The saga begins

[avisler]

happy day my brew kit has arrived and fully inspected

note the disappointment as it contained no treats.

going to start my first brew in the morning i have a geordie lager kit and a caxtons lager kit, not sure which to begin with.
my assigned storage area for the fermenting bin sits at a stable 18.7° on the low end of the instruction temperature so should be okay.

Any pitfalls i should know ?

cheers
john

 

[LeeH]

He’s got some plums on him.

Be clean, be patient, don’t keep poking things and taking measures.

Just let it do its thing for 2 weeks in the bucket and get an old fridge to brew in as soon as you can.

 

[Bitter_Dave]

Be a bit careful when transferring the beer to the bottles (or keg) to avoid oxidation. Likewise, do not shake bottles to mix priming sugar! A fermenter with a tap and a bottling stick will make life easier if you don't have one already.

 

[avisler]

He’s got some plums on him.

Hare says thankyou.

@Bitter_Dave yes got a bottling stick but forgot to get temperature strips so will go with an electronic sensor.

havent decided where to store the filled bottles yet and i think a brew fridge may be a long way off, as my hobby room is becoming a tad cramped.

 

[Larse]

To mix in the priming sugar, you can just invert the bottles a couple of times. Once they're corked of course.

Storage this time of the year could be done outside. No need for a fridge. Crates would be helpful though.

 

[Bitter_Dave]

Priming sugar easily dissolves and ferments easily without the need for inverting the bottle.

 

[Sadfield]

He’s got some plums on him.

Be clean, be patient, don’t keep poking things and taking measures.

I'm hoping you switch subject there.

 

[avisler]

okay so the first batch is done, geordie lager with 1kg brewing sugar at 1.030 sitting at 22.6°. now just have to have patience.

sterilised everything with chemsan including multiple parts of myself, a lid and tap check now goes on the list when swilling the fv.

 

[WillFrites]

Welcome mate....dangerous hobby to get in to!

I too have a dog who is disappointed by non-treat related deliveries!

 

[avisler]

well the brew is fermenting well, temperature after 24hrs 21° bubbling nicely i'm going to wait 7 days before taking hydrometer reading (if still noticably bubbling will wait). trying not rush things

 

[avisler]

well it has been 7 days so i had a small taste test and checked it with a brix scale refractomoter, it tasted like flat lager and 1.018 . still getting regular bubbling in airlock.

 

[LeeH]

Leave it alone.

 

[avisler]

13 days and still sitting at 1.018, has something gone wrong ?

 

[Bitter_Dave]

No disrespect meant, but are you sure you are reading your hydrometer correctly? I found this tricky the first time I brewed a beer. If you are not sure it's worth doing a bit of googling on it.

1.018 is high as an fg for a one can kit made to 23 litres.

 

[avisler]

none taken, am fully open to user error. :)

took this photo today