Just a new guy making beer.

[VikingGoldfish]

Hello. So I finally attempted to make my own beer. I chose the bsg belgian ale kit. I did everything just fine until I opened the lid to transfer to my Secondary. While doing it I noticed it is still very cloudy.so I kept a sample out to see how long it took for it to have the debris settle to the bottom. But it never goes below half way. I am at a loss of ideas. Also I was wondering if anyone has tried this kit before and have they noticed it taste really sweet. So far it has been sitting for almost 3 weeks. I was told that by putting the brew into a secondary would clear up my cloudy issue and the surgery taste would go away during secondary fermenting. Any advice or anything?

 

[VikingGoldfish]

Here is my firest sample it's not to dark but cloudy. Next is the second day but very dark on top with the sediment spring about half way down.

 

[Thomas_S]

What was your hydrometer reading after fermenting? It looks like your hydrometer is floating really high to be a final gravity reading. This would support the sweat taste. Did you have air lock activity during fermentation? And what was your original and final gravity?

 

[soccerdad]

Did the kit include yeast? Or did you use newer, fresher yeast?

 

[unionrdr]

Looks like it's finishing up & settling out to me.

 

[Biscuits]

That looks similar to another thread I remember seeing a while ago, and it was the result of oxidation.

 

[VikingGoldfish]

Hydro reading fg was 1.009 and forgot to do og when i started but took it 2 days later when the bubbles stopped the first time. That was 1.029. it kept moving around when I took the picture. the bubbles stopped after 2 days went back to the store and got fermen yeast nutrient and the bubbling started again. And it slowed back down after 2 days. Would it be good to add yeast to it again while it's in the secondary ferment or is this batch kinda not good..

 

[johngaltsmotor]

At 1.009 you're likely already at finished gravity so adding more yeast won't do anything. Give it time to settle out more.
If you can get it into a refrigerator to cold crash that would help (getting it close to 32F changes the density of the liquid and makes the particles drop out faster).
NEVER assume that you've destroyed a batch. Wait until it's finished, bottled/kegged, carbonated, and had a few weeks to condition before deciding it's no good. You'd be surprised at how hard it is to screw up beer ;-)

 

[VikingGoldfish]

If not able to put it in the fridge, ice bath again?

 

[unionrdr]

Typically, when the rapid bubbling slows or stops, only initial fermentation is done. It'll then slowly, uneventfully creep down to a stable FG. Hence your 1.029 going down to 1.009. As I said, it's settling out clear at the point the pic was taken. Some yeasts settle out faster than others. This is referred to as flocculation rate in the yeast's description.

 

[VikingGoldfish]

Thank you guys for the advice.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

Yes, an ice bath will help, anything to decrease the temperature. In reality you want to have a constant gravity reading for 3 days in a row to consider fermentation complete. Until then keep it at the most stable fermentation temperature you can. If you cold crash early and then bottle carbonate you could slow the yeast prematurely and then risk exploding bottles when they carbonate because there was leftover fermentable sugars.

 

[VikingGoldfish]

Got it guess I need to take another reading today

 

[menerdari]

At 1.009 you're likely already at finished gravity so adding more yeast won't do anything. Give it time to settle out more.
If you can get it into a refrigerator to cold crash that would help (getting it close to 32F changes the density of the liquid and makes the particles drop out faster).
NEVER assume that you've destroyed a batch. Wait until it's finished, bottled/kegged, carbonated, and had a few weeks to condition before deciding it's no good. You'd be surprised at how hard it is to screw up beer ;-)

Or longer, I have had beers that were not that great but after sitting for a year they really improved to a really nice brew.

 

[theseeker4]

Hydro reading fg was 1.009 and forgot to do og when i started but took it 2 days later when the bubbles stopped the first time. That was 1.029. it kept moving around when I took the picture. the bubbles stopped after 2 days went back to the store and got fermen yeast nutrient and the bubbling started again. And it slowed back down after 2 days. Would it be good to add yeast to it again while it's in the secondary ferment or is this batch kinda not good..

I would suggest, for your next batch, to keep the fermenter closed for 3 weeks. All this opening, testing, adding things, etc. is just begging for an infection. Bubbles stopping and starting is not something you really need to worry about, and is certainly not something you should be using to justify adding additional things to the beer after fermentation starts. After you pitch your yeast, keep your beer safely in the fermenter for at least 3 weeks, test the beer's specific gravity, re-seal, and test again a few days later when you are ready to bottle. As long as the two specific gravities are the same, your fermentation is done and you can bottle.

I wouldn't move to a secondary unless you are doing an extended aging of the beer or adding something like fruit. If you are worried about the beer clearing, using irish moss during the boil, or gelatin fining in the fermenter, with or without cold crashing, is likely more effective than simply transferring to a secondary anyway.

Good luck!

 

[VikingGoldfish]

Thanks for the advice about the moss. My local shop told me about it days after I put everything in the fermenter. It's in a nice cold spot for now and the sediment is going down. Just slowly and since the clearing the sample I took tasted much better. Ithe extra sweetness I am guessing was me tasting all that crap floating in it. Thanks again guys!

 

[VikingGoldfish]

Ok so it's been almost

 

[VikingGoldfish]

So I got antsy and opened one of my new brew. And I think it turned out great after I left it alone! Thank you again guys