First Brew

[jh212]

Hi all,

I got a starter kit delivered last week with a St Peters IPA pack. Followed the limited instructions on Saturday morning and got it into my FV....it was after this point i started reading this forum. You know the old saying a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, here is where i am at with it:

First mistake - instructions said simply add 3 litres boil water and top up to 19 then add yeast and hops package. no mention of waiting for pitch temp so everything went in at around 30c.

After it had cooled, had to mess about with the storage/aquarium heater setup to get it to the required 18-20c so it sat at around 14-16 for 36 hours or so. Who knew the heater dial needed to be on 26c to maintain 20c :whistle:

So after no action for 2 days and looking for what i thought was the all important bubbles, it was opened up and given a good mix. Krausen formed quite nicely. still no bubbles.

Instructions say ferment for 4-6 days until bubbles stop or FG is consistently below 1014. Just checked today and Krausen has pretty much gone and it is reading 1020. (OG was 1048 originally)

Whats the best plan? is it still on track and leave it alone for a few more days or have i messed up too much?

Thanks for any advice in advance.
John

 

[Klemay83]

Don't rely on always getting bubbles, a large percentage of FV are not air tight so you won't get bubbles in the airlock. If you have krausen forming, then it's a sure sign it's fermenting. Just leave it be. As a Rule of thumb leave it for 2 weeks in the fermenter, then check the Gravity. When you get the same gravity 2 days in a row then it's done fermenting and you can bottle it.

I think your first brew is the hardest. There is a great temptation to fiddle with it. Just leave it be, and try not open the lid of the FV.

 

[klaus]

Welcome to the forum and to brewing.
The mix of hot and cold water will produce the right temp for pitching the yeast. That's how I started and never checked the temp before putting in the yeast. I have stuck my finger in the wort to see whether it's ok .... Personally I wouldn't bother with a heater unless your location makes it difficult to maintain reasonable temps.
Remember it's not a precise science - a small deviation in temp up or down will not automatically spoil the brew. To start with I would actually follow the instructions on the kit rather than trying to apply too much advice.

 

[Covrich]

Leave it and it will be fine, given you had probably an extra day lag time while you got the temp right its probably only been fermenting 2-3 days.. I would leave it and take a reading next week.. the first few days are the most vigurous and that's why it has dropped down to 1020 the next few days teh yeast will consume the more complex sugars and slowly creep down towards your target gravity.

 

[jh212]

Thanks guys, having read around i see i have made same mistakes or jumped to similar conclusions as a lot of people on first brew's. Will leave it until Sunday night and check again

 

[MrDasherD]

I'd make that a week next Sunday to be honest. And given the temperature of water coming out the ground at this time if year, I think you would have been OK to add the yeast when you did.

 

[Brew_DD2]

I can't see much wrong with what you did. I have to agree with Klemay. The first brew is torturous as you go through all the things that you may have done wrong, or the things that can go wrong etc. but it's the waiting that's the killer.

Stick with it and you'll have your first beer and it'll be magnificent.