Newbie Fermenting worry

[andywilde16]

Hi andywilde16 I'm new to homebrewing started a Coopers English bitter on 02nd Jan do you watch YouTube? Craigtube is a great place to learn ( in my opinion ) spent hours watching him. Made my kit with out reading any of the info from Coopers all down to watching clips on how too. He as one about adding hops to fv should look it up. Happy brewing ������

Thanks Rico1973 I will take a look at the Craigtube channel on Youtube as I have been watching several including the HomeBeerBrewery channel where he actually brews a Simply kit and that is the one I followed to get me going.

Let me know how you get on with your brew via PM as always good to learn from fellow newbies!!:thumb:

 

[Rico1973]

Hi, Andy, I'm using the new Coopers fv so no air lock uses a krausen collar and lid Youtube that too lol. I'm doing Coppers English beer and my foam head as also subsided! but still bubbles will do a GR on the 10th that will of been 8 days in the fv then again 11th but like everyone says 2 weeks in the fv. (starting GR 1.040
I also watched HomeBeerBrewery channel :)

 

[andywilde16]

Hi, Andy, I'm using the new Coopers fv so no air lock uses a krausen collar and lid Youtube that too lol. I'm doing Coppers English beer and my foam head as also subsided! but still bubbles will do a GR on the 10th that will of been 8 days in the fv then again 11th but like everyone says 2 weeks in the fv. (starting GR 1.040
I also watched HomeBeerBrewery channel :)

That looks interesting - will have to watch the youtube video about it later.

I am glad to hear that your foam has subsided as I looked at mine this morning and panicked at first but when I saw bubbles coming up to the surface I presumed it was still fermenting and I have a crust ring around the edge of the fv. My brew started at 1042 GR and I am wondering whether to leave it until the evening of the 9th to take another one or take one tomorrow?

 

[Rico1973]

That looks interesting - will have to watch the youtube video about it later.

I am glad to hear that your foam has subsided as I looked at mine this morning and panicked at first but when I saw bubbles coming up to the surface I presumed it was still fermenting and I have a crust ring around the edge of the fv. My brew started at 1042 GR and I am wondering whether to leave it until the evening of the 9th to take another one or take one tomorrow?

Only worth GR if you're thinking of bottling as the others say even if gr is the same over 2 days worth leaving for 2 weeks for the yeast to clean the brew up. Everything I read says the beer will taste better.

 

[Pirate_Pete]

So can I put the pellets in with the wort still fermenting or do I have to wait until fermentation is complete?

You can dry hop after a few days, when the krausen has died down.
I tend to add on day 7 or so. Then I'll leave for another week before bottling.
Although the last Pale Ale I made said to dry hop on day three after the krausen had died down. I thought that was a bit too soon.
But anyhow when the krausen has died down is a good guide.

 

[andywilde16]

The Krausen is starting to die down so I think I may dry hop on Day 7 as suggested and then it can have another 7 days with the hops in the wort.

Thanks

 

[Pirate_Pete]

The Krausen is starting to die down so I think I may dry hop on Day 7 as suggested and then it can have another 7 days with the hops in the wort.

Thanks

Just reading on the Coopers forum and someone on there suggests using a hop sock or muslin to wrap the hops in. I don't bother as I usually cold crash my beer. Having said that a Pilsener I'm drinking at the moment that I dry hopped with a load of Saaz is not very clear at all.

Some people wrap the hops in a chux too.

 

[Fuzzy-felt]

Andy,
In home brewing it's always fun to experiment a bit with different things, and you can do this with the same batch. You might want to consider bottling some of the beer prior to dry hopping so that you can compare the 'standard' to the dry-hopped versions once you have given them a chance to condition properly. This will mean that you have to ensure that fermentation is complete before you dry hop (as opposed to 'nearly complete') but you were probably going to do that anyway in line with advice given above. I would only do this, though, if you are happy that you can keep things nice and sanitary at the 1st bottling stage and not expose the dry-hopped beer to oxygen in the air for the duration of the dry hop period.



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[andywilde16]

Well I am relieved - I have just taken a hydrometer reading of the wort - The OG was 1.042 and today is Day 6 and the reading today is 1.012 so fermentation has clearly taken place!! :thumb:

Will take another reading tomorrow to see if fermentation has finished as it looks like it is still fermenting so that once fermentation is complete I will add my hops :)

 

[andywilde16]

The reading was the same tonight so I have dry hopped using 50grams of Fuggles Hop Pellets in a boiled Muslin Bag which has sunk nicely into the wort.

Will leave until the weekend to add a nice taste and aroma to the wort and then will bottle it.

 

[micklupulo]

I only transfer to a second vessel if I think I need to and this is where a trial jar comes in handy as in addition to checking the gravity one can see whether the wort is yeast laden or not. I have just bottled a Mangrove Jack NZ Pale ale which after 11 days in the FV was down to .06 stable and crystal clear so I was hardly going to transfer to a second bin with the potential risk of infection in the process.

 

[gingerneil]

@micklupulo I'm brewing thd same now as my first kit for 20 years! Planning to bottle 5l after 12 days then dry hop the rest with 40g mosaic for 4 days then bottle. Looking forward to a fun comparison! What have you used for priming your bottles? I'm thinking 3g white sugar per 500ml bottle.

 

[micklupulo]

@micklupulo I'm brewing thd same now as my first kit for 20 years! Planning to bottle 5l after 12 days then dry hop the rest with 40g mosaic for 4 days then bottle. Looking forward to a fun comparison! What have you used for priming your bottles? I'm thinking 3g white sugar per 500ml bottle.

@gingerneil
I used a plastic half teaspoon measure and bottled last Friday and it is already clear as a bell and looks fantastic in the bottles. My previous brew was a Coopers Real Ale which I primed with a full teaspoon measure but it is vastly over carbonated. Coopers advise 8 gms. per litre which is why I used a whole tsp. My guess is that the Aussies like it fizzy and that the Young's beer enhancer I used also contains a heading agent.

 

[micklupulo]

I should have clarified I used white sugar to prime.

 

[terrym]

@micklupulo I I'm thinking 3g white sugar per 500ml bottle.

6g sugar/litre will give you about 2.4 vols CO2 (see here https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/) which is quite lively and will probably need chilling before serving. I have recently gone back to priming most of my beers to about 1.9 vols. I can pour them without disturbing the yeast very much, they still give a decent lasting head after pouring, and you don't get that CO2 bite in the beer which I am not very keen on.

 

[gingerneil]

6g sugar/litre will give you about 2.4 vols CO2 (see here https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/) which is quite lively and will probably need chilling before serving. I have recently gone back to priming most of my beers to about 1.9 vols. I can pour them without disturbing the yeast very much, they still give a decent lasting head after pouring, and you don't get that CO2 bite in the beer which I am not very keen on.

More reading needed... I've never heard of that measure for priming fizziness! The full grain brewdog I did recently is a little too punchy when I open up the bottles from the fridge, so need to dial that back a little. That was primed in the demijohn before bottling using a few squirts of honey into some boiled water so wasn't very accurately measured.
I'll dial is back a little for this. It'll be fridged before serving.

 

[Andymoz-70]

Hi,

I am new to the World of Homebrewing, having read a few books on the subject and forums posts I have opted to start with a nice and easy kit - Ritchies Simply Yorkshire Bitter.

I have followed the instructions to the letter and made sure all of the santisation was maticuliously carried out to ensure there was no bacteria from the outset.

Once completed at 11pm on Monday night (2nd Jan) I moved my FV to my garage which is integral to the house and set the immersion heater to 22 degrees which the wort has been stable at since.

I am a little concerned that as yet I have seen no bubbling activity in the airlock as yet but wondering if my lid is not making a tight enough seal - I have since taped the lid to the bucket with electrical tape to see if that will start bubbling activity!

Before I taped the lid shut I took the following picture inside the FV, there is a beer smell coming from the wort and it looks like there is a slight fizzing happening but I am worried that maybe fermentation is not happening as it should.:-?

Can anyone advise if the picture in the attachment is how the wort should look after 48hrs and also I wish to dry hop with Fuggles Pellets - when would it be best to do this?

Thanks in advance and hope my wort is healthly fermenting

View attachment 7558

Hi Andy. One of my fermenters I don't have an airlock. I just put the lid on loose and stick it on a cupboard! Never had any problems so far. The guy in a homebrew shop said it would be fine so it's ok with me. My other one has an airlock. As above everything should be fine.