My first post and first brew!

[Fella]

Hallo!

So I have just finished my first brew and its sat to ferment. I have read this site very thoroughly before I took it on so I thought I'd better say thanks and document my process!

The kit I made was Fixby Gold by Brupaks. I did a 2 can kit because all the advice points at not doing the cheapest kit you can find and whacking a load of sugar in, so I got one that wasn't.

I sourced a lot of my kit from Ebay. I bought Wheelers CAMRA homebrew guide for light reading, A fermentation vat with fitted airlock and tap (great Ebay seller too, lots of guidance!), used The Range to get my Dextrose for bottling, paddle for stirring, thermometer for the vat and bottle caps, and the bottles are arriving from Ebay this week too (40 plastic).

So I began by sterilising the living daylights out of everything. As it's my first brew I used thin Bleach and Boiling water, and rinsed it all thoroughly. I am paranoid about this part of the process, I must have taken 45 minutes at least to do just the bin...

Then I followed the kit. Quite different to what I had read on the internet. Added the 2 cans to 2 pots full of boiling water, turning them over to loosen the sides. I then added the contents of 1 can to the fermentation bin. In the other can I added the hop tea bag affair and let that brew for 15 minutes.

I then added the other tin to the vat.

I added the condom wrapper of yeast to a lukewarm glass of water to "activate it".

I then added and stirred in asda 17p still water until I was at the nearly 30 litre mark. Then I added the now "activated" yeast.

Lid on securely, air lock fitted. Now waiting the 5 to 7 days for the fermentation to take place....

Bottles arrive tomorrow. Capper needed. Then I think I'm good to go....

My only concern is that the vat is filled and the frothy head (made in order to add oxygen) is almost touching the bottom of the airlock. Bad thing?

Otherwise really looking forward to homebrewing. This is my first batch and I'm into Timothy Taylor Landlord, most Badger Beers, etc Really hoppy IPAs etc. I'm looking forward to it!

Any guidance and advice? Did I go wrong anywhere?

I t

 

[battwave]

Sounds an absolutely perfect start; can't fault you. Thin bleach is OK provided you make sure you rinse it very well. No issues with frothing, it will die-down, and blanket of CO2 from the fermentation will give protection.

Whereabouts are you - I have a spare crown capper (assuming these are crinkly crown caps: not normal with plastic bottles)- it's yours if you're anywhere near?

 

[dennisking]

hi and welcome.

 

[abeyptfc]

how much water did you add? by the looks of the fv it is filled right over and above the 25 litre mark. checked the kit online and its only meant to be brewed to around 40 pints or 23 litres. if your airlock is actually in the beer then the co2 wont be able to escape, unclick a section of your lid. good luck with it!

 

[Asalpaws]

Yes I also thought 30 L seems a bit much water. Sure it will be fine, just be a bit lower ABV. You could let out some via the tap to make a bit of head space. Worst that will happen is the foam will climb out of the airlock.

 

[Fella]

Ah. bum. I know what I did wrong, I counted the measurement of water from the number of bottles I used, I didnt take into account the volume from the cans.

What do we reckon, leave it as it is, or drain some out? I've not got any exploding risk have I? That's the nightmare...

Cheers for the encouragement too! I'm in NG10, and it says you can put crown caps on these plastic bottles...

 

[bobsbeer]

Welcome to the forum. I would drain a bit out or the fermentation foam will come up through your airlock, and you will have a nice sticky mess. You only need a couple of inches of headspace.

 

[pittsy]

hi and welcome to the forum

 

[Polo_Phil]

Welcome! :

Nice worktop you have there!

 

[Fella]

Is this normal? Water travelling backwards through the air lock?

Nice worktops ;-)

 

[alanywiseman.]

When you say the water is travelling backwards do you mean into the FV? When it happened were you moving the FV or trying to take the lid off?

From your picture everthing seems fine. All of the water appears to be sitting in the right had side of the trap and this is normal. It is because the CO2 pressure in your FV is forcing the water there.

 

[Fella]

What you described in the 2 last sentences is what is going on. Brilliant! I am probably overly excited.. I already want to start another...

 

[alanywiseman.]

Before you know it you will have 3-4 FVs and have a number of bres going at once :lol: :lol:

 

[Fella]

Heres the action, just over 24 hours in...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiRRgUjI ... ture=g-upl

Exciting for me.... probably not for anyone else...

 

[Duxuk]

Glad that video was only a short one. I was getting a bit excited. Think I'll have another glass of beer to take my mind off it. :whistle:

 

[Fella]

I think fermentation is stuck :-\

The bubbling stopped so I read the stuck fermentation thread and lifted the lid. The above is what greeted me. I could see bubbles coming to the surface so it must just be much, much slower I guess? The krausen ring is revolting by the way, looks like painted porcelain (if you catch my drift).

I gave it a slow steady stir and I've reset the lid, if I don't hear any bubbles through the airlock I might put it in the airing cupboard, which is at least a couple of degrees higher? Otherwise I'll just be leaving it be... it says 5-7 days, but I guess that might be an optimistic estimate?

Bah!

 

[calumscott]

Looks absolutely superb!

Clip that lid back on and leave it alone for a bit. If you have obvious bubbles its still going, just slowing down a bit.

You won't get bubbles through the airlock now, the production rate is such that it'll just seep out of the tiny gaps between your FV and the lid.

I don't even think about bottling until 14 days of fermentation so open a beer, chill out and daydream about drinking your own in about a month's time! :thumb:

 

[Fella]

I gave it a stir, reset the airlock and we're bubbling every 15 seconds. It's like an old dude trumping in the bath...

 

[Polo_Phil]

No lid lifting. No stiring. Just leave it alone!
To occupy your time have a browse through the threads and count how many people have the same worktop as yourself.... it's an exciting life I have :lol:

 

[orlando]

Welcome and congratulations. The best bit of advice you have had so far is "leave it alone". It's hard I know, particulalrly as I regularly ignore my own advice, but that of course is because I am doing research :whistle:

You will have a slightly weaker beer as you have inadvertently done what is known as liquoring back. It will also mean you migh have wort left over after all your bottles are filled. Don't throw it away, store it in a sterilised container and put in the fridge. Next time you can use this to rehydrate the yeast or indeed for culturing up a yeast of your choice. The fun has only just begun :party: