Newbie first brew

[Puffafish]

Hello everyone!

So I was given a brew kit for Christmas, and have finally got round to setting it going.

For those interested, it's a Beerworks Golden Rocket Strong Pale Ale Premium Beer Starter Bundle from LoveBrewing.co.uk.

I've attempted to follow the instructions, taking care to use the steraliser over everything which touches the beer. It claims that it doesn't need to be rinsed off, but I ran stuff under the tap before I noticed that bit on the steraliser pot.

I put the malt and water together and mixed it well. Then attempted a hydrometer reading which I got to be 142, but not sure what that means. I added the yeast, and have left to do its thing for the past two days.

I haven't opened the bucket, and can see a line of what I'm guessing was foam around the side of the barrel about half an inch above the liquid level. I'm not seeing much bubble action through the bubbler either. Quick internet searches tell me that this may or may not be ok. But I don't know.

So I'm currently leaving it there and will see what happens when I put the hops in (which will be in a couple of days, 5 days after setting it going).

 

[Deadhead]

Welcome to this very addictive hobby.
I'm guessing your starting gravity is 1.042? Sounds pretty spot on for a kit of this type, which means you have mixed well. You will be able to get an ABV % after it's finished.
Don't worry about the bubbling as your bucket may not be completely tight. The foam on the side is called krausen and it shows your beer is fermenting. I'd leave it another 8 days and check the gravity again. Should be sitting around 1.008-1.010 +/- depending on what the kit says. Take another reading the next day and if it's the same, it's done.
You can then bottle and add priming sugar and carb up. You may want to leave it for a few weeks before drinking, the kits should get much better with age.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Puffafish]

Welcome to this very addictive hobby.
I'm guessing your starting gravity is 1.042? Sounds pretty spot on for a kit of this type, which means you have mixed well. You will be able to get an ABV % after it's finished.
Don't worry about the bubbling as your bucket may not be completely tight. The foam on the side is called krausen and it shows your beer is fermenting. I'd leave it another 8 days and check the gravity again. Should be sitting around 1.008-1.010 +/- depending on what the kit says. Take another reading the next day and if it's the same, it's done.
You can then bottle and add priming sugar and carb up. You may want to leave it for a few weeks before drinking, the kits should get much better with age.

Thank you! I thought the foam was a good sign, but there is a gap between the foam line the liquid now, so I'm not so sure.

I'm guessing I'm reading the wrong scale on the hydrometer, but I can't see something which would give me a 1.0something number.

 

[UKSkydiver]

but there is a gap between the foam line the liquid now, so I'm not so sure.

Perfectly normal. The 'crud' sits on the foam as CO2 is released from the fermentation process. When the foam dies down, the crud sticks to the side of the fermenter, so you may see the ring sit slightly higher than the top of the beer.

There are articles and videos on the 'net on how to read a hydrometer, so I won't duplicate here.

Exciting isn't it?

 

[Puffafish]

Perfectly normal. The 'crud' sits on the foam as CO2 is released from the fermentation process. When the foam dies down, the crud sticks to the side of the fermenter, so you may see the ring sit slightly higher than the top of the beer.

There are articles and videos on the 'net on how to read a hydrometer, so I won't duplicate here.

Exciting isn't it?

Ok! That's reassuring!

Yes. Anything could happen!

Biggest fear I've got now is finding time to bottle it all when it's ready... Sterilising the bottles (and all the other kit), squirting in some of the sugar mixture and then pouring in the brew seems straightforward. But doing it for 46 bottles (or however much I get out of 23ltrs) sounds pretty time consuming! (A quick Google suggested to me it'll take about 2hrs.)

 

[klaus]

Welcome .... you are on the way to a well deserved beer!
Regarding bottling, when I did a kit first time ever (some decades ago) I felt a bit overwhelmed, 40 odd bottles, no chance of asking Mr Google . But just got on with it ... 2 hrs seems to be quite reasonable with setting up and tidying afterwards. And BTW, leave the filled bottles to condition for at least 14 days, though I admit I have a sneak preview after a week (small taster bottle).
If you stick with this lark you will work out your modus operandi - myself I'm now doing quite a few small brews (kit+all grain) between 10 & 20 bottles.
But let us know how it goes.

 

[The Baron]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Rwilts]

Welcome

 

[matt.]

Welcome from another newbie.
I returned to home brewing after a lapse of 10 years
My first kit was started a couple of months ago and turned out quite flat.
Drinkable of course .
The mistake I think I made was not leaving the bottles in a warm/ room temperature area after initial bottling for 5+ days before storing in the garage . I've been told that stage is important to encourage the second fermentation in the bottle.

Interested in other folks comments in this stage.
Cheers
Matt

 

[Rwilts]

Welcome from another newbie.
I returned to home brewing after a lapse of 10 years
My first kit was started a couple of months ago and turned out quite flat.
Drinkable of course .
The mistake I think I made was not leaving the bottles in a warm/ room temperature area after initial bottling for 5+ days before storing in the garage . I've been told that stage is important to encourage the second fermentation in the bottle.

Interested in other folks comments in this stage.
Cheers
Matt

14 days is probably a good estimate for secondary fermentation, if using glass bottles do at least one PET plastic bottle , give it a squeeze and you will have a good indication that they have carbonated if it's firm .

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum

 

[matt.]

Thanks.
So 14 days in a warm environment after bottling in glass, before moving to a colder area?

 

[klaus]

Thanks.
So 14 days in a warm environment after bottling in glass, before moving to a colder area?

I think 5 days at around 20C and then 5 days cooler (mine go under the stairs which has an outside wall so more like 16C on average except for winter). In total a fortnight and you should have decent carbonation. I like the champagne plop when opening a fliptop bottle.

 

[Ale House Rock]

Then there's the 2+2+2 method. 2 weeks to ferment, 2 weeks to carbonate, 2 weeks to condition. Patience is your best friend.