I think it's almost ready to bottle

[FunnyTrickster]

Hi all,

2 weeks today since I started brewing the Youngs brewbuddy lager kit.

Not sure if it's the best way to get a sample but I dipped a tube in to take a small sample and when I first put the hydrometer in it was quite high but there were a lot of bubbles rising then it settled down to yellow which is about 1.00, red shows as 1.01 and green is 0.99

Needless to say I drunk the sample and it tasted ok for beer that isn't chilled although a bit flat despite bubbles rising.

I will probably do it on Saturday when I have more time but does this sound ready to bottle? Will adding 2.5ml of sugar to each 500ml bottle be ok and will it give it fizz in the 2nd stage of this process?

Cheers :

Vinny

 

[billy994]

if the hydrometer reading is the same for 3 days in a row then its good to bottle, as for priming a 500ml bottle the rule of thumb seems to be if its fizzy i.e. lager then 1 cooks teaspoon of sugar, if its ale, stout, porter and the like, its half a teaspoon......if you havent got a set of cooks measuring spoons you should get a set before your next brew it takes a bit of the guess work out and for new brewers like us thats a god send...oh and they are dirt cheap

 

[iancraig]

Hi Vinny,

my hydrometer doesn't have those colours on it, but if those numbers are specific gravities than 1.000 seems too low. I read that most beers won't ferment below FG 1.005. Are you sure you are reading the hydrometer correctly? Do you know what temperature the sample was at?

Nevertheless, I'd go for it on Saturday. If it is two weeks now, it'll be 2.5 on Saturday. I'd think you'll be fine to bottle then.

All the best,

Ian

 

[FunnyTrickster]

Well.... this hydrometer came with the youngs kit so who knows lol

It may not be accurate. It was in the yellow zone.

So I will bottle between now and Saturday me thinks.

I will let you know how it all goes anyway, plus once bottled I have another set ready for my second homebrew (ooh another 40 pints )

I was dubious about this but I'm going to really give it a go.

Already thinking of my 2nd batch... Now S23 yeast for my Coopers Lager??? Also got the 1KG Coopers Brew Enhancer and the Carbonation Drops for the 2nd stage...

 

[rpt]

You need to ignore the coloured zones - they are meaningless unless someone else has the same hydrometer and they are probably rather broad ranges. You need to take an actual numeric reading - water is 1.000 (also written as 1000) and beer usually finishes something like 1009 or 1014. When this number is constant for 3 days you know it is safe to bottle.

 

[JohnStone]

+1 for rpt's post

The hydometer in the young's kit I was bought a few years back gives the following readings

Green 0.984- 0.994
Yellow 0.994 - 1.006
Red 1.006 - 1.016

 

[FunnyTrickster]

Ok, I've gone ahead and bottled tonight.

One thing I noticed was that it smelled familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it, then I realised it smelled like apple juice

I know the box said lager but there was no label on the wort tin. Could I be brewing cider or has anyone else had lager smell like apple juice?

It had been in the FV for 17 days (but my house isn't that warm, prob about 15C all the time it was fermenting)