hello , new to all this , very exited and have a few ques...

[Toastie]

questions :)

hi , im on my first go and about to go for the bottling / kegging stage , i just want to confirm my plans are ok and im not going to do something stupid .

its for a woodfordes welly kit and is almost ready ..

this is my next plan ..


so this time im going to get half a pint out to boil 85 grams of sugar into it ,

let that cool then poor it in to the keg ,

then put the rest into the keg plus a spoon full of the stuff from the bottom ,

then give it a steer ,

then take some out to a few bottles

then stick the lid on and leave it all alown for a week in the same place ,

then move it all to my back room at about 15c and leave for at least 3 weeks to clear

how does that sound ?


many thanks in advanced for any help :) cheers d

 

[Dave1970]

That sounds fine, personally I wouldn't bother putting a spoonful of the sediment in the barrel, there will be enough yeast in suspension in the beer for your secondary fermentation.
Also make sure you give your keg a good check over before filling, vaseline the seals and tighten them, tricky to sort out a leak once it's full of beer.

 

[Toastie]

hi , thanks for reply , just to clear up - do i stir it when i ad the sugar mix ?

and well we're talking Vaseline , do i put that round the keg tap as well as the top ?

may thank :) d

 

[scott78]

you can give it a stir but only slightly as if you stir too hard you can get air dissolved. Also i would dissolve the sugar in warm wort and not boil as this can also oxidise the beer.

 

[Toastie]

thanks , im taking it all in :)

at the moment there to much froth to take a good reading , would this mean its probebley not ready ? from a guess at the reading its get low

many thanks d

 

[31bb3]

How long has it Been in the FV also did you take a starting reading with the hydrometer if there's still froth ontop then it probably hasn't finished fermenting try jot to open the FV as this will release the co2 layer off the brew and could let nasties get to it

 

[Toastie]

hi , its been on 7 days but running a little cold i think , maybe 17 / 18c . i tried to take a reading at the start but didn't understand it at the time . still not sure at what point i should of taken a reading , one set of instructions said before the yeast one said after .

iv tried not to take the lid off . i did the first day to see if it has started and have quickly the last two days to see if i could take a reading :) il give it a few days now :)

edit - and also could i dissolve the sugar in a bit of water and add it rather than using some of the beer ? i know this would water it down very slightly but is that the only problem ?

cheers d

 

[31bb3]

If it's fermenting at that temp chances are it hasn't finished it may have stalled do you had an airlock on the FV ?? Can you move the FV to somewhere warmer I'd give it a few more days before doing anything else to it.
With the hydrometer the higher up it sits in the wort then the higher the gravity you should see numbers starting at about 90then going up to about the closer to the bulb so your starting gravity was prob around 1040 1050 it should drop to around 1012 ish you can then use the calculator at the top of the forum page to get your abv checking the gravity with or without yeast won't make a massive difference if any

 

[Dave1970]

and well we're talking Vaseline , do i put that round the keg tap as well as the top ?

Yes, take the tap out of the keg, vaseline the washer and put it back together

I'd be amazed if you're fermentation's finished after a week at that temp. I've not done the Wherry but when I did the Woodfordes Admiral's Reserve kit it was 2 weeks at about 20 degrees. When it was done it began to clear & there was obviously not a lot going on. You could do with taking gravities because the Wherry is known for sticking at 1020 & you need to be on the lookout for that....when my AR got stuck a stir & a few degrees temp increase got it going again

 

[Toastie]

If it's fermenting at that temp chances are it hasn't finished it may have stalled do you had an airlock on the FV ?? Can you move the FV to somewhere warmer I'd give it a few more days before doing anything else to it.
With the hydrometer the higher up it sits in the wort then the higher the gravity you should see numbers starting at about 90then going up to about the closer to the bulb so your starting gravity was prob around 1040 1050 it should drop to around 1012 ish you can then use the calculator at the top of the forum page to get your abv checking the gravity with or without yeast won't make a massive difference if any

cheers , its seems to be fermenting , its when really frothy :) , iv not got an air lock , it was only after id mixed it i noticed the kit didn't have one so was told to leave the lid on but not sealed . i cant get it any warmer its in the warmest part of the warmest place in my house so il have to hope its ok .

iv now got an air lock but don't think its worth taking the lid off to make a hole and fit it at this stage .

at 7 days almost exactly it looks like this ..

hope your going to say that look ok :pray: :

 

[eggman]

Don't worry about the air-lock for this brew fit it after
The brew looks like its got a while to go, put the lid back on for a few more days then take another reading. I leave mine in the fv for 10-14 days
:

 

[Toastie]

thanks you , that's a relief is not knackered , il have a look Saturday :)

i will stick an air lock on for the next go . to be honest i think the people selling the kit could point out there's no lock or thermometer , i didn't even have a tin opener :lol:

 

[Bluebottle]

its for a woodfordes welly kit and is almost ready ..

Tastes like old boots :whistle:


My Wherry had 10 days in the FV and have just put it into the pressure barrel. It had finished though, which yours hasn't by the looks of it. As its my first time with a beer kit its been a learning curve for me, the one thing that stands out to me above all else is get a good siphon. The one that came with my kit was a length of tube with a tap on the one end. The tube diameter was too big for the barrel clip I also bought so ended up using my 10 year old daughter to hold the thing, bad move, she added loads of bubbles by messing around at the start of the syphoning. I saw a siphon with a turkey baster type pump on it on the internet the other day and considered that too as I didn't like sucking the tube to get the process started (no point sterislising the tube if you're going to put it in your mouth first is there?).

Good luck.

 

[Toastie]

Cheers , iv got a clip planed as have seen others say it can be a handfull , also iv seen a rite up about the sucking part where you hold the tube with 3 fingers and make a tube with the 4th so put your mouth on your hand instead . Hope that makes some sence :)

On the subjects of hands . How do you clean them ? Do you use the sterilising stuff ?

 

[jonnymorris]

I wash my hands in the sterilising solution whilst cleaning the barrel/bin.

Note: if you've nowhere in your house that's warm enough to keep fermentation going you might like to consider investing in a brew belt. Just a thought.

 

[Toastie]

Ye I'm going to look into one of them next go I think , cheers :)

 

[Colin K]

Hello,
Just thought I would add a couple of bits here (im a newbee too) Im on my 8 th brew

My under stairs is a constant 22 deg due to my heating pipes running there and all of my brews have taken 7/8 days always cleared on the surface when ready.
Now my family think im a little mad but I check it by lifting the lid and in a bright light look at the surface with a .................magnifying glass. Well you can really see any bubbles coming to the surface that way.

I have never found a lid type fermentation vessle that seals even though i have drilled a lid and fitted a demijohn bung/airlock. I just have one that has a 2" hole that i found a cork bung that fits so i gave up with that.

Good luck, Colin.

 

[Toastie]

Cheers , I'm strugleing a bit as I dont want to disturb it now , it's in a sort of airing cupboard where my boiler is but even there's is not getting warm ,for the next one I will build I shelf so I can getting rite next to the boiler and line the cupboard before I start , iv aslo got some good lights to go in . Hopdully this one will work I will be disappointed if it don't . Iv got to get a heat pad or belt sorted I think but moneys flying out to quick at the mo . Still least il save a few quid in beer :)

Thanks chaps :)

D

 

[Toastie]

could anyone tell me if its to late after a week to get some heat into my brew , if i got a heat belt tomorrow would it be worth putting it on ?

cheers d

 

[Vossy1]

What's the hydrometer reading T ?

could anyone tell me if its to late after a week to get some heat into my brew , if i got a heat belt tomorrow would it be worth putting it on ?

If it's stalled then yes it would be worth it. The yeast should kick off by themselves, but it wouldn't hurt to rouse them by stirring them up from the bottom with a sanitised spoon, gently stirring to avoid any air being stirred into the beer.