First Post and First ever brew.

[SoullessToaster]

I am currently making my first ever home brew its 4 days into the fermentation.
but i have a few questions....
so if anyone has the patience and the time to help out a complete home brew Noob, please answer them for me

basically, im making a 40 pint cider brew from a blackrock kit.
i followed the instructions on the back of the can to the letter...

however, being a poor student, i couldnt afford anything overly fancy for it...
ive got a basic youngs fermenting bucket with a bottling tap on the bottom (which was sterilized before use)
but it doesnt have an airlock or anything on it to release the rather large amount of CO2 build up inside.........
so to prevent what was probably going to be a very large cider explosion, what i have to to is force the co2 out of the bucket by opening the lid by a TINY TINY TINY amount and pressing on the top of the lid to force the co2 out.......
so my first question is- Is this gonna affect the outcome quality of my cider in a negative way?

Also, due to the same reason of being a poor student..... i dont own a hydrometer.... so how do i know when its ready to bottle? i was given a ballpark figure of 10-14 days after starting the brew.... but obv, thats VERRRRY vague.
so my 2nd question is- how do i know when its ACTUALLY ready to bottle?

next is- will the CO2 build up in the bottles not force the caps off th4e bottles? (noobish q, i know, but i would rather like to know)

and finally- i used 1kg of sugar (as instructed by the back of the tin that i used) but i only used basic household quality sugar.... is that gonna affect the quality of the end product?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[ni9e]

Welcome to the forum your first question by opening the fermenter lid a tiny biy will do your brew no harm at all :thumb:
With not owning a hydrometer i'd just follow instructions and length of time to ferment or invest 2 quid on a hydrometer

I'd bottle in two liter plastic bottles the cheap ones from asda that sell there own brand botled water they will hold the pressure if you do bottle too early and finally using household sugar is fine and wont affect the end result of your brew

Plus being a student have you seen the threads for turbo cider its a cheap alternative to kit cider and many here rekon its better than the kits and some commercial ciders :thumb:

 

[SoullessToaster]

i have been and invested in a hydrometer... for the princely sum of £2.59 (didnt realise they would be that cheap)
but anyway...
it has been in the fermenting bucket for 5 days now... and it got a reading of 1030 or something...... is that about right? or is it too low? or too high? :S helpppp!!!!

 

[Aleman]

Give it a stir with a sanitised spoon to wake the yeasties up . . . it does sound as though fermentation is proceeding very slowly . . . What temperature are you fermenting at . . I have some Cider on the go that started at 1.043 (~ it was 11.3 brix) and was down at 1.024 after three days . . . but I am fermenting it at 12C . . . using lager yeast so I am expecting it to take about 10 days to finish the fermentation, then it will get another week sat there doing nothing before I even think about bottling / casking

Your gravity is a little high, if its fermenting below 18-20C move it somewhere warmer (Around 18-20C) and give it a good stir trying not to introduce a lot of air. then leave it for a few days and try again . . . Bottle when you have a stable Gravity reading for 3 days.

 

[SoullessToaster]

its in quite a warm place... its in next to the boiler and above a tumble dryer...... ill purchase a thermometer to check the actualy temperature of it.
any other suggestions to make it AMAZING

 

[commsbiff]

yes - drink ten pints of it! :drink:

 

[SoullessToaster]

i need an answer to this one rather sharpish if possible....
since stiring it, the amount of co2 being kicked out has hugely increased......
so as a result the fermenter is filling up too quickly for me to keep releasing it manually..... esp if i leave it over night...
so i need to know, can i leave the lid open a crack in order for the co2 to not cause a rather large cider explosion??
will it harm the cider if i do this?

 

[SoullessToaster]

NEEEED ANSWER V.QUICKLY!!! cheers :)

 

[Aleman]

Just unclip the lid a bit . . . don't worry about it . . . the CO2 being given off will protect your cider . . . if you are really worried about it cover the gap with a piece of cling film . . . which is what I did in my video (Never underestimate the power of the Dark Side) . . . its about 10 minutes in

 

[SoullessToaster]

Cheers Aleman.

 

[SoullessToaster]

ok, stirred it with a sterilized spoon and have left it for another day.
took another hydrometer reading and it is now around 1022 or 1024.
it is day 6 of fermentation.
is that normal? too high? too low?

 

[tubby_shaw]

It's normal :thumb:
From your two separate gravity readings you can see it has dropped around six gravity points :thumb:
The best thing to do now is leave it alone for 72 hours and check the gravity again. Every time you check it or take a gravity reading you run the risk of introducing an infection
All a fermentation needs is good yeast, sugar in solution, sufficient nutrient and the correct temperature.

 

[SoullessToaster]

yeah. i take a grayivty reading in a 100cm3 test pot instead of in the main vessel to reduce the risk of contamination. but yeah, as long as its normal and back on track now :)

 

[SoullessToaster]

Hey all

Day 11 of my first home brew. I've just done a hydrometer Reading and got 1012. I assume this means it is progressing well (correct me if I'm wrong) at what hydrometer Reading should I bottle it? Cheers all

 

[tubby_shaw]

Different brews finish at different gravities, so I can't give you a figure.
Best practice it to wait until you have taken two readings the same a couple of days apart and bottle at this time :thumb:

 

[falafael]

i would of thought that after 11 days..it should be done!...mines normally bottled by that time...lol
:

 

[SoullessToaster]

Cider is now bottled! xD
got exactly 40 bottles out of it.
Final question of my first brew: How long do i need to leave it in the bottles until its ready to drink?

Thanks to all of you who have helped me on my first brew... i will drink the first bottle in all of your honour :p (when its ready)...
but seriously, i have appreciated it all. :)