Flixon Breweries Here - About as much use as a handbrake on a canoe - Help!

[Flixonbrews]

Hello All,

We bought our kit at the weekend and we've a couple of questions if someone would be so kind as to help us:

1. Oh God, what have we done?

We had a bitter kit for 40 pints with a sachet of yeast attached, whacked a kilo of sugar in, then whacked a kilo of brew enhancer in, then I didn't think there was enough sugar, so I whacked another 500g of brown sugar in from Ahmed's shop.

Since then, I've found that brew enhancer already has sugar in. So, my question is, is this going to be like barley wine now? Will it explode?

2. Oh God, what are we doing next?

Betty is being brewed in an outside garage (Flixon Breweries) in Lancashire.

So we've an immersion heater in it at the moment through a bung with an airlock, keeping Betty Firstbrew to around 22 degrees, and froth has formed on top that we can see through the plastic tub (we've not opened it).

Betty is due to be syphoned into our pressure barrel next Thursday. Question is, once she's in and we add some more sugar to carbonate her and seal her up, do we still need to apply heat on the barrel for the final two weeks secondary fermentation?

Any help the experts can give Flixon Breweries would be much appreciated.

All t'best

 

[Godsdog]

2 and a half kilos of added sugar is gonna overwhealm the yeast I should think,itll be strong if the yeast can finish its job but will end up sweet as hell in my opinion
ps one can kit or two?

 

[Flixonbrews]

Cheers! Do you think Betty will have a better chance of blowing our socks off if we give her longer than the 11 days primary fermentation time that we've allowed? Many thanks

 

[chewie]

Different yeasts have different alcohol levels that they can survive in and kit yeasts aren't renowned for being the most reliant.

If you do manage to give your yeast alcohol poisoning it won't matter how long you let it sit in primary, you may need to source another yeast to put into the FV that can survive a higher alcohol level, did you take a starting gravity reading with a hydrometer before adding the yeast?

 

[chesters-mild]

Aye It'll be a bit strong and you may have to leave it a bit longer in the fermenter, don't worry too much about this just make sure you keep it covered. Did you get a hydrometer in your kit - if not you will need one and a simple trial jar - Wilcos do inexpensive ones. You can test the quantity of sugar (gravity) left in the brew after a few days with this. Do make sure you clean and sanitise everything before use! most important!
There are a lot of you tube videos on home brewing, sanitising bottling etc. It will all come out right in the end and forget the rubbish 'make your own beer in a week / 10 days' adverts - it takes a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks before it's worth drinking - the longer the better
Cheers
PS I'd recommend 'Starsan' for sanitising

 

[Godsdog]

Cheers! Do you think Betty will have a better chance of blowing our socks off if we give her longer than the 11 days primary fermentation time that we've allowed? Many thanks

11 days,you're erring on the early side with that estimation.minimum two weeks maybe longer,have a hydrometer at the ready only that will tell you when to package

 

[Flixonbrews]

Is that the bobber thermometer thingy? No.

Are you meant to whack that in after you've put all your ingredients into the FV, take a reading, and then put the yeast in and seal it up?

Nope, not done any of that. We've not used the bobber yet.

It's been in for four days, shall I get another yeast on an overnight delivery and whack that into her?

Best Regards, Flixon Breweries

 

[chewie]

Wait first to see how it goes, what kit was it and what was the supplied yeast with it?

Yes btw, you need to let the thingy do some bobbing on betty:)

 

[Godsdog]

What is the kit you have used as that will define what yeast to buy if needed

 

[Flixonbrews]

Wait first to see how it goes, what kit was it and what was the supplied yeast with it?

Yes btw, you need to let the thingy do some bobbing on betty:)

It was a Brewdog something or other, bitter, and the yeast was attached to the vacuum pack that it came in.

 

[IainM]

That will be one strong brew, if the yeast survive. What kit was it? Some of them have barely enough to ferment through when made according to instructions, like the Muntons 6g packets, while others are a little more forgiving, like the Coopers ones. The thing with stronger beers is that they 1) take longer to ferment and 2) take longer to become drinkable, so I would be inclined to leave it fermenting for at least a couple of weeks.

EDIT: just saw the previous post

 

[chesters-mild]

If the brew is fermenting (lots of foamy yeast on the top) you may not need more yeast Most kit yeasts are slow to start anyway, you did say on a previous post that you did have this froth on the top. should be OK. Your bobber does it have 3 colour bands near the top, red, yellow & green - if so it's a hydrometer Good! you will need this and a test jar. Can you post some photos of it & the brew? This will help.
Again you tube is a good place to check how to use things
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTvmYaQq6Mc[/ame]

Cheers

 

[IainM]

This one, perhaps?
If so, then with the additional stuff you've added it will finish up around 7%, so a strong one! I've never done that kit, but the premium Bulldog kits usually have a decent quantity of yeast, so I think it should ferment out. Best thing to do now is leave it three weeks then have a little taste. It won't taste nice straight from the fermentation vessel, but it should be fairly dry. If it tastes sweet, then the fermentation has stuck, though you won't be able to tell for sure without a hydrometer. If it isn't stuck and has finished, I would put it in the pressure barrel, add 80g of sugar, keep it somewhere warm for two weeks, then forget about it for a couple of months. Then, if you're lucky, you should have something drinkable.

 

[Flixonbrews]

That will be one strong brew, if the yeast survive. What kit was it? Some of them have barely enough to ferment through when made according to instructions, like the Muntons 6g packets, while others are a little more forgiving, like the Coopers ones. The thing with stronger beers is that they 1) take longer to ferment and 2) take longer to become drinkable, so I would be inclined to leave it fermenting for at least a couple of weeks.

EDIT: just saw the previous post

Thanks for your time for your reply. We think we've got a Better Brew Premium from looking at a website, but we threw the package away. Thanks for your help. We'll give it 2 - 2.5 weeks then, we were going to transfer it at 10 but that's not going to cut it. So we're already on a winner by joining this forum!

 

[Tanzanite]

It was a Brewdog something or other, bitter, and the yeast was attached to the vacuum pack that it came in.

You wont be drinking this beer until at least mid june,add a wilkos ale yeast to help the kit one, it will take 3 weeks to ferment out, then two weeks in secondary FV, clearing and Yeast cleaning, then bottle or cask and 2 week in the warmth carbonating, then at the very least 6 weeks conditioning before even becoming worth drinking , it will be high ABV and need aging to develop, and smooth out..:thumb:

 

[terrym]

@Flixonbrews
Try this it might be of use
Basic beginners guide to brewing your own beer from a kit - The HomeBrew Forum
and this to help you with the 'bobber' better known to the cognoscenti as a hydrometer.
How to measure Specific Gravity using a Homebrew Hydrometer - The HomeBrew Forum
You won't do any harm by chucking in some more yeast. Wilko do an Ale Yeast which is fine. Then leave it alone for at least two weeks before you take an SG reading, which by then should be somewhere in the range 1.010 to 1.020 if things have gone as they should. Then leave it another week. Further time in the FV is then optional, and you may prefer to go ahead and bottle or PB it. However it is unlikely to come good for at least two months, although it is possible it is just about drinkable before then.

 

[Flixonbrews]

Thanks for all your replies for everyone here at Flixon Breweries.

Although it has been pointed out that the beer may not be drinkable until mid June, we might add, that we've got stomachs like themed pubs.

We have a question?

After 2.5 weeks in fermentation, and we'll bang another bag of yeast in, can we put it in the barrel, leave it another two weeks and drink it at full ABV content?

We're not bothered about a dose of the trots, neither of us have had a solid one for over 15 years.

All of us at Flixon Breweries will be glad to receive your responses in due course, that will enable us to go some way to making our unsuspecting friends fall over.

 

[Godsdog]

Thanks for all your replies for everyone here at Flixon Breweries.

Although it has been pointed out that the beer may not be drinkable until mid June, we might add, that we've got stomachs like themed pubs.

We have a question?

After 2.5 weeks in fermentation, and we'll bang another bag of yeast in, can we put it in the barrel, leave it another two weeks and drink it at full ABV content?

We're not bothered about a dose of the trots, neither of us have had a solid one for over 15 years.

All of us at Flixon Breweries will be glad to receive your responses in due course, that will enable us to go some way to making our unsuspecting friends fall over.

If its not finished its fermentation and is still high on the hydrometer let's say 1015 and higher then re Yeasting and barreling is a bad idea as its gonna produce more CO2 and can result in knackering the barrel.if its still a high hydrometer reading pitch the new yeast while its still in the FV.dont be in so much of a hurry and take Terrys Monica quote as gospel..... Patience is the brewers friend

 

[Pawlo7671]

Running your recipe through beersmith and it comes out at 8.8% abv
Thats if your yeast will attenuate that low. Give it plenty of time, 3 weeks in the fermentor at least then 3 weeks in the bottle or barrel.
If you drink it too soon you'l get your friend drunk ok, give it time and you'l impress your friends and get them drunk

 

[Steved53]

Did you ferment it at 22 degrees so that it would ferment faster, and able to be drunk sooner? :)

Fermentation is an exothermic reaction, so if you heat it up to 22 degrees and the yeast really kicks off, the temperature will almost certainly rise above this point - which is already at the higher end for most yeasts. Off flavours will very often result!

Heating to the lower end of the range leaves a little leeway, but the lack of temperature control can still prove a problem.