Daily diary of a virgin (first ever) home brew!

[Malter White]

13 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Thinking forward to bottling day, I am thinking about the yeast slurry that will be left over (is that called 'trub'?).

I would either make bread, or store it as an emergency/custom yeast for a later brew. If I store it, just place it in the fridge? Freezer? If I freeze it I assume it would last longer?

The other option is to split the slurry in half and (try to) make an awesome beer bread loaf, twice.

Yes, mate. It's called trub (pronounced troob).
I haven't heard of anyone freezing yeast. It might be possible but I just haven't heard of anyone doing it. Definitely can refrigerate it. Needs to be kept in sanitary containers.
This video shows quite simply how it can be done. The guy who made it is our very own King Ruddager, who visits this forum frequently.
 

 

[Goldcoast Crow]

Hey does anyone know if you take the lid off the fv to check out the wort, does this effect anything as I would be re introducing new oxygen in the 1st ferment???

[Malter White]

12 minutes ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

Hey does anyone know if you take the lid off the fv to check out the wort, does this effect anything as I would be re introducing new oxygen in the 1st ferment???

It's not recommended to do it unless totally necessary. Yes, it will introduce air and possibly unwanted bacteria. However, you can do it if you really have to. Lift the lid cautiously so as not to create too much turbulence and try not to leave the lid off for too long.

[Goldcoast Crow]

And also if the wort moves around occasionally will that disturb the process much, my little brewery kitchen moves a bit when I walk too heavy

[Aussiekraut]

On 4/14/2020 at 2:33 PM, pilotsh said:

For me, Pitching Day is "0", because then the next day the brew has been fermenting for ONE day, so it is Day 1.

(And i can count out how old my brew is on my fingers)

I will renumber back to my original way tomorrow. Tomorrow will be day six, as after pitching the yeast on Thursday, it has been fermenting for 6 days!

Each to their own!

Sorry to be a nit picker and it really isn't important at the end of the day but Marty is correct, there is no day 0. The moment you are born, you are in year 1 of your life. When you turn 1 year old, you are in year 2 of your life etc. Just like the new Millennium didn't start on 01/01/2000 but actually 01/01/2001. 2000 was still the 1000th year since the previous millennium turn. So when you pitch yeast, it is day 1, day 1 means it is less than a day old. 

Now back to brewing guys.

[Malter White]

6 minutes ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

And also if the wort moves around occasionally will that disturb the process much, my little brewery kitchen moves a bit when I walk too heavy

That's not really an issue. Shouldn't make any difference to your brew unless you are introducing air into the wort, which I doubt your clod hopping would do.

[Journeyman]

45 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

The moment you are born, you are in year 1 of your life

 So those 9 months inside - would that be .75 of Year 0?  

[Ronnie Dale]

The 9 months is called pregnancy, happens before you are born.

[pilotsh]

Sunday 19th April: 235 hours (9.79 days) since pitch.

Brew Temp: 21.9C. Steady.

SG: Not Tested.

Comments: No changes. Will test SG tomorrow.

Photo(s):

 

 

[Goldcoast Crow]

1 hour ago, pilotsh said:

Sunday 19th April: 235 hours (9.79 days) since pitch.

Brew Temp: 21.9C. Steady.

SG: Not Tested.

Comments: No changes. Will test SG tomorrow.

Photo(s):

 

 

Mate I am so so impressed with this klasuen action, mine has died down after 2-3 days and there is only light air bubbles and condensation..... this is my lager so this may have a difference, and your temp control is much better than mine.... for now

[pilotsh]

Monday 20th April: 258 hours (10.75 days) since pitch.

Brew Temp: 21.6C. Steady.

SG: 1018

Colour: A hazy, but not cloudy appearance. A medium goldy-orange brown.

Nose: Mild apricot, stone fruit. Hints of treacle/molasses.

Palate/ Body: More fizz than last taste on Friday. Not as watery, but not thick, either. A light maltiness, mild sour fruits, apricot. 

Comments: Krausen is starting to collapse in patches, showing liquid wort. Perhaps close to the end of fermentation, but I hope not because it still is distinctly sour, and not like an Amber Ale at all. 

Photo(s):

 

[Titan]

9 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

because it still is distinctly sour

Sour, it should taste like flat beer.

[pilotsh]

23 minutes ago, Titan said:

Sour, it should taste like flat beer.

Not overly sour, but I wasn't expecting it to taste as it does. It tastes more like a fruity IPA than an Amber Ale! It is only a little tart, not sour like lemon juice!

[Goldcoast Crow]

20 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Monday 20th April: 258 hours (10.75 days) since pitch.

Brew Temp: 21.6C. Steady.

SG: 1018

Colour: A hazy, but not cloudy appearance. A medium goldy-orange brown.

Nose: Mild apricot, stone fruit. Hints of treacle/molasses.

Palate/ Body: More fizz than last taste on Friday. Not as watery, but not thick, either. A light maltiness, mild sour fruits, apricot. 

Comments: Krausen is starting to collapse in patches, showing liquid wort. Perhaps close to the end of fermentation, but I hope not because it still is distinctly sour, and not like an Amber Ale at all. 

Photo(s):

 

Mate, mine went like that after day 3

Edited April 21, 2020 by Coopers DIY Beer Team
Language

[Chris_]

Hey everyone.. 

first time brewer and first post

having trouble with my brew, it’s the coopers lager that comes with the kit

og. 1035 

been fermenting for 5 days and I have got a fg of 1.020 the last 2 days

I have maintained a steady temp at 22 degrees the whole way through.. numbers just don’t seem right to me, any help/info is appreciated 

thanks 

 

[Titan]

First think you need to check is the hydrometer reads 1.000 in water at 20c. The hydrometer needs to float so a full sample tube is required.

[Chris_]

Just tested in water at 20 degrees and it reads 1.000 

Should I let let it ferment another day or so ? 

Edited April 21, 2020 by Chris_

[pilotsh]

Tuesday 21st April: 280 hours (11.67 days) since pitch.

Brew Temp: 21.6C. Steady.

SG: Not Tested.

Comments: Krausen collapsed further than yesterday to about 50% coverage. Will test SG tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday. I am guessing bottling day will be Friday, if Wednesday's and Thursday's SG's are constant.

Photo(s):

 

[pilotsh]

15 minutes ago, Chris_ said:

Ok will check once Iam home and report back

thanks 

Hi Chris! Welcome to the Coopers DIY forum and my thread on my first ever brew which I started on 9th of April. This is where I am placing daily updates of that for those that are interested, and any questions I have had along the way.

I also checked my hydrometer, and found it was 'out' so I started another thread on that, and have since calibrated my hydrometer. You may find the answers I got there useful as well, you can check it out here:

Happy Brewing!

Edited April 21, 2020 by pilotsh
Typo

[Shamus O'Sean]

23 minutes ago, Chris_ said:

Just tested in water at 20 degrees and it reads 1.000 

Should I let let it ferment another day or so ? 

Hi Chris, your brew many have stalled.  This is unusual with the basic kit.  It is designed to successfully make a basic beer.

See if you can get the temperature up 2 degrees and let it ferment for a few more days.

If it does not change you could bottle in PETs, but only use 1 carbonation drop.  Bottle failures will be unlikely but at least will not be catastrophic.

[Chris_]

Thanks for the help guys much appreciated  

[Goldcoast Crow]

Hey another quick question from a novice, is the sludge at the bottom just yeast or is it other stuff?

[Titan]

21 minutes ago, Goldcoast Crow said:

Hey another quick question from a novice, is the sludge at the bottom just yeast or is it other stuff?

Depends if you added other stuff. If you just used a KK then most or it will be yeast.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Thought that whole day zero nonsense had been settled already...

It is correct that there's no such thing as a day zero, but it doesn't really matter if it's days, minutes or hours or whatever, there's still no zero. A clock at 23:59 is in the 60th minute of the 24th hour, when it ticks over to 0:00 it's in the first minute of the first hour of the next day. Difference is time is written in past tense i.e. time already passed. The calendar is in present tense. 

When the yeast is pitched it is the beginning of the first day, or day 1. Just like when the calendar ticks over from the last day of a month to the first day of the next. I don't remember there being an April 0 a few weeks ago. You can't start the first day after it's already been in there for 1 day. There's absolutely no logic to that whatsoever. 

Edited April 21, 2020 by Otto Von Blotto

[pilotsh]

1 hour ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Thought that whole day zero nonsense had been settled already... 

It is/has/was! I don't refer to Day 1, Day 2 etc any more.

I now just state the Calendar Date of the update, and how many hours have elapsed since the yeast was pitched (so I know how long the yeast has been nibbling on the sugars). 

(The "days" in brackets I refer to are not calendar days you are referring to: they are just the hours the yeast has been in the wort divided by 24).

Edited April 22, 2020 by pilotsh
Typo