Started first brew today..... made a ****oo

[klaus]

Priming Sugar is just sugar nothing special, 1/2 tsp of granulated per bottle will work ok.

 

[kenstel]

Thanks Klaus I got a small bag of priming sugar the other day so I'm sorted with that when the time comes.

 

[Birdsnestbrewery]

Regarding the progression of the fermentation, here is a typical graph from my Pill floating hydrometer. Ignore the actual SG numbers, they are not exactly correct but the key point is the shape. Notice that the vast majority of the fermentation happens in the first 3 days,then it drops off rapidly.
I usually leave it for 2 weeks though. Also 20 degrees C is normally fine, sometimes a bit less.

 

[kenstel]

That's interesting BNB there's a lot of activity in the first 4 days. I don't have anything that fancy (as your pill) but it's still bubbling. Not as vigorous as the first couple of days but quite steady, though I think it has slowed down in the last 24 hours.

Its also not as pungent and smells quite a lot sweeter now which is good as it was pretty stinky early on. Hops will go on later. Going to try to just break the seal on the lid and slide the hops in with minimum disturbance and air leakage.

 

[Birdsnestbrewery]

Sounds good. My rule is don't rush it and it always improves with time. As long as it's not infected, that is.

 

[kenstel]

Bit puzzled now. Hops went in earlier and since then, fermentation seems to have stopped. The airlock levelled out when I put the hops in as expected, and it's still level both sides now, so there's no pressure coming out of the bucket.

I took a sample of wort when I put hops in. It smelled a bit like beer, but didn't taste like it. The SG matches what the instructions say, but the instructions say to ferment for 5 more days after the hops, so I'm a bit puzzled.

The starting gravity was 1.07 and the reading today was 1.01 that gives ABV = 7.88 which is crazy. It's supposed to be 4.6

I'm sure the OG is correct but something is wrong and no sign of any bubbling for several hours.

 

[Birdsnestbrewery]

If the SG is matches expectations then it's probably fine.
Leave it alone for another week.
I suspect you are expecting more obvious signs. After a week the active fermentation is pretty much done.

 

[kenstel]

Well, checked it this morning and level in the airloch hasn't moved,so about 14 hours with no activity.

Why would the instructions day to leave it fermenting for at least 10 days? It did seem a long time.

 

[Rwilts]

Well, checked it this morning and level in the airloch hasn't moved,so about 14 hours with no activity.

Why would the instructions day to leave it fermenting for at least 10 days? It did seem a long time.

Best advice is two weeks irrispective of how quick the yeast works ( at least before you get into kveik!) The yeast will need a few days to tidy up and settle out after fermentation ends

 

[kenstel]

Ok, Rwilts. So I just carry on as before. Same temperature but expecting to see nothing happening? That's going to be a bit difficult.

 

[Rwilts]

You can spend the time planning your next batch, it does become addictive

 

[kenstel]

You can spend the time planning your next batch, it does become addictive

You mean the one after the next? The next is already planned. That's actually a good idea. But I also need to plan some kit purchases.

 

[starseeker]

You have only being waiting five days ,just have a bit of patience and you will get a better beer :)

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I second what other have said above… always leave the beer for a couple of weeks, regardless of whether the bubbling has stopped. There can be a lot of stuff going on ‘silently’ in there that removes ‘off’ flavours (and also it gives the beer time to clear down a bit)

 

[Birdsnestbrewery]

@kenstel this was a while ago now. How did it turn out?

 

[531Man]

Don't forget to add the dextrose. You may need to dissolve it in some hot (not boiing) water and then let it cool down a bit. The dextrose is for added body.
Not this one, though:

Whoops, a bit late to the party, I've just seen the original posting date.
Doh!
Errr, I'm not totally sure about this, but Jim's beer kit site concurs with my thoughts:
" DEXTROSE is totally fermentable - otherwise known as brewers sugar - It wont add any character to your beer and will be fully converted to alcohol. 5 Jan 2014"
Others have that it thins beer, making hops more prominent.
What I think gives extra body is Dextrin, which is unfermentable by standard yeast.
I am very happy to be shot down in flames if I'm being too simplistic here.