Need some help

[TShep]

G' Day,

I am a complete beginner but did as much research prior to buying my Cooper's kits as I could.

I have a dedicated fridge, temp controller with belt & all the bits & pieces including no rinse Sanitiser.

1st brew I went with was the Cerveza & BE3. Brewed at around 18c & had only minimum Krausen / foam. Started @ 1036 & Bottled at 1006 after only 9 days trying to get second brew over before Xmas.

Have just put on a pale ale with BE2 & again I am not seeing any Krausen @ 21c. Started @ 1038 & 3 days in it is already 1010 or below.

AM I doing something wrong?

will leave this one for 2 weeks just in case.

like any novice I am watching it like waiting for a chicken to hatch from an egg.

[Stickers]

i don't get much of a krausen from the pale ale can. you're probably doing everything right. post a picture of your fermenter if you can

[TShep]

Cheers Mate, I have condensation on the lid & bubbles in sample but it is a long wait to find out I need to tip it out.

[TShep]

Cerveza was exactly the same but I Bottled anyway.

[Liambeer]

Will be fine mate. Stick your head in an smell for co2 and you’ll be sure it’s working away

[TShep]

Thank you,

newbie jitters I guess & seeing a whole bunch of Krausen in all the photos online doesn't help.

Plants will get a good feed if no good 

Lol

[Stickers]

try to avoid opening the lid. if you want to experience a better krausen try the dark ale or stout cans. no need to tip it out, every brew is good practice and if you're keeping everything clean and sanitised, it's really hard to get the basic brewing process wrong.

[TShep]

Thank you,

newbie jitters I guess & seeing a whole bunch of Krausen in all the photos online doesn't help.

Plants will get a good feed if no good 

Lol

[Tone boy]

Leave the lid on @TShep  

And don’t tip it on the plants - it will kill the plants! Better to just drink it - I bet it’ll be awesome

[Aussiekraut]

Welcome to the wonderful world of brewing and congratulations on your first step down the bottomless rabbit hole home brewing represents  

Some yeasts show a lot of krausen, others don't. Rely on your hydrometer. If it tells you the specific gravity is falling, then it is. Unless you get an infection, it's all good.

I know how it feels when you don't know what is happening and yes, a brew is a little like a baby  You nurture it and look after it and when something unexpected happens, you get worried  

As mentioned, don't open the lid unless you have to, like when putting in dry hops or taking them out again. There are commercial breweries brewing in open tanks but us home brewers don't take any chances. Rely on your hydrometer as the ultimate authority on how your beer is going. Doing kits 'n' bits, you can't really do too much wrong unless you ignore even the most basic advice. 

You'll be right mate. Pleased to hear you already have temperature control in place. Generally, I do my ales between 18 and 20C, depending on the yeast and they turn out just fine. So stick within the 18-21 range and you'll be sweet. 

Just a word of advice, we have some very experienced brewers here in the forum. Some brew kits 'n' bits, some do partials and some brew from grains. If you have a question, please ask but also, please listen. We all love helping newbies. We all started where you are and we went on to bigger and better brewing, mainly because we listened and learned. Welcome to brewing.

Edited December 7, 2021 by Aussiekraut

[Pale Man]

Dont worry about krausen. I dont often get much of one. 

[Aussiekraut]

6 minutes ago, Tone boy said:

Leave the lid on @TShep  

And don’t tip it on the plants - it will kill the plants! Better to just drink it - I bet it’ll be awesome

dunno about your plants but when i tip the yeast cake of anFV on the grass, I seem to grow a patch of the green stuff I'd rather not have  Even pouring a hot sample of pre-boil wort doesn't seem to kill the weed I pour it onto. It's scary  

[Pale Man]

7 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

Welcome to the wonderful world of brewing and congratulations on your first step down the bottomless rabbit hole home brewing represents  

Some yeasts show a lot of krausen, others don't. Rely on your hydrometer. If it tells you the specific gravity is falling, then it is. Unless you get an infection, it's all good.

I know how it feels when you don't know what is happening and yes, a brw is a little like a baby  You nurture it and look after it and when something unexpected happens, you get worried  

As mentioned, don't open the lid unless you have to, like when putting in dry hops or taking them out again. There are commercial breweries brewing in open tanks but us home brewers don't take any chances. Rely on your hydrometer as the ultimate authority on how your beer is going. Doing kits 'n' bits, you can't really do too much wrong unless you ignore even the most basic advice. 

You'll be right mate. Pleased to hear you already have temperature control in place. Generally, I do my ales between 18 and 20C, depending on the yeast and they turn out just fine. So stick within the 18-21 range and you'll be sweet. 

Just a word of advice, he have some very experienced brewers here in the forum. Some brew kits 'n' bits, some do partials and some brew from grains. If you have a question, please ask but also, please listen. We all love helping newbies. We all started where you are and we went on to bigger and better brewing, mainly because we listened and learned. Welcome to brewing.

 

Very valuable post from a cracking brewer.

[TShep]

Hahaha,

Thank you all for your comments & support.

After what I have pumped into it I think I will persevere & am in for the long haul.

Cannot wait to try the first bevvy.

[Tone boy]

34 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

dunno about your plants but when i tip the yeast cake of anFV on the grass, I seem to grow a patch of the green stuff I'd rather not have  Even pouring a hot sample of pre-boil wort doesn't seem to kill the weed I pour it onto. It's scary  

Where I’ve tipped beer out it has killed my lawn. Unfermented wort would be fine though I guess….

[mrchino73]

1 hour ago, TShep said:

G' Day,

I am a complete beginner but did as much research prior to buying my Cooper's kits as I could.

I have a dedicated fridge, temp controller with belt & all the bits & pieces including no rinse Sanitiser.

1st brew I went with was the Cerveza & BE3. Brewed at around 18c & had only minimum Krausen / foam. Started @ 1036 & Bottled at 1006 after only 9 days trying to get second brew over before Xmas.

Have just put on a pale ale with BE2 & again I am not seeing any Krausen @ 21c. Started @ 1038 & 3 days in it is already 1010 or below.

AM I doing something wrong?

will leave this one for 2 weeks just in case.

like any novice I am watching it like waiting for a chicken to hatch from an egg.

Hi, don't worry, we ve been there once!!!!! The Mexican Cerveza with BE3, was my first success after 2 previous failures, and when it was fermenting thought it had little Krausen.....so I thought it was my 3d failure..... !!!!!

But, the hydrometer measurements don't lie!!!! When reached 1.009 for 2 days did the bottling. ... And it was excellent!!!!!!

Remember to leave them at least 2 weeks conditioning after bottling, and after that 3 or 4 days in the fridge. Then YES, it's time to enjoy and take pictures for us all to congratulate you!!!!

Regards

[TShep]

Cheers Mate.

Much appreciated.

[ozdevil]

some sound Advice from others here

as someone has said ,  yeast  act differently      you could be using us-05  as an ale yeast    and doing the same brew with a nottingham ale yeast 
both are different and react differently  

us-o5  is slow to start   
nottingham will start with in a few hours

if your using kveik yeast (i know your not)  this yeast likes high temps around 30 degrees and will ferment out with in 3 days
and you may not even see the krausen  

there is alot of variables

from the photo you shown your beer is looking good

[Marty_G]

Don't over think it.  All is good it is not hard to do.   Sounds like you have done your homework and have the right kit for a newbie.  Don't be concerned about the krausen on pale beers they are not always huge.  Happy brewing.   Relax and enjoy. 

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

@TShepLooks like you are doing the right things. Only thing I would say is the can yeast really isn't enough yeast to get a really good rocking ferment. It will get the job done eventually but IMO not optimally. 

You can cheat a little bit and grow some more yeast out of the packet. All you need is a 2lt coke bottle. Clean and sanitise it with your no rinse sanitiser. Measure out 180gm of your BE mix and funnel it into the bottle. Add 1.8L of cooled boiled water through the funnel. Cool it to about 20c before adding. Put the yeast packet in and the lid on tight and give it a shake to mix it. Then back off the lid so it isn't tight and the gas can get out. Do this 24 hours before you make your main batch and after you have added the can and the BE and added the water to about 21.2L in your fermenter add the contents of the bottle to get it to the 23L and you will have a much better ferment.

[DavidM]

I did my first brew a few months back in Winter, didn't understand the need to store the bottles at a temp around 18-20 deg, my first lot sat at around 12-13, didn't Carbonate, Flat beer.

The Good people here straightened me out and I now have some very tasty Brews to drink.

I still don't understand what a lot of people are doing but taking small steps as I learn and getting good results.

 

 

[Journeyman]

15 hours ago, TShep said:

1st brew I went with was the Cerveza & BE3. Brewed at around 18c & had only minimum Krausen / foam. Started @ 1036 & Bottled at 1006 after only 9 days trying to get second brew over before Xmas

Probably already said but... IT's working! Leave it alone!  If something was wrong and it wasn't fermenting the SG would still be 1.036.

I use Nottingham yeast for almost all my ales - it's fast to start. good krausen, attenuates and flocculates well (means it chews lots of sugars and drops the particles to the bottom leaving a cleaner beer) and adds no 'other' flavours to the beer. (sometimes you WANT the yeast to bring in some flavours - some of the European-style beers, for example)

Nott also works well from about 10° to 23° so you can even make low temp lagers with it. 1 x 11g pack wortks well up to an SG of about 1.050 - above that you'd probably use more or do a starter to icnrease the yeast cells.

Edited December 7, 2021 by Journeyman

[stquinto]

I often don't get a lot of krausen either.  Also the airlock on one of my FVs is a bit loose so I don't even know if it is working away either... The hydrometer will tell you, as everyone else mentions. I agree with Journeyman too - some yeasts are really lively, like Notto, others less so.

The only thing I do that doesn't seem to be the case with too many others on the forum, but that is probably because I don't use temperature control, is I tend to leave the beer in the FV for a while even after it seems to have finished (as in at least 2 weeks). Probably also because I need to drum up the energy to bottle...

[Stickers]

9 minutes ago, stquinto said:

I tend to leave the beer in the FV for a while even after it seems to have finished (as in at least 2 weeks). Probably also because I need to drum up the energy to bottle...

this is so me at the moment.

[Journeyman]

12 hours ago, stquinto said:

The only thing I do that doesn't seem to be the case with too many others on the forum, but that is probably because I don't use temperature control, is I tend to leave the beer in the FV for a while even after it seems to have finished (as in at least 2 weeks). Probably also because I need to drum up the energy to bottle...

2 weeks is more than I do but I think quite a few of us leave the beer in there longer, by a few days at least. Think how many times you've seen, "let the yeast clean up" across the posts.

Kegging is less energy (& a lot easier on my knees and back - standing for a length of time is an issue, which is one reason I made the effort to get into kegs) but it's still been something easier to procrastinate on recently.

12 hours ago, Stickers said:

this is so me at the moment.

I know the feeling. Between what they're doing with the reaction to the virus and a few physical issues lately, even the rbewing has been a bit lacksadaisical. The whole "tomorrow I will keg them" has become a promise hard to keep, let alone "tomorrow I'm doing 2 bres"!

Edited December 8, 2021 by Journeyman