Im Back Brewing

[Georgy]

Hi all, Im going to give brewing another go. Unsure what always seemed to go wrong but they always tasted awful. I put this down to fermenting temperature since speaking with my parents friends who used to do a lot of brewing.

I've started another one and used a small 50w aquarium heater, specific gravity to start (is that OG?) was 1.035, within a couple days this was down to 1.010 and it seems to have stopped at 1.006/1.008. Brew only started on Wednesday so its only 4 days old.

THe heater has kept the brew at 24degrees, hopefully this isn't too hot?

I was planning on leaving it another day, should i leave it longer?
Also when it comes to keg/bottling I was going to put half in bottles and half in my pressure keg, what is the best way to add sugar:
Should I drain off some of the brew, warm it up and mix in required sugar then mix it into the brew? Then i can just pipe it off into the bottles and keg?
Or... do I add a teaspoon full to each bottle and say 20teaspoons for 20pints in the keg?

help much appreciated, i was rather put off by my previous failed attempts

[Geezah]

I brew at 20c in a temperature controlled cabinet and leave my brew alone for 14 days before I even check on it.
24c is a bit too high, hence why you have a fast fermentation, that doesn't always give good flavours, dependent of yeast used.

Leaving the brew to slowly ferment at 20c also allows for some of the dead yeast to fall out of susspension and to give a clearer brew before bottling etc.

For ales I use 80g of sugar, cider or lager 150g of sugar to prime.
I would add the required amount of sugar for the whole brew to a cup and desolve it in boiling water, then add that to the keg.
Siphon the beer in to the keg, then siphon from the keg to the bottles, that way you will have even ed out the sugar for priming.

[timbo41]

Hi mate what kit was it? Some do seem to brew out quickly but leaving it a few days more wont harm it and will let more trub settle out . Remove heater and let it alone for a bit as your man geezah( an imminently knowledgable chap) says. Lager yeast strains are more tolerant of lower temps.Also are you using table sugar? Does give the brew a bit of a funny taste, and most users on this forum would prob suggest extra malt, dry or liquid malt extracts or at worse brewing sugar for better results. Also you might like to check out some of the info on "double dropping" something i believe geezah has commented on, to again help produce a better beer. Good luck

[Ditch]

The heater has kept the brew at 24degrees, hopefully this isn't too hot?

Sod that. Ye might well find ye producing battery acid. I know I did, when I ballsed up the setting on a couple of my heaters

Best I can suggest, mate; Tell us what kit ye fixing to make. What ye putting in with it. How ye intend to go about it. That way, we can foresee the future. Tell ye what's gonna go wrong and why. Just as easy, for us, as telling ye why it did go wrong, after it has.

But, which do ye think ye'd prefer? Being told to turn that heater down a few degrees? Or being told it tastes like acid because .....


I know. It's a Hard decision. Think carefully .....

[Georgy]

Thanks for the replies,

I'll take the heater out and leave it a couple more days, the kit was a john bull bitter i believe.

The next brew is a Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge and I'll get a brew belt heater as I feel it will be more hygenic and I'll be able to use the airlock.

[timbo41]

Each to their own of course. I am by nature a fiddler but i have found that instead of using heaters(never used a belt) just leaving the lickle micro beasties to do their own thing for 10 days min results in a decent beer. I put mine in an airing cupboard then try to not fuss with it(BLOODY DIFFICULT)

[Georgy]

Also, I have always used a sealed FV with an airlock to ensure no oxygen gets in.
I notice lots of people dont bother and just put a damp tea towel over the FV, I understand the layer of CO2 will stop the oxygen getting to the beer but taking the lid off or mixing the brew up will surely allow the oxygen get to the brew?

[danbrew]

Welcome back to brewing. What temperature is your house normally? If it floats around the 17 to 19C mark or even a little above then you don't need to put a heater anywhere near that nelsons revenge.

[Ditch]

The next brew is a Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge and I'll get a brew belt heater as I feel it will be more hygenic and I'll be able to use the airlock.

Oh dear god! Hat Trick!

[Georgy]

The last one i left in the pantry because the temperature didnt fluctuate, it was a constant 18degrees (from memory!). I could use the utility room, this would be about 19degrees, but i thought the hotter the better?

Oh dear god! Hat Trick!

Why?

[Ditch]

Why ....? Why, in gods name Want to use an air lock?

Slinging a fish tank heater, for a brew belt? That's a bit like praying for a power cut, so ye can Really experience reading a book by hurricane lamp ~ instead of Jims .....

And " Woodfordes "? Muntons flag ship, isn't it? Maybe that's where ye got the idea of that:

" I understand the layer of CO2 will stop the oxygen getting to the beer but taking the lid off or mixing the brew up will surely allow the oxygen get to the brew? "

Believe me; The only times I hear of That happening is when some poor b@stard finds themselves beholden to the notorious " Muntons Stick ". Usually like sh!t to a blanket, at 10.20. Oh, and " Yeast Vit " gets mentioned a lot too

Honestly, Georgy ~ if ye'll forgive me, mate ..? Ye really do sound like someone who's been comatose since the seventies and has simply walked straight back into Home Brewing with that same mind set and values.

Ye " Going to give brewing another go. ". And this; " Since speaking with my parents friends who used to do a lot of brewing. " ? And what did They use? John Bull / Tom Caxton / Boots and Tate & Lyle?

Georgy: Just sitting back, swilling a few cans, reading and Searching on any point that should pop into ye head ~ for less than the time it'd take ye to knock up another 'five gallons' of filth~ would rocket ye understanding of how it's done Today, light years ahead of what friends of ye parents, who used to brew, can tell ye.

Many of us 'Used to brew'. And I'd rather drink a £1.00 a can pint of Polish lager than a pint of the filth we used to kid ourselves about, back in the day. And I'd Much rather a pint of my own stout than the generic piss they sell as " Stout ", in the pubs.

Sounds like ye've been out of the loop for a bit? No worries. Take ye time. Soak up how rapidly things have changed ~ for the much better. Ye'll be blowing those friends of ye parents away, with ye own stuff, in next to no time!

[danbrew]

The last one i left in the pantry because the temperature didnt fluctuate, it was a constant 18degrees (from memory!). I could use the utility room, this would be about 19degrees, but i thought the hotter the better?

Then there you go. No need for any additional heat. Fermentation is about temperature control, which means not too high or too low. Either your utility or your pantry will be fine.

[timbo41]

." Ye'll be blowing those friends of ye parents away, with ye own stuff, in next to no time! "

Dich has , in his usual erudite manner, hit the poverbial on the head! Kit producers spend fortunes on R+D to make home brewers life easier THEN think up all different ways to part you from your hard earned eg Brew Belts, heating trays , baby rattle airlocks....list is endless. Process is simple..make kit, put lid on( fish tank heater optional bit) stick somewhere with fairly constant temp, leave alone and get on with life. Week or so later take hydro reading. If stays constant for few days keg or bottle up. Arrange party for a week later. Get amongst it. Recieve heartfelt praise from parents friends who were weaned on Double Diamond party kegs . Dead easy these days.