midian454 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Hi, been lurking here for a while, thought it was about time I joined in the shenanigans. Been brewing for a few months now, decided to put down a Ginger Beer yesterday. Used the can, 1kg Coopers Brewing Sugar and 1kg raw sugar. Figured I would go basic to begin with and play with lemons/ginger/cinnamon/etc when I have a baseline to compare. Put it down about 14-15 hours ago and not much has changed on the surface. The yeast have spread out a bit, but I am not seeing much activity. I have the FV in Big Black (an old fridge I picked up and have now hooked in to a 2 channel temp controller) set at 23C. I am not concerned at this stage, I am just wondering if anyone else has had later activity with this brew? I have only been brewing beers, but they all have been rockin and rollin after about 5-6 hrs. Cheers in advance for your input. Jase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Hi Jase - Providing that your yeast was ok it all sounds pretty normal. Sometimes things take a while to kick off. You should see something by tonight (condensation on the lid is a good sign if you have it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midian454 Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 Thanks Muddy, there is a bit of condensation on the lid, but with the lack of activity I wasn't sure whether it was just from the drop from 28-23C overnight. Will see how it looks when i get home from work. Cheers Jase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan_Rodger Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I'm doing my first brew, a ginger beer too :) Seemed to take about 4 days before fermentation kicked in, there was the cold break, some activity inside, yeast falling to the bottom - then the bubbles went a little wild day 4 (compared to, well none) when fermentation kicked in. Been lots of large foam since... At day 8 now, and doing third SG measurement tonight. (didn't measure my OG [crying] ) Had a sip yesterday, and it tastes great! Hopefully should be bottling tonight for secondary fermentation/carbonation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midian454 Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 Day 11, still bubbling away slowly like a 20 minute old pint on the bar. Measured 1023 last night (from OG 1043). Still a fair way to go methinks, the can said FG 998 or something, but the raw sugar I used woudl bump that up a touch.. Need the fridge for another brew im putting down this weekend so I reckon I will rip it out tonight, give it a bit of a swirl and hope the temperatures out of the fridge arent too high that the give some odd flavours (probably between 25-29C). Jase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Paul may correct me here but I am sure the FG shouldnt be 998 if water is 1000. I would have thought it would be more like 1006 - 1008 but I could be wrong there as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 If it is still bubbling away their is no need to give it a swirl. If you want to pull it out of the fridge for another fermenter stick it in a tub with some cold water and ice blocks in the water. You can even drape a towel over it and have the ends of the towel in the water which will help abit as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biermoasta Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Maybe the FG is below 1.000 as alcohol is less dense than water? So once fermentation has finished the resulting mixture of water and alcohol gives a density less than that of pure water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 The SG can get below 1000 if there is very little residual carbohydrate remaining (or other compounds adding to the density) + alcohol (which is thinner than water) [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Would you look at that, I just assumed that the contents of the can and the sediment that is floating in the brew would keep it above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philb7 Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 hi, i put down a brew of GB today using 1kg raw and 1kg Be 1 & 4 heaped teaspoons of ground ginger, i then read that to much sugar may lead to bottles exploding, is this due to much sugar put in at bottling?(i use the carbonation drops anyways)or could it happen because i put in the extra 1kg of Be 1? this is my second try at GB i used a cheaper brand from bigw first time and it was truely horrific!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleB Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I used 1.7kgs of Raw Sugar when I did mine, and had activity within about 4 hours, (condensation). It varies for temp and yeast, its a nice drop, alot of alcohol taste to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 hi, i put down a brew of GB today using 1kg raw and 1kg Be 1 & 4 heaped teaspoons of ground ginger, i then read that to much sugar may lead to bottles exploding, is this due to much sugar put in at bottling?(i use the carbonation drops anyways)or could it happen because i put in the extra 1kg of Be 1? this is my second try at GB i used a cheaper brand from bigw first time and it was truely horrific!! The bottlers exploding is if you put too much sugar in at bottling stage or you dont let it fully ferment before bottling. If you wait till it finishes fermenting (Same reading over consecutive days) and then add 1 carb drop per stubbie or 2 carb drops per long neck their will be nothing to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philb7 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 thanks matty i'll do that, i'm actually using the hydrometer for the first time with this batch. ill check wednesday ( i put it down on friday). cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midian454 Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 15 days, still going... down to about 1019 now. Activity has increased slightly since I pulled it out of the fridge (sitting at about 27-28C now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philb7 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Midian454 i've basically did the same as your recipe, i bottled after 9 days as SG was 1020 after 3 days, mine is very dark not clearing and also seems to have a few floating sediment bits at the top, how has yours gone? anyone with any thoughts, ta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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