Inexperienced brewer

[Bobbyaro]

Hi all, I am new, both to here and brewing. :

I have brewed 3 kits, but seem to be having a few issues, and wondered if anyone could help, or tell me if I am worrying too much.

Kit 1) Woodfordes Wherry in a barrel (not sealed) then into bottles. This was a nice clean beer and really went without a hitch. The initial brewing caused yeasty head to overflow all over the place, then it settled down. Obviously, I couldn't see inside the barrel too well.

Kit 2) Woodforde's Wherry in a 5gallon bucket, this didn't really take off, the yeast just sat at the bottom, the head grew to about an inch, then died back quickly, and the yeast was a layer at the bottom of the bucket. A second pitch of yeast did nothing to liven it up. When bottled, it was really really fizzy. In fact it was very fizzy in the bucket.

Kit 3) Tom Caxton Best in the bucket (in progress). Has been brewing for 3 days now, very fizzy, but obviously still quite sweet (took a reading today, about 1035 at the moment), but again, when I started off, the yeast didn't really take. There is about an inch of head on top, with large amounts of brown scum (dead yeast?) floating, and a layer of yeast at the bottom of the bucket. It also doesn't taste great, but it is still pretty young!

I have been trying to read up on things, and have read about lager yeasts at the bottom, and ales at the top(?) Now I am using the standard kit yeasts, but did rehydrate them before putting them in. I am wondering if I have done something wrong here, should I have sprinkled the yeast on top to make it stay at the top? Also, I am a bit worried about the length of time the yeast took to take hold, it was at least 24 hours before I saw anything (granted I was out most of the day). I have heard the wort is vulnerable until the yeast takes hold.

Am I worrying unnecessarily? Any help or comments appreciated

Thanks.

 

[A T]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Firstly, the yeast supplied with the kits is usually fairly poor and it would be a good idea to replace it with something like so4. Are you aerting the wort before you pitch the yeast? the yeast needs plenty of air to grow The main thing is not to panic, you'll get there :thumb:

 

[Dunfie]

hi Bobbyaro, welcome to the forum.

Nothing much wrong with what you are doing. Different yeast ferment in different ways. My suggestion would be to get yourself a cheap hydrometer from the homebrew shop as it will give you a better indication of when the initial fermentation has finished so you can feel confident about kegging or bottling.

An ale will usually have finished fermenting when the gravity drops to around 1010 to 1014. If you check the gravity with the hydrometer and you are in that range and it stays stable for a couple of days then you are ready for the next stage.

 

[EskiBrew]

My suggestion would be to get yourself a cheap hydrometer from the homebrew shop as it will give you a better indication of when the initial fermentation has finished so you can feel confident about kegging or bottling.

It sounds like he already has a hydrometer D :thumb:

From your description, you sound like you are doing the right thing. It sounds like you bottled Kit2 before it had finished fermenting - did you take a reading with the hydrometer when you bottled that kit?
You need to be wary of bottling too early as you could end up with bottle bombs - i.e. too much gas produced causing the bottles to break - messy!

Some kits have been known to go dormant before they have finished fermenting and as AT suggests, using a good yeast like Safale S04 (small blue packet) will help but is not mandatory. What additional yeast did you pitch and how long did you wait before bottling it? Also, where are you fermenting and what temperature is it there - does the temperature dip down at night - if the temp drops a lot at night this could perhaps cause the yeast to go dormant before it has finished. You might want to wrap a towel around the fermenter to try and keep draughts away from it.

Don't worry - 24 hours is not really unusual for yeast to take hold - as long as you are cleaning everything well it should not be a problem. Make sure you create lots of foam/bubbles when making up the kit because that gets plenty of air in the beer to help the yeast get started.

The description of brown scum on top and a yeast cake at the bottom is not unusual either - different kits will have different stuff in which the yeast may "throw" up to the top. Some people recommend skimming the scum off every few days but I prefer to leave well alone - less chance of introducing infection.

Top and bottom fermenting yeast - well all yeast are different and will behave differently - don't get too hung up about that. A top fermenting yeast will have a lot in suspension and at the bottom of the bucket too.

Overall, it sounds like you are doing well :clap:

 

[evanvine]

Welcome to the Forum Bobbyaro
You will find a lot of sensible and knowledgable brewers here and then there's me.
The succinct and concise magnum opus EB has written is bang on the button!

 

[damfoose]

Welcome to the forum and to brewing your own beer well done on the change

What has been said before me is all correct.

1. clean everything after every brew, hot water to get all the crap out of the FV then sanitise with fresh hot water with some form of steriliser in it not the tablets used for babies bottles for goodness sake use a steriliser from the home brew shop thats best. Use the same stuff for your bottles not forgetting to rinse thouroughly.

2. Use a good yeast as mentioned safale S-04 is a great one for kits.

3. Don't use normal sugar for your brews use a dry malt extract or light malt extract depending on the colour of the brew your making usually the dark one this may cost more than sugar but their is a very noticeable taste difference.

4. leave the brew alone for 10 days before doing anything with it to give it time to ferment out properly , were all eager to get to them but patience pays off alot in this game.

5. Have fun making your brew every brew you make its not supposed to be a chore or a PITA its a hobby after all.

6. This forum is full of some very experienced brewers all of whom are willing to help in pretty much any way they can from kit brewing to actually making your own all grain brewery. It's a wealth of knowledge in here.

Happy brewing its a great past time

 

[LeicesterLad]

Hi Bobbyaro,

Like as said above it sounds like your doing it right, the only thing i dont think mentioned is the temperature during fermentation, its always best to keep a stable temperature that is not too cold or to hot..in my opinion anything between 16 and 25 degrees.

Again as said above swap the yeast supplied with the kit for a better one from your local brew shop and when your there get some Dried Malt Extract and use this instead of sugar. The Wherry though doesnt need any additional sugar though because it comes in 2cans, however you can tweak the kit by dry hopping if you wanted to.

Have Fun and be Patient....

 

[Dunfie]

It sounds like he already has a hydrometer D :thumb:

Whoops, I didn't read the post properly.

I'll get my coat.

 

[31bb3]

Welcome yo the forum

 

[Bobbyaro]

Hi, thanks for the welcomes.

I think the thing I am forgetting to do is aerate the wort. I only really poured the water in and left it.

wrt temperature, it is in my flat, near a radiator (not touching) and the temperature of the flat doesn't vary very much, probably 18-22C at the moment.

I actually realised I made a mistake, this brew the yeast was actually a Youngs yeast, because i used the one that came in the pack as the second pitch on the second batch! If you see what I mean.

I think mostly it comes to me not aerating enough when starting off. I shall make sure to do that next time. (I have some Coopers APA to brew next)

Thanks for the replies.

 

[evanvine]

Airating the wort alows the pitched yeast to multiply prior to producing alcohol.
If you don't, all that happens is that the brew is slower to ferment out!

 

[Bobbyaro]

Hi, one final question (yeah right!*) The bubbles have stopped and the reading is about 1012 - 1015, after 9 days. Most of you seem to recommend leaving it for 10 days before bottling, the instructions state 4-6, but don't quote an SG.

1) Currently the ale has no head; is leaving it "open" like that going to be okay?
2)* Will it be okay to leave until Saturday?

Still, it tastes like bitter, so getting there, although it is still a little sweet.

Thanks.

*told you!

Edit:I can't count!

 

[brobin]

Hi Bobbyaro,

It is best to bottle / keg when the hydrometer reading has been the same for 3 days as this will indicate that fermentation has indeed stopped.

So take a reading tomorrow and one the day after and if they are all the same it is time to bottle / keg

All the best

Bill