UK - The Dark Ape - 1st Home Brew

[boo boo]

Still never read this http://www.howtobrew.com/ did you?

 

[monkey_the_pig]

I read some of that page last night, yeah it's got some great advice, thanks for the link. Unfortunately i'm in the middle of exams, so thought it would be quicker and easier to ask the odd question through the forum. I appologize if questions I have asked are on various how to brew websites.

one thing I was thinking about;

everywhere says to wait until the fermentation has stopped bubbling or the bottles will explode... however the instructions with the coopers kit say to bottle when the hydrometer readings are same over 2 days (usually 5 days with my temp). now on my 5th day of fermenting my brew was still bubbling, surely the bottles wouldn't have exploded if I bottled then, otherwise Coopers would have complaints from all who use their brew kits due to exploding bottles!

an update: into the 9th day ot fermentation now, still small bubbles every few mins

thanks again

Monkey

 

[mysterio]

Go ahead and try it and let us know what happens - you will almost certainly end up with beer that is overcarbonated and erupts out of the bottle.

 

[monkey_the_pig]

No worries, i'm not going to bottle until the bubbling has stopped. I'm not following the Coopers instructions (as I've been using advice of this forum and other websites).

I just wondered why Coopers would put this on their instructions if it is going to explode their customers bottles!

cheers again,

Momkey

 

[Lou]

the coopers kit say to bottle when the hydrometer readings are same over 2 days

I just wondered why Coopers would put this on their instructions if it is going to explode their customers bottles!

they didn't say anything incorrect. if the hydrometer reading is the same for 2 consecutive days, the bubbling has stopped... no bottle explosions.

 

[monkey_the_pig]

I was just thinking about when to know when it's ready to bottle (remember i'm going straight from primary to bottle)

There seems to be a small debate on the forums between using hydrometers and just waiting till it stops bubbling.

I was thinking about this and logically would the best way be;

wait until it stops bubbling (for at least couple of days to make sure)...
...then (and not before) take an SG reading over 2 days to make sure that it definetely has stopped fermenting.

do you really need to use the hydrometer if it is still bubbling? (as if it's still bubbling the fermentation hasn't stopped and the sg reading isn't going to be final)

Refering to what other have said, if you don't open the barrell then it can be kept in primary for as long as you want because no air has entered to have possibility of infecting. is this the case?

if it is then I won't take an SG reading now, i'll wait until the bubbling has stopped then take one, to expose my brew to a little air as possible.

any thoughts on this?

monkey

 

[Lou]

I was just thinking about when to know when it's ready to bottle (remember i'm going straight from primary to bottle)

There seems to be a small debate on the forums between using hydrometers and just waiting till it stops bubbling.

I was thinking about this and logically would the best way be;

wait until it stops bubbling (for at least couple of days to make sure)...
...then (and not before) take an SG reading over 2 days to make sure that it definetely has stopped fermenting.

do you really need to use the hydrometer if it is still bubbling? (as if it's still bubbling the fermentation hasn't stopped and the sg reading isn't going to be final)

Refering to what other have said, if you don't open the barrell then it can be kept in primary for as long as you want because no air has entered to have possibility of infecting. is this the case?

if it is then I won't take an SG reading now, i'll wait until the bubbling has stopped then take one, to expose my brew to a little air as possible.

any thoughts on this?

monkey

i agree. there is no reason to take a gravity reading while your beer is still actively fermenting.

 

[freyguy]

Most of us stick with 1 week in primary, and 2 weeks in secondary. Since you are only using a primary fermenter, I would say to go at least 14 days before bottling. More time will make clearer beer, but for lighter beers, 2 weeks should be plenty.

If you have a hydrometer, you can take a reading and see if it falls close to what the directions say it should. Some use the hydrometer too much and it does risk getting infection in the beer. I only take two readings, one before I pitch the yeast, and another right before I bottle. That way I can find out my %alcohol. I always wait at least 14 days to bottle though, and by then fermentation is done.

Here's a link to the bottle filler wand talked about above:
http://morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=15657

What you would do is connect the tube to the spigot of the keg you are using to add your sugar, then put this filler on the other end of the tube. The tube only lets liquid out when it's pressed on the bottom of the bottle, that way you don't have to turn the spigot on/off for every bottle. And the wand displaces enough liguid so it provides a perfect level of beer if you fill the bottle to the top with the wand in there. Once it's removed, you have a perfect level, and will have consistent fills.

 

[monkey_the_pig]

Hi thanks Lou and Freyguy,

14days will put me at tuesday night, however I have 4 exams in 4 days wed-sat! so will have to wait till sat to bottle (if not bubbling of course).

That bottle filler thing sounds great, however due to lack of funds on this brew i'll keep to my tubing and tap. I'll def keep it in mind for the next brew though, thanks.

at the end of the 10th day of brewing now and it's producing roughly 16 small bubbles an hour (was 24 yesterday). So i'm getting there.

I'm forever counting bubbles...lalala

cheers

Monkey

 

[Monk]

I've only been brewing for 6 months or so, but I can already say that my "fermentation handling" has changed quite a bit. I don't know why, but it took me a while to realize that I don't ferment the wort, the Yeast does. So I just need to stop micromanaging those little guys and let them do their job (EAT THAT SUGAR!).
Once the chilled wort is in a clean and sanatized carboy, my part of the job is sorta done (mostly). So, like the others, I don't take another hydro reading until it's totally, completely done (2-3weeks).

 

[monkey_the_pig]

Just double checking something now.

My beer will have been fermenting 14days on tuesday, so may be ready to bottle then (of course i'll check first). If it is ready to bottle then, would it be ok to wait a further 4/5 days and bottle sat or sunday? this is because I have exams and little time this week.

I was reading the instructions (i know i shouldn't follow them, just double checking with you all). and i quote from them (from common faults info);

"white skin on top of fermented beer or sour taste; cause: ...or fermented beer has been allowed to stand too long before bottling"

does this mean fermented for too long? or an open barrell has been stood for too long during the process of bottling? or should I just ignore it whatever it means?

thanks again,
Monkey

 

[homebrewer_99]

Your beer is not old enough to worry about any of that. You'll be OK for another couple of weeks.

 

[Monk]

I second that. I often leave bitters and pale ales in primary for 2 - 2.5 weeks and they are always fine. I think the autolysis issue doesn't become a real issue until at least 3+ weeks.

Hb99, didn't you say you had a batch in primary for a month and it won an award? Someone said that.

You're beer will be fine, Monkey. Now worry about your exams! Your ale will be much more forgiving of mistakes than your professors will be.

 

[monkey_the_pig]

haha,

thanks again to everyone's help, you've been great

i'm gonna have a rest saturday then get on with the bottling on sunday. I'll post my procedure on what I intend to do on the day of bottling on saturday for all to advise on.

thanks again,

Monkey

 

[monkey_the_pig]

Hello again!

I've now finished my exams, and the beer is ready to bottle
it hasn't bubbing for a good few days now, the SG is 1.0046 (OG - 1.0347) and has been steady over 2 days. I tried the beer from the test tube for taking the SG and it tasted like beer! great so far so good.

ok i've made a plan for today;
lunchtime;
1. moved barrell onto desk (so that it can be ready for syphoning into bottle bucket)
2. sanitise drying racks (see pic)
3. sanitise bottles, caps, syphoning tubes, spoon.
4. sanitise bottle bucket

5. wait till night to bottle, to give everything a chance to dry

nighttime;
6. make priming sugar solution (i need to research the amount of water to use when dissolving sugars first) then add to bottling bucket
7. gently syphon beer into bottling bucket with sugar solution
8. gently stir with spoon
9. move bottling bucket up onto the desk (to give height for syphoning to bottles)
10. line up bottles, fill with beer, cap.

and the bottles;

Any thing you can give advice, if you think I should do something slightly different etc any help is much appreciated.

thank you all again,


Monkey