Coopers dark ale fermentation

[Exceedurlimit]

Howzit!

A newbie to home-brewing looking for some advice, on Wednesday I put an original Coopers Dark Ale kit on (as per the limited instructions contained on the single tin, including 1kg of brewing sugar). Once all in the FV temp registered as 22c which I understand is good. I subsequently put the FV in a room where it has been constant between 20 - 23c.

On Thursday you could see the pressure building in the airlock as the water level was uneven.

Since then nothing, the airlock looks like it's lost all pressure building up in the FV and the water in the airlock is level.

I've not seen any bubbling at all and it's been 3 days fermenting.

Its been 3 days so I would above thought some bubbling would have happened by now or is it normal for it to take this long?

I've done a St Peter's Golden Ale and that was bubbling after 48hrs so I'm not sure if this yeast is off and if I should buy some more and add it in (which I could only get on say Tuesday, presumably it's too late by then if I did buy some?).

Any advice is appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Banbeer]

Hey, welcome to the forum, you didn't mention your OG or SG, if you know your OG then if you have a hydrometer you can check your SG and see if it has moved say from OG 1.050 to SG 1.045, have you got a brown tide mark above the level of your wort? this will indicate that it has started and there are a few reasons why an airlock doesn't bubble i.e. the C02 could be escaping out the side of the lid or if it's a two piece airlock (not 'S' type) then sometimes the middle bit pushes up and doesn't reseat itself allowing the C02 out.

 

[Exceedurlimit]

Thanks Banbeer.

My OG was 1.034 (compared to the 1.038 stated in the instructions). I've not take another reading as I don't want to open the FV too much if I need to add more yeast in. Looks like I might have to though!

There looks like a small brown tide mark above the wort which I guess implies it's doing something, just very slowly (and slower than I was expecting). I've checked the airlock and lid, all good there.

 

[Banbeer]

Thanks Banbeer.

My OG was 1.034 (compared to the 1.038 stated in the instructions). I've not take another reading as I don't want to open the FV too much if I need to add more yeast in. Looks like I might have to though!

There looks like a small brown tide mark above the wort which I guess implies it's doing something, just very slowly (and slower than I was expecting). I've checked the airlock and lid, all good there.

Before throwing in more yeast give it a gentle stir (no splashing) at the bottom of the FV so it mixes up the trub and whilst you're in there get an SG reading so you know if it's doing anything afterwards.

 

[Exceedurlimit]

Hi Banbeer. Thanks for the suggestion.

So I've done that and interestingly enough the reading came out at 1.008 so there has been action! In my admittedly limited experience I've never known there to be no bubbling?!

Nothing came up (turb) when I was stirring which was a bit of a suprise.

 

[Banbeer]

OK that's good, now leave it a few days more and check the SG with your hydrometer again. At the moment your only looking at a 3.4% ABV beer as it stands @ 1.008 so it's likely to go lower maybe to 1.006, then check it until you get a consistent reading (no drop) over a 48hr period, be patient and all will be good. Look at it as a really good reason why you need to take an OG reading. When it's a consistent gravity it will be ready to bottle but as you've now stirred it it may need time to settle. My advice is to use the 2+2+2 rule as many experienced brewers here do, myself included, that's 2 weeks in the FV, 2 weeks in the warm to carbonate and 2 weeks in the cool to condition and then as long as you can leave it as it will get better over time (testing a cheeky one every now and then) .

 

[terrym]

Hi Banbeer. Thanks for the suggestion.

So I've done that and interestingly enough the reading came out at 1.008 so there has been action! In my admittedly limited experience I've never known there to be no bubbling?!

Nothing came up (turb) when I was stirring which was a bit of a suprise.

The seals between plastic FVs and their lids are notoriously leaky, you cant rely on them, and so airlock bubbling is not always a good indicator of how a fermentataion is progressing. But if a fermentation has obviously got going well at the beginning I would just leave it alone for at least a week or more before feeling the need to take an SG reading. In your case I would now leave it untouched until next weekend to allow the yeast to clean up and the beer to clear. And if you have a cold place, move the FV into it for the last 2 days or so before you bottle.

 

[Exceedurlimit]

OK that's good, now leave it a few days more and check the SG with your hydrometer again. At the moment your only looking at a 3.4% ABV beer as it stands @ 1.008 so it's likely to go lower maybe to 1.006, then check it until you get a consistent reading (no drop) over a 48hr period, be patient and all will be good. Look at it as a really good reason why you need to take an OG reading. When it's a consistent gravity it will be ready to bottle but as you've now stirred it it may need time to settle. My advice is to use the 2+2+2 rule as many experienced brewers here do, myself included, that's 2 weeks in the FV, 2 weeks in the warm to carbonate and 2 weeks in the cool to condition and then as long as you can leave it as it will get better over time (testing a cheeky one every now and then) .

Yes, I was a bit surprised with the first reading as I typically prefer higher AVB but hey ho, it can be a guest

Cheers

 

[Exceedurlimit]

The seals between plastic FVs and their lids are notoriously leaky, you cant rely on them, and so airlock bubbling is not always a good indicator of how a fermentataion is progressing. But if a fermentation has obviously got going well at the beginning I would just leave it alone for at least a week or more before feeling the need to take an SG reading. In your case I would now leave it untouched until next weekend to allow the yeast to clean up and the beer to clear. And if you have a cold place, move the FV into it for the last 2 days or so before you bottle.

Thanks for the advice terrym. What sort of temp do you suggest as unusually we are having some good weather forecast over the next week or so? Is the garage okay (it might only get as low as say 10c)? I have a fridge but not sure if that's too cold?

 

[terrym]

What sort of temp do you suggest as unusually we are having some good weather forecast over the next week or so? Is the garage okay (it might only get as low as say 10c)? I have a fridge but not sure if that's too cold?

As cold as you can get it (but > 0*C). A fridge is fine if you have the space. When you get to bottling, bottle cold add sugar ass normal and just allow it to warm up and carb up naturally. If you have nearly clear or clear beer it will take a little longer to carb up, but the reward is very little yeast at the bottom of the bottle at opening and pouring time.