Question about hydro readings and "trub"

[jrubenis]

Hi, i am on my 3rd beer kit and i have noticed something different about this kit...The "trub" (i think this is what its called, the creamy goo at the bottom after sipioning) has small dark brown spots in it. I havent experienced this before with any of the other kits..Could it be because i used muntons beer enhancer instead of sugar?
Also there seemed to be alot more trub than normal...Id say twice as much...And one last thing i noticed..After 6 days the hydro reading was about 1011, started at 1040.The instructions said make sure its below 1008 before secondary ferm but its to late i have already transfered before reading instructions properly..
Maybe the yeast wasnt good originally and its not fermented properly?
The extra trub/dark spots is normal when using beer enhancer?
Will my keg blow up??
I dont know i am a bit of a noob...One last thing..how much light do the white plastic kegs (keg master 40pinter) let through as i read somewhere it can skunk the beer if to light..

Sorry for all the questions any help is greatly appriecated..

PS..thanks reduk54 for the keg off ebay!

James

 

[BrewStew]

i get trubs of all colours depending on what's being fermented.. i wouldn't worry.

the amount of trub can also be attributed to by the amount of proteins and other things in suspension aside from the yeast, so again i wouldn't worry.

as for your hydrometer reading, and you mentioned Muntons... unfortunately Munton's kits have a habit of "sticking". this is where the yeast doesn't ferment out the sugars and decides to drop out of suspension. Rousing the yeast (by stirring it with a sanitised spoon, flicking the sediment from the bottom) can sometimes fix this. if all else fails, yeast nutrient and some other additives usually kicks it back into action, but be careful because some additives can make unfermentable sugars fermentable... which could result in a thinning (loss of flavour) of your beer.

temperature can also play an issue with the fermentation, giving the appearance that it's stuck. if it's too cold (under 18'c) the yeast will go to sleep and drop out of suspension. rousing and warming it up in this case, fixes the problem.

the yeast seems good, as it got that far in very little time.

if you racked off all the yeast, i wouldn't worry too much about the pressure in your barrel. if you pour a pint of foam, just release a little pressure and try again in an hour or so

plastic kegs are pretty good with ambient light... but i'd avoid direct sunlight

hope this helps

 

[BrewStew]

just to add, i just worked out what attenuation level you're at... 72.5%. which is about the average for most dried yeasts. this means your not far off fully fermented anyways, despite the instructions saying 1.008 as your target Final Gravity (FG).

did the instructions state what the Starting Gravity (SG) should have been?

 

[jrubenis]

The starting grav according to the manual says 1040-1044..I was bottom of the recommened..i added a bit more sugar into the keg for secondary, not alot more..It said 85g i added 100..Hopefully thats not gonna b to bad..
Thanks for quick response..
James

 

[BrewStew]

in that case, yeah your pretty much done with the ferment so wouldn't worry.

be a little wary of the amount of priming sugar you use. this sugar will be fermented, the by product of which is CO2. the more sugar you add, the more CO2 is produced, the more CO2, the more gassy your beer and the pressure inside will be. plastic kegs can only take so much!

fortunately you didn't overdo it it should reach 2.1 volumes ish if you were using cane sugar (silverspoon for eg) which should be about right :thumb:

 

[jrubenis]

Thanks..out of my previous 2 kits neither have been gassy at all..The first had a faulty valve so no pressure was made..and the second had alot of pressure (comes out a pint of foam), but still no bubbles in beer..still tastes ok so i dont mind lol..I have been eyeing up a corny keg and converting for use as a secondary fermenter by cutting the pickup pipe a bit..is this a bad idea? Not really sure what the use of cornelius kegs are for..is it to put beer in once secondary fermenation is complete in a seperate keg?

Cheers :

 

[NickW]

Don't start them off on corny kegs - they start sweating profusely and go into a crazed and excitable state! :lol:

 

[BrewStew]

:lol:

i secondary in my cornies, and haven't cut the dip tubes.

all it means is the first pint is sediment, the rest is crystal clear beer

 

[NickW]

Do you leave the beer in the cornie for a couple of weeks before pouring then?

:

 

[BrewStew]

pffft :rofl: Hell No!

it'd be lucky if it's in there 3 days before i start drinking it :lol:

 

[Aleman]

Do you leave the beer in the cornie for a couple of weeks before pouring then?

Of course :whistle: . . . . but then I do tend to brew my Running Beers (An Ordinary Bitter, and a Bohemian Pilsner) in 80L batches . . . which means that there is plenty of beer around and I am not too tempted to have a crafty sample . . . . My Imperial Russian stout will be in the Corny for around a year . . . . . Although what I'm thinking of doing is to split it int two 9L corny, at 6 months and bottle one . . . then do the second one at 12 months.

It can be quite surprising just how suddenly a beer just 'improves' . . . unfortunately that is often after you have drunk most of it

 

[jrubenis]

haha i know what u mean..my first attempts only started to tast at thier best when i only had about 5 pints left..i have timed it so this one will be ready on christmas day so i am gonna try my best to avoid sneaking the odd pint (or 8) before then...
Quick question: Is it safe to use bottle that i have from beer i bought in the shop? I have collected 15 660ml green carlesberg export bottles..I am not sure if they are strong enough to handle secondary pressures?

Cheers

 

[BrewStew]

carlesberg export bottles

watch your language :lol:

i think they'd be ok pressure wise... i'm not sure about skunking though with green bottles :hmm:

 

[Wez]

I'd be careful with those bottles, if they are the lightweight green ones (which I think they are :hmm: ) they won't handle much bottle carbonation and you could end up with bottle bombs, depends how much priming sugars you are planning to add but personally I wouldn't risk it. :thumb:

 

[BrewStew]

have they recently changed their bottles wez?

from the 10 ish years ago that i used to drink that stuff i remember the bottles being quite thick :wha:

ahh.. maybe i'm thinking of grolch bottles

 

[Wez]

Grolch bottles are ideal :thumb:

iirc the Carlsberg ones are lightweight, just thought it was best to mention it in case they are the thin ones, before another homebrewer is in A&E having shards of exploded bottle removed from his torso :lol:

If they are nice and heavy - go for it but if they are thin (like a 330ml Bud bottle) don't use them :thumb:

 

[A T]

If they are nice and heavy - go for it but if they are thin (like a 330ml Bud bottle) don't use them :thumb:

You back on the Bud Wez? :lol:

 

[Wez]

:lol: only to rinse between pints

 

[A T]

:lol: only to rinse between pints

:rofl:

 

[Aleman]

but if they are thin (like a 330ml Bud bottle) don't use them :thumb:

I would just like to point out that the bud mini bottles (207ml) are quite happy to take bottle conditioned beers . . I have tested them and currently they are holding 3.5 Vols of CO2 at 20C with no problems . . . . Of course they are currently say in a sturdy container to contain the pieces should one break. . . . I should also add that I rarely Bottle condition above 1.5 Vols anyway . . . .YMMV