First ever brew - St Peters Golden Ale

[GalootUK]

Hey all - I'm new to the forums and new to home brewing. Got my kit delivered yesterday, I bought a complete kit online with the St Peters Golden Ale kit included. Has anyone made this kit before by the way? Is it a bit like a light blonde ale? I get the impression from the description that it's a bit of a golden beer rather than an ale?

I couldn't wait to the weekend to brew it so as soon as I got home I got started! :-D I pretty much did the kit as it says on the box as it's my first go and I didn' t want to complicate things.

Sanitising was a bit of a pain as I don't have a garden hose and my sink wasn't big enough to fit the bin in it to fill it up and rinse out the VWP that had been soaking in the fermentation bin.

After getting it all mixed up I added the entire packet of the included powdered Hop mix before adding the little yeastys on top. I didn't stir it after adding the yeast as I read it's not necessary? My OG reading was 1.050 which I think is bang on target for this kit hopefully. i didn't add any extra bits as the kit says it doesn't need anything else.

I was a bit concerned that my house is a bit warm at the moment. I know the sticky temperature thermometer included in the clips aren't too accurate but it seemed to be around the 24/25c mark. So the next morning with the temperature still showing 25c I decided to move it to my cellar. Do you think this was too hot, I read that temperature's this high can sometimes cause funky flavours?

The cellar I have is all stone so it's cool in the summer and a bit cold in the winter. When I got home from work the temperature is now showing 20c which I believe is a better temperature over all?? I don't know if it's a bit over the top but I was planning on wrapping a blanket round it in the evening to help when the temp drops slightly. Hahaha I did feel a bit silly doing this, my wife thinks I'm a massive geek. I was thinking in the winter I might get a heated belt with one of those ST1000 thingies.

I was a bit worried the cellar was a bad choice as it's a bit musty and ever so slightly damp sometimes. But the lid is on and sealed and the bubble trap is on so it should be ok? My bubble trap doesn't seem to be bubbling at all which I am disappointed about - I'm resisting the temptation to open the lid as I read that this is how nastys get in? I think something is happening as I think I can see a slight foam on it with the yeast on top and the lid looks like it has a bit of a dome to it.. but it's really hard to see through the plastic. I realllly want to peek haha! I hope it's doing something anyway.

Anyway fingers crossed eh - I'll check back in with another update.

Timbo

 

[GalootUK]

Update: It has only been a day and a half, I've been good and still not lifted the lid. I did however think lets have a little test to ensure it's doing something.

We have lift off!! It's already golden\amber, it's slightly fizzy for some reason and has a bit of a head in the test tube, the gravity is now 1.032 and it tastes quite nice. yay!

 

[klaus]

Well, you are on the way, the fizz is due to the yeast consuming the sugar, producing alcohol:) and CO2.

 

[pms67]

We'll done mate,it's a great hobby and don't be too disheartened if anything doesn't go to plan.
There's always the next brew :
Good luck and enjoy

 

[Bounce]

I have the same issue getting the fermenting bins in the sink to rinse them properly. What I've done is buy some food grade hose from amazon and a hoselock tap connector. Means I can fill/rinse the buckets while they are on the floor. Great for adding hot water to sterlise, rinse and also add cold water for topping up.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have the same issue getting the fermenting bins in the sink to rinse them properly..

I use the shower :thumb:

Mrs Tea does not approve when i am cleaning all the sediment out of the FV, i remind her its all part of the job and she drinks enough of the end product she shouldn't moan, it has not stopped her yet. :lol:

 

[GalootUK]

Thanks for the tip about the hozelock tap thingy - I didn't know they existed I'm gonna get one of those when I get paid :)

The temperature in my cellar has been dropping the last few nights. The crappy stick on temperature gauge on the bin is now showing 17\18c. Is this getting too cold now? I've wrapped a blanket round it but was wondering if I should get a cheap sleeping bag to wrap round it. Other than that I'd have to buy a brew belt with an STC1000 I suppose.

 

[GalootUK]

I've bought a brew belt from my local brew shop as the temperature is now always 18c when I check in the day so I'm thinking at night it's probably dropping a little from this. I'm going to hook it up to a STC-1000 temp probe so I don't end up cooking my beer. For now I'm just leaving the belt on for an hour before I go to bed & then wrapping it up with a sleeping bag.

I took another reading today (day 5) and it's roughly 1.025 (OG was 1.050) I think the target FG is supposed to be 1.014 for this kit.

One thing I did notice (I peeked under the lid) is that the Krausen head is very thin. But I suppose it's doing it's thng so it's nothing to worry about. It now tastes much more ale like, more bitter than sweet. But still nice.

 

[GalootUK]

Quick update - I think the temperature in my cellar had dropped too low as the fermentation got stuck at 1.025.

I brought it up stairs in the warm about 20-22c and then gave it a gentle stir and waited, this didn't help all it did was turn my beer into a snow globe. So I chucked in another yeast packet and two days later I've managed to get the gravity down to 1.018 which is almost there and I'm thinking OK to bottle even if it doesn't improve any more in another week.

Now I've stirred up the sediment will it drop again eventually as it doesn't seem to have over the last 4 days. The taste is dry now rather than sweet and obviously stronger with alcohol, I can imagine that cold with fizz it'll be nice once it's had chance to condition! :)