Number 2 fingers crossed

[linconjackson]

Started second brew ever today, first was shaping up to be a disaster, so down thedrain it went. Current brew is a coopers Yorkshire bitter. I think I might have added a little too much water thought 23 litre fv with only one inch spare at the top I forgot how many jugs or water I added, if anything might 1 litre too much. haho now waiting eagerly for the fermentation to begin. Now trying to decide what type of bottles to use, plastics or glass, 0.5 litre or 1 litre. Also do I nee to use carbonated drops or is this optional. :thumb:

 

[joe1002]

Why did you chuck your first one?

Just use normal sugar to prime our bottles :thumb:

 

[linconjackson]

After reading loads of comments about temperature levels it appeared that 30c would only result in a bad beer which gave headaches eat, the ideal being 21-24 with samson bitter brew i was using, was I a little rash then?

 

[joe1002]

30c is high but I would have kept it to see how I came out. Never mind though.

Ale yeast should usually be fermented at 18-20c :thumb:

 

[joe1002]

By the way, temperature control is most important in the first couple of days and try to avoid temperature fluctuations. :thumb:

 

[linconjackson]

Just a quick update and a question.

Brew seems to be doing well, fermenting well with lost of activity through the airlock and very steady temperature at 24c.

Question... There does seem to be a lot of pressure building up as the fv lid does appear to be under a lot of pressure and I have had a lot of blow back? I mean a lot of froth escaping through the airlock with a small amount of liquid settling on the lid, is this normal and should I be worried about pressure and blow back. :thumb:

 

[bottler]

Try to get temperature down to 20c, other than that it sounds like its going great. Top up your airlock if its empty. :thumb:

 

[homebrewdave]

AS said by others, try to get your temp down to 20C or 22C at the most. As for the airlock don't worry too much about the froth and liquid, just make sure to top up the airlock with some water. Oh, and clean the lid of any residue otherwise it will attract fruit flies which you definitely don't want near your brew!

 

[linconjackson]

Hi all, current daily update. I cleaned the airlock as to reduce potential fly problem as suggested. The brew is fermenting away nicely now and now with no blow back -so no more froth from the airlock just bubbleing away and pressure also seems to be less too. Still haven't managed to reduce temperature as suggested but the instructions on the kit did say anywhere between 21c & 27c. So all well hopefully. :

 

[linconjackson]

Well settle down now still bubbling through the airlock. Just had a thought though. When the brew is ready should I Bottle straight from the fv or should I transfer to another bin to clear the beer first. I have seen other discussion which mention clearing the beer but not sure what this means :thumb:

 

[bottler]

Well settle down now still bubbling through the airlock. Just had a thought though. When the brew is ready should I Bottle straight from the fv or should I transfer to another bin to clear the beer first. I have seen other discussion which mention clearing the beer but not sure what this means :thumb:

I just bottle from fv. I transfered to second fv once before, but found it more hassle. Others on here , who batch prime for instance will transfer to second fv. Up to you mate. :thumb:

 

[linconjackson]

Hi, all it's been almost a week now and the airlock is still bubbling, granted less than was but do I need to wait for it to stop before the brew is ready and also the fv has been at 24c thought the whole process simply because I am using a sumeragable heater, without it temperature would not rise above 16c, when it is finally ready if I remove the heater and cool the beer for a time will this effect quality? :thumb:

 

[bottler]

Hi, all it's been almost a week now and the airlock is still bubbling, granted less than was but do I need to wait for it to stop before the brew is ready and also the fv has been at 24c thought the whole process simply because I am using a sumeragable heater, without it temperature would not rise above 16c, when it is finally ready if I remove the heater and cool the beer for a time will this effect quality? :thumb:

If its still bubbling mate leave it alone and let it finish. I would also reduce the temperature setting on the submergable heater. If you read through many threads on here, you'll find it best to ignore instructions on the kits saying up to 27c, that would ruin the beer with "off tastes". 20c would be better :thumb:

 

[jonewer]

After reading loads of comments about temperature levels it appeared that 30c would only result in a bad beer which gave headaches eat, the ideal being 21-24 with samson bitter brew i was using, was I a little rash then?

For the record, there is no evidence that fusel alcohols arising from high fermentation temperature cause worse hangovers.

It does get on my nerves when I hear people repeating things like this because it leads to people like linconjackson here throwing away brews that would probably have been absolutely fine.

 

[bottler]

After reading loads of comments about temperature levels it appeared that 30c would only result in a bad beer which gave headaches eat, the ideal being 21-24 with samson bitter brew i was using, was I a little rash then?

For the record, there is no evidence that fusel alcohols arising from high fermentation temperature cause worse hangovers.

It does get on my nerves when I hear people repeating things like this because it leads to people like linconjackson here throwing away brews that would probably have been absolutely fine.

Not talking hangovers here, talking about ruining the taste of the brew.Im totally against throwing out a brew unless it has an infection.

 

[linconjackson]

Hi all, starting the bottle process today. I have had a good look round for information on batch priming and I have found a lot of good advice. Does anyone have any final pointers, particularly on the amount of sugar to use for 5 gallons of cooper English bitter. I used brown sugar in the primary fermentation stage so was going to use it again to batch prime. It does seem that weight rather than volume is the best way to measure here, but there are some conflicting options. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :thumb:

 

[joe1002]

This is what I wrote on a different thread yeaterday :thumb:

"Normal white granulated sugar is fine for primimg. As to how much, well that depends on how carbonated you like your beer. The 'norm' for this type of beer is is about 3.5g/l so about 80g for 23l. You can go as low as 2.6g/l (60g for 23l) or as high as 4g/l (90g (ish) for 23l).
:thumb: "

 

[linconjackson]

Just finished bottling managed to bottle 38 pints out of a 40 pint kit. Thanks for the advise reference priming, I eventually used 90g normal white sugar. I am glad I did a secondary fermentation the brew was crystle clear and tasted very nice, just lacking some carbonation, lets hope I get some good bubbles. I ave now left the bottles in complete darkness and at a constant temperature of 14.5c or 58.1F. Thought I would lave them for two weeks before drinking? :

 

[bottler]

Best to keep them warm for 2 weeks or so, around 20 c to carbonate :thumb:

 

[linconjackson]

I have moved to a warmer room between 19/20c so hopefully wil carbonate well. :