First brew, coopers Canadian blonde

[ificouldbrew]

So I've just finished my first brew, a Canadian blonde which came out with an OG of 1044 brewed short to 20.5L. It is now sat in the cupboard under the stairs brewing away. I'm off for a short break for 3 days, hopefully leaving the brew will be ok.

Excited to watch it progress.

 

[bottler]

Your brew will be fine mate, if youve followed the inital instructions. About another 7 days before you need to take sg readings . :

 

[ificouldbrew]

So I removed the krausen collar from the brew on day 4, now day 6 and took an SG reading. It read 1012 which I am pleased about. That makes the brew 4.2% already and it could still ferment further. The sample smelled good, a slight fruitiness about it and definite smell of alcohol.

I'm off for a long weekend on Friday until Monday, if the SG stays fixed I'll bottle tomorrow, otherwise will 4 more days cause any issues in the FV?

Simon

 

[fbsf]

I'd leave it at least another 4 days, preferably 8 (to take it to 14 days).

Once it's finished fermenting, the yeasties can spend up to a week "cleaning up" after themselves - basically removing any by-products of the fermentation, so it's a good idea to give them this time, and bottle after that.

 

[ificouldbrew]

Bottled this tonight. Looked good, a little cloudy and smelt like beer which is aways a good sign. I didn't want to try it so I will wait six or so weeks. Its back in the cupboard for the first two weeks then out to the shed. Looking forward to it.

FG 1009.

On to the next one....

 

[Rukula]

Bottled this tonight. Looked good, a little cloudy and smelt like beer which is aways a good sign.

I have gotten clear beer out of my fermenter once, and it was the lamest batch i ever made no idea what caused it tho.. Cloudy beer out of the fermenter is never a problem, it will be gone with age. Just give it some time, and it will turn crystal clear!

 

[ificouldbrew]

Just tried this tonight. It's been conditioning for around 2 weeks at room temperature (20 degrees C). Chilled it in the fridge for an hour before serving. It was crystal clear, poor head retention but appeared to be well carbonated. I primed it with carbonation drops one per 500ml bottle.

My big issue was that it still smelt a little yeasty, seemed to taste ok nothing exceptional but a definite yeast smell and aftertaste (in the burp!). Will this be solved with further conditioning?

 

[bottler]

It would need a bit more time to come good. 2weeks in the warm and then another 2weeks in the cold before its even close to being ready. A couple of months and it will be great. I know... i seldom reach the 2 month mark myself ......never actually

 

[ificouldbrew]

It would need a bit more time to come good. 2weeks in the warm and then another 2weeks in the cold before its even close to being ready. A couple of months and it will be great. I know... i seldom reach the 2 month mark myself ......never actually

Cheers, I'll get it outside and wait for a few more weeks!

 

[Rukula]

I tend to let my bottled ales rest 2 weeks in room temp, then "forget" them in my beer cellar (or fridge for small batches) for at least one month before drinking..

Them young ales tend to have some weird flavours to them. Its common, and they mostly fade away with age.

 

[mattrickl06]

Especially with lagers / blonds etc, they need at least 5-6 weeks conditioning i would say.

 

[ificouldbrew]

Especially with lagers / blonds etc, they need at least 5-6 weeks conditioning i would say.

Noted :). Thanks for all the advice folks.