Youngs American Amber Ale

penguinarmy · Oct 3, 2014

I added the hops 4 days ago and the FG had stayed at 1013 for the past 36hrs, im ready to keg/bottle (batch prime in the keg) it i took a trial jar and there was bits floating in it (i assume its hops) will it drop to the bottom of the keg/bottles or should i leave it longer???? it does taste really nice with a ABV of 5.2%

penguinarmy · Oct 3, 2014

has anyone done this??????? Im waiting on advice before moving it to the keg and Batch priming and i dont want it to spoil

thank you

:hat:

pms67 · Oct 3, 2014

Its the best kit ive done out of 60 odd kits

pms67 · Oct 3, 2014

But i bottled mine,sorry

LoveToBrew · Oct 3, 2014

The green bits look like hop pellets. How long has it been fermenting? I always ferment for a minimum of two weeks, checking the gravity after about 10 days. If the gravity is near or at the target, I add the dry hops and leave for 3 days, then the day before bottling, I cool the FV to 5C, to get the hops to drop.

The hops will drop on their own, given time, but cooling always helps. Young's don't supply a filter bag, like Ritchies do with the Festival kits, so you want a majority of the hops to drop. However, as you siphon, the surface tension will drag the hops to the side of the FV as the liquid level drops, which means that by the time you get to the bottom, the sides are nice and covered in hop debris, while the beer is relatively free of bits :thumb:

Cloudiness isn't a huge issue as the beer will clear over the next few weeks in the keg or bottles, anyway.

penguinarmy · Oct 3, 2014

its been fermenting for 3 weeks and i added the hops 4 days ago so its been in the FV for almost 4 wks I don't think the hops have dropped yet as there is a green ish (sludge) on the top of the beer??? shall i wait until it drops or just use the tension method like you said????

thank you

LoveToBrew · Oct 3, 2014

3 weeks in the primary is ok, and I've had to do that with some beers like Bulldog's Evil dog and the Young's American IPA which were still fermenting at 2.5 weeks. If the yeast have been inactive for a long time, then you don't want the beer sitting on the trub for too long, though.

Even though there is a green slick on top, you'll probably find the majority has sunk. What remains will probably stick to the sides, but if not, you might just have to either accept a few bottles will have hop debris (not an issue, just doesn't look nice), or leave a litre or so in the bottom of the FV.

If you live anywhere Bristol, I have some spare Ritchie filter bags, as I never use them!

penguinarmy · Oct 3, 2014

thank you very much for your advice ill transfer it this evening. :hat:

curzie · Oct 21, 2014

I also found that the AAA had lots of sediment and bits - it kept clogging my bottler! I did have a taste while I was bottling though, and it's very nice, lots of promise. Got down to 1.012 FG after 3 weeks.

LordVauban · Oct 21, 2014

Yes. I found both the IPA and the Amber Ale were a bit of a hoppy challenge. They didn't sink to the bottom but remained generally suspended - which made bottling quite hard. I reckon I lost about 5 litres of IPA. For the Amber, with the lesson learned, I transferred to a secondary bin, through a fabric mesh, which got most of the crud out and made for easier bottling. The IPA is really excellent; the Amber is still a work in progress (I hope!).

Covrich · Oct 22, 2014

I was thinking of doing a Youngs kit, as these come with hops for dry hopping I am wonder whether investing in a muslin bag might be a good idea.

If you have gunk on top though I wouldn't worry about that too much, as you siphon off just leave a bit at the bottom with that gunk head.

Not mandatory of course but is it a reason why I would for me definatley use a bottling bucket when bottling it.

BigJC · Oct 22, 2014

Covrich said:
I was thinking of doing a Youngs kit, as these come with hops for dry hopping I am wonder whether investing in a muslin bag might be a good idea.

If you have gunk on top though I wouldn't worry about that too much, as you siphon off just leave a bit at the bottom with that gunk head.

Not mandatory of course but is it a reason why I would for me definatley use a bottling bucket when bottling it.

I've got a Youngs IPA on the go at the moment and I was also considering muslin. I have a few lengths knocking about in a kitchen drawer that I could use to make a bag with. Can anyone advise whether this would need to be sterilised before placing in the brew?

LordVauban · Oct 22, 2014

BigJC said:
I've got a Youngs IPA on the go at the moment and I was also considering muslin. I have a few lengths knocking about in a kitchen drawer that I could use to make a bag with. Can anyone advise whether this would need to be sterilised before placing in the brew?

I certainly did. I defer to those more experienced but I think that it's a pretty good rule of thumb that anything that has contact with the beer should be sterile as far as possible.

Covrich · Oct 22, 2014

What is the best way to sterilise a bag? sit it in boiling water? then add the hop pellets and drop in fv..

LordVauban · Oct 22, 2014

I used a steriliser, rather than boiling it (I wasn't sure whether boiling water would damage the fabric).

I think there are lots of ways you could use the bag - I didn't use it as a "tea bag", preferring the hops to "roam free"(!), but attached it to the end of the tube when I decanted into the bottling bucket. It was a bit fiddly, but it worked: I got a lot more clearer beer.

dolby147 · Oct 29, 2014

Can any one give me some advice.

I am completely new to this.

I have started my first brew of the youngs America Amber Ale kit.
I have put it in a cupboard with a small tube heater that is being kept at a temperature of around 22deg.
Its been 4 days now and the airlock is still not bubbling.
When I added the yeast, I just sprinkled it on top. I am now wondering if I should have stirred it in.
Should I open the lid and give it a stir or not, Any advice what I should do.

Many Thanks
Mike

norm · Oct 29, 2014

No need to stir normally.

stout les · Oct 29, 2014

dolby147 said:
Can any one give me some advice.

I am completely new to this.

I have started my first brew of the youngs America Amber Ale kit.
I have put it in a cupboard with a small tube heater that is being kept at a temperature of around 22deg.
Its been 4 days now and the airlock is still not bubbling.
When I added the yeast, I just sprinkled it on top. I am now wondering if I should have stirred it in.
Should I open the lid and give it a stir or not, Any advice what I should do.

Many Thanks
Mike

i never stirred my yeast in either, it'll be fine. have a peep inside to see if theres any foam (krausen) on the wort.
i bet your using the 5 gallon youngs fermenter, i have two, ones a 5 gallon & the other is a 6 gallon. the 6 gallon has a good seal but the 5 gallon one dosen't seal very well at all, hence the lack of airlock activity

dolby147 · Oct 29, 2014

Thanks for the reply.
That puts my mind to rest.:)

norm · Nov 9, 2014

stout les said:
i never stirred my yeast in either, it'll be fine. have a peep inside to see if theres any foam (krausen) on the wort.
i bet your using the 5 gallon youngs fermenter, i have two, ones a 5 gallon & the other is a 6 gallon. the 6 gallon has a good seal but the 5 gallon one dosen't seal very well at all, hence the lack of airlock activity

yes i found the same with the 5 gallon young's fermenter being a bit flimsy in the lid area so i bought a 7 gallon essencia fermenter from hop & grape. now i have a problem stopping it bubbling. since i got the new one i've done a munton's ipa and an american oaked rum ale. the first one bubbled for four weeks and the second for three and a half weeks. thirsty work all this waiting!

Youngs American Amber Ale

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