Bubbles and more bubbles

[Lewie]

Hi all.
Just started brewing again after a lapse of 35 years!!
Even then I was just a casual but this time who knows.
Any which way, I have opted for a Wilko Sweet Newkie Brown to kick off with.
I love a cold Newkie and I've heard good reports on this stuff so here's hoping.
The instructions state 5-6 days to ferment.
It's still releasing gas, but very little, on this it's 9th day.
Hydro reading is in the yellow zone 1010 - 1004 (ish)
Several questions if I may
1. Does it hurt to leave it longer (though, man, I need it in bottles NOW!!! :-))
2. My hydro reading is from the FV, does it have to be in a sample out of the FV?
3. If I must take a sample, can I drink that sample save wasting it?
4. When I read 'it's ready for bottling when the hydro reading is steady' what's the time frame from one reading to the next, an hour, a day?
Cheers all and happy sampling!

 

[Leon103]

1 - no it won't hurt. Not instructions are a load of rubbish and you should leave it ferment for 2 weeks.
2 - no you can do either or.
3 - yes you can drink it l, although it won't be as nice as the final product.
4 - a couple of days. I look for 3 days at the same reading

 

[Lewie]

Thanks for the reply Leon.
When bottling I don't see a mention of avoiding sediment at the bottom of the FV.
Does beer not leave a sediment like wine does?
As for instructions, I agree, they are generic I guess, they can't allow for situations such as temperature etc
I recently bottled a Cantina 5 day peach wine.
Unfortunately I see a very thin film on the bottom of each bottle.
It disappears when I tip the bottle and it's not enough to make the wine cloudy.
I must have bottled it a day too early. I don't fancy recanting it so I'll have to live with it.
My only option is to drink it really fast and start again!! :-)

 

[Viking Alchemist]

Hi Lewie i hope you are well.

When it comes to the sediment you want to leave as much as possible in the fermentor. when doing kits i always transfer to a bottling bucket (witha tap and bottler) and bottle from there.

when i make wines or meads i transfer the liquid into a clean demijohn or bucket every month trying to leave as much of the dead yeast behind as possible. it takes longer that way but you could also invest in some clearing solutions, ive used kwick clear before and it worked pretty well.

 

[Lewie]

Thanks for that VA.
I think that quick clear stuff must be similar to what Cantina include.
A small sachet of clear liquid that you stir in gently for 30 seconds then leave it a day.

 

[Leon103]

You will always get sediment, which after time will compact down in the bottles.

 

[Lewie]

Ok, so two weeks was about right.
No action on the bubbler at all.
Hydro reading good.
Bottled it to instructions using half teaspoon of sugar in each bottle, gave each a bit of a swil to disperse, all looks good thus far.
Regarding the wine.
I was trying to live with the sediment on the bottom of the bottles but I don't like it.
Can I pour them back into the FV and leave it to settle for a couple of days and re bottle?

Leon, last batch of wine I did, Catana Rose, was totally clear.
No sediment to be seen.
Heat may have messed this one up a bit.

 

[ACBEV]

2 weeks in FV...
2 weeks in bottle... (conditioning)
Another 2 weeks in bottle (if you can!), will be ready for drinking.

 

[Lewie]

WHAAAAATTTTTTT!!!!!!
When it's clear I'll give it a go.
If it's nice it's having some. :-)
And what about my idea re the wine?
Would pouring it all back in the FV and leaving for a couple of days do the trick or will it ruin it?

 

[Honk]

With beer and I assume wine you have to be careful to avoid oxidisation so pouring back into fv is probably not good, syphoning each bottle at a time being careful to reduce splashing might saving it though, may as well transfer straight to new bottle to reduce tranfers

 

[Lewie]

Well, here I am some time on.
It's been well over two weeks and although the beer is clearing it needs more time.
After bottling the instructions stated that it should be stored in a cool place.
As it's been baking for a while there is no such place here.
Some questions
1. Can the higher temperature slow the clearing process
2. There is a milky substance on the bottom of each bottle. What is it, will it clear?
3. Can I try it before it's fully cleared anyway?

Honk.
I re bottled the wine. No sediment and it seems to be ok.
Only thing I guess is that most whites say drink within a week or so once opened and in theory I've opened them to re bottle.
Will they stink if they go off, is that how I tell?
Don't want to be icky plop.

 

[Zephyr259]

Regarding the beer not clearing could be several things but the higher temp won't help as chilling helps things to settle. The milky substance is mostly yeast, it's the yeast that was in suspension and carbonated your beer. Even clear beer contains a lot of yeast. Drinking cloudy beer is usually fine as long as it tastes ok. If it's a lot of yeast causing the haze then it'll taste yeasty and is probably best left for a while or it could have some digestive effects.

 

[Lewie]

Cheers Zephyr
It's those 'digestive' effects I'm keen to avoid, as I'm sure is my wife