First brew on the go

[Muddydisco]

Just thinking on your low gravity what volume have you made???

 

[JAK]

Just thinking on your low gravity what volume have you made???

lol Im such a tool!

The kit came with two cans of extracts, I thought this meant I had two lots of Lion Pride to make up! Would need them both for the full 22.5l !

All this ruined lol

 

[JAK]

Just added the other can in a rather ad hoc way to rescue something vaguely drinkable out of this mess up of epic proportions!

fermenting starter almost instantly at a strong pace, Im going to open it up again in the morning for another stir as Im sure not everything has been mixed up with the low temperature lol

Lession learnt!

 

[rickthebrew]

lol Im such a tool!

The kit came with two cans of extracts, I thought this meant I had two lots of Lion Pride to make up! Would need them both for the full 22.5l !

easy mistake jak - it seemed odd the gravity being so low,it`ll be fine though just leave it to ferment and have a good chuckle :whistle:

 

[Muddydisco]

We got there in the end :thumb:
You might be suprised it might turn out drinkable
I'd give it at least a week from today now after your stir leave her be and recheck in a week :thumb:

 

[JAK]

:rofl:

cheers guys, got there eventually

The misses is now claiming she knew all along!

 

[JAK]

Afternoon gents,

Just transferred it from the fermenter into the kingkeg and had a little sample...

Bloody lovely! So so so much better than expected, really delighted with how its turned out. I reckon with a week or so for it to settled again and condition it'll be a superb beer.

Seriously surprised with how this has turned out, cant wait for the next week to fly by so I can start getting stuck into this properly!

Thanks for your help guys, cheers! :

 

[JAK]

Hi guys

Didn't think this was worthy of a new thread so I found my old one.

The first brew turned out brilliant was really surprised with how well it turned out with blatant newbie error!

Just started my second brew today, the St Peters India Pale Ale kit from Brew Genie in Erdington. Have a starting gravity of 1.048 at around 19L and have just pitched my yeast at 26 degrees Celsius and am hoping it'll be ready for chrimbo ?

Was planning on taking pictures along the way to document my second attempt but got stuck into it as soon as I got home.

:mrgreen:

 

[artyb]

sounds like ur hooked jak..... :party:

 

[JAK]

sounds like ur hooked jak..... :party:

Most definitely I've been frustrated that I've only been able to brew two kits this year!

I think depending on this kit or maybe one more I'll be looking to working from recipes rather than kits later on next year.

 

[JAK]

Hi guys

Would someone please put my mind at rest about my latest brew?

I pitched my yeast around 11am Sunday morning and have patiently waited for a eruption of bubble in my airlock but I have nothing. My FV is in a wardrobe at a steady 20 degree Celsius and when unscrewing the lid and taking a peak inside I definitely get a smell of CO2 but very little activity on the surface.

I'm a little concerned about the length of the yeasts lag time to kick into action, a little research on-line tells me to pitch another packet of yeast if no activity is found after 48 hours but I have no other packet of yeast and am a little worried my batch would be ruined having to wait for it to arrive in the post?

Think I might give it a nice stir right now and maybe try something to up the temperature a little and hope these little buggers do some work!

 

[rickthebrew]

Jak - did you take a hydrometer reading? If so take another to see if there has been any movement, if there has then fine. If you have no hydrometer (get one ) and you think it`s not fermenting give it a gentle rouse, some kits can have old and poorly kept yeast with them and normally only around 6grams - i pitch a minimum of double this or use a starter.
Hopefully its just of to a slow start - my experience of kit brews is that the yeast never really gives a big head but just steadily works away. I`d advise you to order some s-04 as a backup yeast to keep in the freezer :thumb:

Good luck :drink:

 

[JAK]

Jak - did you take a hydrometer reading? If so take another to see if there has been any movement, if there has then fine. If you have no hydrometer (get one ) and you think it`s not fermenting give it a gentle rouse, some kits can have old and poorly kept yeast with them and normally only around 6grams - i pitch a minimum of double this or use a starter.
Hopefully its just of to a slow start - my experience of kit brews is that the yeast never really gives a big head but just steadily works away. I`d advise you to order some s-04 as a backup yeast to keep in the freezer :thumb:

Good luck :drink:

Thanks for the reply,

I took a hydrometer reading before and will do in a bit and report back, I'm confident some fermentation has taken place but it's just not going for it like I'd expect. There was visible foam after 24 hours and this has now subsided leaving grime marks on the side of my FV. I gave it a good stir yesterday and the CO2 smell dissipated, having a whiff now it's back and strong (still absolutely no airlock activity) and no foam or signs of fermentation on the surface.

I know I shouldn't be judging my fermentation on airlock activity, but it just seems like its not right. I kinda thought with some fermentation taking place it'd just need a longer lag time than normal to get a decent population of yeast in there but very little after 64 hours seems worrying.

I'm going to order some yeast on-line now, but I'm a little worried about contamination of my brew during the time it's going to take to be delivered?

Definitely going to think about activating my yeast before adding them to my FV next time!

 

[JAK]

Conflicting news from the hydrometer...

my starting gravity was 1.048 and now I am getting a reading of 1.030 and smells absolute god damn amazing... dare I take a sip? :whistle:

In the test tube itself I can see a fairly slow but constant stream of bubbles so I guess it is fermenting right now, it is definitely a lighter colour than a few days ago and as mentioned smells incredible.

I think my second school boy error in my brewing career could quite possibly be a leak in my FV leading to no activity in the airlock.

I'm now thoroughly pleased and mesmerized by my test tube full of my brew! Now to think about storing the five packets of S-04 yeast I just brought :rofl:

 

[rickthebrew]

:clap: Great news jak, sometimes things just take a while to get going - the hydrometer is such a key bit of kit, another good way to get a brew of to a good start is to save some of the yeast from the brew you have on - either save some in the fridge in a sterile container to pitch into your next brew or put the next brew straight onto the yeastcake left in the FV :thumb:

Check out how crazy fermentation can get with some high alcohol AG brews
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11749

Good luck with the brew

 

[JAK]

I remember reading that thread one night, I can't wait to move onto AG brewing. Need to master kits first though! :rofl:

Learning plenty along the way!

God this beer smells incredible!

Rickthebrew :thumb:
The forum :thumb: :thumb:
Beer :thumb:
MY BEER :thumb:

 

[rickthebrew]

I`ll drink to that :drink:

 

[JAK]

My s 04 yeast came today. How long will they last in the fridge?

 

[rickthebrew]

If its in a sealed blue pack there will be a best before date, normally a good year or longer - the packs are nitrogen flushed and rarely do people have an issue with them. If its repackaged in a little clear zippy bag then I would freeze it and always do a starter with it as I have pitched infected yeast into a brew before from a repackaged source

I stick to the proper packs and just fridge them :thumb:

 

[JAK]

Once again Rickthebrew :clap:

Didn't think to look for a best before date :rofl: