BrewingBenny Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 This is the best site since the invention of home brew [biggrin] . I am a first time brewer and the real ale took my fancy with the brew enhancer no 2 also appealing. It's been in the fermenter for 7 days and my SG as of today is 1.010. I never took a starting SG as I didnt have a hydrometer at that point. SG has been 1.010 for 2 days now, though I have been told that it doesn't matter how long it stays in the fermenter, the longer the better. To bottle or not to bottle. Thanks guys loving the science behind all of this![love] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 G'day Benny It sounds like fermentation is complete and you could bottle it now but I reckon leave it in the fermentor for another 3-7 days as it allows the beer to clear up a bit and for the yeast to do any extra homework. My rule of thumb for ales is to allow a week for fermentation and a week for the beer to clear and for the yeast to "clean" up. Lagers may take longer. Patience is very important (but sometimes hard [biggrin] ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrewingBenny Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 PATIENCE whats that LOL [biggrin]. Thanks for the reply, on testing today it looked a little cloudy, but I have my coopers lager to go in so an additional 7 days will seem like forever. Thanks for the advice patience will have to be learnt. [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I have been told that it doesn't matter how long it stays in the fermenter' date=' the longer the better. [/quote'] I don't know who told you this but they are wrong! [pinched] A couple of weeks to about 4 weeks but any longer you get a higher risk ruining your brew the longer you leave it. I have heard of people successfully leaving their beer on the cake for 6 months even. However, that is a risk they take. This time successful but what about next or the time after, is it really worth it? I wouldn't attempt to leave it for more than 4 weeks personally. If you have to then why not just start the brew a little later therefore minimising any risk? Ales I usually aim for around 12-16 days and this usually includes CC'ing Edit: Try not have high hopes for the Lager. It is one to do but certainly nothing to write home about. Better kits out there imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrewingBenny Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 SG stayed at 1.008 for two days, bottled it this afternoon, fingers crossed first ever brew in the bottle. Inpatiently waiting 2 weeks now to try [crying] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gash Slugg Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 try one at 5 days just to test, I tried one at two days today [pinched] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Try and wait 2 weeks before you try your beer (especially in winter as they can take a little longer to carb)and try to get a bottle in the fridge a couple of days before you want to taste. I'd recommend not going overboard on the tasting as your beer will taste better once you start counting how long it has been in the bottle in months rather than weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordEoin Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 go on... have one... you know you want to... test it... you can leave the NEXT batch age properly... scratch that itch...do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundawake Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 You may be disappointed at two weeks. I don't taste mine for a month and even that is pretty early. Patience son, patience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrewingBenny Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 It was more like cordial at 24hrs of age than beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB8 Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 It was more like cordial at 24hrs of age than beer. Step away from the newborn and let it age or I will have to report you to the brewers guild child protection agency [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Boys how long to leave in the FV would also depend a lot on temp,a little higher temp for me on the Sunshine Coast Qld compared to the likes of Bill in Hobart & Gash in Point Cook or the good Lord in Ireland[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Ash, If you brew in a temp controlled environment geography means very little [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Yes, as Muddy rightfully said, if you have good temperature control then wherever you maybe is completely irrelevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Ash' date=' If you brew in a temp controlled environment geography means very little [rightful'] So what about ageing in the bottles if you are in different temp.zones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gash Slugg Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 The bottles go in the brew fridge or whatever temperature controlled area you have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 If you have good temp control then it doesn't matter where you are, you can be at the South Pole and you can still carb your bottles. Temp control is the key. Agreed though if you don't have temp control then it is purely up to the environment it is in. Edit: as for aging in the bottles, after the first few weeks this can be done with limited temperature control. Obviously cooler would be better though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I have a slight variation on the Extra Strong Vintage Ale going at the moment and I took a reading last night and it was 1.016, it has been in the FV for 16 days now and according to the spreadsheet FG should be 1.014. It has been sitting at a fairly steady 18.5c, do you think it would be worth raising the temp a little and giving it a gentle swirl and leaving it for another few days? I have never had a beer finish so high before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gash Slugg Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 If it was me, I wouldn't swirl it up, I'd just go ahead and bottle it. You could try raising the temp by a degree or two, but I think its been sitting there for long enough now and if you are sure your temps haven't dropped below the temps that your yeast likes its probably finished. and using this temp adjust calculator its at 1.015 anyway http://www.brewheads.com/gravcorrect.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 +1 The spreadsheet is only a prediction. I usually find the OG is pretty accurate but the FG can vary a couple of points either way. I've got a Euro Lager going at the moment that it predicted with my ingredients to have an FG of 1013, but I think it will go a few points lower than that. Lager yeast ferments more thoroughly I've read. Cheers, Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I have a slight variation on the Extra Strong Vintage Ale going at the moment and I took a reading last night and it was 1.016' date=' it has been in the FV for 16 days now and according to the spreadsheet FG should be 1.014. It has been sitting at a fairly steady 18.5c, do you think it would be worth raising the temp a little and giving it a gentle swirl and leaving it for another few days? I have never had a beer finish so high before.[/quote'] You will get a few points out of it if you do raise temps (probably) and rouse the yeast, be aware though that unless Cold Conditioning you will need a few more days on top for the yeast to settle out again. I habitually start to raise temps by 0.5'c every day or two once SG has gone half way through the ferment or gets to 1.020, this helps them stay active, it's not uncommon for yeast to be lazy and it's not far fetched to get more out of them with such treatment as raising the temps a bit. Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Thanks for the help guys. I have a bright ale clone going as well so I will check the reading of that tonight and if it seems a bit high as well I might up the temp a bit but if it is ok then I will crack open a few cold ones and get to bottling [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrewingBenny Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 The topic was raised before I could asked and answered even faster. My brew was habitually at 18, though it dropped overnight with the thermometer on the side reading 14-16. I turned the heat mat on for an hour and the oil heater for the same and we are back to 16-18 and fermenting a little quicker again. I used a nottingham ale yeast which likes cooler temps. who needs to stress, read this site and someone else is stressing for you LOL. Addicted to brewing and the coopers forum. Cheers and pop a top! [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Chances are that when the thermometer on the side dropped overnight the brew didn't drop as much as it. No need to stress in beer making as the worst thing that can happen is that you make a bad beer. Well I have stories of worse things but there for another day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I took a reading of the Bright Ale clone last night and it was 1.010 and it had a predicted FG of 1.013. I used US-05 for the Bright Ale and used 2 packets of the coopers yeast for the ESVA, do you think it could be that the coopers yeast prefers a higher temp than 18c? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.