Newbie here

[Mart1986]

Hi everyone

I'm a newbie to home brew I brought the coopers starter pack from tesco Friday and got it going straight away made few errors one is I forgot to take the gravity test after mixing and the other one is I'm unable to get it to the right temperature so it's brewing at 16c my gravity test is showing 1020 it's on 5th day now will this still drop how long will I need leave it to ferment.

 

[unionrdr]

It's not done yet @ 1.020. It'll need at least another week, maybe two. It'll reach FG first, then give it another 3-7 days to clean up by-products of fermentation & settle out clear or slightly misty. 16C equaling 60.8F, that's a tad low for Cooper's ale yeast. Their ale yeast, for me rehydrated, get's sluggish below 64F.

 

[Mart1986]

Thanks for reply I was going to leave it to ferment till weekend which would be 10 days before moving it to bottles then they stay there for 2 weeks. I'm getting a funny feeling I failed haha

 

[unionrdr]

Don't pay much attention to the time tables in those instructions. They definitely don't fit the actual times needed on a home brewing scale. We think maybe they just want you to hurry through it & buy more kits. Brewing is like bbq, it's done when it's done. You're not failing anything, it just takes longer then they say.

 

[Mart1986]

Maybe your right comes down to sales. what would you say is the gravity I'm aiming for for my next batch I'm thinking of getting heater pad to get it at a better temp

 

[Mart1986]

Well we will see how it goes 1st attempt always going be learning curve what fg is best for lager

 

[GHBWNY]

As unionrdr suggests, you haven't failed --- you just need to take your time. If you're in a hurry, chances are your beer won't turn out as well as you hoped. Beer is all about the yeast, and yeast is a little critter you have to keep happy once it starts feeding on the sugars in the wort: it must be the right yeast, which needs the right amount of aeration at the right ferm temp for the right amount of time along with right handling. You and your beer are literally at the mercy of the yeast and you are on its schedule, not the other way around.

Regarding missing your OG (original gravity) reading, you won't be able to determine ABV, but not a big deal. As union said, instead of doing exactly what the instructions tell you, you will have to know for sure whether fermentation is done and here's how to do it:

Take an FG (final gravity) reading at around 10 days and make note of it. Wait a couple more days and take another FG reading. If those two readings are the same, then it means fermentation is done and you can safely bottle. If the number is still dropping, let it go until you get the same number twice (I even check mine a 3rd time forma total ferm time of 3 weeks). If fermentation is not done and you bottle, you can have "bottle bombs".

 

[Mart1986]

Thanks for reply I have measured it again tonight it's reading 1.018 so it's still dropping I won't read it now it for 3 days and see how it goes

 

[unionrdr]

You could even give it till next week Wednesday before checking it again. By Saturday it could only drop another two points or so. It's not a fast thing.

 

[Mart1986]

Yeah mate think I will I need put it somewhere I can't get to it temptation is hard lol

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

If you have small space heater, you could put it in a closet with the heater set so it kicks in at a temp just a bit higher than ambient. Check it often to make sure it's not too hot. This will warm it up enough to finish up.

 

[Mart1986]

I have a electric radiator it has timer do could set it to come on

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

That could work. Keep a thermometer in there and monitor the temp. Make sure it doesn't get too warm.

 

[TeamCanada]

I've noticed a big improvement in final quality after I started ignoring the kit time table. Now I leave the beer in primary for min 2 weeks. Then I secondary for at least another week, cold crash for a day or two them add gelatin to the keg.

 

[Donmega]

Have done a few coopers kits, it should taste great after a couple of months in the bottle, I would leave mine in primary for a few weeks at least... Although I know it's hard waiting when it's ur first brew (been there) I would get another batch down ASAP after bottling so you can let that one age.... Have fun experimenting !

 

[Mart1986]

Thanks for advice when bottling I was thinking of carbonating it in pressure barrel with tap on save me bottling and getting sediment in bottles

 

[unionrdr]

you can't avoid sediment whether bottle carbing or barrel. It's part of the natural processes involved. How much winds up at the bottom depends on how well you racked it to the barrel or bottling bucket to start with.

 

[Mart1986]

Heater is installed after 2 hours temp starting read 18c or 64f so going leave it now

 

[Mart1986]

Woke up this morning temp was 24c the heater is set to come on for 1hour every 4hours have I gone to high now

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Yes, that's too high. Not crazy high but you should get it back into the mid 60s. A few hours at that temp shouldn't create any issues.

 

[Mart1986]

It's quite tricky maintaining temp

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

One of the best investments you can make is some kind of a system for temp control. It doesn't have to be expensive. I have a chest freezer I got on CL for $50 for summer temp control and a fermwrap heater for winter. These get hooked up to a Johnson controller and keep ferm temps within 1-2 degrees of my target ferm temp. Control of fermentation temps is one of the biggest improvements you can make in your brewing.