about putting the yeast in Before putting the wort in or after?

 

[headbanger]

Put the wort in your fermenter and then add the yeast only after the wort has cooled to 80 or below.

 

[JadeMonkeyStang]

Put the wort in your fermenter and then add the yeast only after the wort has cooled to 80 or below.

I'd say 70 or below personally but I usually shoot for mid to low 60's. 80 would make me nervous.

 

[jmm20010]

i cooled it down to 8 but i put the yeast in before the wert is this savable?

 

[headbanger]

i cooled it down to 8 but i put the yeast in before the wert is this savable?

As long as you cooled the wort before putting it on the yeast it should be fine.

 

[headbanger]

I'd say 70 or below personally but I usually shoot for mid to low 60's. 80 would make me nervous.

Agreed! Lower is better.

 

[jmm20010]

Yes the wort was cool, thank you so much.

 

[helibrewer]

The fermenting beer is cloudy because the yeast is all up in suspension doing it's thing...it surfs on it's own CO2 gas wave

Once fermentation winds down you will see the color start to change, beginning at the top of the fermentor, this happens as the yeast flocculate, settling to the bottom. You notice that even your cleared beer will look much darker than you expect...no worries, you're looking through a large volume of liquid.

This is the point when I would take my first gravity reading to see if you are at your expected FG. A couple days later, take another gravity reading...if it is the same as the previous reading, package your beer.

 

[jmm20010]

yea i checked it now and the yeast has rosen to the top.

 

[jmm20010]

at what point of the process should the airlock be on? i have a rubber stopper for the carboy.

 

[wilsojos]

The airlock goes in as soon as you are done pitching yeast. It keeps any airborne bacteria from getting in.

 

[jmm20010]

sweet thank you guys!!

 

[jmm20010]

Alright so it is day 4 and the foam inside the fermenter has dissapeared and the "beer" remains still. It also appears that the color has gotten lighter.

 

[barneygumble]

You made beer! congrats!

RDWHAHB!

Give it time still. After another 6 days, check your SG. Then again a couple of days past that. Your patience will be rewarded.

edit: This is your first batch, so perhaps instead of having a home brew, to help you wait this out, you could purchase some nice craft beer to soften the wait.

 

[jmm20010]

o yea i have been doing that i have been into beer for awhile...should i still let it sit for about 24 more days and then bottle and bottle condition for about 3 weeks?

 

[barneygumble]

o yea i have been doing that i have been into beer for awhile...should i still let it sit for about 24 more days and then bottle and bottle condition for about 3 weeks?

It wouldnt hurt anything to leave it that long in the fermenter. I do not know what style you brewed, so to be more specific, I would need to know style and OG. Typically 14 to 21 days is sufficient for most beers. This will allow time for the yeast to clean up the beer, and for them to drop out and clear.

Time in the fermenter is independent of time in the bottle. During bottling, you are adding sugar that the yeast wake up and eat, carbonating the beer. Additionally, conditioning, or clearing and maturing of flavors, occur during this period. 3 weeks in the bottle is still needed.

 

[crystale]

What bad things can happen if you don't let the wort cool enough and you add the yeast at higher temperatures (77-80F)?

 

[Calichusetts]

What bad things can happen if you don't let the wort cool enough and you add the yeast at higher temperatures (77-80F)?

Nothing...I do this regularly. Wort in my cooling pot is usually about 40-50 degrees different in temperature from the bottom to the top. I usually transfer to my carboy when the wort reads between 40-50 at the bottom, meaning the top part is usually around 100. It all mixes as I transfer and I regularly end up around 75-80 degrees.

I use dry yeast and I've actually found that pitching around 80 and then cooling it to 60 gets it going faster. I've yet to see any of my batches (espcially with notty) take off any slower than 12 hours.

Yesterday I pitched a half pack of notty into my summit IPA at about 5 oclock. By 4 am today I had about 2 inches of krausen (1 gallon batch) and I bet when I return it will be chugging away like the animal that notty is.