Young's IPA

[theviking]

I have just started a Young's IPA... It's a new experience. It's my fourth home brew and I thought I would go for a more premium kit.



A bit lively...



I will post my progress.

 

[IslandLizard]

Where did all that foam come from in the first picture?

 

[theviking]

Where did all that foam come from in the first picture?

As I was filling it up with cold water and stiring.

 

[IslandLizard]

Whoa, never seen that kinda head before!
Anyway, you've got 23 liters of beer there.

Do you do anything to keep that bucket on the cool side? Like around 66°F/19°C?
Keeping the beer fermenting at lower temperatures makes better beer. Except for Saisons, maybe.

Did you get any hops to be added later as "dry hops?"

 

[theviking]

Whoa, never seen that kinda head before!
Anyway, you've got 23 liters of beer there.

Do you do anything to keep that bucket on the cool side? Like around 66°F/19°C?
Keeping the beer fermenting at lower temperatures makes better beer. Except for Saisons, maybe.

Did you get any hops to be added later as "dry hops?"

It's at a constant temperature of 20 degrees. I was planning to leave it for two weeks, assuming it has stopped bubbling at that point and then dry hop for one week.

It is bubbling a lot, I only started it yesterday lunchtime

The kit came with 100g of mixed hops (simcoe, centennial and chinook) for dry hoping.

It seems a lot better than the cheaper kits I have used in the past.

 

[IslandLizard]

It's at a constant temperature of 20 degrees. I was planning to leave it for two weeks, assuming it has stopped bubbling at that point and then dry hop for one week.

It is bubbling a lot, I only started it yesterday lunchtime

The kit came with 100g of mixed hops (simcoe, centennial and chinook) for dry hoping.

It seems a lot better than the cheaper kits I have used in the past.

Just keep it cool, don't let it get hotter than 20C, especially in the beginning! The beer inside the fermentor may well be 3-6 degrees higher without a way to drain off the heat it generates.
If you can, stick the bucket in a large storage tote or cooler filled with cold water (19-20°C). It creates a wonderful heat sink, keeping your beer at constant low temperatures. Add a couple bottles of frozen water to that water jacket to keep the temps in that range, change them out once or twice a day for fresh ones.

Once fermentation slows down (krausen drops) you can let the temps raise naturally by ambient air, to help it finish out and clean up after the party.

Sure, better kits should include more and better IPA hops. 100 grams sounds about right. I would dry hop 5 days before packaging.
You're bottling, I assume?

 

[theviking]

Just keep it cool, don't let it get hotter than 20C, especially in the beginning! The beer inside the fermentor may well be 3-6 degrees higher without a way to drain off the heat it generates.
If you can, stick the bucket in a large storage tote or cooler filled with cold water (19-20°C). It creates a wonderful heat sink, keeping your beer at constant low temperatures. Add a couple bottles of frozen water to that water jacket to keep the temps in that range, change them out once or twice a day for fresh ones.

Once fermentation slows down (krausen drops) you can let the temps raise naturally by ambient air, to help it finish out and clean up after the party.

Sure, better kits should include more and better IPA hops. 100 grams sounds about right. I would dry hop 5 days before packaging.
You're bottling, I assume?

I have moved it to the space under the stairs which is a bit cooler. I will check what temperature it reduces too.

Yes, I am bottling.

I will follow your suggestion and dry hop for 5 days.

I have second fermentation bin, which I was going to siphon into before siphoning into the bottles to get rid of most of the hops and sediment.

I appreciate your support

 

[IslandLizard]

I have moved it to the space under the stairs which is a bit cooler. I will check what temperature it reduces too.

Yes, I am bottling.

I will follow your suggestion and dry hop for 5 days.

I have second fermentation bin, which I was going to siphon into before siphoning into the bottles to get rid of most of the hops and sediment.

I appreciate your support

Dry hopping is usually counted back from packaging day to keep most of the aroma present. After 5 days the hops have given off as much as they can. Some claim it's pretty much done after 3 days, but the jury remains out on that.

You mean a bottling bucket with a spigot near the bottom?

Try to prevent, as much as you can, sucking any air (oxygen) into the beer when transferring to your bottling container and when bottling. Oxygen exposure oxidizes beer, making it darker, and taste like wet cardboard smells, while killing hop aroma and flavor, more so over time, but usually noticeable after a week. So no bubbling, splashing, extreme stirring and whirlpooling, etc. This is also one of the reasons not to do secondaries.

There's a lot about this on the forum. You can do a search in Chrome, like this:

site:homebrewtalk.com your_query​

 

[theviking]

The airlock was bubbling like mad, until last night when it stopped (4 days in total). I can still smell it in the room, so I guess that the fermentation is still going but that it has slowed down. I am intending to leave it for the full two weeks then dry hop for 5 days prior to bottling.

 

[IslandLizard]

I would try to include the 5 days of dry hopping inside the 2 week framework. Aiming for bottling at the 2 week point, or a few days later if that so happens.

Just make sure you take a gravity reading before you dry hop. If it's close to the expected FG, add your dry hops. Then take another reading 3-5 days later, before you plan to bottle. Both gravity readings should match (and be close to the expected FG). Then it's safe to bottle.

 

[theviking]

It has now been 9 days since I started the primary fermentation and there is no bubbles coming through the airlock. I took a hydrometer reading this morning, which was 1.010. Do I dry hop now or leave it a few more days?

This has been the constant temperature for the last week of fermentation.



The instructions say 15 days to complete fermentation, but that depends on a variety of variables.

 

[IslandLizard]

Is 1.010 close to your expected FG? Unless it's a Saison, at that gravity most ales are about done and in conditioning phase. Yup, good time for dry hopping. Leave 5 days on the dry hops, take another reading, and if the same, ready to bottle.

Kit instructions are very conservative, tend to be outdated, and not written to obtain the best possible beer. They're fail safe.
Most kits don't even provide an estimated FG, they go by an extended timeline, not the best for IPAs.

By the time the dry hops are done you're at 14 days, so yeah, complete.
If the beer is still very cloudy, you could cold crash at 32F for 2 days before you bottle, to let most yeast sink to the bottom, so you bottle clearer beer.

 

[theviking]

Just did a hydrometer reading and the beer is at 5.5% ABV, smells and tastes like Brew dog punk ipa...

Bottling on Sunday



It's cloudy as expected... I am going to drink the sample now... It was good, once carbonated I reckon it's going to be my best brew so far...

 

[theviking]

Another sample, it's very lively. I have moved the beer to a cooler place for it to clear a bit hopefully. Another 9 days and it should be done.

 

[theviking]

The verdict - I have started another brew with the same kit.

The kit is fairly easy to brew, it produces a lovely hoppy and floral IPA, mine came out at 6% ABV. It reminds me of Punk IPA.

I did have to release some CO2 and leave the beer in the fridge for a few days to settle the sediment.