First Brew Ipswich

[stevemisog]

Very much a newbie. Beer lover, Vegan. Favourite Brewery - Hall & Woodhouse, Badger beers. Dorset.

First batch stopped bubbling after 7 days in fermentation bin. St peters Ruby ale beer kit. kept indoors in dining room temperature been around 20-23 degrees celsius. Is it ready for transfer to pressure barrel?

 

[Graz]

Welcome to the forum.

Whilst it may well have fermented out to somewhere near it's final gravity I'd leave it another 7 days for the yeast to clean up as this will only improve the end product.

As it's effectively a Muntons kit (they manufacture the St Peters ones) there is a small risk of stuck fermentation, if you have a hydrometer and you're concerned it may be worth taking a reading, anything below 1.014 and it's probably okay but still leave it for another week before transferring. However you could just leave it another week and take a hydrometer reading then, I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[stevemisog]

Cheers. I will leave it to go the full two weeks. Just panicking :thumb:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum :

 

[stevemisog]

First batch transferred from bin to barrel 3 days ago and returned to warm place. Added 85gms of soft brown sugar at transfer stage but nothing seems to be happening yet. Should I expect to see something happening? When do I add CO2?

 

[Graz]

You won't see a lot happening at the priming stage but hopefully the residual yeast will be munching through that extra sugar and producing CO2 to prime the barrel. You'll know for sure when you draw your first pint, open the tap slowly as it may come out with some speed (and create a pint of froth). No need to add CO2 to the barrel until you've been drinking it for a while and the pressure in the barrel from secondary fermentation starts to subside i.e. the flow rate from the tap reduces significantly. Then add CO2 to bring the pressure and flow up again. If you have a good seal I've found you can usually pour between half to two thirds of a barrel before needing to add any additional CO2.

 

[stevemisog]

Graz, thanks for that info and advice.

After a week of secondary fermentation I removed the barrel to a cooler place and began the taste testing. I drew a small tumbler from the barrel each night to taste test and by the end of the week I deemed it ready for proper consumption.

Loads of pressure in the barrel and I am amazed at how good it tastes! I had added 85gms of soft brown sugar into the barrel which has given it a sweet flavour (a bit too sweet, so I may reduce the amount of sugar next batch) with a very moreish bitter after taste. I am going to assume beginners luck on this and hope I can continue the lucky streak. :grin:

Thanks for all the advice guys :drink: