pale ale

[jam]

I'm doing a Indian pale ale kit from the range it's been fermenting for 10 days now I've added hops which were provided with the kit and it's made a horrible film on top of the brew is this normal please? Also is there any thing I can add to it to help it clear or shall I leave it be?

 

[MyQul]

The film is more than likely hop oils. Picture?

 

[jam]

Is it ok to bottle if it doesn't go?

 

[jam]

Not sure how to put photo up here on my phone sorry

 

[MyQul]

Is it ok to bottle if it doesn't go?

Yeah, sure. I take it your FV has a tap? What will happen is your beer will be racked from below the film on top and it will be left behind in the FV along with the trub. I've even got mould on top of a brew before and racked from below in this way and the beer was fine

 

[clibit]

What does the film look like?

 

[jam]

No I need to syphon it off I haven't got tap on my fv . The stuff on top is green in colour and it's a bit frothy the hops were in pellet form.

 

[clibit]

It's probably just the hops then. Pellet hops disintegrate and form a fine sludge, which should sink, hopefully. If not, give it a very gentle stir on the surface to encourage them to sink. Use a sterilised spoon obviously. You may need to siphon the beer off through some kind of cloth when you bottle it, if there is still hop residue in the beer. Fasten a piece of sterilised muslin or similar over the end of the siphon that goes into the beer. Or a piece from a woman's stocking, But if you are that close to a woman who wears stockings, you are probably not a home brewer. :)

I've never had to do this though, if you are patient, and if you can put the FV in a fridge or somewhere cold, the hops should sink to the bottom.

 

[jam]

That's great thanks is it ok to leave it in fv for longer than two weeks?

 

[clibit]

Yes. I usually leave mine 2 to 3 weeks. I have left it longer occasionally, I wouldn't really go beyond 4 weeks though, you want to either bottle it or siphon it to another FV after 3-4 weeks, to get it off the dead yeast.

 

[jam]

Thank great how much sugar would you recommend to put in bottles as I've got Newcastle brown bottles which are 550 ml

 

[clibit]

I batch prime mine - I boil the sugar briefly for the whole batch in a little water and add it to an empty FV, then siphon the beer into it and stir gently to distribute the sugar before bottling. The amount varies with the style, and your own preference. The standard amount for a british ale is around 85g for 23 litres. So for 40 bottles it's about 2g per bottle. For American ales it's more like 100-120g, so 2.5 to 3g per bottle. A teaspoon of sugar is about 5g. Batch priming makes it easier to be accurate. But about half a teaspoon is a good guide, and a lot of people do that, I think.

 

[jam]

I use the carbonation tablets so one of those will be enough then? Is it different again for cider making

 

[clibit]

I've never used the tablets. One should be enough, but you could put two into a couple of bottles to check out the difference. I don't do cider sorry.

 

[markm1878]

I use the carbonation tablets so one of those will be enough then? Is it different again for cider making

1 for ales
2 for lagers
2 for ciders

that's assuming they are coopers carb drops

 

[jam]

Coopers yes

 

[jam]

On the kit instructions I'm doing it doesn't say to put any sugar in see

 

[markm1878]

Kit instructions are most helpful once binned.

 

[jam]

Ha ha I agree I've learned loads of stuff on hear compared to what it says on kit instructions

 

[markm1878]

It's bizarre. If you followed the instructions, you'd make **** beer and probably wouldn't bother buying another. I don't get the commercial of "beer ready to drink in 2 weeks" being more valuable than good, accurate description to make "good beer ready to drink in 6 weeks".

Lucky we've got forums and books