I think I may have cocked up my first brew

[alfajerry]

I was given a Young's American IPA kit for Christmas, with FV and PB.
Followed the instructions.
Had vigorous bubbling for a few days, left it in FV for two weeks in warm, then in PB for two weeks in warm, now in the cold garage one week in so far.
At all stages it has looked cloudy and not tasted 'sharp'.
I drew off a small taster yesterday, still cloudy, the PB had no pressure and the tap 'glugged'.
I put a CO2 cartridge into it.
I thought it would have cleared with the recent temperature in the garage.
I am wondering if I can rescue it.
Maybe put it into bottles with more sugar to try to get it to carbonate?
I have read on here (too late) that bottles are better than PB for this type of beer.
Any advice much appreciated.

Jerry

 

[An Ankoù]

"The tap glugged" means you drawn air into the beer, but no more than you would if you were to bottle it. Somewhere, you've got a leak which is allowing the gas to escape. I think I'd bottle it as you suggest. Vent the PB and loosen the lid before you run the beer into the primed bottles. Hopefully it'll be ok.

Then check the seals on your PB the same way you would a bicycle inner tube- with soapy water and partial pressure.

Good luck.

 

[alfajerry]

Thanks, An Ankou, got to be worth a try.

 

[Pablosaurus]

You did add priming sugar when you racked it into the PB, right Jerry?

 

[Rodcx500z]

That's was my first thought did you add sugar if not add 80grams disolved in hot water 200ml then back in the warm for 2 weeks then back to the garage, or you have a leak on one of the seals

 

[alfajerry]

Hi Pablo and Rod,
Thanks for your replies.
Yes I did.
When I put the CO2 cartridge into it I heard the relief valve blow/whistle, wouldn't a leak blow before that?

Jerry

 

[Flan]

Hi jerry i did the exact same kit as my first in December last yr, it started off like a rocket and then settled down to a steady ferment at around 22°,
my process was
1. FV- 12 days ferment was done at 1004 FG after 3 consecutive readings
2. Dry hopped for 3 days
3. cold crashed for 3 days at 3-5°
4. Transfer to primed pb without forced carbonation, although i did bottle 4 litres to see the difference
5. conditioned at 19° for 2 weeks then tested
I didnt carbonate the pb with a capsule until the pressure started dropping after I’d poured a few. The priming sugar put enough initial pressure in for around 5 or 6 pints poured.
I have one left in the fridge for future ref, i plan on drinking it after it’s been resting around 12 weeks just to see how it compares. One thing i noticed was that i preferred the ones straight from the fridge but that’s just my own personal preference.

 

[alfajerry]

Thanks Flan.
What was the clarity like at various points?
Mine is still hazy after two weeks FV, two weeks PB warm, one week PB cold.

 

[Pablosaurus]

I think the clearing and the carbonation are separate issues, Jerry. This kit is famed for taking an age to clear, especially in a PB. Mine took at least a month, maybe longer.

Sounds like you have a leak, as Ankou says. You'll be fine to bottle it now, but will need to re-prime the batch (your previous priming sugar will have fermented out by now). See Rod's comment above (80g in 200mls, pour in, stir). Then, remove the cap from your PB and fill your bottles. Then back in the warm again for a week or so to get the secondary fermentation going.

You never know, it might yet turn out splendidly. In hindsight I wished I'd bottled my YAIPA instead of PBing it. The high-carb nature of the style suits bottles much better, as you've already read elsewhere.

Good luck - let us know how you get on.

 

[alfajerry]

Thanks Pablo, all good advice.
I've tried the tyrefitter's bubble spray check and can't see any leaks.
I will bottle it though.

 

[An Ankoù]

Thought better of it.

Chippy, Angie and all the gods of Asgard. Is it beyond the wit of man to insert a function where, having started, one can retract a post?

 

[johncrobinson]

Thor was with me for most of last night.
What he got up too after he left i have no idea

But i do know he likes a bit of bubble in his ale.

 

[Flan]

Thanks Flan.
What was the clarity like at various points?
Mine is still hazy after two weeks FV, two weeks PB warm, one week PB cold.

After i cold crashed and bottled/kegged it was still a bit hazy so that was about 3 weeks in from brew day then it took another 3 weeks to start clearing it wasn’t crystal clear even by the end but it was clear enough to see your fingers through the pint glass, and i was more focused on the taste, which was very nice indeed, than the clarity. The bottles i put in the fridge cleared better than the kegged beer. The only thing i found with the pressure barrel was i had to re-gas it about 4 times for around 16 litres.
I didn’t find carbonation an issue and i even under primed it by mistake as i used the wrong temperature in the priming calculator, i only put around 1.2g in the 500ml bottles but even though it looked a little flat there was plenty of life in it when drank

 

[Flan]

This was the beer on bottling day so probably 3 weeks in, the small plastic bottles we’re to test week by week I don’t know if you can tell properly but they’re not massively clear here.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Thought better of it.

Chippy, Angie and all the gods of Asgard. Is it beyond the wit of man to insert a function where, having started, one can retract a post?

Normal members have a set time where they can edit their own posts they cannot delete a post once posted but they can edit it to say deleted, if you run out of time PM a mod they can remove it for you.

 

[alfajerry]

After i cold crashed and bottled/kegged it was still a bit hazy etc etc

Thanks again, Flan.
Feeling a bit more hopeful than I was, one way or another.

 

[Edison]

I've recently started using Harris Starbrite for a couple of kits and had good results. Normally I don't bother with finings as a don't object to some haze, especially if it's a hoppy pale. For the last couple of cask style bitters (~20L) I added 10ml with a pipette and stired very gently. Was pretty clear after a day. Only about £3 a bottle and it'll do 5 batches. And there's no dubious animal bits in it either. For the win!

 

[alfajerry]

Thanks for the suggestion, Edison.
I don't even like my Thatcher's Haze hazy, so it may come to that!

Jerry

 

[alfajerry]

Update:
After the second cold week in the PB, I added 80g sugar and moved to bottles, which have been in the warm for two weeks, I have just tried some from the PET bottle I did (which did 'inflate'), and the beer tastes OK, it's fairly clear, but still 'lifeless'. Moving them to the garage today.
Maybe the glass bottles will be more lively. I'll try one next week.

Jerry

 

[alfajerry]

Good news!
The beer in the glass bottles DOES have some life to it, I've had three to make sure!

My thanks to Pablo, Rod, and Flan, for the encouragement.

Jerry