Hi, absolute newbie here!
I bought a Coopers Lager kit and couldn't wait to get started. I followed the instructions to the letter and made sure I sanitised everything properly and now its sitting ready to ferment. I was wondering how long it takes before it starts fermenting and what should I expect to see so I know its happening right?
I sealed the lid at about 5.30pm yesterday and since then there hasn't looked like anything is happening. The foam has died down and it just looks like a bucket of stale beer, is this normal? Any help is appreciated!
How long before...? - Update, I'm a bit of an idiot!
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dernaroy
How long before...? - Update, I'm a bit of an idiot!
Last edited by dernaroy on Sat Aug 21, 2010 4:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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techtone
Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
Yes, it's normal. 24 hours is typical. Do you have an airlock in your sealed lid?
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dernaroy
Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
Cheers. I do have an airlock, yes. It hasn't showed any signs of bubbles of Co2 coming through it yet or anything.
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Jack Hackett
Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
patience my friend, patience, all we be well in the end, dont fret.
All good things come to those who wait
All good things come to those who wait
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simple one
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Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
And don't worry if your airlock doesn't bubble either... The seals on the FV and the airlock bungs tend to be pretty crappy even when new!
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dernaroy
Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
Thanks for the replies guys!
It's been 5 days now and there has been some activity. It foamed up and is now settling back down. As for the airlock, I haven't seen it bubble at all however the water level did raise and has now come back down? I don't know if this is good or bad? Could it have bubbled just once, one big bubble to let the CO2 out?
Simple One, if the seal isn't very good doesn't that mean that air can get in and ruin the brew?
It's been 5 days now and there has been some activity. It foamed up and is now settling back down. As for the airlock, I haven't seen it bubble at all however the water level did raise and has now come back down? I don't know if this is good or bad? Could it have bubbled just once, one big bubble to let the CO2 out?
Simple One, if the seal isn't very good doesn't that mean that air can get in and ruin the brew?
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Ditch
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Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
dernaroy wrote:Thanks for the replies guys!
It's been 5 days now and there has been some activity. It foamed up and is now settling back down.
That, to all intents and purposes, was 'The Fermentation'
Give it another five days now, to finish doing the quieter stuff .....
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dernaroy
Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
Lol cheers ditch. So the instructions with the kit say 6-7 days is enough for the fermentation and as soon as you get the right reading with the hydrometer its time to bottle it. Is there an extra benefit in leaving it for another few days?
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Geezah
Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
Leaving it longer will let some of the yeast drop out and will make it a clearer pint with less sediment in the bottles.
I always rack off in to a clean FV the day before bottling to reduce the amount of sediment.
Also, while the main fermentation was fast and furious converting the simple sugars to alcohol, the more complex sugars now need to be worked on by the yeasties.
I always rack off in to a clean FV the day before bottling to reduce the amount of sediment.
Also, while the main fermentation was fast and furious converting the simple sugars to alcohol, the more complex sugars now need to be worked on by the yeasties.
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second2none
Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
I don't mean to sound like your mum but it is of the up most importance that when wash and steriliser all your equipment and rinse and rinse and rinse again all the sterilising agent off your equipment, if any steriliser were to be left on your equipment then it would see your yeast as the bad guys and set to work killing them off!
Just a friendly hint for you
Just a friendly hint for you
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thedeckking
Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
The CO2 produced by the yeast is actually heavier than air so will sit on top of the brew in a protective layer even if there is no lid on at all. The lid is mostly top stop bits of dust/debris/etc. getting in.dernaroy wrote:Simple One, if the seal isn't very good doesn't that mean that air can get in and ruin the brew?
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dernaroy
Re: How long before the fermenting starts?
Hmmm this worries me.second2none wrote:I don't mean to sound like your mum but it is of the up most importance that when wash and steriliser all your equipment and rinse and rinse and rinse again all the sterilising agent off your equipment, if any steriliser were to be left on your equipment then it would see your yeast as the bad guys and set to work killing them off!
Just a friendly hint for you
It's day 7 guys and I had hoped to get it all bottled today however I'm starting to think something has gone wrong. I'm using the hydrometer that came with the Coopers kit and although I'm not quite sure how to read it, I don't think the readings are good. The instructions say it needs to be between 1008-1010 however the hydrometer doesn't seem to have these kind of readings but I took a reading last night which came up to 65 which according to the instructions seems to equate to 1.065? then today I had a reading of 39 so 1.039.
During the week something definitely happened, it foamed up and has now died back down and the foam is beginning to disappear. I used Milton to sterylise and since then I have been reading some posts about how Milton has caused problems for other people. I rinsed everything out but to be honest, since I didn't know how important it was, I didn't rinse with any kind of enthusiasm so I'm beginning to think the Milton may have caused a problem.
Any thoughts? Has my first homebrew batch gone terribly wrong or is there still hope?
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thedeckking
Re: How long before the fermenting starts? - More help neede
First thing is DON'T PANIC 
After sterilising any of my kit I always rinse out with clean water 3 times to ensure it's all gone. However a tiny bit of steriliser residue should not kill off the yeast as once you've added 20+ liters of water it'll be to diluted to do anything. For advice on sterilising click the link HINTS & TIPS at the top of the page. If the hydrometer readings are dropping then it does mean that the brew is fermenting. If you keep getting the same reading and it's over 1.015 (15 on you hydro) then it's stopped early. Anything from 15-10 is a little high but it might be down to the hydro being a bit out, the temp affecting the reading or you reading it wrong
A slow fermentation could be due to lots of different factors. Temperature is the main one. If you have a termometer check the temp and see what you've got. You'll need at least 18 degrees, if it's lower than this move it some where warmer.
Lack of oxygen can also slow things down. When you mix the kit, water and sugar at the start it's very important to get lots of air into the mix. I like to poor my water in from a height until I get a nice foamy head on the mixture. However, under no circumstances mix up the brew after the yeast has gone in as this will increase the chances of infection.
If the hydro readings stop or really slow down before you want you could try rousing the yeast. To do this sterilise a long handled spoon (or anything else you have that's suitable) and gently stir the brew to mix in all the yeast off the bottom of the FV. Do this very carefully, you do not want to get air in, just get the yeast up off the bottom.
If all else fails get you your LHBS and buy a new packet of yeast and sprinkle that on top. It could be that the yeast was dead/has died and you just need to start again.
Good luck, let us know how things go.
After sterilising any of my kit I always rinse out with clean water 3 times to ensure it's all gone. However a tiny bit of steriliser residue should not kill off the yeast as once you've added 20+ liters of water it'll be to diluted to do anything. For advice on sterilising click the link HINTS & TIPS at the top of the page. If the hydrometer readings are dropping then it does mean that the brew is fermenting. If you keep getting the same reading and it's over 1.015 (15 on you hydro) then it's stopped early. Anything from 15-10 is a little high but it might be down to the hydro being a bit out, the temp affecting the reading or you reading it wrong
A slow fermentation could be due to lots of different factors. Temperature is the main one. If you have a termometer check the temp and see what you've got. You'll need at least 18 degrees, if it's lower than this move it some where warmer.
Lack of oxygen can also slow things down. When you mix the kit, water and sugar at the start it's very important to get lots of air into the mix. I like to poor my water in from a height until I get a nice foamy head on the mixture. However, under no circumstances mix up the brew after the yeast has gone in as this will increase the chances of infection.
If the hydro readings stop or really slow down before you want you could try rousing the yeast. To do this sterilise a long handled spoon (or anything else you have that's suitable) and gently stir the brew to mix in all the yeast off the bottom of the FV. Do this very carefully, you do not want to get air in, just get the yeast up off the bottom.
If all else fails get you your LHBS and buy a new packet of yeast and sprinkle that on top. It could be that the yeast was dead/has died and you just need to start again.
Good luck, let us know how things go.
Last edited by thedeckking on Mon Aug 16, 2010 6:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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dernaroy
Re: How long before the fermenting starts? - More help neede
Cheers. The temperature has been fairly steady between 20-22C although it may get cooler at night, I'm not sure but I don't think it would ever have gone below 18C. I'll not panic just yet then! I'll take another reading this evening and see where we are.
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dernaroy
Re: How long before the fermenting starts? - More help neede
Ok, latest reading this evening was 1.025, again that's if I'm reading correctly which I think I am. What do you think guys? It's been 8 days now, it sounds like it hasn't really worked out. Should I try stirring it gently to lift the yeast up off the bottom as someone suggested? or should I go get more yeast?