New Starter - 1st Kit St Peters IPA

[pgl150]

Morning all.

Well, after increasing frustration at the decreasing beer selection at my local supermarkets (pretty much John Smiths is your lot!) I've decided to brew my own and am quite excited by the prospect! :-)

I've not brewed anything other than a Boots kit about 25 years ago and it was drinkable but not great, so I'm hoping for better things this time around.

I've bought a brewing starter kit with a St Peters IPA kit included, as the site I bought it from suggested it was in the style of Deuchars IPA which I'm a big fan of although I don't think it will too similar without any additional hopping but I'm keeping it simple first time out.

I'm almost ready and have an under stairs cupboard that stays around 18-20 degrees C lined up for the fermenting stage, although I've actually built my own temperature controller (which I'm quite proud of by the way) which can switch on a heat pad or a fan as required.

I've just got a couple of queries before I start though if that's ok?

1. What temperature should I pitch the yeast at? I've read various opinions which vary between 20-24 degrees mainly and was wondering what has worked best for most of you?

2. Should I use the 6g pack of yeast that came with the kit or for now I also have a 11g pack from Wiko (Gervin English Ale Yeast) that I could use? It's just that I've read a few posts about people not reaching the 5.5% ABV as their yeast seems to have stopped.

3. Should I just put the yeast in straight from the pack or rehydrate it first? Again I've read various opinions on the site, in Greg Hughes book and also in John Palmers book.

I'm keen to get started but want to know exactly what my plan is before I commit to it.

Any other tips welcome. ;-)

Thanks in advance.

Paul

 

[ManseMasher]

About 20°c is a good benchmark temp for pitching yeast. 6g seems a bit on the short side if it is a 23l kit, I would go with the 11g one, and it doesn't hurt to rehydrate - around 100ml of water at 30 - 35°c, leave for 15 minutes or so, then pitch. Very good books by the way, and welcome to HBF!

 

[pgl150]

Hi.

Thanks for the reply. Just to see if it makes any difference the St Peters kit is actually a 19L kit. They say that the head brewer approves all the kits so 'in theory' 6g should be enough BUT as I said a few people seem to have had problems.

Thanks

Paul

 

[cheapbrew]

Welcome :hat:

 

[pgl150]

Thanks.

Right, I've tested my temperature controller over the weekend and done a bit more reading of aforementioned books. I've decided to keep it simple first time out and see how the standard kit turns out before experimenting next time round.

Therefore I'm going to use the yeast that came with the kit as it's only 19L but I'm going to rehydrate and proof it first. If it doesn't look good at least I've got a spare pack of yeast in reserve. Going to pitch at about 20 degrees and maintain that for 2 weeks. I plan on using the 2-2-2 method recommended by some members on here.

Appreciate any last minute tips but otherwise it's full steam ahead tomorrow evening! :-)

Cheers

 

[pms67]

Welcome and good luck, i had a problem with a stuck wherry (like hundreds of others) and spoke to the rep for Muntons, he said 6g is more than enough???
I just throw the yeast on but others rehydrate and it may make a difference.

 

[Gaspode]

Welcome to the forum. My first kit was the St Peters IPA in September and i did everything that the instructions told me to do and used the packet of yeast provided.

It turned out okay, not great, but certainly drinkable and everyone who tried it drank it so that can't be bad. Came out a bit over 4% which was fine for me.

I did put a few by to see how it changed and it definitely got better after a month or so. I still have a couple of bottle left.

 

[pgl150]

Well I went ahead last Tuesday evening and here is my first attempt in it's little environmentally controlled home under the stairs (hopefully I can work out how to add an image!)

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It's sat on a heat pad with a fan blowing in to the box (if required) and is controlled by my home made temperature controller.

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One thing I did learn is that I could really have done with a wort chiller! The reason being is that I re-hydrated and proofed my yeast...

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...as per the instructions in John Palmer's book. However, because I wasn't sure what temp my wort would be after adding the required water I got my yeast and wort timings totally out of sync and tried anything to get the temperature of the wort down...

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I was originally going to pitch the yeast at about 20 degrees but at half past midnight I decided that 21.5 degrees was good enough! lol

Anyway, after 3 days or so the airlock showed no sign of life and although I know it isn't always a sign that nothing is happening, I just wanted to check in case I needed to intervene, so I took a hydrometer reading. The OG was 1.051 at 01:00 on the Weds morning and on Sat afternoon it was 1.022. I assume this is ok so I'm going to leave it until a full 2 weeks are up. Since Weds it's been steady at around 20.5 degrees and I plan to keep it there for now.

I have to say I've kinda got the bug already and I seem to spend ages on the forum (much the SWMBOs delight!) and reading the various books I've got. I'm already contemplating trying AG and have now got a 32L coolbox and various other bits (from the Dudes list) on their way to me and I just happened to buy a length of copper pipe from B&Q today too! LOL

Anyway, I'll let you know how it turns out if anyone's interested in doing this kit?

Cheers

Paul

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

Give it about 2 months before you try it,the longer the better,its ok but not as good as the Festival Kits.I use the gervin yeast its far better yeast.

 

[pgl150]

Well just a quick update on progress...

I plan priming after two weeks which will be on Weds so I thought I'd take a hydrometer reading. OG was 1.052 (instructions said 1.054) and today it was 1.012 (instructions said 1.014). I think that comes out with an ABV of 5.1% with the specified target being 5.5% so I'm happy enough with that. :thumb:

I'll check again on Tuesday before I transfer it from my FV. I think I'm going to prime it in the keg for 2 weeks before bottling and cold conditioning. I assume I can just use the calculator on brewers friend which for a 19l batch comes out at 85g of normal white sugar.

Is it best to dilute the sugar in boiling water and then put it in the keg (once it's cooled) before adding the beer?

Also any tips on things to avoid when transferring over?

Thanks

Paul

 

[BeerCat]

Never had a problem with the St Peters yeast without rehydration however I always make starters nowadays. Good luck with your kit, it's a decent drop.