First Brew Questions

[Rossc92]

Hi guys,

So I finally got my Christmas present out of its box and made a start on my first ever brew last week!

It's a Young's IPA brew kit, came with everything you need to make your first brew which is pretty handy being completely new to it.

I followed everything as the instructions said, if anything probably a little too anal but hey ho!

I have a few questions regarding the process. The first few days I had some bubbles which progressively got more and more. Eventually bubbling every few seconds. Then one morning I had this god awful smell, a mixture of cheesy feet, baby sick and a lively fart all mixed in one. The smell has disappeared now though amd actually smells pretty good! Is that smell a normal part of the process?

Also my brew has seemed to stop bubbling after a few days of intense fermentation, often blowing the top off my airlock. This happened 2 or 3 times.
I have just checked my brew tonight after my girlfriend said she didn't see 1 bubble at all during the day. My reading was 1.012.
Does this mean it could be ready for the next stage or shall I leave it for a few days/weeks longer?

Sorry if I don't make any sense as I don't really know what I'm taking about. If anything I'm just winging it!!

 

[damienair]

I only started in early December, so no expert. I have done 7 kits so far. I got excellent advice from this forum and have learnt a lot. Use the 2+2+2 method, 2 weeks in the fermentation bucket, 2 weeks in the bottle at the same temp 20-22 degrees so as to go through secondary fermentation and carbonation, then 2 weeks at least in the garage, shed or somewhere cool so as to condition.
on day 12 take a reading with your hydrometer, then test 48 hours later. If the reading is the same then you can bottle. It is normal to have 3-5 days of very vigorous initial fermentation and then it looks like it has slowed completely for the last week. So far so good, this has worked great for me. Good luck.

 

[NotSure]

I only started in early December, so no expert. I have done 7 kits so far. I got excellent advice from this forum and have learnt a lot. Use the 2+2+2 method, 2 weeks in the fermentation bucket, 2 weeks in the bottle at the same temp 20-22 degrees so as to go through secondary fermentation and carbonation, then 2 weeks at least in the garage, shed or somewhere cool so as to condition.
on day 12 take a reading with your hydrometer, then test 48 hours later. If the reading is the same then you can bottle. It is normal to have 3-5 days of very vigorous initial fermentation and then it looks like it has slowed completely for the last week. So far so good, this has worked great for me. Good luck.

You two are doing better than I did when I started. Good job!

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

You are making total sense

What you have described is a classic fermentation - it's happened fast - which it often does

1012 sounds like it has finished to me - hence no bubbles

What does the recipe say about target final gravity?

Seems to me that it is ready for the next stage - but if you want to be absolutely sure - leave it a couple of days and see if it moves

Well done!

 

[AXW123]

You sound like you are doing well! You can go ahead and bottle if you get two or three consecutive identical readings. However you will get better beer with a little more patience. The yeast will continue to work slowly clearing up after itself. So I would go with the 2-2-2 suggested. But I understand with your first kit you are keen to taste your beer!!

 

[Rossc92]

Thanks for the feedback from everyone. My mind has been put at ease knowing that I must be doing somewhat right.

The 2,2,2 system seems like a very good timescale to go off and will use that every time I make a brew.

With regards to my final gravity it specified that the hops can be added at 1010 and the final reading should be 1007 if I'm correct of the top of my head?

 

[danmac]

I only started a month ago and I have 6 brews under my belt you're doing exactly everything correct there's nothing wrong with following the recipe to the letter,you'll find amazing advice on here

 

[damienair]

Thanks for the feedback from everyone. My mind has been put at ease knowing that I must be doing somewhat right.

The 2,2,2 system seems like a very good timescale to go off and will use that every time I make a brew.

With regards to my final gravity it specified that the hops can be added at 1010 and the final reading should be 1007 if I'm correct of the top of my head?

I’ve made some kits where you add hops. You basically add them for 3-4 days before bottling and after fermentation has stopped. So I keep my brews in the fermentation bucket for 2 weeks before bottling. On day 10 or 11 I’ll take a gravity reading and then add the hops. In general the gravity reading has dropped a little again when bottling the brew.
When Siphoning across to the bottling bucket I put a muslin hop sock over the tip of the siphon to prevent the hop particles from going across with the beer and blocking the bottling wand. Last brew I did I used a hop sock and put the hops into it and weighted it down with marbles. The hop sock and marbles were sanitised.