IPA Home Brew Help

[JackDatBoi]

Hi all,

Glad I found somewhere to vent my thoughts on brewing beer.

I received a Dutch IPA brewing kit a while back and have decided the time has come to start the process. This is my first time, so using google translate has made me slightly cautious.

I've completed most of the process, and it seems to be going good! The room temp has been a consistent 22 degrees and the kit recommended between 20 - 25, so I'm happy with that.

It's been 7 days since I put the lid on and left it to do it's thing.

Today I checked the SG Hydrometer reading which was 1024 (at the start it was 1070). The SG reader has it's own "BOTTLE BEER" label at the top, so I'm guessing I just wait till the beer reads around that label...? (see attached photos)

I decided to try the beer since I had some in a measuring cylinder and it didn't taste too bad, pretty sour but not bad!

I've left it a few hours since I checked the reading this morning and now the surface of the beer has started to form a thin white layer... I'm guessing because I opened the lid? (see attached photo).

Also does the airlock need the lid on top and does it need to be bang on 50/50?

If you made it this far and you understand what I'm going on about, if you could give some advice on what I'm doing wrong or if I'm on the right track, that would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

Jack

 

[MagicMatt]

The yeast you used should have an estimated attenuation percentage (something like 80%, etc). You can take this number and subtract it from 1, multiply by your starting gravity and it will estimate your expected final gravity. For instance, if your yeast attenuates 80% and your OG was 1.070, that would be (1-0.8)*70 = 0.2*70 = 14. This means you can expect to finish around 1.014. But do this with the correct attenuation percentage for the yeast you used to get a more accurate number.

The surface of your beer looks fine, it's likely just CO2 bubbling out of solution and/or some residual krausen/yeast rafts. What does concern me though is that you said it tasted sour? That usually indicates an infection, as an IPA shouldn't be sour.

As for the airlock, fill it until the liquid is up to the lines (about 1/2 way). That's your fill line.

 

[Sailingeric]

If you sanitized everything then the sour maybe just the green beer taste as uncarbed warm beer does taste different than a frosty cold one

 

[JackDatBoi]

Thanks for the heads up! Wow, you sure know what you're doing! I have no idea what the estimated attenuation percentage was, the original package was chucked out a while back! I tested the SG reading again today and it's still rising, so I guess I'll just wait until it gets to the "BOTTLE BEER" sign..?

I gave all the equipment a real good clean before brewing, so fingers crossed it's not infected!

Is there any visible indication I could look into other than a sour taste?

Cheers

 

[JackDatBoi]

Fingers crossed

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Hey I haven't had an infection yet, but here is a whole thread including pictures of infections.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=71400

 

[JackDatBoi]

Over a hundred pages of infections! Cheers I'll have a read

 

[eric19312]

Thanks for the heads up! Wow, you sure know what you're doing! I have no idea what the estimated attenuation percentage was, the original package was chucked out a while back! I tested the SG reading again today and it's still rising, so I guess I'll just wait until it gets to the "BOTTLE BEER" sign..?

I gave all the equipment a real good clean before brewing, so fingers crossed it's not infected!

Is there any visible indication I could look into other than a sour taste?

Cheers

Hi Jack...don't do this. Ignore the "bottle beer" marks on that hydrometer. If you bottle the beer too early you risk over carbonating and potentially exploding bottles. Messy and dangerous if exploding when people are around. You need to be sure beer is finished fermenting before bottling. Best practice to be sure is when the hydrometer shows no change over a few days. Once you have some experience with brewing and the yeast strain you are using there will be other visual cues about when beer is finished and ready for bottling but starting out better safe than sorry.

 

[Griffin495]

What does concern me though is that you said it tasted sour? That usually indicates an infection, as an IPA shouldn't be sour. QUOTE]

He did say he used Google Translate, so maybe it translated whatever his word for bitter was to sour. At least I'm hoping it did. Some things get lost in translation

 

[Rob2010SS]

Jack, do you happen to remember the name of the yeast you used? Is it something you may be able to find a picture of and post if you don't remember the name? If not, do what Eric said. Check hydrometer reading in 3 days, and then again 3 days after that. If there is no change in the gravity reading at all, THEN you are done. The labels on your hydrometer are just guidelines, that's it. You should not follow those on their own.

The sour taste is concerning to me as well. Hoping that what someone else said about a bad translation is correct.

Good luck on this. Hope it turns out well.

 

[JackDatBoi]

Hi Rob, I've had a look around and think I found the pack I used

Here's what it says about the kit online:

Beer Kit Special IPA (Arsegan) - 15 litres
Arsegan Special IPA for 15 litres of hoppy beer. IPA is currently a very popular beer style (and with reason!), but you need to appreciate it because of the used hops and the resulting bitterness.

Original gravity: 1.069
Final gravity: 1.009
Alcohol contents (ABV): 7,9%
Colour: 41 EBC
Bitterness: 43 IBU
Contents:

Hopped liquid malt extract (LME)
Yeast: Lallemand Danstar BRY-97
Instructions (Dutch)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm guessing I got my taste buds confused with bitter and sour...

The Hydrometer has changed since yesterday and bumped up from 1024 to 1026 - only 2 lines away from the "BOTTLE IT" mark!

Checking the beer and it still seems to be bubbling, I think I read somewhere that means it's not ready to bottle and you need to let it do it's thing?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[JackDatBoi]

Thanks for the advice, Eric!

The water airlock is still bubbling, so I guess that means I should leave it...?

Will take your advice and check the SG every 3 days

Cheers

 

[treacheroustexan]

Don't worry about the "Bottle me" label. Leave it for another week and then check your gravity reading again. Then check it again the next day and so on. If your reading is stable, it is ready to bottle. If the reading is still dropping, don't bottle it or you could have dangerous bottle bombs. Not fun!

 

[JackDatBoi]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the advice you've given me, this forum is amazing!

So It's been 9 days since adding the yeast and letting my IPA do it's thing, I took a SG reading yesterday and it was just bellow '1010', the airlock was still bubbling ever so often so I left it until today (day 9) and the reading seems to be the same (maybe a mm higher).

What do you guys think?

Do I bottle the beer or do I wait another day and check again?

Any help would be appreciated

Cheers

 

[3qu1n0x]

One more day. Rather safe than sorry.

 

[GHBWNY]

The "pretty sour" aspect has concerned me, as a sour/vinegary/cidery taste is usually an indication of aceto bacteria infection. If it is infected, it is there to stay. Hopefully, it is bitterness you're tasting, which is very evident and normal right out of the fermenter with an IPA. At final FG reading and before bottling, taste it to know for sure if it's a keeper or tosser. If it truly is sourness, there could be something else in the process that has contributed to it, like expired yeast, residual cleaner, water quality, etc.. Hopefully, it will be OK. Let us know.

 

[JackDatBoi]

Thanks for the advice! I had my girlfriend taste it last night to make sure I was correct with the taste buds and seems I was wrong... It is bitter

I had a taste and it tastes nice! Still a little bitter, but drinkable!

I'll leave it for today, test again tomorrow, if it's stable I'll bottle them

 

[JackDatBoi]

Good idea

 

[cactusgarrett]

I took a SG reading yesterday and it was just bellow '1010'

Make sure you're taking your reading at a representative temperature, too. 1.010 at 21°C actually translates to ~1.012 at 15°C, for example.

Considering BRY-97 is very attenuative, and 1.070 -> 1.010 is and attenuation of 85%, you're likely done. Don't use those numbers, though. Always use the rule of thumb of "consecutive readings a good time apart being the same means fermentation is done."

 

[JackDatBoi]

Thanks for the info!

So it's been around 13 days and the reading is still going up...

I know I was told not to go by the "Bottle it" mark on the SG reader, but what happens if it continues to rise??

The beer looks and smells good.. even tastes bitter and nice.

What am I doing wrong?

Should I continue to wait until it's a steady reading before bottling?

Cheers

 

[cactusgarrett]

Unless it's fluctuation due to temp float, wait until it's done. It could taste good, it could smell good, but it could still be going. Rely on gravity readings. Be patient. It isn't uncommon for a larger beer to still be slowly fermenting after 13 days.

 

[JackDatBoi]

Thanks for the advice! I'll take the advice and wait until it's steady