My First Brew

[Goldcoast Crow]

12 minutes ago, Titan said:

Have a look here. https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/malt-shovel-kit-fermenter.24786/

YeahI actually looked that up last night and came up with the same thread as it turns out it’s only a 12 L FV anyway thanks mate I’ll pull the bin

[Goldcoast Crow]

So my first batch of amber ale has been bottled for 6 days and all bottles are firm as, just wondering will the alcohol content grow in the second fermentation?

[Malter White]

35 minutes ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

So my first batch of amber ale has been bottled for 6 days and all bottles are firm as, just wondering will the alcohol content grow in the second fermentation?

If you're using 2 carbonation drops for a long neck, the increase in ABV is approx. 0.5%.

[Goldcoast Crow]

Ok so my second brew has been in the fv for 6days now, haven’t checked sg yet but will do my first check tomorrow, starting from 1.044 (with a not trustworthy coopers hydrometer) what should I be expecting tomorrow (with a decent glass hydrometer)?

 And also my lager has had really low/non existent klausen since around day 3, basically like light air bubbles in a circular group around a tea saucer size, with plenty of condensation apparent, is this ok? 

[Malter White]

1 hour ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

Ok so my second brew has been in the fv for 6days now, haven’t checked sg yet but will do my first check tomorrow, starting from 1.044 (with a not trustworthy coopers hydrometer) what should I be expecting tomorrow (with a decent glass hydrometer)?

 And also my lager has had really low/non existent klausen since around day 3, basically like light air bubbles in a circular group around a tea saucer size, with plenty of condensation apparent, is this ok? 

If your initial SG reading is with the Coopers hydrometer I'd stick with it for this brew to give you accurate data comparisons.
FG readings will always be lower than OG readings but they'll vary from brew to brew depending on what fermentables you've added eg. if you add only dextrose which fully ferments into alcohol your FG reading will be lower than if you added something like light dry malt which doesn't fully ferment into alcohol and because it doesn't fully ferment out it adds body and flavour to your beer.
KRAUSEN reduces over the fermenting process. That's perfectly normal.

[pilotsh]

1 hour ago, MUZZY said:

KRAUSEN reduces over the fermenting process. That's perfectly normal.

So does a completely collapsed and disappeared Krausen indicate fermentation has stopped? Or you can still have continuing fermentation even though there is no Krausen?

[Malter White]

28 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

So does a completely collapsed and disappeared Krausen indicate fermentation has stopped? Or you can still have continuing fermentation even though there is no Krausen?

Fermentation can still be happening without krausen. Your hydrometer (even one that's a bit askew) is your greatest ally. Once your hydrometer reads the same for 2-3 days in a row you know your fermenting is done.
Late edit: The hydrometer will tell if your ferment is done or, heaven forbid, stalled.

Edited April 21, 2020 by MUZZY

[Goldcoast Crow]

Awesome, great to hear, tomorrow is day 7 with the lager so we will fine or the status

[pilotsh]

25 minutes ago, MUZZY said:

Late edit: The hydrometer will tell if your ferment is done or, heaven forbid, stalled.

Thanks Muzzy. For future reference (so I can be aware of it), if the hydrometer reading is steady, what other ways can one tell the difference between a completed versus a stalled brew? Anything other than expected-ish date?

(assuming you don't have an expected FG figure to look for)

Edited April 21, 2020 by pilotsh

[Malter White]

5 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

Thanks Muzzy. For future reference (so I can be aware of it), if the hydrometer reading is steady, what other ways can one tell the difference between a completed versus a stalled brew? Anything other than expected-ish date?

(assuming you don't have an expected FG figure to look for)

If you're like me and only doing Coopers kits and sticking fairly close to the recipes, your OGs will be in the 1.036-1.046 range and will usually ferment down to 1.006-1.012 range (roughly). 
So if you get a steady reading in the 1020s-1030s you might have a stalled brew.
However, this won't necessarily be the case for all grain or kits with bits brews because additions of certain ingredients that don't ferment out will increase SG (density).
Also, the rough figures I point out above are for 23 litre brews. If your brews are less in volume they will have higher SG readings.

[pilotsh]

12 minutes ago, MUZZY said:

Also, the rough figures I point out above are for 23 litre brews. If your brews are less in volume they will have higher SG readings.

Ohhh, I'm not so worried about my 1018 after 11 days then.....

[Goldcoast Crow]

Day 7 with the lager

sg of 1.011, will check again over next 3 nights

bitter to taste, but it was always going to be and that will be not so bad when ice cold... 

checked with old coopers hydrometer aswell as new glass one....

[pilotsh]

7 minutes ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

Day 7

You're opening a can of worms there....

[Goldcoast Crow]

Also, these were part of my new fv, obviously the lid has an air trap but the red thing I’m guessing is for sugar measuring but the little black thing has white powder in one end and black stones in the other, one side has little holes, I’m guessing a filter of some sort??

[Goldcoast Crow]

So my amber ale will be in the bottle for 10 and 11 days over the weekend, is it worth having a taste do you reckon?

[pilotsh]

44 minutes ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

So my amber ale will be in the bottle for 10 and 11 days over the weekend, is it worth having a taste do you reckon?

It depends how thirsty you are! 

[Goldcoast Crow]

Yeah I’m getting thirsty so I’ll be throwing a couple in the fridge Friday night I’d say

[Shamus O'Sean]

24 minutes ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

Yeah I’m getting thirsty so I’ll be throwing a couple in the fridge Friday night I’d say

I have two brews that have been carbonating at serving pressure in kegs since Saturday.  I will be giving them a try this Saturday, even if that might be a bit early from a flavour perspective.

[pilotsh]

 !

Actually I am trying not to 'waste' my own 'not even beer yet' so I will  ,  ,  and  until mine is ready to cheers with!

Edited April 22, 2020 by pilotsh
Typo

[Goldcoast Crow]

I got a cerveza and an Apa kit today so I’ll keep a solid store I’m waiting so no wastage should happen

[Journeyman]

16 hours ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

Also, these were part of my new fv, obviously the lid has an air trap but the red thing I’m guessing is for sugar measuring but the little black thing has white powder in one end and black stones in the other, one side has little holes, I’m guessing a filter of some sort??

That b&w thing looks a bit like the water filters you get in some coffee machines. At a guess the black is activated charcoal - the white? NFI!

[UncleStavvy]

I'm going to take a punt and suggest it is an activated charcoal filter to minimise odours when brewing inside the home. I'm surprised it doesn't have two, one for each nostril on the wife's nose!!

[Goldcoast Crow]

So the trial period has begun, yes I am starting a little early but it’s a learning process and I am not planning on chugging down 10 pets in one weekend.... it will be 9 days tomorrow night so I’ll document on my app each day over the weekend to see if there is much difference...... to be honest I am tongueing for a taste

[Goldcoast Crow]

So day 9 and I had a big day at work, got home, slayed the lawns then cracked my first homebrew..... went down a treat, like a light dark ale, I guess that’s why it’s amber, nice enough to knock over 2 tallies and put another two in the fridge, interesting to see how they change over the next week.... I did notice it was a battle to get a good head on it, and it died pretty quick, not a lot of fizz but had that real sark/old ale consistency to it, really yum.

[pilotsh]

Great Looking beer, terrible glass!