Hi all - introduction and question

[sclomax]

Hi all,

My name is Scott and I have just started home brewing (I bought my first kit last Friday). I have bought a Geordies Yorkshire Bitter kit and have started brewing it in a plastic container with lid. It is fermenting still (I think - hence the coming question). I started it off last Friday evening and by Saturday morning there was a thick layer on top. This gradually went and by Tuesday it had gone. There are some small bubbles rising to the surface when I check it. I took a hydrometer sample yesterday and it was 1.015. I know tomorrow is day seven. I'm just wondering if it sounds like I am doing it right. If all goes well with this first effort I am very much looking forward to a summer of brewing and beer drinking.

One other question - are there any courses or even demonstrations where you can go and watch people homebrew to learn the processes? I live near Sheffield.

Scott

 

[artyb]

welcome to the forum scott, it would pay you to put the lid on and forget your brew for 3 weeks from start to finish, this will give it time to do its thing and keep infection out,
i leave all mine for 3 weeks and they are fine,

the 3 things you need are patience, patience and some patience.... :lol:

 

[sclomax]

Thank you :)

The instructions say to bottle or transfer to a pressure barrel after the hydrometer reading is at or below 1.005 for two days. It also says to do a hydrometer meter check every day. I guess that could increase contamination. I just did one and it is 1.010, so down a little from yesterday which must me a positive sign.

Scott

 

[Moley]

Hi Scott, and welcome to the forum :

I would have said 2 weeks, but agree with everything else artyb said.

Kit instructions and timings are frequently over-optimistic.

 

[sclomax]

Thank you very much. Would it cause any problems if I left it a little longer at the primary fermentation stage than might be necessary, just to be on the safe side?

Scott

 

[Moley]

No problem whatsoever, up to a point. 4 weeks is about the sensible maximum, but that would assume that you left the lid on and left it alone.

While it is fermenting your beer is protected by a head of carbon dioxide, which is heavier than air. Leave the lid on and your beer is safe, up to the point where the dead yeast starts to decompose.

Remove the lid to keep poking it with a hydrometer (which you've rightly surmised is an opportunity for infection) and that protective layer will be blown away.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Hi Scott and welcome. :thumb:
I use 5 gallon wine fermenters for my beer, they've a sealed screw top and an hole for the airlock which keeps all the nasties out.
And as the others have said, forget the instructions regarding time/days, if you leave it for at least 2-3 weeks without peeking at it you'll be fine.

BB