My First Batch - Messed Up?!?!

[jroberts2001]

I brewed my first batch a week ago...Autumn Amber Ale. Left it in the primary fermenter for a week and then transferred it straight to a keg tonight (7 days later). I used dry yeast but it was working good in anout 18 hours and kept it up for another day or so. I realize I probably should have waited at least 1 to 2 weeks longer before kegging but I wanted to take the first fruits of my new labor to my wife's family Christmas gathering on the 26th. After kegging, I put 30 psi of CO2 to it and rolled it around for a good 30 minutes to force carbonate it. It's cold now and it tastes like crap and is a lot cloudier than I expected!

Obviously, I'm not taking it to my in-laws but I don't know what to do with it. The last thing I want to do is pour it out. Any suggestions? Will it be any better if I dont disturb the keg and try it again in a week or so? What pressure should I leave it in the keg? And no, since I was force carbonating it, I did not use any priming sugar.

Thanks!

 

[veritas524]

Did you take any gravity readings to see if it was somewhat close to finishing?

 

[RugenBrau]

let it sit....your beer is green. Brewing is not a race and patience is the first thing that we all have learned. I don't believe your beer was finished fermenting in one week. You need to get a hydrometer...and read some of Revvys posts about fermentation. Patience.....Patience

 

[jroberts2001]

Yes - it started at 1.035 and was at 1.010 late last night. I didn't do the 3 days in a row measurement.

 

[jroberts2001]

Let it sit in the keg or put it back in the carboy?

 

[RugenBrau]

probably wasn't finished. Let it finish up in the keg

 

[Teaman]

Hate to be negative but you didn't do anything right.
It takes at least 4-6 weeks to start drinking your beer depending on the type. 7 days isn't long enough to probably finish fermenting, definitley not to condition, and now you've beat the **** out of it rolling it around on the floor for 30 minutes.
Some will disagree but I would dump it. It hurts to say that.

 

[RugenBrau]

You won't gain anything by dumping it now...If you wait it might turn out ok. I think it will. If it doesn't then dump it!

 

[Teaman]

You won't gsin anything by dumping it now...If you wait it might turn out ok. I think it will

That's true. You may as well ride it out and hope for the best. I take that back.

 

[jroberts2001]

Thanks RugenBrau & Teaman ! I will ride it out and time will tell. If I have messed it up then so be it...it was darn sure fun at least trying to make it. I know I pushed it and that patience is required when making homebrew...just got a little anxious this time.

Should I put the keg in the beer box in the garage or bring it back inside? Also, what psi should I keep on the keg?

Last question - I got a 6 gal ported Better Bottle to ferment is and the spigot obviously suck off the bottom where the crud, trub and other nasty junk is. Why wouldnt I want rack from the top and stop when I get to the last inch? Maybe there is something obvious that I am missing but it doesn't make good common sense.

 

[D0ug]

Thanks RugenBrau & Teaman ! I will ride it out and time will tell. If I have messed it up then so be it...it was darn sure fun at least trying to make it. I know I pushed it and that patience is required when making homebrew...just got a little anxious this time.

Should I put the keg in the beer box in the garage or bring it back inside? Also, what psi should I keep on the keg?

Last question - I got a 6 gal ported Better Bottle to ferment is and the spigot obviously suck off the bottom where the crud, trub and other nasty junk is. Why wouldnt I want rack from the top and stop when I get to the last inch? Maybe there is something obvious that I am missing but it doesn't make good common sense.

Last Question:
I feel the same way about these things, I think your intuition is not so far off. But...
Some people use this kind of set up for fermenting and report no problems with it, I think it depends on how high the port is off the bottom. Supposedly some of the ports are located high enough from the bottom to be above any lees/yeast cake/trub that falls clear of the beer.

I use an ale pail and auto siphon, and after 3 or 4 weeks in primary rack off some very clear beer with almost no sediment transfer to the bottling bucket.

 

[Teaman]

I've never fermented in a keg so I don't know exactly how it's done. I imagine you would want to release the pressure from the keg every day?? I wouldn't think you would want it pressurized. And you dont want oxygen getting in. I suppose your relief valve on the keg could be used as a manual airlock.

 

[RugenBrau]

I agree with doug...Get a autosiphon. It will leave all the trub undisturbed. I suppose you could use the ported bottle if you do a secondary fermentation. I'm a glass man!

 

[RugenBrau]

I'd just disconnect it and let it sit. Most of the fermentation is already done. I can,t belive that it could build up too much pressure

 

[pikledbill]

You have not ruined your beer. You have done nothing catastrophic that requires and/or even justifies dumping it. Let it sit for two weeks, then taste it again. If it still is not pleasing, let it sit a month and retaste. If still not pleasing, give it another month...it will probably smooth out eventually. Some beers are designed to drink young, others need a bit of conditioning...it depends on the style of beer. There is no general "rule of thumb" for how long it takes beer to become drinkable.

A 7-day fermentation is not unheard of...in fact, it is really not that uncommon. This depends on your pitching rate, fermentation temperature, and the sugar profile/concetration of your wort.

Always take gravity readings if you can. You can leave your beer over the trub, or rack it off into a secondary...it really doesn't matter (IMHO). Some will tell you that you should rack, others will tell you it is not necessary. This is something you have to work out for yourself.

Good luck with it.

Pikledbill

 

[jroberts2001]

Thanks for everyone's help and input! I brought the keg back inside and released the pressure on it. It was amlmost full so there is very little space for CO2. I will let it sit for at least 2 weeks without touching it and will auto-siphon the contents into another (cleaned and sanitized) keg and then charge it with 12 psi of CO2 and let it sit for another 3 or 4 days in the beer box in the garage and then try it in about 3 weeks. I know I rushed it and have learned a big lesson!

Thanks again for everyone's input!!! You guys are the best!!

 

[Flomaster]

search for the pressurized fermentation thread.

ah I did it for you

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/closed-system-pressurized-fermentation-technique-44344/


-=jason=-

 

[RugenBrau]

if you are going to leave the beer in the keg I would hit it with just a bit of co2 to keep the air out. If you don;t have any pressure in the keg you won't have a tight seal and air can enter it.