First brew a few teething problems.

[Cotters14]

So, as mentioned in my introduction thread I did my first homebrew on Thursday evening and I struggled to get my water to boil on the electric hob.

Given the struggle I was having, I did add my malt extract at ~175°f and let it get up to about 180°f where I added my hops and thought I would let it brew at this level for 60mins.

After about 40mins it actually started to boil around 205°f ish. and so I let it boil for a further 30mins and then chilled for 30mins before transferring the wort to the plastic fermentation bucket.

I transferred by pouring the wort directly from the kettle leaving the sludge behind.

Yesterday I did check and it appeared to be looking OK. This morning I have just checked again and it appears to be looking worse.

The temperature has been fluctuating in the room I have it in between 65°f & 76°f.

What are the thoughts of the community?

Should I persevere or start again?

Attached are two images:

20181130_173708 - This was taken ~16:00 on the 30th November which would be ~16hours after pitching the yeast.
20181201_123433 - This was taken ~13:00 today.

Thanks!

 

[terrym]

First I assume you more or less followed the kit instructions when making up the hopped wort.
Next your yeast has got off to a good start although it has died back a little today, sometimes this happens, to me it looks fine. Personally I would now keep the lid on and forget all about it for a week or so, and then take an SG reading. Try to keep your beer at a steady temperature, about 68*F /20*C is your target, 76*F/23-24*C is beginning to get a bit high, although if you can't do this, don't get too concerned, its not the end of the world.
Without knowing what you have got in your FV it's difficult to advise any more, what's done is done.
However I suggest you have a read of this, which although it may not be directly applicable, may give you some pointers about what you should be doing and things to look out for.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...de-to-brewing-your-own-beer-from-a-kit.57526/

 

[Snrub]

Don't even think about chucking it!

Looks like beer to me - let the fermentation take its course and see what you get.

Did you take a hydrometer reading when pitching the yeast? if so, take another after a week and post up your measurements. If not, buy a hydrometer for your next brew!

Good luck :)

 

[Cotters14]

First I assume you more or less followed the kit instructions when making up the hopped wort.
Next your yeast has got off to a good start although it has died back a little today, sometimes this happens, to me it looks fine. Personally I would now keep the lid on and forget all about it for a week or so, and then take an SG reading. Try to keep your beer at a steady temperature, about 68*F /20*C is your target, 76*F/23-24*C is beginning to get a bit high, although if you can't do this, don't get too concerned, its not the end of the world.
Without knowing what you have got in your FV it's difficult to advise any more, what's done is done.
However I suggest you have a read of this, which although it may not be directly applicable, may give you some pointers about what you should be doing and things to look out for.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...de-to-brewing-your-own-beer-from-a-kit.57526/

Hi terrym,

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I followed the instructions correctly. In terms of temperature the room is currently 68 but when heating is on, gets up to 76. I'm away now until Friday and so I'll leave the lid on and check it again on Friday when I return.

Thanks also for the link.

 

[Cotters14]

Don't even think about chucking it!

Looks like beer to me - let the fermentation take its course and see what you get.

Did you take a hydrometer reading when pitching the yeast? if so, take another after a week and post up your measurements. If not, buy a hydrometer for your next brew!

Good luck :)

Hi Snrub,

I did take a reading but it didn't make sense, maybe I did it wrong or the hydrometer isn't working. When I get back on Friday I'll try another reading and update the thread.

Thanks for the response.

 

[Cotters14]

Meant to add the picture I took before I left earlier.

So, without further ado.....

 

[terrym]

@Cotters14
Although some yeasts and beers have the tendency to throw up a sustained krausen, some don't. To me your photos show the progress of a fermentation that is within the bounds of what can be expected. So now it leave alone until the end of the week at the earliest. Some folks are paranoid about leaving the lid on, saying it could allow an infection be introduced if you remove the lid. Whereas I'm more relaxed about that, it is nevertheless good practice to leave the lid on whenever you can.
And if you are struggling to read a hydrometer properly this might help
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...ic-gravity-using-a-homebrew-hydrometer.60895/

 

[Cotters14]

@Cotters14
Although some yeasts and beers have the tendency to throw up a sustained krausen, some don't. To me your photos show the progress of a fermentation that is within the bounds of what can be expected. So now it leave alone until the end of the week at the earliest. Some folks are paranoid about leaving the lid on, saying it could allow an infection be introduced if you remove the lid. Whereas I'm more relaxed about that, it is nevertheless good practice to leave the lid on whenever you can.
And if you are struggling to read a hydrometer properly this might help
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...ic-gravity-using-a-homebrew-hydrometer.60895/

Great, I'll leave until Saturday morning and post an update.

Appreciate the further link to the hydrometer reading too.

 

[GerritT]

Meant to add the picture I took before I left earlier.

So, without further ado.....

Looks like beer to me! It should be bottle-ready in 10 days. I'm not sure what brew it is, or how much, but it looks like something I made and that one tasted good

 

[Cotters14]

Looks like beer to me! It should be bottle-ready in 10 days. I'm not sure what brew it is, or how much, but it looks like something I made and that one tasted good

Its a Block Party Amber Ale. 5 gallon.

Let's hope its OK

 

[Cotters14]

Well it's been 2 weeks and so bottling will take place tonight

Anyone see anything they shouldn't with the current status?

Its my first brew and so hoping its looking like it should.

Any concerns with the area I've circled in yellow?

Thanks in advance.

 

[foxbat]

Nope, nothing wrong there at all. Bottle away and don't forget your priming sugar (it's happened).

 

[Cotters14]

Heres the Hydrometer tested in water.

 

[Cotters14]

Nope, nothing wrong there at all. Bottle away and don't forget your priming sugar (it's happened).

Awesome - thanks.

I'll post the pictures in 2 weeks!

 

[Cowman]

Looks good just bits of yeast floating by the looks of it. Rack from underneath the surface and leave a bit in the fermenter so you don't take any sediment into the bottles.

 

[DavidDetroit]

It is customary to taste the flat beer and then imagine what it will be like carbonated. Beer looks great.

 

[Cotters14]

Looks good just bits of yeast floating by the looks of it. Rack from underneath the surface and leave a bit in the fermenter so you don't take any sediment into the bottles.

Great, I'll supplement some waste to avoid the sediment- thanks for the tip.

It is customary to taste the flat beer and then imagine what it will be like carbonated. Beer looks great.

Looking forward to this bit!

 

[Cotters14]

One other thing, I have just sanitised the bottles but on the outside they have a residue building on them. I used 40g of Brewsafe as it said use 25g for 5 litres but I was using 8 litres of water.

Could it be too much sanitiser?

Can I rinse them with water or just leave them as they are?

I'm just about to rack and taste test so will report back shortly.

 

[Cotters14]

Just for the record, I have just opened a bottle of Duvel to drink whilst my priming sugar is on the hob!

 

[terrym]

Thoroughly rinse them in mains tap water prior to filling with beer. Thats what I do.