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Brewing advice - Newbie, much appreciated


Allan A

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Hi all,

Great community here from what i have read.

Getting in to brewing and have started with a basic Aus Pale ale and enhancer 2.

3 days in i have little to no Krausen with a slite residue around the fermenter above the water line.

OG was 1038 and today's SG is 1008.

I was concerned it was not fermenting but id assume the SG says otherwise.

Brew temp with no assistance around 26 deg.

Interested in thoughts on my brew. Understand its only 3 days in and patience is everything. Was expecting more action from fermentation and want to check if it appears to be travelling okay.

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11 minutes ago, Allan A said:

Hi all,

Great community here from what i have read.

Getting in to brewing and have started with a basic Aus Pale ale and enhancer 2.

3 days in i have little to no Krausen with a slite residue around the fermenter above the water line.

OG was 1038 and today's SG is 1008.

I was concerned it was not fermenting but id assume the SG says otherwise.

Brew temp with no assistance around 26 deg.

Interested in thoughts on my brew. Understand its only 3 days in and patience is everything. Was expecting more action from fermentation and want to check if it appears to be travelling okay.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Yes, it is a great community and the knowledge you find here is amazing.

26 is a little high and can lead to slightly off flavours but it is not too bad. 18 would be ideal but if you keep it below 25 you should be ok. Did the sample taste ok? Like flat beer?

3 days is quick from 1038 down to 1008 but keep in mind that the hydrometer will not be spot on at the higher temps and the reading may be off a little. Keep an eye on it and if you get the same reading in 2 days, bottle it.

There isn't always a massive krausen. That dried up stuff above the water line is what is left of the krausen and as you can tell, the yeast has been working hard.

Just relax, wait a little and you'll be right. It's a first time brew and let me tell you, it gets better from there 🙂

 

 

Edited by Aussiekraut
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This is how I'm keeping the temp down without a dedicated fridge, water is half way up the tap & a capfull of sanitizer in the water, you can use a fan or evap cooler.

SAM_0241.JPG

Keeps the temp around 22c on 40c days

Edited by Geoff S
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G'day and welcome Allan A.

100% what Aussie said.  3 days for a ferment is quick but not unheard of. Best to let it sit as mentioned and if finished, SG is the same, on Monday you will have something to do, bottling.  We all started at the same place you are at and time will tell you that the best thing is to try to slow the ferment down by getting it to a constant temp with as little fluctuation as possible. The beer will be the better for it.  The best range for ales is in the 18-24 range and trying to keep flutations to within 1 degree is best.  So try to find a place where it is cool and stable. Also need to know the wort is warmer than ambient temp so if the air temp is 26 the wort temp may be 29.  So wrap it in some damp towels at the minumum or better wrap it and set up a fan on it to help keep it cool.    

Edited by MartyG1525230263
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1 hour ago, Geoff S said:

This is how I'm keeping the temp down without a dedicated fridge, water is half way up the tap & a capfull of sanitizer in the water, you can use a fan or evap cooler.

SAM_0241.JPG

Keeps the temp around 22c on 40c days

Great tip,  thankyou.

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1 hour ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

G'day and welcome Allan A.

100% what Aussie said.  3 days for a ferment is quick but not unheard of. Best to let it sit as mentioned and if finished, SG is the same, on Monday you will have something to do, bottling.  We all started at the same place you are at and time will tell you that the best thing is to try to slow the ferment down by getting it to a constant temp with as little fluctuation as possible. The beer will be the better for it.  The best range for ales is in the 18-24 range and trying to keep flutations to within 1 degree is best.  So try to find a place where it is cool and stable. Also need to know the wort is warmer than ambient temp so if the air temp is 26 the wort temp may be 29.  So wrap it in some damp towels at the minumum or better wrap it and set up a fan on it to help keep it cool.    

Excellent, thanks Marty.

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I had a brew, my first, where a mistake meant it got to 35° for a few hours on the first night. By the time I got up, Kraussen was done and dusted and I thought I'd ruined things. But with advice from here and some patience I got a quite drinkable (if slightly fruity) brew.

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2 hours ago, Journeyman said:

I had a brew, my first, where a mistake meant it got to 35° for a few hours on the first night. By the time I got up, Kraussen was done and dusted and I thought I'd ruined things. But with advice from here and some patience I got a quite drinkable (if slightly fruity) brew.

How many days fermenting if you dont mind me asking?

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1 hour ago, Allan A said:

How many days fermenting if you dont mind me asking?

Done in 3 but was in longer for couple of reasons - I couldn't quite believe it could be done in that time and guys here advised me to give the yeast a few more days to clean up after all the esters that were produced - smelled like bananas I think. There was also a bit of green apples smell to it but that went away.

After a couple of months in the bottle it was rather a nice beer - I think there's 1 stubby of it on the shelf.

I might have answered sooner but was bottling - a kind of XPA clone - based around the recipe but with some changes. Got a less alcoholic version of my 2nd brew to bottle tomorrow - based on Coopers draught can with some additions. The original was a toucan but this is just the single can. Still comes in about 6% though. 😄

Edited by Journeyman
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