Newbie question coming through!

[duncumb.fc]

Hi there,

I started my first batch yesterday, it's a Young's Ubrew bitter kit...
At first it all looked good, smelled great, and had a perfect "foamy thing" that I've heard is good...
It was bubbling away and building pressure, which because I have a plastic fermenter, I felt I should keep letting out (perhaps this is where I went wrong?) I never left the lid off or opened it any more than the minimum I could do to see what was going on clearly.

When I looked 2 hours ago, everything was perfect, but when I looked 10 minutes ago (I'm excited ok?! :party:) it had no head, no bubbles and smelled somewhat acidic...
However it has since started bubbling and forming foam over the top of it again... Is this normal or has it got contaminated and become that which shall not be named?

Fraser

 

[Colin K]

Hello,
Im a newbie too and my 1st beer is just finishing foaming, Or what ever you call it !! In my instructions it told me to just pop a corner of the lid off loose to allow the carbon dioxide to escape. It also let a bit of foam out too which was a daily job to clean. The foaming has subsided now and im putting it into a pressure barrel tomorrow. Fingers crossed and good luck to yourself.

Colin.

 

[duncumb.fc]

Thanks!

To be honest, I'm pretty sure it's fatal and it's done its nasty thing... But less than 2 hours seems very quick for a whole 5 gallons to turn to vinegar... :?

Fraser

 

[Gaffers]

I doubt it is ruined.

I have never used the kit you are brewing but I have used some which smell awful when fermenting. Yet once done they taste lovely. Best to leave it be, crack a corner or better still find an airlock and fit it quickly during the brew.

 

[abeyptfc]

Dont be worrying about the brew after a day, leave it be for 2 weeks in the fermenter then test the gravity level with a hydrometer, the more times you open the lid and mess about with the brew then the more chance of infection.; I know its hard when its your first brew but resist the temptation! are you using an airlock on your fermenter? if not then youre fine just leaving a part of the lid unsealed, the co2 will always find a way to escape.

 

[eggman]

What sort of temp you got it at because if it's too low it can really slow the fermentation. Did you sanitise everything properly? You sure it's not the co2 you can smell because that can get up your nose if you're right over it.
Best thing to do is leave it alone for a good few days, kit timing are always optimistic i leave mine in the fv for 10-14 days.
With regards to the lid do as colin said, fit the lid on tightly then unclip it slightly to let the co2 escape, hope your brew turns out ok :

 

[duncumb.fc]

Strangely it seems to be working again now, but an error stopped me posting and so I set up another thread to continue the conversation here - viewtopic.php?f=21&t=19102

Fraser