Homebrew Beginner, The Christmas Drop

[Olliebrews]

Sunday Lunchtime I began this new hobby of home brewing. Many years of thinking I should have a go and the realisation that its so straight forward with a starter kit, led my brother to buy me the gift of a St Peters Golden Ale and starter set from HBO.

Now the purists among you are going to flinch and recoil and tut and stroke your beards and pat your lovely bellies at this point. But my plan is to crack a couple of bottles or three on Christmas day. That's 19 days from brew to bloodstream :-?....I have read enough to know that patience is a key ingredient in this new world I am entering....so I will leave the remaining beer some additional weeks to condition afterwards.

As my brother is over on Christmas we will be sampling this frothy, fizzy or flat ale whatever the weather. Ill learn my patience lessons for the next time.

So my timescales are hydrometer reading guidance and approx. 7 days in the fermenter, (the kit does say 4-6 days). bottle it with the enclosed sugar pills. 5 days in the warm, 7 in the shed.

Would giving it a stir say day 3 help speed up the ferment by re-suspending the yeast?

I will report back on progress and the outcome...all very exciting, again I promise I will be more patient with the next one.

 

[geetee]

Don't stir during fermentation if it has started already,probably not needed. If it has started fermenting it will be anaerobic and does not need oxygen or stirring, if it hasn't then gently rotate the FV to rouse.

I made a very hoppy IPA last Tuesday and fully intend to be drinking it by Christmas, schedule as follows:=

Fermentation - 4 days @ 20°C
Diacettyl rest - 2 days @ 14°C
Cold conditioning - 7 days at 5°C - its crystal clear now added Dry hops.
Bottle - secondary ferment for 5 days T 18°C
Chill at 5°C until Christmas 7 - 10 days

Heavily hopped and best drunk early

 

[buzzharvey22]

I made an all grain american wheat beer last night and intend to be drinking it on the 23rd of December before I go to a gig....

 

[wheazy_joe]

Ollie welcome to the forum.

You are pretty much like everyone else that has ever brewed a beer in that you will get tore into your first brew far too early. But what the hey it's your beer and it's your first brew, just be sure to leave some to condition further and you will certainly be able to taste the difference.

Make sure you take hydro readings to ensure fermentation has finished before bottling or you could end up with some bombs. Also I'd say 5 days to carb up is a little short, you might wanna change that to 7/8 days (I usually give mine 14 days) and the rest in the cold. If you are using plastic bottles they will firm up as they get fizzy so just keep checking them.

I wouldn't be stirring after three days, just leave it to work and check the hydro reading after 7 days, as noted above.

 

[Olliebrews]

I did try my best, it was brewing about an hour after receiving the kit :grin:.

Ok its definitely fermenting so I will leave it, 1) if I leave it longer warm conditioning after bottling I assume the sugar pill will dissolve and condition quicker?

2) Putting it in the cool afterwards is to do with calming it down and clearing up the cloudiness?

Ill go with the average advice, perhaps leave it an additional couple of days warm conditioning although with ambient shed temperatures hanging around 13deg at the moment 3)would it be better in the fridge for a day or two pre-Christmas?

Plastic bottles which came with the kit. 4)Is there any benefit in slight depressuring them as I cap them, i.e a slight squeeze as I seal them, so that they have room to carbonate without over-pressuring.

 

[Halfacrem]

If you're going to drink it early, I would have thought drinking a slightly cloudy carbonated beer was better than a slightly cloudy flat beer, so keeping it in the warm longer after bottling would be better, I would say.

From memory, I found this kit to be very twangy for quite some time (though of course you may not find this to be true) But perhaps don't expect miracles and make sure you have backup beer available :lol:

 

[Godsdog]

Welcome Olliebrews.your leaving it a little late for it to mature out by Xmas day,the yeast will finish its job when its ready and not by a written instruction leaflet,some say 10 days in he FV and could well ferment for that long,but as others have said x2 same readings of the hydrometer for consecutive days before kegging/bottling and at least 3 weeks to mature but drinkable after 2, the longer the better,good luck and prepare to get the brewing bug

 

[Olliebrews]

Ok thanks, I will leave them in the warm as yes a slightly cloudy fizzer would be better to me.

I do have some backup wherry and theres a new Adnams shop in Bury St Edmunds with a range of mini-kegs to tide me over. :thumb:

 

[MyQul]

Don't stir during fermentation if it has started already,probably not needed. If it has started fermenting it will be anaerobic and does not need oxygen or stirring, if it hasn't then gently rotate the FV to rouse.

I made a very hoppy IPA last Tuesday and fully intend to be drinking it by Christmas, schedule as follows:=

Fermentation - 4 days @ 20°C
Diacettyl rest - 2 days @ 14°C
Cold conditioning - 7 days at 5°C - its crystal clear now added Dry hops.
Bottle - secondary ferment for 5 days T 18°C
Chill at 5°C until Christmas 7 - 10 days

Heavily hopped and best drunk early

I thought with a diacetyl rest you bring the temp up not down?

 

[Olliebrews]

So after 8 days in the fermenter, I achieved consistent 1.014s. last night I sterilised the bottles and poured out 40 + a spare pint.

The first and last bottles had plenty of sediment in them, I was thinking, after conditioning I could try pouring out most of the bottle carefully then put the last part through a coffee filter....dont want to waste too many drops, I might trial that, but then just extract what I can from the other and be happy with it.

I think I will wait until the new year to do Brew 2.0 as relatives need the spare room over christmas, probably another easy kit brew and might invest in some glass 'grolsch' bottles.

So my adjusted timescale is to put aside about 10 bottles for christmas day, keep them in the warm for 8 days and then put them a spare fridge for a couple of days to attempt to clear, far from perfect, as recommended I will get some backup beer in incase it a taster is enough on the day.

The remainder will probably have two weeks in the warm and then to the shed for a few weeks...

 

[Covrich]

after conditioning the sediment may compact and stick to the bottom of the bottle better.

It is your first go and no one can blame you for this but if only you had an extra week before xmas but hey ho, there is so much to learn. If I was you I would just leave them now and fridge a few on the 23rd/24th