Zigga Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 All, Following some great advice from this forum I decided to let you guys know how my first brew is going. I checked the gravity last night and saw that it had been steady for 3 days running (1012) and the bubbling looked to have stopped. I decided that, even though it had only been a week (I know there are some that suggest leaving the beer in the primary fermenter for 2 or 3 weeks?) I would transfer to my secondary pressure barrel. I syphoned my beer of and added 115g of dextrose to the mix (sugar syrup-ed) and placed it back in its home under our sink in the kitchen. Hopefully I should see good things happening over the coming weeks but I am wondering if what I have done above is correct or am I likely to get home to a pool of beer in the kitchen...? When would it be safe to assume that carbonation has calmed and I don't have a barrel bomb sitting in my kitchen...? [pinched] After a week at room temperature or 20 degrees would it be safe to place the barrel in a cooler place like my shed or will that not be good for my finished beer...? [crying] Thanks all Zigga [unsure] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Allow 7 days for secondary fermentation then store it wherever most convenient until you are ready to chill it and serve. Keep in mind that the warmer it is stored the higher the pressure will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slurtis Staggersalot Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Freezing temperature would be bad too, wouldn't it Paul? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Yes, don't freeze the beer. I often forget about you "snap frozen" people in the north [sideways] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slurtis Staggersalot Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 You should fly up to 2 bird brewing's house in the middle of winter sometime.... -50 celcius happens there. I know not to freeze beer but I figured if I put it in the form of a question and got your two cents on it the statement would hold more credibility with people who don't know that [ninja] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigga Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 Cheers Slurtis and PB, We are in the middle of a fairly consistent dry-ish patch in the UK so the temperature in my shed will be around 17 - 18 celsius. I'll keep the barrel in my kitchen for about a week - 2 weeks where the temp is around the 20 celsius mark and then move it out and start fermenting my next batch - Coopers Sparkling Ale me thinks!!! Think I'll look to bottle this one so I can leave the Pale Ale in the barrel for as long as possible. How long is too long though for a Pale Ale to sit in a barrel...? 1 month, 2 months...? I don't expect it's going to be in there that long as I have a few BBQ's lined up over the coming months where I am sure it will be drunk by the family beer monsters. [biggrin] Quite glad we don't get the -50 celsius temperatures here although we could make quite a killing out of beer lollies...! Cheers Zigga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Naturally conditioned beer can last for months as long as CO2 head pressure is maintained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigga Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 All, Just an update on the Pale Ale. Had a look at the barrel last night, all is looking good but I couldn't tell how much carbonation was going on as the barrel is not a clear one so thought I would tap off a small glass. Wow - it's been in the kitchen in the pressure barrel for 3 days and already has got a superb head, light carbonation and is clearing nicely. Oh yeah, it tastes superb already...! [biggrin] Hopefully by the end of this week (when I will check the brew again) I can move it to a cooler place to relax for another couple of weeks before the big family taste test. [cool] Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice, the beer wouldn't be in its state at the moment if it wasn't for the words of wisdom from you guys on this site. I will stick some photos of the finished product on here when it's ready. CHEERS...! - COME ON ENGLAND !!!! [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Hey Zigga - I just had a look at your blog. You're not going to have any beer left if you take that many gravity samples mate [lol] Your best leaving it for 5-7 days before taking a reading (IMO). Having said that I guess regularly checking gives you a good idea of the stages of your beers fermentaion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigga Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 [lol] [lol] [lol] Ha, ha - I thought that when I was taking the readings - I saw the level drop a little and thought 'jeez, gotta slow this down'. I do need to change the way I do things. I took that many readings, 1 - because I didn't have an airlock on my fermenter (although I take note of your rules 2 and 3... [lol] ) and 2 - just paranoid as it's my first brew...[unsure] Now that I have a little experience of this I will leave the primary going for a week or so without checking and I have now got an airlock for my fermenter - although I will only be using this as an initial indicator that things maybe slowing down. My main tool is the hydrometer... Hopefully I will remeber to maintain my blog as well and will hopefully put up the process I took once I have completed the Pale Ale. I should've taken a picture of my brew last night. I don't get excited by many things in life but seeing something I put together slowly coming good was awesome (maybe I should get out more [lol] ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 A lot of people around here (including me [biggrin] ) don't use an airlock - we just put clingwrap over the top and secure it with the "0" ring from the fermenter lid. A big benefit of this is that you can easily see in the top and see what is happening. Good for if you want to take photos for your blog [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigga Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 Is the clingfilm on loose enough to allow for release of CO2 or do you pierce the lid with a pin or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 Sorry Zigga - Tight cling wrap with a pinhole is the way to go.[cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigga Posted June 24, 2010 Author Share Posted June 24, 2010 All, Wanted to let you know what's happening with the Pale Ale. 2 weeks under the sink in the kitchen and the beer is clearing nicely - in fact it's almost there and there's plenty of carbonation in there too. I took another (yes another... [innocent] ) sample last night and it tasted sweeeeeeet!!! It seems to be mellowing out with a slight sweetness and a hint of vanilla in there (??). Now, not sure if my tastebuds are tuned at the moment so would you be able to tell me roughly what the Pale Ale should taste? I've been looking for the bottles in my local supermarket but I haven't been able to find any. [crying] I will keep looking though as I have seen them before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigga Posted June 24, 2010 Author Share Posted June 24, 2010 Sorry peeps, Just one more question which I am sure has been asked on this forum before but I can't find anything on it... Can I bottle my beer once it's been through the pressure barrel and been naturally carbonated. I want to try chilling a few of the beers to see what happens but I don't want to lose the carbonation and aerate it too much if I transfer to a bottle. Do I have to sterilise the bottles at this point as well? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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