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Popped My Cherry šŸ’


Thecko

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Well like a teenager popping his cherry Iā€™ve justĀ put the very first brew together and now just waiting to pitch yeast! Current temp is a bit warm 30 deg! šŸ˜¬ donā€™t know how long it will take to cool to pitch yeast for standard Larger that comes with kit. Ā I was gonna wait tillĀ temp hits 25-27 to pitch yeast and hope it all works from there. Cross the fingers and toes! Any suggestions when to pitch yeast?

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Unless you've got a method to control the temp, it's going to take a few hours to drop down to ideal temps, and may not get there at all. So long as it doesn't take too long, I'd pitch at 25. I brewed at that temp for first few brews, it worked.

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Id be pitching the yeast mate. The longer you leave it without the yeast pitch the more chance you would get an infection. Id pitch it. Get a towel in a sink of ice water. Wrap the fermenter in the towel and put a fan on it. That will bring it down and also control the temp as well through fermentation.

For next batch put 4 or 5 litres of cold water in the fridge the night before. Add that with other normal temp water to your brew. That will allow you to get the brew at a good temp for pitching.Ā 

Good luck mate.

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The closer to 20Ā°C the better. 24Ā°C is not bad, you just might get some hints of fruitiness in the beer.

When you upgrade to a temperature controlled brew fridge you will probably brew between 18Ā°C and 20Ā°C for ale yeastsĀ and around 12Ā°C for lager yeasts.

Happy brewing

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Thanks shamus thatā€™s the next stage once I get it past the ministerĀ of finance. Ā So got home from work today and Fermentation is bubbling nicely with nice thick froth on top temp has come down to 23.Ā 

24hrs into fermentation Letā€™s hope this works for the first brew.šŸ¤žšŸŗ

image.jpg

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11 minutes ago, Thecko said:

So temperature this morning in FV is now at 20-22! So to keep at this temp without any heat appliances to maintain temp would a thermal/ standard blank to wrap around FV do the job?

Yep. That should do the trick. Ideally you should have it covered with something all the time to keep the light out. Yeast is a romantic being and likes the lights down.

Edited by MUZZY
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On 4/16/2020 at 8:08 AM, Shamus O'Sean said:

The closer to 20Ā°C the better. 24Ā°C is not bad, you just might get some hints of fruitiness in the beer.

When you upgrade to a temperature controlled brew fridge you will probably brew between 18Ā°C and 20Ā°C for ale yeastsĀ and around 12Ā°C for lager yeasts.

Happy brewing

Agree with SOS, temp control is a real priority, a lager stewed above 20c is not going to be a lager nor anything flash, at best just drinkable.

We have all been there. All the best with your brewing journey.

To avoid the trial and error route. Recommend you read a couple of brewing books which will help you understand the brewing process & science behind it. Suggestions include the author Palmer & the series Water, Hops etc.

Cheers YB

Ā 

Ā 

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Thanks. Already starting to look at temperature controller for my fridge in garage. Iā€™ll use that fridge to control my FV in from now on. Some of the digital controllers on line are pretty cheap $50 ITC inkbird on eBay!Ā 

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While I agree with Yeastyboy's sentiments about reading up to broaden your knowledge, if you're like me and are easily bored by books, this forum, Google and Youtube are a wealth of information also. One of the regulars on here, King Ruddager, has a youtube channel with quite a few basic lessons in brewing. They're in a fast forward mode and dubbed after filming so you're not sitting around listening to some dill dribble on about how he cleaned his mixing spoon and so on. Check him out. There's also many other good youtubers. I like one particular Aussie bloke who makes theĀ Cellar Dwellers videos, Gash Slug I think they call him. His vids are informative and not too drawn out also.

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Thanks Muzzy for the info great to know. Iā€™ve been watching YouTube flat out geez there are some characters but some really good info as well. Iā€™veĀ just got off the phone with Keg King and ordered myself a temp controller and heat belt set back of $70! Canā€™t complain will use the old fridge in garage from now on and that should help with fermentation.Ā 

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4 hours ago, Thecko said:

Thanks. Already starting to look at temperature controller for my fridge in garage. Iā€™ll use that fridge to control my FV in from now on. Some of the digital controllers on line are pretty cheap $50 ITC inkbird on eBay!Ā 

....and be prepared to wait two weeks like I have....šŸ¤¬

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So check this morning temperatures is still holding. Appears the yeast has either finished or gone dormant, if this is the case after 4 days what should I do? Bearing in mind I donā€™t have anything to increase temperature? Or could I put the FV into the laundry sink with enough hot water to go above the tap to reactivate yeast for an hour or so to push back up over 20 deg for the next couple of days? Any suggestionsšŸ¤”

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It's been a bit warm so it's feasible it is at FG. Take a sample and see what it's at, but don't throw the sample - put it back in beside the FV and see tomorrow if there's any change. You're looking for 2 or more days at the same SG to tell you it's done.

Also you could put the sample in a warmer place - that will help the yeast activity and if you're not at FG it will show more quickly.

Edited by Journeyman
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Thx J.Man just got a sample and aĀ little cloudy the FG 1.005FG. Iā€™ll put the sample in a warm place to see if the yeast activates further. So itā€™s only been 4 days in FV if I get the same reading tomorrow on the FG would you suggest bottling or continue Fermentation for a couple more days?

C37FC00F-40A5-44BF-B052-2C68BFE0799C.jpeg

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5 hours ago, Thecko said:

Thx J.Man just got a sample and aĀ little cloudy the FG 1.005FG. Iā€™ll put the sample in a warm place to see if the yeast activates further. So itā€™s only been 4 days in FV if I get the same reading tomorrow on the FG would you suggest bottling or continue Fermentation for a couple more days?

C37FC00F-40A5-44BF-B052-2C68BFE0799C.jpeg

Iā€™d definitely be letting that sucker settle out a bit before bottling. As the yeast starts to drop out youā€™ll see it clear from the top of the fermenter.

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