No need to argue. brewing is great... everyone has opinions they are like AHoles. right? research always solves everything... as in where i understand where you you are coming from... but in any kind of common knowledge. .. heating plastic with something you are ingesting could infact lead to chemicals being released obviously. . he was merely stating his opinion against the paint bags... but in any sense... any brewer that is going to continue to brew should probably just invest in some good boil bagsbut again as always im new here so i accept any input.
Fully agree! 3 years of at least monthly brewing and I still learn a LOT by keeping up with this awesome forum. For super new brewers though, I like there to be accurate info readily accessible to them and not just speculative opinions which muddy the waters more so than they already are to a brand new brewer. Of course, forums will have tons of opinion which is part of the enjoyment so I guess it's really up to the reader to recognize those statements based on facts from studies vs someone's biased view. That being said, you sound sure you wan to invest in a good bag so I will gladly refer you on to @wilserbrewer, his bags are awesome & his customer support is top notch!
My Second Home brew (start)
- Thread starter res1bcb1
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Help Support Homebrew Talk:
Glad that's all clear, didn't mean to ruffle any feathers here!
lol no issues was ganna say jeez hostility on my 2nd post? over some BIABs lol... but i check my gravity today its at 1.020 is that looking good or should it be lower? seems like no visual yeast activities. .. should i rouse yeast slightly?
magpiebrew
Member
Oh thank god somebody mentioned the cat food. Haha! My eyes kept drawing to it in the pics. Course I'm surrounded by dozens of chickens when I brew so no doubt some chicken poo in my brew or something.
Beer looks good OP, keep up the obsession!
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thanks mag pie. lol that cat food has been moved sense i dont even remember why it was on the table i believe my wife was cleaning. haha. possible you could answer question above?
magpiebrew
Member
If you are referring to whether 1.020 is low enough my opinion is to have patience young padawan. Even after you've hit your target gravity it's best to let it sit to let the yeast clean up so as to lessen your chance of off flavors. Try to make it to 10 days for primary fermentation. Just keep brewing so you have beer to drink while you wait!
Every fermentation is a bit different so having done a lot of batches I was expecting something but my last batch had an expected FG of 1.018 so I was rather concerned when I measured 1.030 at the end of the second week. My beers are usually done by then. This one continued to ferment and now at the end of week 3 it finally hit the 1.018. I've learned to be somewhat patient but this was a new lesson.
brew703
Well-Known Member
What's your fermentation temp?
IMO, you are checking gravity way too soon. If you brewed on 1.29 then you are just wasting your volume. I never check gravity until 10-14 days min. Most times I let it go 3 weeks before checking, especially with a 1 gallon batch. If you take a gravity reading every few days you will not have anything to drink lol.
My one gallon batches usually net me 8-9 bottles. What did you get with your first batch?
FWIW, I'm a new brewer as well. I have about 18 batches under my belt. I brew mainly 2 & 3 gallon batches, mainly because I'm just trying different recipes to see which I like.
One issue I have come across is there are ALOT of opinions and many different ways to accomplish the same thing. With that said, it's not a bad thing but is confusing as hell for a new brewer.
Good luck and enjoy this freakin obsession.
IMO, you are checking gravity way too soon. If you brewed on 1.29 then you are just wasting your volume. I never check gravity until 10-14 days min. Most times I let it go 3 weeks before checking, especially with a 1 gallon batch. If you take a gravity reading every few days you will not have anything to drink lol.
My one gallon batches usually net me 8-9 bottles. What did you get with your first batch?
FWIW, I'm a new brewer as well. I have about 18 batches under my belt. I brew mainly 2 & 3 gallon batches, mainly because I'm just trying different recipes to see which I like.
One issue I have come across is there are ALOT of opinions and many different ways to accomplish the same thing. With that said, it's not a bad thing but is confusing as hell for a new brewer.
Good luck and enjoy this freakin obsession.
Well whats crazy is i just a literally bottled my first batch tonight... !!!! and literally had 10 times more trub thenmy 2nd batch and i got 7 bottles. ! i had a bit extra brew so couldnt help myself but pouring the last bit in my cup to try!. as of now even as many mistakes as i know i made the beer actually tastes not to bad in my opinion... lets see when its cold and carbonated compared to my second batch!
Hey Dan,
Glad to hear your batch #1 tasted alright, I thought for sure you were in trouble on that one. I mostly brew 5g batches (some 2.5 and once I split a 5g into 5-1g batches). I don't know if the 1g batches take more/less time to finish, mine didn't, so I too would agree no need to check so often. I assume you're still dropping the hydrometer into the fermenter, so not losing any beer. If that's the case I'd wait for 10 days or so before 1st measurement, and likely by 2 weeks you'll be fine- it will matter on beer styles. Low ferm temps take longer (low 60's and below) as opposed to higher temps. Yeast will change flavorsbased on ferm temp as well- lots on here about that too. Patience is the key here! If you want a quick brew, look up BierMuncher's Blonde ale. Very nice brew and should finish up quick.
Enjoy the beer, now wait again- 2wks of bottle aging in the mid 60's should be good (too cool and you won't carb up, over say 70's I'd also avoid), then put in fridge for a day or two before drinking and enjoy! Look forward to hearing your taste impressions.
Glad to hear your batch #1 tasted alright, I thought for sure you were in trouble on that one. I mostly brew 5g batches (some 2.5 and once I split a 5g into 5-1g batches). I don't know if the 1g batches take more/less time to finish, mine didn't, so I too would agree no need to check so often. I assume you're still dropping the hydrometer into the fermenter, so not losing any beer. If that's the case I'd wait for 10 days or so before 1st measurement, and likely by 2 weeks you'll be fine- it will matter on beer styles. Low ferm temps take longer (low 60's and below) as opposed to higher temps. Yeast will change flavorsbased on ferm temp as well- lots on here about that too. Patience is the key here! If you want a quick brew, look up BierMuncher's Blonde ale. Very nice brew and should finish up quick.
Enjoy the beer, now wait again- 2wks of bottle aging in the mid 60's should be good (too cool and you won't carb up, over say 70's I'd also avoid), then put in fridge for a day or two before drinking and enjoy! Look forward to hearing your taste impressions.
ive been doing ok.. 2nd batch still fermenting havent check gravity yet since last time and yea.. no test tube screw that... i wash and sanitized the hydrometer always before putting in fermentor.... tied a thread to it so i can pull up easy lol
kev211
Well-Known Member
I was always a big fan of the turkey baster with vinyl hose attached for a $2 target special diy "wine thief"
Good move!
Small batch brewers can't afford to lose any beer, all is precious. But can you start a suction for transfer with that? I've done a 1g wine extract with my daughter and need to transfer soon. Need ideas!
kev211
Well-Known Member
I dont see why you couldnt. Ive never actually started a siphon with it, but it would stand to reason that it is possible.
why not just buy an auto siphon ... thats what i use. works like a charm
kev211
Well-Known Member
I use an auto siphon as well, but he did say that he was a small batch brewer. I feel like with a full blown auto siphon you would leave quite a bit of the beer in the siphon
kombat
Well-Known Member
They have mini-auto-siphons, I have one I use when bottling my 1-gallon batches.
kev211
Well-Known Member
Its funny, as soon as I typed my response I started thinking, maybe they do have small ones? And I started sipping my first cup of coffee so I could actually type intelligent responses and checked amazon and sure enough, there they are. But I still stand by my turkey baster wine thief
I haven't used one, don't use carboys (well except for wine), is that where you blow into the end of the tube? How much? Does it create bubbles in the wort / must? I guess I need to read up, but it scares me....
TheFrenchDude
Member
I really love your home made air-lock!
lol not home made my son (year old) kept trying to remove it... therefore it was taped to the fermenter. so it didnt go missing while i was at work.
so i have a question... i went to check gravity today after about two weeks.... and noticed my brew is still actively fermenting. .. bubbles still slowly popping in air lock and i checked gravity its still at 1.020 ... is it stuck... or just be patient
and this beer is supposed to be a 6.5% abv. with my calculations 1050 to 1020 is about 3.5 fermenting temp has been a steady 68°F
kev211
Well-Known Member
If its still fermenting, let it be. The only way to know that for sure is to take another gravity sample in a day or 2. If its the same, its probably don't and the bubbling airlock was caused by something else
Sounds like it's still fermenting. I estimate gravity by 1.3 factor so you're at about 4% now. I'd hold off, another week won't hurt.
