Greetings from Reading

[Spike999]

Good evening all, we are new to everything to home brew and after being given a 5 gallon plastic pressure barrel recently we both jumped at the chance to try home brew, I stopped by our local home brew shop and picked up a coopers larger (half price as it was out of date). We set to work and all was going well, we followed the instructions to the letter and added the second lot of sugar for second fermentation tightened the lid and left it. The time came to test it, we dispensed the first pint and ...... it was flat, turns out we did not lubricate the lid, so all the gas leaked out and it went flat. So first lesson learnt and next time we will use bottles or lube the lid first.

We currently have our second brew going, this time an ale and again we have followed the instructions to the T, this time we have invested in a heat belt and a hydrometer as well. Heres what we have done so far 7th – sterilised equipment and mixed wort, 8th added yeast, 14th tested gravity and got a reading of 1.012, 15th tested again and got 1.012 again, 16th tested again and guess what 1.012. The instructions say that once the bubbles have stopped rising we can bottle it but the hydrometer says do not bottle unless its over 1.008 or the world will end!

Since I have found this forum we have learnt a lot and you guys have provided a lot of useful information that is not on the instructions and in the books.

I have read on some posts that if you have 2 or 3 consistent readings you can safely bottle. Can we safley bottle it as we have 3 consistent reading over 3 days, even tho the hydrometer says do not bottle?

 

[31bb3]

if it was me id check tomorrow if still the same id bottle :

 

[Spike999]

That’s what I thinking.

Mistake number 2 is that we did not take a starting gravity, I read on one post that if it starts with a low gravity then it will not finish with an amazingly high gravity.

 

[31bb3]

not sure bout that 1 but kits rarely drop as low as grain brews

 

[Spike999]

We will bottle it tomorrow and maybe leave it in the garage, just in case the bottles go pop.

 

[evanvine]

3 readings the same!
Prime with 1/4 tsp per 500ml and bottle.
1st QA test after 4 wks, then every 4 wks after until it comes on song!

 

[31bb3]

bottle but leave in same temp as you fermented then move to somewhere cooler after a few days

 

[Spike999]

Thanks guys, I took another reading this morning and guess what it was still the same. So we will bottle it tonight.

 

[stevander74]

Welcome to the forum Spike (and someone else?)
Hope your bottling went fine.
Ive been doing kits for a while now and ive never had one drop as low as id expect, certainly not as low as the "bottle now" reading on my thermometer, so i wouldnt worry about it too much. Same reading over 3 days suggests the yeasties are finished and its time to bottle but if your ever unsure its perfectly safe to leave the brew in the fv for another week before bottling.
happy brewing :

 

[evanvine]

certainly not as low as the "bottle now" reading on my thermometer

Where do you get these clever thermometers from? :wha: