Am I rushing things?

[jimmied]

Hey guys this is my first post :)

I made a batch about 3 years ago from a brewferm kit and since then I moved about and hadn't had a good place to brew, so I finally made two batch's last week of Youngs lager, I did two because i bought a kit for £20 that gave me an extra barrel, hydrometer and syphon tube along with some sterolizer and two kits of lager, so not a bad saving :)

Now it said on the instructions to leave it for 4-6 days and to check the levels with the hydrometer now i've done that and one batch is at 1012 and one is at 1010 they've been like this for the past two days and today is the 6th day they've been brewing. Now acording to the instructions they should be at 1006, should I leave them for ten days like I've read here and bottle/barrel them whatever the readings are or has something gone wrong and the yeast has stopped working?

The batch at 1012 is normal sugar and the batch at 1010 is brewing sugar, also the batch with 1010 has a brewbelt on it to keep the temperature exact, also the 1010 is in a vessel with an air lock and the 1012 is just in a normal youngs vessel with no airlock, holes etc.

I hope i've given enough detail and I know the answer will probably be wait till 10 days but I thought i'd ask as i'm not too sure :)

Thanks

Jimmie

 

[Grumpy Jack]

I personally always wait longer than what they suggest in the instructions, so if it were down to me I'd just sit tight, I've definately made the mistake of being too keen to move on to the next stage of the brew... sit tight if you can. :thumb:

 

[Growler]

I leave my kits atleast 14 days I don't even bother using the hydrometer until I'm ready to bottle find that way it's definitely finished and started to clear

 

[jonewer]

Yer, leave it longer.

10 days should be a minimum IMHO. I usually leave mine for 2 whole weeks, sometimes more.

More time on the yeast means faster conditioning means you can drink it sooner in the end and it'll taste better too! :thumb:

 

[jimmied]

Thanks guys :) Big Big help.

Another question is when/should I use finings and how?(should i put into another vessel first or just add it straight to the brew before bottling/barreling)

Thanks again

 

[Grumpy Jack]

OK, there's lots of reasons for not needing finings, firstly, not disturbing stuff when you're bottling etc and if you've left it to brew for a good time and maybe even racked it over to a secondary fermenter you may well not need finings to get a good clear brew.

But, if you want to use them then that's not a problem, I've occasionally used them and if I do, it's normally about a day or 2 before the bottling or barrelling. It's a bit of trial and error, first few times I racked it over, now I tend not to and I leave the brew a lot longer than suggested so it really settles; so usually, I don't need finings either.

 

[jimmied]

Hey guys

My beer has problems. Now they where in the fermentor for almost a week then transfered to a secondary fermentor for a week, then a batch was bottled and one was barreled. That was two weeks ago, now I opened a bottle to see how it was coming but it tasted so bitter I could't drink it, I thought it might not be fully ready but it had a strong smell and a strong taste and I'm using a youngs kit! Has something gone wrong? Or should I leave it for a lot longer?

I did try the barreled one too and that was better but still not the best.

Help!

Thanks again

 

[Stone Cold]

i made this kit once, it was my 3rd ever i think, i used brewing sugar and i think i added a jar of honey. i found the taste was larger but probebly the most largery larger ever and not very drinkable at all is it like that? i still have some bottles of this left maybe over a year later and its better now but still not great, are u sure its not malty rather than bitter? i wonder if its just a crap kit, youngs dont shout quality just affordability, the youngs bitter kit is pretty good but i think extra hops are needed for the bitter add just after the extract in a hop bag or tin foil parcel.

 

[jimmied]

i made this kit once, it was my 3rd ever i think, i used brewing sugar and i think i added a jar of honey. i found the taste was larger but probebly the most largery larger ever and not very drinkable at all is it like that? i still have some bottles of this left maybe over a year later and its better now but still not great, are u sure its not malty rather than bitter? i wonder if its just a crap kit, youngs dont shout quality just affordability, the youngs bitter kit is pretty good but i think extra hops are needed for the bitter add just after the extract in a hop bag or tin foil parcel.

I'm not sure its just not very drinkable at all, I think time will help as I tried some again the other day and it was a bit better, plus I don't think this one carbonised very well as it was quite flat, maybe the bottle top was loose. But yeah I think maybe some more time. This is my second attempt at home brew my first was a few years ago with a brewmasters kit which turned out great, but it may be due to the youngs kit being affordable. I've made an out of date coopers blonde beer so I shall see how that tastes in a wee or so.

Thanks for your reply :)

 

[broadfordbrewer]

Hi, I did the Young's Lager and even after 12 weeks in the bottle it wasn't brilliant. It was fine for the cost and as a 1st effort. Just start something else and write this one off (still drink the stuff obviously!! :drink: )