First brew worries.

[Moocowman]

Just put my first brew on and have a few concerns. After I finished making the mixture the hydrometer gave me a reading of 30.30 :shock: , although I may have been reading it wrong, I basically put it in fermenter and let it settle. Also there was a little bit of undissolved wort and sugar at the bottom, will this affect it? Final thing, there is a small hole in the lid and nothing to block it up with, is it important to keep the hole covered?
Thanks,
Josh

 

[Wendy1971]

i think you had better re check that hydrometer reading and let us know the correct reading. You really should have an airlock in the hole in the lid as this would stop nasties getting in. What was the temp when you took your reading.

Oh yes welcome to the forum :thumb:

 

[Moley]

Welcome to the forum :

I'm guessing your hydrometer has its scale repeated around the stem for ease of reading, so your gravity is 1.030

That is probably wrong for two reasons:

If you still have some undisolved wort concentrate and sugar on the bottom of the bucket, you're obviously not measuring it all.

When you take a reading, spin the hydrometer stem between your thumb and index finger and take your reading just as it is coming to a halt. This dislodges any air bubbles which are clinging to the glass. After it has settled, bubbles will again start to cling to the glass and your reading will change.

What kit are you making? Your true OG is likely to be closer to 1.040

And yes, you need to cover that hole, or fit an airlock and bung. The airlock might not bubble because bucket lids don't always seal properly, but you do need to cover or plug that hole.

 

[calumscott]

+1 for covering the hole.

If you don't have an airlock then a bit of tape and a little pin hole is all you need.

 

[Moocowman]

Thanks for the replies :thumb: , the temp was 20 C. I did all the measurements as it said in the instructions so I'm not sure, next time should I just add more boiling water? And the kit I'm making is lager.

 

[calumscott]

take a peek at http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=20672.

The last picture.

Does your hyrdometer look like that one?

 

[Moocowman]

take a peek at http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=20672.

The last picture.

Does your hyrdometer look like that one?

A little. It has a 0 the middle, then 10 to 30 above it and 10-90 below it.
Also, I found the airlock, I thought it was something to do with the syphon originally .
I'm a bit concerned looking at that photo as my beer currently has no head on it, its just flat.

 

[vinniev]

If you've only just made it. Put it somewhere warm and don't even think about checking it until tommorow.

If it's dried yeast it'll take a good few hours to start up.

 

[calumscott]

Chill out Moo!

Give the little yeasties 24 hrs and your airlock'll be bubbling like a good un!

Get a piccie of your hydrometer up and someone's bound to have the same one...

 

[Moley]

My current collection, as photographed for the Wurzel's Orange Wine Guide:

I'm guessing you've got no. 3, 4 or 5.

There's a useful guide to hydrometers >>here<<

 

[Moocowman]

Just given it another check and it's starting to improve :). I have hydrometer number 3 on that picture and just measured it again and it went to 38, so I'm assuming thats 1038?

 

[Moley]

Sorry, missed your reply at the time.

Yes, 1038 or 1.038 and we'll all know what you mean :thumb:

 

[RobWalker]

moley, is number one a beer only hydro? i'd love one of those!

 

[jcoops39]

Just a small hint re the undissolved wort/sugar, as this was stuff I had to get used to when I was new:

Most kit instructions just tell you to put the contents straight in your fermenter. It's far better to get yourself a big cooking pot and mix it up with about 6 pints of boiling water, stir it as you add the kit and make sure the stuff dissolves properly. Boiling it for a further 20 mins won't do it any harm either, just make sure it doesn't boil over.

Then when you add it to the fermentor, add your sugar before any colder water, the higher temperatures will dissolve that far more easily. At this point make sure you stir it nice and vigorously - I mean really splash it about, that will dissolve oxygen into the mix for the yeast to feed off when you pitch it, so do that all the time while you add cold water up to the desired level.

All you have to do then is make sure the temperature's right before you pitch the yeast :)

 

[Moley]

moley, is number one a beer only hydro? i'd love one of those!

:lol: Goes from 1.000 to 1.100 in 54mm, is graduated in 5 point increments, but does bounce if you drop it.

A novelty item but better than nothing. Cost £1.15 though, and that was probably around 1980.

 

[RobWalker]

oh yeah, i see, hahah. it would be quite cool to have a hydrometer that only goes up to say 1.070 for beer!

 

[Moley]

Take a look at these then, and there are other ranges available if you go back to the testing equipment section of the catalogue.

In Great Barr, which side of Brum are you?

 

[RobWalker]

interesting! I'm on t'other side, shame my girlfriend's dad moved over to coventry or I would have passed regularly :P thanks though, I could always enquire at the local and see if he knows anything about it.