Youngs American IPA

Bashley said:

I was thinking the same thing when I started this kit. At 7% it's more like an imperial IPA! I'd like something in the 5%-5.5% range.

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I have done the math
For my 5.5% abv:- :- ((OG) 1.05 – (FG) 1.007) x 131.25 = 5.64%

so I would add enough dextrose to take it to 1.05

Sounds great Bashley, I hope it tastes even beter once its bottled (It always does!).

Btw to give some indication as on how fast it can go, I am also making an IPA.
I brewed the beer on 02-13-2018. I added dry-hopping during the late fermentation three days later (05-13-2018).
I measured the gravity on 07-02-2018, it was 1.014. I measured again on 10-02-2018, it was now 1.013, so I decided to wait a little bit longer. I measured again yesterday (12-02-2018), the gravity remained constant at 1.013, so it is ready for bottling!
So basically this bear was brewed on 02-13-2018 and is definitely ready for bottling 10 days later! Personally I like to cold crash my beers, so I changed the temperature on my brewing fridge to 1 °C and am going to cold crash it till 16-02-2018.
In other words, the beer was done within 10 days and with some cold crashing in 14 days.

needmorstuf said:

I have done the math
For my 5.5% abv:- :- ((OG) 1.05 – (FG) 1.007) x 131.25 = 5.64%

so I would add enough dextrose to take it to 1.05

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10 grams of sugar per liter adds 0.5% alcohol per little extra.

So if the beer is supposed to be 7% including sugar, and you want to bring it 5.5%, you would need to remove 30 grams of sugar per liter. If you're making 20liter, this comes down to 600 grams less of sugar.

Btw, it doesn't matter whether or not you're using dextrose (glucose) or just plain old table sugar. The yeasts couldn't care less, the result will be exactly the same.

Did an SG reading today. It's moved to 1.006! So, evidently it's still fermenting. The hops are already really present in the taste. Just hoping now that I haven't put them in too early.

Bashley said:

Did an SG reading today. It's moved to 1.006! So, evidently it's still fermenting. The hops are already really present in the taste. Just hoping now that I haven't put them in too early.

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No problem! Dry hopping for a week or so is just fine!

I've just done another reading, I'm somewhere between 1.004 and 1.005. I was planning on getting the bottling done tomorrow after work as everyone will be out. I mean, surely I don't have to wait another 3 days for this one do I? Tomorrow evening it'll be precisely 21 days fermenting at 22deg.

Bashley said:

I've just done another reading, I'm somewhere between 1.004 and 1.005. I was planning on getting the bottling done tomorrow after work as everyone will be out. I mean, surely I don't have to wait another 3 days for this one do I? Tomorrow evening it'll be precisely 21 days fermenting at 22deg.

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Hey Bashley,

Its your call!
Personally I would not bottle until I'm a 100% sure that the fermenting is complete. I hate it when I get gushers. Fermenting can take longer than you wish sometimes, especially if yeast was added sparsely. You might be lucky and it is finished. Or you might be unlucky and its not.

In the past I've had a lot of trouble with gushers. Fermenting took longer than I wanted and then I just bottled thinking "surely it must be finished". These days I add a lot more yeast (I usually follow the advice of Mr Malty), and then the fermentation process goes a lot quicker.

Bashley said:

I've just done another reading, I'm somewhere between 1.004 and 1.005. I was planning on getting the bottling done tomorrow after work as everyone will be out. I mean, surely I don't have to wait another 3 days for this one do I? Tomorrow evening it'll be precisely 21 days fermenting at 22deg.

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If its nearly clear and with an SG 1.004/1.005 it's more than likely done, and the chances of it going much further is very unlikely. In addition you probably want to get it off the hops especially if you used the full 100g.
So if were you I would bottle tomorrow if you have the same SG reading as today.
However if its still looking cloudy but with the same SG you will carry forward more yeast than you really want, so it might be better to leave it a little longer. In my view this kit yeast doesn't settle very well so you want to minimise the yeast carry over or you either end up with cloudy beer in your glass, or you leave more in the bottle than you would want to. But in the end thats your call.

Thanks guys. I've no problem with waiting, it's just that the hops went in last monday night at 11pm ish. So we're getting towards 1 full week dry hopped.From what I've read, any longer than a week and it can get 'grassy'. Thing is, at least two of the infusers I used for the dry hop are floating on the surface. Can I just pull them out and wait for this batch to finish fermenting? Seems logical to me but you know, it's my first homebrew. It tastes great btw. Added the sample to my fischer beer tonight...improved it massively! Only bought them for the bottles of course!

Bashley said:

Thing is, at least two of the infusers I used for the dry hop are floating on the surface. Can I just pull them out and wait for this batch to finish fermenting?

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I would now remove the infusers you can get at, then decide what you are going to do with it.

Day 21 - I removed one of the infusers (rest were at the bottom of FV)
Day 22 - Bottle my first ever homebrew with final gravity of something like 1.004. I guess I better hope that that was the final gravity!

So if I understand correctly, I store them at room temp (will be 18 or 19) out of sunlight for two weeks, then in a cooler place?

yes, 2 weeks warm for secondary fermentation (carbonation) then 1 week cold and dark to settle. if in pet (plastic) bottles you can feel them firming up and know that carbonation is taking place. if glass not really.

Bashley said:

Day 21 - I removed one of the infusers (rest were at the bottom of FV)
Day 22 - Bottle my first ever homebrew with final gravity of something like 1.004. I guess I better hope that that was the final gravity!

So if I understand correctly, I store them at room temp (will be 18 or 19) out of sunlight for two weeks, then in a cooler place?

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Correct! Usually its carbonated within a week. And 99% of the times its carbonated within two weeks.
This step is almost never a problem unless you're making an exceptionally strong beer. Above the 10% alc.vol. the yeast is sometimes too "tired" to ferment the priming sugar. In that cases usually more time is required. And if all fails bottling yeast is a last resort.

Don't forget to pop one open after the two weeks . Aging the beer is good and all. But its always nice to taste the aging process. Pop one open each week and learn how it changes over time.
Although IPA's are usually drunk quite fresh, the hop aroma's aren't very stable.

@Bashley
I have made this beer twice and in my view it can be drunk young. So if you allow 2 weeks carbing. 2 weeks to condition and clear, preferably in a cold place, you can get stuck in. And after about 2 months you will notice the impact of the dry hop start to lessen, although the beer itself stays about the same.

I'd recommend drinking it young, as once the dry hop fades you're left with a resinous bitter unpleasant flavour. Whilst the dry hop lasts, it's delicious and fruity. So as soon as it's properly carbonated drink it asap. lol

A few things struck me whilst brewing my first ever. Why dont we have some sort of filter on inside of the 2nd FV (or 1st) where the spigot is attached in order to collect the sludge? Vineator might be useful as with labels falling off everywhere it's possible for bits of paper to end up in the bottle when sanitizing with Starsan. Oven sterlising looks easier. Not sure I need a bottle tree though as my diy drying rack worked really well. Just a cheap square of paving for grass driveways!

I always remove the labels beforehand haha. Just let them soak for a while and they come right off. And after some time you'll have a collection of labelless bottles.

Looks like a nice DIY bottle holder!

I'm just wondering, is it always better to leave your brew in primary for longer than recommended. From what I've read, people seem to be saying that leaving a brew for 1 week after fermentation actually does some good. Does it clear the brew?

Bashley said:

I'm just wondering, is it always better to leave your brew in primary for longer than recommended. From what I've read, people seem to be saying that leaving a brew for 1 week after fermentation actually does some good. Does it clear the brew?

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I would say this is only beneficial if you can cool the beer down. After the fermentation is completed I cool the fermenter to 1-4 °C for about 4-7 days (depending on when I want to bottle and wether or not the beer actually clears. Better flocculating yeasts require less time). This causes the yeast and all sorts of proteins to flocculate (stick together) and thus sink to the bottom. It also generates a more compact yeast layer on the bottom. You can then easily rack the beer off it. I find that this decreases the amount of gunk in the bottle.
Some people will tell you "It doesn't matter, the yeast will multiply anyway and then its the same". However, they do not consider the following:
1. The yeast layer contains more then just yeast. It also contains any non-dissolveable proteins.
2. The yeast in the layer is partly just dead or severely weakened. The most healthy yeast just swirls around in the brew.

Bashley said:

I'm just wondering, is it always better to leave your brew in primary for longer than recommended. From what I've read, people seem to be saying that leaving a brew for 1 week after fermentation actually does some good. Does it clear the brew?

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What is a 'recommended' time? I dont think there is one. There are those who package as soon as its reached its FG. Those that seem to stick to the two week 'rule'. And those who will leave it in the FV for longer because it suits them. The only criteria I use is to leave the beer alone until it has fermented out properly, there is a reasonable time for the yeast to clean up, and then further time to allow the yeast to drop to give clear or nearly clear beer for packaging, usually helped by a couple of days at the end in a cold place. And I rack off along the way. This usually takes me about 16 days or more in the FV. Others do it differently. But you will find out what suits you best, mostly by trial and hopefully not too much error!

Thanks guys. It's just that I'm 8 days into the Youngs Amber kit and wondering when to dry hop. I dry hopped the IPA after 2 weeks but even that was a fraction too soon. When you leave it in the cold for a couple of days does it have to be a steady temp? I could leave it in the garage but I imagine the temp shifts a few degrees from day to night.