Gerhard vdW Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 Hi Everyone, I am new to this forum and I am hoping you can give me some advice or comments. I ordered a Coopers Real Ale brew kit and started the brew this weekend. The brew kit makes a 23L batch and along with the beer kit and water, I added 1 kilogram of genuine brewing sugar. Everything mixed well and I got my temperature right on the spot at the 21 degree Celsius mark, and i added the yeast straight after (this yeast was provided by Coopers). My original gravity was at 1036 as they said it should be. After 3 days of fermenting, I took my first sample reading. I discarded the first liquids that came from the tap of the FV and then took a reading. It was now standing at 1005, could this be correct? Did it possibly spoil? It smelled fine and even tasted fine so i do not think the batch is off. My product is fermenting at 20-21 degrees Celsius and out of sunlight if that helps. What does this also mean for my alcohol %? There are so many different ways to calculate the alcohol % and every calculation gives me a different answer. Does anyone have a trusted one I can use? If my brew is in fact nearing the point of being ready, how long can you leave it in the FV before it goes off? I just want to make sure that there is no harm if I leave it for a day extra. The first sample I discarded before taking my reading, had a little yeast build up at the bottom once I let it set for a while. Along with the home brew equipment I ordered, I received a plastic bottler with a sediment trap. Would this help to keep that sediment out of my bottles, or should I discard the first liter at the bottom of my FV? Sorry for the long post, I just want to make sure that I start off right. I would appreciate all the comments and advice you can give. Thank you in Advance - Gerhard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 There is no issue with letting it sit on the yeast cake for several days after the brew is finished. I let mine sit for between 9 and 14 days depending on the brew. Even though the beer might show it is done letting it settle and meld together helps the overall beer. The reading is due to using brewing sugar instead of more malt, that sounds about right. If It tastes good then it should be alright. I would take another sample in 2 days and then cold crash if you can and bottle after 7 days, to let everything come together better. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiekraut Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Gerhard vdW said: Hi Everyone, I am new to this forum and I am hoping you can give me some advice or comments. I ordered a Coopers Real Ale brew kit and started the brew this weekend. The brew kit makes a 23L batch and along with the beer kit and water, I added 1 kilogram of genuine brewing sugar. Everything mixed well and I got my temperature right on the spot at the 21 degree Celsius mark, and i added the yeast straight after (this yeast was provided by Coopers). My original gravity was at 1036 as they said it should be. After 3 days of fermenting, I took my first sample reading. I discarded the first liquids that came from the tap of the FV and then took a reading. It was now standing at 1005, could this be correct? Did it possibly spoil? It smelled fine and even tasted fine so i do not think the batch is off. My product is fermenting at 20-21 degrees Celsius and out of sunlight if that helps. What does this also mean for my alcohol %? There are so many different ways to calculate the alcohol % and every calculation gives me a different answer. Does anyone have a trusted one I can use? If my brew is in fact nearing the point of being ready, how long can you leave it in the FV before it goes off? I just want to make sure that there is no harm if I leave it for a day extra. The first sample I discarded before taking my reading, had a little yeast build up at the bottom once I let it set for a while. Along with the home brew equipment I ordered, I received a plastic bottler with a sediment trap. Would this help to keep that sediment out of my bottles, or should I discard the first liter at the bottom of my FV? Sorry for the long post, I just want to make sure that I start off right. I would appreciate all the comments and advice you can give. Thank you in Advance - Gerhard Hello Gerhard, welcome to the forum. 3 days is a little quick but not unheard of. Keep an eye on the SG and if it is stable over the next couple of days, it is indeed done. I usually keep my brews in the FV for 2 weeks. That gives the yeast ample time to clean up after itself. The sediment in the FV should be solid enough to not come out of the tap. You can even tip the FV forward when bottling and it won't wash the sediment into the bottles. As for the alcohol, the most common formula is (OG-FG) * 0.13125, so in your case (1036-1005) * 0.13125 = 4.06. Add about 0.5% for the bottle fermentation and your finished beer will be something like 4.5% Cheers Edit: fixed the formula... Edited October 10, 2019 by Aussiekraut 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 Welcome Gerhard to the DIY forum. Aussie Kraut & Norris have nailed it. So nothing to add there. Look forward to hearing more from you on your brewing journey. Great beer to be brewed & enjoyed. Cheers YB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerhard vdW Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Norris! said: There is no issue with letting it sit on the yeast cake for several days after the brew is finished. I let mine sit for between 9 and 14 days depending on the brew. Even though the beer might show it is done letting it settle and meld together helps the overall beer. The reading is due to using brewing sugar instead of more malt, that sounds about right. If It tastes good then it should be alright. I would take another sample in 2 days and then cold crash if you can and bottle after 7 days, to let everything come together better. Hi Norris, thank you for your input. So if i had used a DME or a liquid malt extract, would my reading have been a bit higher than 1005? Sorry for the dumb question, but what do you mean by cold crash? Would you then bottle after 7 days of cold crash or on day 7 after the brew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerhard vdW Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Aussiekraut said: Hello Gerhard, welcome to the forum. 3 days is a little quick but not unheard of. Keep an eye on the SG and if it is stable over the next couple of days, it is indeed done. I usually keep my brews in the FV for 2 weeks. That gives the yeast ample time to clean up after itself. The sediment in the FV should be solid enough to not come out of the tap. You can even tip the FV forward when bottling and it won't wash the sediment into the bottles. As for the alcohol, the most common formula is (OG-FG) * 0.13125, so in your case (1036-1005) * 0.13125 = 4.06. Add about 0.5% for the bottle fermentation and your finished beer will be something like 4.5% Cheers Edit: fixed the formula... Hi Aussiekraut, thank you for your input, I appreciate it. If my SG is stable over a couple of days and I let it sit for another few days after that, do I lose some Alcohol % in the process? Ok great, it was just a bit alarming last night to see how much yeast settled at the bottom after I let the initial sample rest. I hope that would not come into every beer that I bottle. Thank you for the percentage calculator, that sounds about what I was hoping for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerhard vdW Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 1 hour ago, YeastyBoy said: Welcome Gerhard to the DIY forum. Aussie Kraut & Norris have nailed it. So nothing to add there. Look forward to hearing more from you on your brewing journey. Great beer to be brewed & enjoyed. Cheers YB Hi YB Thank you for the welcome. I hope to be making some great beers in the future. I recon its best to start off with these brewing kits first to get the hang of it, before moving to all grain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 (edited) So if you used malt it would of finished between 1.008 and 1.012 about. Cold crash means to chill the beer down to near freezing for 4 to 7 days to clear it up and drop the sediment out. I meant that since the beer is about finished, I would bottle around day 7, especially if the gravity is stable for 2 days in a row. But letting it sit until day 10 won't hurt it either. Basically, let it clean up a little and then bottle when convenient. If you can cold crash, then I would do it for another 4 and 7 days if the gravity reading was stable in another 2 days. My brewing schedule is based around my time and convenience so I toss in the yeast, check it on day 4 to see where it is and how it tastes. I try to guesstimate when the beer will be about 9/10 the way done or a few gravity points away from being done and dry hop at fermentation temp for 3 days and then cold crash for 4 to 7 days depending on beer stock, keg space and clarity. Good brewing, Norris Edited October 10, 2019 by Norris! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerhard vdW Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Norris! said: So if you used malt it would of finished between 1.008 and 1.012 about. Cold crash means to chill the beer down to near freezing for 4 to 7 days to clear it up and drop the sediment out. I meant that since the beer is about finished, I would bottle around day 7, especially if the gravity is stable for 2 days in a row. But letting it sit until day 10 won't hurt it either. Basically, let it clean up a little and then bottle when convenient. If you can cold crash, then I would do it for another 4 and 7 days if the gravity reading was stable in another 2 days. My brewing schedule is based around my time and convenience so I toss in the yeast, check it on day 4 to see where it is and how it tastes. I try to guesstimate when the beer will be about 9/10 the way done or a few gravity points away from being done and dry hop at fermentation temp for 3 days and then cold crash for 4 to 7 days depending on beer stock, keg space and clarity. Good brewing, Norris Hi Norris, thank you for the clarification. I live in Finland so cold crashing should not be too hard for me Just have to come up with a way to keep it dark and out of the light. So for this brew, i guess i will simply let it sit for as long as possible, maybe even the 10 day mark as you say. One question about the dry hopping and the adding process. Is there any danger in opening the lid of your fermenting vessel once the beer is about done? My FV still has an airlock on, if that makes any difference? Do you also have to sanitize the cloth that you put the hops in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 Some people worry about it, but I don't because how else are you going to dry hop? Just don't keep the lid opened for to long, open and dump in and close. I use starsan to sanitise everything that comes into contact with beer to prevent infection so yes, santise the cloth or whatever or just dump the hops in. Cheers Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Gerhard vdW said: Ok great, it was just a bit alarming last night to see how much yeast settled at the bottom after I let the initial sample rest. I hope that would not come into every beer that I bottle. Some of the yeast will end up in the bottles, no mater how long you leave it to settle on the bottom. You need yeast in the bottles, as the sugar you add needs it for a second fermentation in the bottle, to carbonate it (bottle conditioning) Coopers still do this with their commercial beers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerhard vdW Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 10 minutes ago, Norris! said: Some people worry about it, but I don't because how else are you going to dry hop? Just don't keep the lid opened for to long, open and dump in and close. I use starsan to sanitise everything that comes into contact with beer to prevent infection so yes, santise the cloth or whatever or just dump the hops in. Cheers Norris That makes sense. I found a local brew shop here, so I will check it out and see which hops i can get for the second time. Thanks for your input. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerhard vdW Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 3 minutes ago, Lab Rat said: Some of the yeast will end up in the bottles, no mater how long you leave it to settle on the bottom. You need yeast in the bottles, as the sugar you add needs it for a second fermentation in the bottle, to carbonate it (bottle conditioning) Coopers still do this with their commercial beers. I did not think of it like that, thank you. Still have a lot to learn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiekraut Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Gerhard vdW said: ...do I lose some Alcohol % in the process? Nah you'll be right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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