Brewnaldo loses his Brew virginity

[Brewnaldo]

Plenty scope for laughy face emojis here as I finally got off the mark today with a Coopers Mexican Cerveza kit.

Original gravity.... Not known. I made a complete arse of getting the sample. Will take a 1 day OG tomorrow as a baseline of sorts but I ended up in a big rush and had to cobble together a wee space in my garage where the FV is sat in a box on top of surrounded by my heat trace tape and an inkbird wifi controller. I will put it together a bit better tomorrow!

Further updates to follow and this thread to be used for more organised brewdays soon

 

[Banbeer]

Congrats @Brewnaldo, I use a turkey baster to draw a sample of the wort, obviously not been used as a turkey baster and sanitised before using.

 

[terrym]

You can calculate the OG of your brew by using this
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator
Its easy to use and accurate for a basic beer kit where all the sugars are usually liquid malt in the tin or sachet, with perhaps liquid or dried malt and maybe some dextrose.
So, as an example, if you made 23 litres of wort from kit can (1.7kg) and 500g DME and 500g brewing sugar, your OG will be about 1.037.
And if you want to take a shortcut for taking an SG reading just dunk your sanitised hydrometer into the beer. Its good enough for beer kits, although not for the purists.
Finally you might this useful along the way
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...de-to-brewing-your-own-beer-from-a-kit.57526/

 

[Brewnaldo]

I have since been out and taken another wee sample. Looks like an OG of about 1.044. I brewed it a little short ~20 litres as I had read some on here saying it helps the flavour.

Attslached a pic of my FV with the heat tape wrapped round. Have since covered it all over with towels and a blanket so hopefully the temp will sit quite happy. Inkbird set at 22. Seen no airlock action when I was out but I only pitched the yeast at 1600 and I amnnot sure if that type of airlock shows bubbles anyway. Not to worry. Will sample again in a few days to check the progress

 

[terrym]

Inkbird set at 22.

I suggest you lower the temperature to 18-19*C which is more in keeping with the fermentation temperature for a Cerveza. This should give a 'cleaner' taste to your beer. It will simply take a day or two longer to ferment out.
Then leave it alone for 10 days or so before you open the lid.

 

[dwhite60]

Like terrym said, a little lower on the temp would help keep the flavor cleaner.

Congratulations on your first beer! Keep us updated.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Brewnaldo]

Just did a wee gravity check there. Its down to 1.020, so I guess coming along well. However, the sample appeared to have a slight carbonation and it tasted almost like a hint of white wine.... Should I be concerned over the fizz or taste at this point?

 

[Clint]

No. You should leave it alone...have a look in another week or so.

 

[Brewnaldo]

Yeah I wasnt expecting it to be finished or anything just wanted to be sure I was keeping an eye on whats happening! Patience is a virtue I shall have to learn right enough....

 

[Clint]

Patience is your best friend...just let it do it's thing...you will make nice beer!

 

[Brewnaldo]

Wont be too long till bottling time... Just a quick question, is there any point in a cold crash, even a short one for a kit lager? I assume diacetyl rest not required since it hasnt been fermenting at a cold lager temp.

Also in two minds about slinging some geletine in before bottling to try and get it nice and clear.

 

[Jakeyboi]

That kit will be crystal clear and taste like piss in about a week. It was the first kits I made when I started brewing.

brewmessi

 

[Brewnaldo]

Thats me past teo weeks now. Gravity has been stuck at about 1.013 for 3 or 4 days now and that slight taste of white wine is still there. Should I just bottle it and see how it condotions?

Worried its infected tbh.

 

[Covrich]

Congratulations you have opened yourself up to a new world

If gravity has only been stable for a few days I would give it another few days and bottle it

Either way and I know it is hard but stop opening the lid and meessing with it..

Tbh my late father made that kit his last ever brew and I have to say it wasn;t the strongest tasting kit.. you will still have something drinkable though but this is just the beggining remember!!

 

[terrym]

Thats me past teo weeks now. Gravity has been stuck at about 1.013 for 3 or 4 days now and that slight taste of white wine is still there. Should I just bottle it and see how it condotions?

Worried its infected tbh.

There are many new brewers who get sucked into 'is my beer infected?' situation. If you properly sanitise anything that comes into contact with wort or beer, and try and minimise contact with air but only as far as necessary to allow yourself to carry out the brewing process, you have to be extremely unlucky to get an infection. So be vigilant but not paranoid about infections.
That aside if it been two weeks in the FV and the SG has stabilised you can go ahead and bottle.
Then leave in a warm place for 10-14 days then store in a cold place if you have one for at least two weeks before you try the first one.
Beer mostly tastes different when taken from the FV compared to later so if your beer tastes a bit odd don't be too concerned. The change in flavour is down to conditioning. Some beers take only a couple of weeks to condition , others can take months. You will find out what your beer requires to come good as you taste it along the way.

 

[Brewnaldo]

Thanks folks. I did a ton of reading, videos, interacting with anyone I could like on here before starting but like all things in life I realised how little I know and how underprepared I am once I got going. Steep curve. Specially next brew which will christen my boiler as a firdt BIAB. I am already finding that dauntong as I never knew I would need to make a starter for my liquod yeast. Will probably switch to dry for a while after this one.

Anyway I followed terryms advice and bottled up 37 bottles there. Didnt find the bottling too bad tbh. Wel see how it carbs up.

 

[Brewnaldo]

So as an update to the last brew, I drank one after a couple of days carving just so I had a benchmark. It had very little about it tbh but wasnt awful. They have now been carving up for 12 days and are rock solid so today I will move them to the garage to condition in the cold.

Now a question... I have everything I need for my first BIAB. BUT.... from what I have read my liquod yeast needs to be made into a starter. I have looked at various calculators etc and, tbh, I simply dont understand them, there are several variables etc I just dont understand.

If I make a generic wort with say a litre of water and 300g of Spraymalt, will that be good enough to boost my yeast?