Welcome Beginning Brewers!

[Jpeck]

Ok thanks for the help let I be for 3 more weeks per the booklet . Again thanks for the help much appreciated!

 

[SeanC138]

I'm a new home brewer and new to this forum and have a question that probably isn't answerable, but just an observation. I brewed my first batch of beer using an extract kit, just bottled another and plan to start my first batch of mead tonight.

When drinking your first batch of beer, how do you know if it tastes 'right' or are my expectations too high? In other words, what I drank tasted like beer, smelled like beer, carbonated like beer, but lacked much flavor. It was a kit I bought from Northern Brewer and I followed the direction very closely. I found myself comparing it to great canned beer I drink from established breweries and maybe that's a mistake and my expectations are too high. I had friends try it and they said, "good for your first time" not "dude, when are you brewing that again?!".

How do you know when you have it down? Is it just doing it enough and tasting one and you say to yourself, "I need to brew that again now!" How did you all know when you somewhat mastered the art of home brew?

 

[Jayjay1976]

I'm a new home brewer and new to this forum and have a question that probably isn't answerable, but just an observation. I brewed my first batch of beer using an extract kit, just bottled another and plan to start my first batch of mead tonight.

When drinking your first batch of beer, how do you know if it tastes 'right' or are my expectations too high? In other words, what I drank tasted like beer, smelled like beer, carbonated like beer, but lacked much flavor. It was a kit I bought from Northern Brewer and I followed the direction very closely. I found myself comparing it to great canned beer I drink from established breweries and maybe that's a mistake and my expectations are too high. I had friends try it and they said, "good for your first time" not "dude, when are you brewing that again?!".

How do you know when you have it down? Is it just doing it enough and tasting one and you say to yourself, "I need to brew that again now!" How did you all know when you somewhat mastered the art of home brew?

You'll know your skills are good enough when you stop buying beer out of necessity, both because your homebrew is tasty enough to prefer it and because you can produce a respectable batch of whatever styles you are into. I just buy beers that I might be interested in cloning, as research.

 

[Toxxyc]

I think you "have it down" when people are asking you for more. Doesn't mean it has to be great (or better than commercial), it should just be enjoyable.

Oh, and that means for you. I love my beers, and they're brewed for me, and not according to a style. I'll work myself up into a craving for a specific flavour, and then build a recipe around that.

 

[IslandLizard]

Do you have a hydrometer? If so, did you take a gravity reading before fermenting? If you did, then you could take another reading now to check how far along it is.

Yes, to taking the first reading before pitching (adding) the yeast.
But not so much for taking multiple readings while it's fermenting:

• It's not needed. Fermentation handles itself until completion, 1-3 weeks after pitching yeast.
• Especially with smaller batches (e.g., 1-2 gallons), taking samples remove a relatively large amount of beer, reducing the yield.
• Taking samples could increase the risk of introducing infections. Much more so when those samples are being returned to the fermenter, which shouldn't be done. Instead, drink them, it's quality control and teaches one how to judge young beer and see how it develops over time!

Now after 1-3 weeks, when fermentation has completed, a hydrometer sample can be taken and another one 3 days later. If they match and are close to the expected Final Gravity (FG), it's usually safe to bottle.

 

[Jpeck]

This is a great place to start if you have ANY questions at all about brewing your own beer.

From Mr. Beer and extract kits to all-grain brewing, we welcome all new brewers who have questions or need advice on their equipment, techniques, fermentation, wort making, yeast, and more.

If you have a question, that means that others probably have had the same question too so no question is too silly. I promise. Ask us!

And to more experienced brewers, it goes without saying that we will be welcoming of those questions and be as helpful as possible in our answers. If someone feels that they can't be positive and helpful, they should refrain from posting in the Beginner's Forum. Ask me if you are unsure if something is appropriate- remember what your mother told you, "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all!"

Feel free to message one of the admins or moderators if you have any problems with posting on the forum, or if you have any problems with navigating around the forum at all.

Cheers!

Good morning everyone . Quick question here . I bottle my first run last night . Per the instructions it says leave in a warm dark place for 2 weeks to finish carbonating the beer . . What’s a good room temp for this process . Thanks again everyone great group here

 

[VikeMan]

Good morning everyone . Quick question here . I bottle my first run last night . Per the instructions it says leave in a warm dark place for 2 weeks to finish carbonating the beer . . What’s a good room temp for this process . Thanks again everyone great group here

The temperature for bottle carbonation isn't usually critical. I'd say somewhere in the area of 68-72. But a little lower can usually work. But warmer is faster.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Hey, welcome to HBT @Jpeck
Congrats on your first batch!

When I was brand new I was super anxious to have my beer ready, so I used a large rubbermaid tub with a lid and a seedling heating mat to create an 85f space that would hold ~60 bottles. They were carbed enough to enjoy in less than a week but I ended up drinking yeasty, cloudy beer. Later on I brewed more frequently, and would let them sit at room temp for 3 weeks, then a week in the fridge to settle out and chill, and I had a new batch ready to drink every weekend. I had probably 700-800 bottles in rotation which I got fed up with cleaning and maintaining, so I started brewing less. When I just about stopped brewing altogether due to my dreading bottling day, I decided I had to do something about it so I jumped into kegging and haven't looked back. Beer quality improved dramatically and I now brew as often as I feel like it and filling the keg takes ten minutes, tops. Kegs are a bit of work to clean but it takes maybe 20 minutes of actual work plus half an hour running the keg washer, no biggy.

Good luck and stick with it my dude.

 

[ncbrewer]

Good morning everyone . Quick question here . I bottle my first run last night . Per the instructions it says leave in a warm dark place for 2 weeks to finish carbonating the beer . . What’s a good room temp for this process . Thanks again everyone great group here

Around 70F as VikeMan said, but in the summer I've conditioned at 78F and couldn't tell the difference, so I don't worry about it being a little warmer. Bottle conditioning temperature doesn't seem to be near as important as fermentation temp.

 

[westhearcher]

Howdy - just signed up as found a few posts in here that referenced Coopers Irish Stout (which is my current homebrew) and is an area I'm looking for some help with.

I've done a few homebrews myself - mostly the can kits (ales mostly - like Coopers, John Bull, Woodford Wherry etc) and so far have been good (well, drinkable).

I've just started my Coopers Irish Stout after receiving it for Christmas (started on Sunday 21 March 2021) and I did the following:

1. Sterilised all kit using VWP steriliser, then rinsed
2. Added the contents of the can to the fermentation bucket using 2 litres of just boiled water
3. Added 1KG of Coopers Brew Enhancer number 3, then mixed with a sterilised plastic spoon
4. Topped up with cold water to 23 litres, whilst gently stirring every now and then
5. Added Harris Pure Brew Beer Kit water treatment (1 crushed tablet and 1 teaspoon of treatment powder) to the brew whilst gently stirring
6. Added the yeast (sachet provided with the Coopers Irish Stout kit) and gentle stirred
7. Sealed the lid
8. Topped up my airlock with sterilised water
9. Placed FV in the cupboard under our stairs where the temperature is around 18 - 20°C (I also have a couple of temperature sensors in the room to give me a rough idea of the temperature)

However, in all my other brews I've noticed that the batch starts producing CO2 after approximately 24 hours (due to the bubbles coming through the airlock), but it has been pretty much 72 hours exactly and there are no signs of fermentation (i.e. bubbles in the airlock).

As a noob, I haven't taken a starting gravity reading (I recently bought a hydrometer but forgot to use it!) so I'm not sure what the OG was. I haven't taken any other gravity readings yet, because I don't want to be impatient and open the FV unnecessarily!

I have started to wonder if the yeast in the kit was duff, so today I ordered some Lallemand Nottingham High Performance Ale Yeast (11g), which I was considering adding when it arrives (probably Friday 26 March at the earliest) to see if that will help kick-start the fermentation, but figured I should ask advice on here before doing anything else.

The instructions for the Coopers Irish Stout are pretty basic and says to give it around 6 days when fermenting at around 21°C, but given the lack of signs of fermentation after 72 hours, I'm wondering if this will be long enough, especially when I've ready on other forums that it's not unusual to wait 2+ weeks for a complete fermentation.

Moving forward, I'm looking to make my own fermentation chamber with an old fridge and a Inkbird controller connected to a heating tube inside and the fridge, but obviously for now I'm stuck with the old manual steps...

So any advice would be great! Let me know if you need any more info - I've tried to be as specific as I can, so hopefully haven't missed anything out.

 

[VikeMan]

However, in all my other brews I've noticed that the batch starts producing CO2 after approximately 24 hours (due to the bubbles coming through the airlock), but it has been pretty much 72 hours exactly and there are no signs of fermentation (i.e. bubbles in the airlock).

Sometimes there are no bubbles in an airlock because the fermenter has a leak somewhere. If you don't want to open the fermenter, try shining a flashlight through the bucket and see if you can detect a krausen formed on top of the wort.

 

[westhearcher]

Sometimes there are no bubbles in an airlock because the fermenter has a leak somewhere. If you don't want to open the fermenter, try shining a flashlight through the bucket and see if you can detect a krausen formed on top of the wort.

Yeah, I read that but it's a relatively new FV and I've checked that the lid is sealed (which it is) so I don't believe there is a leak, but you never know! I'll try and take a picture of the top of the beer and add it here if that will help.

 

[Shmadies]

I have never brewed before. This seems like a great place to start, before I start. Can I get a recommendation for starter kits? I really want to learn the process thoroughly.

 

[westhearcher]

Sometimes there are no bubbles in an airlock because the fermenter has a leak somewhere. If you don't want to open the fermenter, try shining a flashlight through the bucket and see if you can detect a krausen formed on top of the wort.

Ok, have taken a photo of my brew - see attached.

 

[VikeMan]

Yeah, I read that but it's a relatively new FV and I've checked that the lid is sealed (which it is) so I don't believe there is a leak, but you never know! I'll try and take a picture of the top of the beer and add it here if that will help.

It's not age/wear that makes bucket fermenter lids leak. The truth is, bucket fermenters are not a piece of precision engineering.

Ok, have taken a photo of my brew - see attached.

That crud is from a krausen that has come and gone. Not only has fermentation begun, it might even be finished.

 

[westhearcher]

That crud is from a krausen that has come and gone. Not only has fermentation begun, it might even be finished.

Hmm, ok that’s not a good sign then. It’s barely been three days since I started and the temperature has been just under 21 degrees Celsius since so that seems short to me...

Should I try and reactivate it or add a new yeast to it (as per my original post)?

 

[ncbrewer]

Added Harris Pure Brew Beer Kit water treatment (1 crushed tablet and 1 teaspoon of treatment powder) to the brew whilst gently stirring

This is probably campden for removing chlorine/chloramine. It should be added to the water before it is mixed with the malt extract

it has been pretty much 72 hours exactly and there are no signs of fermentation (i.e. bubbles in the airlock).

As Vikeman said, it could be a leak. It doesn't take much of a leak - you really can't tell by looking. You can set a flashlight on the bucket lid, aiming down - it will show the liquid surface and kraeusen. But depending on the beer color, the kraeusen might be the only level you can see. If you know the original beer level, you can check if it is higher now - the difference would be kraeusen.

As a noob, I haven't taken a starting gravity reading (I recently bought a hydrometer but forgot to use it!) so I'm not sure what the OG was.

If you used the amount of fermentables the kit called for, and the right total volume, gravity will be what the kit called for. But if you haven't double checked the accuracy of the level marks on the bucket, they might be off. You can check after the brew is complete.

The instructions for the Coopers Irish Stout are pretty basic and says to give it around 6 days when fermenting at around 21°C

If you bottle before fermentation is finished, it will finish in the bottle. This can cause gushers or bottle bombs - you don't want that! I check gravity after 19 days, and again at 21 days- and bottle if it is stable. It almost always is. (Three days beween readings is better if using a standard hydrometer. I use a bottling hydrometer and can detect small changes.) I wouldn't bottle after less than three weeks if I hadn't checked for stable gravity.

Good luck.

 

[VikeMan]

Hmm, ok that’s not a good sign then. It’s barely been three days since I started and the temperature has been just under 21 degrees Celsius since so that seems short to me...

That's about 70F. And if that's ambient temp, the fermentation temp would have been warmer.

Should I try and reactivate it or add a new yeast to it (as per my original post)?

I wouldn't even think about adding yeast or doing anything drastic unless you've actually determined that there's a problem. Personally, I'd give it a few days, then take a gravity reading.

 

[ncbrewer]

I have never brewed before. This seems like a great place to start, before I start. Can I get a recommendation for starter kits? I really want to learn the process thoroughly.

I don't know about specific kits, but I would suggest something that has a bucket or plastic carboy fermenter rather than a glass carboy for safety reasons. I like the bucket for easy access and cleaning. Some kits include a secondary fermenter. There is very little use these days for a secondary - I haven't used on in many years. A few come without a hydrometer. You will need one, but it can be purchased separately. For bottling, I recommend a bottling (also called finishing) hydrometer - lower range with better precision. For extract, I don't take an OG reading, so the bottling hydrometer is the only one I have. Some kits have a wort chiller. I don't use one. I do a partial boil and chill in an ice bath in the sink. If you will be doing a full boil, you will probably want a wort chiller. And be aware that with almost every aspect of brewing, there are varying opinions. You will have to make some judgement calls (on buying equipment and on your process).

 

[Shmadies]

I don't know about specific kits, but I would suggest something that has a bucket or plastic carboy fermenter rather than a glass carboy for safety reasons. I like the bucket for easy access and cleaning. Some kits include a secondary fermenter. There is very little use these days for a secondary - I haven't used on in many years. A few come without a hydrometer. You will need one, but it can be purchased separately. For bottling, I recommend a bottling (also called finishing) hydrometer - lower range with better precision. For extract, I don't take an OG reading, so the bottling hydrometer is the only one I have. Some kits have a wort chiller. I don't use one. I do a partial boil and chill in an ice bath in the sink. If you will be doing a full boil, you will probably want a wort chiller. And be aware that with almost every aspect of brewing, there are varying opinions. You will have to make some judgement calls (on buying equipment and on your process).

Awesome thanks! This will help me get off the ground.

 

[bracconiere]

All Grain: 5-6 hours for 5 gallons

let's not forget that to brew a 10-20-1000 gallon batch, time doesn't increase just size, and weight.....

 

[NGD]

I have never brewed before. This seems like a great place to start, before I start. Can I get a recommendation for starter kits? I really want to learn the process thoroughly.

Best recommendation I can make is to purchase “How to brew” 4e by John Palmer and read the first 2-3 chapters or Charlie Papazian’s book “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing”. Both will
give you an excellent starting point.

 

[westhearcher]

This is probably campden for removing chlorine/chloramine. It should be added to the water before it is mixed with the malt extract.

The instructions on the Harris Pure Brew Beer Kit water treatment is to crush one tablet and add along with a teaspoon of powder before adding the yeast, so that's what I did. I've done the same once before in a previous kit, which worked just fine, so I'm guessing that isn't the issue here.

If you bottle before fermentation is finished, it will finish in the bottle. This can cause gushers or bottle bombs - you don't want that! I check gravity after 19 days, and again at 21 days- and bottle if it is stable. It almost always is. (Three days between readings is better if using a standard hydrometer. I use a bottling hydrometer and can detect small changes.) I wouldn't bottle after less than three weeks if I hadn't checked for stable gravity.

Ah, I'm not bottling, but transferring to a pressure barrel as I've done a number of times before (but not with a Coopers Irish Stout), so my next step would be to syphon into my pressure barrel for the secondary fermentation.

@ncbrewer - did you see my photo of my FV posted a little earlier? @VikeMan seems to think my fermentation may have come and gone, which is why I question whether this is a duff batch or not as 72 hours seems really short, especially when my ambient room temperature has been between 18 and 20°C (sorry, UK based so I guess that is 64.4 to 68°F).

These are the notes from Coopers themselves (found here):

Hint: Temperature Control. Whilst the yeast that comes with the brew can will ferment effectively at 18°C - 32°C, we recommend a brew temperature of 21°C-27°C for optimum results. Some techniques for controlling temperature are; hot box (box with a low wattage light globe attached inside), heat pad, heat belt, immersion heater, place FV inside in a temperature controlled area, insulate FV, place in disused fridge, drape wet towels over FV.

After about 6 days at 21°C or 4 days at 27°C (higher temperatures shorten the ferment time) test the SG with a hydrometer. Test the SG each day. Final Gravity (FG) is reached once SG is stable 2 days in a row.

Important: Lower ferment temperatures extend the fermentation period. See Brewing notes for European Lager.

So I'm stumped now - do I wait and see what happens, or should I stick with the instructions supplied by Coopers and transfer my batch into my pressure barrel on Saturday / Sunday (which would be 6 days (Saturday) at around 21°C, maybe 7 days (Sunday) for a slightly lower temperature)?

 

[NGD]

let's not forget that to brew a 10-20-1000 gallon batch, time doesn't increase just size, and weight.....

Yeah, my pant size and my weight.

Seriously though the time it takes to heat up that much volume for mashing does take quite a bit longer. With extract you have the benefit of using half or less volume and topping off with prechilled water which shortens your time chilling wort.
Plus my extremely time efficient (or extremely lazy, your choice) method of short boils means I only boil for 20-30 minutes.

 

[bracconiere]

Yeah, my pant size and my weight.

Seriously though the time it takes to heat up that much volume for mashing does take quite a bit longer. With extract you have the benefit of using half or less volume and topping off with prechilled water which shortens your time chilling wort.
Plus my extremely time efficient (or extremely lazy, your choice) method of short boils means I only boil for 20-30 minutes.

i'd figure you'd have a bigger burner for more volume, bigger mash tun, pumps and the like....

yeah extract beer can be made in 5 minutes! just add your extract to a bucket of water, toss in a bag of hops to dry hop. and add yeast!

 

[NGD]

i'd figure you'd have a bigger burner for more volume, bigger mash tun, pumps and the like....

yeah extract beer can be made in 5 minutes! just add your extract to a bucket of water, toss in a bag of hops to dry hop. and add yeast!

I almost just picked up my bucket, garden hose and a bag of DME to see if I can beat 5 min, lol

Might be my new go-to method

Biggest draw back to me with extract is getting more flavor development from different malts or malt combinations. You really can’t do it without going partial-mash. At that point...might as well go AG and enjoy the ride.

 

[bracconiere]

I almost just picked up my bucket, garden hose and a bag of DME to see if I can beat 5 min, lol

funny you should say that, my bank account just got f'd this morning! i priced out a 50lb sack of DME to see how much it would cost to skip the weekly brew day once in a while! but at $170 for a 50lb sack, that'd be close to $50 a 10 gallon batch, it's only $30 to get 10 gallon of apple juice deliver from the store in an hour......

and as far partial mash, when prcing, i notied they had pale, amber AND dark dry extract!

 

[NGD]

@westhearcher I think @VikeMan is on point. Fermentation happened. Question is did you get enough fermentation.

Using your hydrometer to test now and approximating your OG with how much of the coopers kit you used + water volume will give you an idea if you reached final gravity. It won’t be precise but it will show if your way off the mark.

I found this on an american distributor for Coopers stout. Not sure if this is the same since I’ve never used a Coopers kit before.

Coopers Irish Stout Malt Extract
​

Coopers 3.75 pound cans are designed to make 6 gallons with an original gravity of 1.040 (with 2.25 LB of dry malt extract or sugar) giving about 4.1% ABV. We prefer to make 5 gallons with 3 LB of dry malt extract to give an OG of about 1.054 and 5.5% ABV.

 

[westhearcher]

Thanks @NGD, appreciate the input. Still getting my head around a lot of this, as I've only done a handful of kits myself and they all seem to be quite straight forward, whereas this is the first one that doesn't seem to have gone to plan, so just trying to save my batch if it is possible! One question though...

Question is did you get enough fermentation.

What would you recommend if not? Based on my limited experience of previous batches, 3 days seems very short, especially given the weather in the UK hasn't been that warm! My last batch was brewed when it was quite warm here in the UK, but that spent 5 days in the FV before being syphoned out into my pressure barrel (and there were clear signs of fermentation with that one - bubbles, krausen and the smell of beer!) whereas this has been 3 days and it doesn't seem like it's done much...

 

[NGD]

Thanks @NGD, appreciate the input. Still getting my head around a lot of this, as I've only done a handful of kits myself and they all seem to be quite straight forward, whereas this is the first one that doesn't seem to have gone to plan, so just trying to save my batch if it is possible!

I think most of us have been there. Occasionally there is a batch that seems to do its own thing. Only thing I can suggest when something happens this early on in the fermentation is to be patient. Unless there is noticeable pellicule growth going on then waiting a few more days is usually best.

What would you recommend if not? Based on my limited experience of previous batches, 3 days seems very short, especially given the weather in the UK hasn't been that warm! My last batch was brewed when it was quite warm here in the UK, but that spent 5 days in the FV before being syphoned out into my pressure barrel (and there were clear signs of fermentation with that one - bubbles, krausen and the smell of beer!) whereas this has been 3 days and it doesn't seem like it's done much...

I agree, 3 days does sound a little soon. The only way to know is to take a sample. I’m not sure if Cooper kits provide a suggested final gravity (FG), but if its below 1.020 then your getting probably close. If its 1.011 or lower then its likely done.

Again, I would suggest waiting a few more days at the least. I typically set and forget for minimum of a week unless theres a dry hopping schedule involved.

If you wait a few days and your sample is above 1.020, then its time to start thinking about things like

• Increase ferm temps to 75
• Gently stir to rouse more yeast back into suspension
• Adding a yeast with higher attenuation. US-05 is a good one to keep on hand and stores well in the fridge.

Hopefully that helps alleviate some of the stress.
Before I forget, when you take a sample...taste it. See if it tastes close to what you think it should. Any carbonation? Off flavors? Etc.