Newb Question(s)

[maxwellwinter]

Hello y'all! Very excited to join this
Community. Seems like there is a vast amount of knowledge in these forums. I am a new Brewer (got a kit from Midwest supplies for Christmas from my wife) so any info I gain from you guys will be much appreciated.

Here's my situation:

I am brewing the front porch pale ale that came with my kit. I feel that the boil went at good as it possibly could have. I probably made a mistake in the cooling process because I kept stirring the wort every so often in hopes that it would help cool it quicker. Should I not have stirred? And let everything settle to the bottom?

My kit did not come with a hydrometer so I did not get an initial reading (another rookie mistake). I have since bought on. So here is my main question...and it's probably a stupid one. I know the only true way to see if fermentation is complete is by taking hydrometer readings a few days in a row and see if they stay consistent. So is it OK to take the lid off my primary fermenter to get the readings. I was under the assumption that oxygen is generally bad at this point. True?

It has been in my primary fermenter for 20 days but am getting antsy to bottle. It had pretty active bubbling for a solid 3-4 days (maybe longer but don't remember). I was also under the assumption that the longer it sits in the primary the clearer the beer as more will settle out with more time. True?

Sorry for the long post hope some of you stuck through it until the end. Looking forward to some feedback. Thanks in advance.

 

[gromitdj]

Congratulations on having the patience to wait almost three weeks already!

It's perfectly acceptable to stir the wort during cooling as long as you are sure to practice good sanitation. It certainly helps with speeding up the chilling process. I always do it. Then after removing my chiller, I give the wort a really good stir and let it sit fo 20 - 30 minutes to settle.

It's not necessary to know the O.G. in order to gauge when it's done, but it helps. It's time to use that hydrometer, though. Take a few readings a couple of days apart and if it's not still going down, it's time to bottle. Did the recipe give you an estimated terminal gravity? My best guess would be somewhere in the 1.015-1.020 range for an extract recipe.

Oxygen is bad at this point, but you can mitigate that with good practices. You should use a sanitized thief to get the sample for testing. A clean (and sanitized) turkey baster will do in a pinch. Just be careful not to splash and stir.

 

[maxwellwinter]

Thanks Donnie,

So if I don't have a thief or turkey baster to take a sample is it acceptable to put the hydrometer directly into the fermenter to take a reading? Am I exposing the beer to too much oxygen by prying off the lid to take these readings/samples.

Appreciate the advice and helping out the greenhorn.

 

[gromitdj]

Taking off the lid will not expose the beer to unusual amounts of oxygen. It really depends on how the beer is handled. A certain amount of handling is certain as you will have to transfer for bottling/kegging, etc. You just want to do it as gently as possible. I've heard of some putting the hydrometer directly in the fermenter before. And assuming your fermenting in a bucket, and you sanitize the hydrometer sufficiently, it might not be a problem.

With a thief you would be inserting an object into the beer anyhow. Possibly multiple times. The only concern I would have is getting a false reading due to co2 bubbles clinging to the hydrometer. This is why people spin the hydrometer in the sample tube. Doing so in a bucket is a possibility but is a chance to introduce oxygen. If that's your only option, try it. May be much ado about nothing. Just be sure to sanitize the hydrometer very well.

 

[muels]

I never use a thief, I just sanitize the hydrometer and carefully set it in. Do not drop it in, it can crash to the bottom and crack the end. You will end up posting in the "broken hydrometer thread". After 20 days you are probably good. Take a reading then take another one in about 2 days. If they are the same and are close to what the kit says you can throw it in the fridge for a day or 2 to cold crash (helps drop sediment and clears the beer) then bottle. Let them condition at room temp.

Welcome to the hobby! Plenty of good info and helpful folks here.

 

[RM-MN]

Can I make the assumption that the kit you got is an extract kit? If so and you used the correct amount of water, the OG is what the kit says. You can't miss when using extract.

The kit might tell you when the beer is done but the yeast are the ones in control of that. You'll have plenty of time to get a cheap turkey baster since the beer can stay in the fermenter for 2 or 3 months (maybe even more) without going bad. I would never try to read the hydrometer while it is in the fermenter. I can't get the proper angle and it may read incorrectly anyway because the CO2 bubbles like to stick to it and lift it a bit. I bought a nice graduated cylinder to take my reading in but after the second time using it decided that it took too much work to get enough wort in it for a reading and went back to using the tube the hydrometer can in.