Okay, so I want to make a beer.

[Tubba]

Aaw man,it blew the bottom out?

Yeah. Luckily I have a bunch more.


Jcmccoy: It wasn't water for sterilization, it was sterile water for the brew. Obviously I should've let it cool first.

 

[unionrdr]

Ah,I see. Brain fart...

 

[Tubba]

The reason for why it went as such was basically that I was going to pour it into my fermentation bucket at first, but then I realized it was scratched to hell and back, and infested with some hard-to-get-out goo; They're heat resistant as hell, and could've handled the water - you can even boil wort in them. But as I found it unusable, I had to resort to either carboy or BetterBottle. I wanted to use my new carboy, so I cleaned it out, and then I forgot that I would have to chill the water before pouring it in.

I have, as I said, more carboys, but I don't have any bungs that fit them. So, BetterBottle it was. Of course I remembered this time that BetterBottle can only handle 60 degrees C, and took appropriate precautionary action.


Well, that's one mistake I won't make again.

 

[unionrdr]

I recon not. We just get ahead of ourselves sometimes. It happens.

 

[Tubba]

Wort seems to be tagging along, was a bit of kräusen when I woke up this morning, but it was gone after I came back home. It's taken a coffee-with-milk or toffee colour.

 

[Tubba]

Wow! I took a gravity measurement, and according to it, it's already fermented 20-23 points! I had to calculate the starting gravity from the extract since I didn't measure it before I started fermentation, but since I just used extract it should be fairly accurate.

 

[ACbrewer]

Typically the gravity drops really quick - like 80-90% of what it will drop in the first 2 or 3 days. It then does the last 10 to 20% in the next few days until it is complete. There are several reasons for this.

1. the CO2 and extra preasure from it disolved in the beer makes it harder for the yeast to absorb sugars.
2. there is an intial bloom of yeast, but as the food decreases, there are less that stay alive/active to eat.
3. something else I've forgotten.

but the long and short it isn't linear, but a lot of decrease once active fermentation starts (usually 12 to 24 hours after pitch) slowing down after that.

As for your boiled water.... you only need to boil top off water, not the water for the 'boil' itself. there is a preboil/during boil and post boil. Everything touching the wort preboil doesn't need sanitation, everything post boil does. During the boil the 2 gallons of water will get sanatized and then your topoff water (about 3 gallons) can be boiled as you did, or you if you trust your tap, you can just use that. It is a matter of clean tap and no clorine at the tap. And careful with the carboys - there are a few horror stories on the forum about breaking them and bodily injury.

 

[unionrdr]

Mine take 2-4 days to go through initial fermentation,by & large. But those last few points can take up to 2.5-3 weeks to get a stable FG. Then 3-5 days after that to clean up by-products & settle out well.
The yeast start to go dormant & drop out after initial fermentation. I think few actually die,or we'd all have some DMS issues with many dead yeast cells. Another old myth dispelled on here some time ago.
Keeping ferment temps in the proper range is another step to great beers. Along with time & patience,which always go hand in hand.

 

[Tubba]

I'll have a look at the gravity again this weekend, then check if it's stable once I get my bottling bucket. It doesn't feel meaningfull to wait weeks for an extract-brewed 4.4% pale ale.

 

[unionrdr]

Each brew is different,so it can take that long to reach FG & 3-5 days to clean up & settle out well. But that isn't a constant,it can go faster. but it should taste good at that point too. If it doesn't,then give it a couple more days. Beer is like pit bbq,it's done when it's done.

 

[Tubba]

The beer tastes good. However, today it was still at 1.020 (-1-1.5 degrees or so adjusting for temperature). I think that room might be a bit cold (17-18 degrees), so I moved it upstairs, into a slightly warmer room (just over 20 degrees C). I don't know if it was a good idea, but I gave it a shake to rouse the yeast and get out some CO2 too.

 

[unionrdr]

20C being about 69F,it should be ok to get the yeast a little busier to finish it out. I've done that before & knocked off a couple of points.

 

[ACbrewer]

Moving like you did does 3 things. 1. Stir up the yeast, so that should help. 2 bring the temp up to 20 C should help drop some more gravity points and lastly 3. forcing off some CO2 which will make the yeast have an easier time of it.

 

[Tubba]

I figured out that I was taking gravity readings of the bottom sludge, not the actual wort. Derp. I bottled it Sunday. I've got terrible patience so I opened one today. It's good! A bit flat, but good. Much hoppier than I expected, but that's good too. And I didn't even chill it.

 

[johnnyspade]

I figured out that I was taking gravity readings of the bottom sludge, not the actual wort. Derp. I bottled it Sunday. I've got terrible patience so I opened one today. It's good! A bit flat, but good. Much hoppier than I expected, but that's good too. And I didn't even chill it.

Well, you've opened that way too soon, as you've said. Now you know what that recipe tastes like after 3 days in the bottle. leave it there a few more weeks to let the chemistry happen and those hops should mellow.

cleanliness + good chemistry + patience = awesome beer!

That formula never lets me down.

 

[Tubba]

Yep, it's good to know the taste of "green beer", too. I'll try another one in a week, I think.

 

[ayoungrad]

From what I can discern you brewed on 9/6 and then bottled one week later?

You will PROBABLY not have to worry about bottle bombs since it has been a week but who knows given that you were at low temps for much of fermentation which will slow things down. In eithercase you are FAR too impatient with all of this IMHO. You should have a stable gravity for 2-3 days before bottling to avoid bottle bombs because that is the only way to avoid bottling when the yeast is still fermenting your wort. If I were you I would keep your bottles in a safe place just in case they explode.

Also, keep in mind that the 2-3 day stability thing is the earliest you would ever want to take the beer off the yeast cake. Most people let things settle and condition at least for some time before racking or bottling (many on here insist on 3 weeks in primary).

Slow down. Enjoy the process. If you rush you risk bottle bombs at worst and suboptimal beer almost certainly.

 

[Tubba]

Once I figured out that I should take the wort sample from higher up, I found out that the specific gravity was very low. I don't remember exactly how low, but it was definitely below the 1.015 BeerSmith calculated. Maybe 1.010. Anyway, it hadn't moved a bit for a few days, and I even added another package of yeast. It was not a recipe I put a lot of effort into anyway, and I wanted to have the fermenter free. The wort tasted good, and so I figured the final product would taste good as well.

I'm going to take it much slower with my Stout.

 

[ayoungrad]

If it was stable for a few days then bottle bombs should not be an issue - I did not understand this from what you said above.

But you should know that predicted FGs can be way off and until you fine tune your set-up with particular regard also to yeast strain and ingredients, you should never rely on a predicted FG to tell you a batch is done fermenting.

 

[jfr1111]

If it was stable for a few days then bottle bombs should not be an issue - I did not understand this from what you said above.

But you should know that predicted FGs can be way off and until you fine tune your set-up with particular regard also to yeast strain and ingredients, you should never rely on a predicted FG to tell you a batch is done fermenting.

This. Don't use Beersmith's predicted FG, it frankly blows and doesn't take into account mash temp, use of extract, etc. Even the yeasts attenuation rates are often screwy.

If you really want to know in advance your FG, you have to do a fast ferment: you take a small portion of wort, overpitch, ferment high and check the gravity of that after a few days. And even this test isn't always accurate because your real fermentation could very well attenuate less because you haven't overpitched or fermented high. It's more a measure of the overall fermentable sugars in the wort than a be all end all prediction of FG. FG stability for an extended period of time is pretty much the only way to know for sure the beer is done.

 

[flabyboy]

You need a pretty powerful burner on your stove to get a good boil. I would also suggest an outdoor propane burner and pot. I use a turkey fryer. Gets 8-9 gallons up to a boil in 20 mins or so.

 

[Tubba]

If it was stable for a few days then bottle bombs should not be an issue - I did not understand this from what you said above.

But you should know that predicted FGs can be way off and until you fine tune your set-up with particular regard also to yeast strain and ingredients, you should never rely on a predicted FG to tell you a batch is done fermenting.

This. Don't use Beersmith's predicted FG, it frankly blows and doesn't take into account mash temp, use of extract, etc. Even the yeasts attenuation rates are often screwy.

If you really want to know in advance your FG, you have to do a fast ferment: you take a small portion of wort, overpitch, ferment high and check the gravity of that after a few days. And even this test isn't always accurate because your real fermentation could very well attenuate less because you haven't overpitched or fermented high. It's more a measure of the overall fermentable sugars in the wort than a be all end all prediction of FG. FG stability for an extended period of time is pretty much the only way to know for sure the beer is done.

Thanks!

 

[Tubba]

I opened my second today. The cork flew off when I did - luckily it was in a swing top bottle.

I left it in the fridge for a while this time. I noticed that there was some sediment suspended in the bottom quarter or so, that seemed to ruin the colour. I think leaving it in the fridge for 24 hours before opening will help.

It had a HUGE head when I poured it, almost like a weissbier, but poor retention - I understand that has as much to do with the prevalence of polypeptides as carbonation, though. Once I had checked a couple of things the head was gone. Carbonation level is good enough for this kind of ale, and I think it'll get perfect in another week.

Taste is still "green", but much less so. The hops character is very dominant, with almost no maltyness at all. I'll try to get less yeast along in another week. It's really fun to see how good it has turned out!

 

[Tubba]

Opened a third today.


Mm! What an improvement. Now it actually tastes malt and hops like I'm used to. It's both hoppy and malty at the same time - before the hops were entirely dominant, and I think I made it a bit stronger than I intended to by not quite adding enough water.

Anyway, it's a definitive success!

 

[unionrdr]

It sounds like yo chilled them less than 24 hours.? Leave them in the fridge for at least 5 days,& they'll be way better. I found that 2 weeks in the fridge gives a head like meringue & very good carbonation. A few hours chilling is not enough to get the gas into solution like 5 to 14 days will. I think that sediment in the bottom quarter of the bottle you referred to was the chill haze. It settles out toward the bottom of the bottle,looking much like a fog.

 

[Tubba]

I chilled for about 24 hours. I'll put a bunch of more bottles in there tomorrow, then, (and try not to drink them up too quickly.)

 

[unionrdr]

Give'em at least 5 days,& you'll start to see the difference. Even my Whiskely Ale finally had good head & carbonation after 2 weeks in the fridge. It sat conditioning for some 9 weeks & 6 days before 2 weeks in the fridge for that result. So patience,once again,is indeed a virtue.