Brew seems to have done nothing - tip it?

[Old Gil]

What temp was the first brew is my Q, if it was nearing the 30's I wouldn't try it for @ least 6 months, preferably 12. High temps can promote very fruity flavors, not the nice type either and letting them sit for a long time will dissipate these "offish" flavors. Don't get put off if the first one is bad, even shithouse. Mine tasted like crap

[Old Gil]

I would advise in getting a themometer. Although the kit yeast will tollerate temps nearing or even above the 30's, it's best to keep those types of yeast around 22 - 24

[Pale_Ale]

I would advise in getting a themometer. Although the kit yeast will tollerate temps nearing or even above the 30's, it's best to keep those types of yeast around 22 - 24

Agreed - thermometer is essential. However even 22-24 will give esters in a typical ale yeast. 18C is ideal for most typical ales.

[ryan]

what temp is it?

i havent got a thermometer so ive no idea

Well f#&*#*#n` well get one, then you will
VERY crucial part of your gear.

[beattun]

righto, i see the coopers kit comes with a thermo strip, should be able to grab one of them in the likes of grain + grape etc?

[Kevnlis]

righto, i see the coopers kit comes with a thermo strip, should be able to grab one of them in the likes of grain + grape etc?

Go to Big-W or the like and grab one from the aquarium section, they are about $1.50

[beattun]

legend, thanks for that, will grab one during the week!

[bellboys backyard brew]

To ask a question from a few posts back.....

Is it possible for me to leave my primary too long? How long will it take for the yeast to go cannibal? (producing horrid flavours I assume?)

I just learnt last week that my immersion heater which is set on 25 deg and has cooked my last 18 brews at this temp was a bad idea... I didn't realise 18-20deg was preferable. Also didn't realise if you pull the end seal off the immersion heater, turning the first grub screw will set the temperature to a more brew friendly one.... Is this right?

[Kevnlis]

The only time you should be using a heater is if the average temperature of your brew space is >16C or so for ales, and >8C or so for lagers. Otherwise you should be trying to cool the fermentor to hit >18C for ales and >12C for lagers.

How long it takes for the yeast to autolysis is dependant on many variables. For K&K brews it is best to leave them for 7 days, then test the FG, test it again in 24 hours and bottle or rack if it is finished.

[drtom]

How long it takes for the yeast to autolysis is dependant on many variables. For K&K brews it is best to leave them for 7 days, then test the FG, test it again in 24 hours and bottle or rack if it is finished.

I've only done K&K + extras so far, and I go primary for a week to 10 days and then rack for a week or two in secondary, then bottle. I'm very happy with the results so far.

I've only had 1 brew where I've noticed any sign of autolysis and that was after two years in the bottle. I took one sip and tipped it down the sink.

cheers,
T.

[Old Gil]

I've only had 1 brew where I've noticed any sign of autolysis and that was after two years in the bottle. I took one sip and tipped it down the sink.

cheers,
T.

I was under the impression that HB takes alot longer than 2 years to go off in the bottle, I've even been told that it wont go off @ all. Is it possible that the whole batch was rank or did you only keep some of it for that long

[drtom]

I was under the impression that HB takes alot longer than 2 years to go off in the bottle, I've even been told that it wont go off @ all. Is it possible that the whole batch was rank or did you only keep some of it for that long

I only had a few bottles left - the rest I'd already drunk and they were fine when I had one a while back (about 14-15 months old).

T.

[Old Gil]

Interesting, have you kept any other brews for that long If so, how were they The reason I ask is I was hoping to get a couple of each of my brews and storing them for a while. I was thinking minimum 1 Year but I was gonna let em' go longer if I still had plenty of "drink now stock".

[Kevnlis]

Interesting, have you kept any other brews for that long If so, how were they The reason I ask is I was hoping to get a couple of each of my brews and storing them for a while. I was thinking minimum 1 Year but I was gonna let em' go longer if I still had plenty of "drink now stock".

If you do want to do this, use glass, be sure to purge all of the oxygen before you cap the bottles, and then seal them with odourless candle wax.

[earle]

Must be time to mention my 10 year old ginger beer again. Was a brigalow and sugar, wouldn't consider making it now. Bottled in XXXX tallies with standard crown seal. Found them in the 2nd half of last year and after a bit of coaxing from some on this forum tried one. Was crystal clear and had good carbonation. Probably tasted better than when it was young, couldn't taste any worse. Still got a about half a dozen. Maybe another 10 years.

[drtom]

Interesting, have you kept any other brews for that long If so, how were they The reason I ask is I was hoping to get a couple of each of my brews and storing them for a while. I was thinking minimum 1 Year but I was gonna let em' go longer if I still had plenty of "drink now stock".

That is the longest I've kept any beer. I have a Brigalow Cider which is about the same age, and it's still fine. All the artifical stuff in it perhaps. OTOH, most of what I'm drinking at the moment is about 9-12 months old, and very nice it is too.

One thing to note about the beer that had gone off is that it was high gravity (10.5%) and had quite a thick yeast cake at the bottom - much more so than most beers. Normally, I'd expect no more than 1mm or so of yeast, this had a good 3-4mm. I think this was because I had to repitch with a champagne yeast to get the fermentation to complete, and I don't think I racked after that, where usually I do.

cheers,
T.

[rwh]

Is it possible for me to leave my primary too long? How long will it take for the yeast to go cannibal? (producing horrid flavours I assume?)

I've done primaries up to three weeks with absolutely no issues at all, and I reckon you could go further. If you have good temperature control then you should be right. Having said that, at 25°C, I reckon you might start to have problems at the 3-4 week mark (but I have no direct experience of this).

I just learnt last week that my immersion heater which is set on 25 deg and has cooked my last 18 brews at this temp was a bad idea... I didn't realise 18-20deg was preferable.

Yeah, it is preferable, but temperature stability is more important that absolute temperature.

[bellboys backyard brew]

No worries, thanks for the great answers guys.
I made a Coopers Mexican Cerveza with the BE1 18 months ago. It now tastes like some weird cider. It's not beer anymore.
Although I have now learnt when using bottles, always use brownies as green and clear glass don't protect the beer from light which causes bad flavours.
I only use the immersion heater in the Geelong winter.
I really struggled to keep the last brew at 20deg during the last few 35-41 deg days with wet towels etc, so think I'll have to stop brewing for a month as I don't have an old fridge.
I will also keep my primary fermentation to 3 weeks or less. I find there's no need to rack if you leave it this long.

[bellboys backyard brew]

By the way Dr Tom, I reckon your cider is fine after such a long time because that's what they start to taste like after too long, cider. There's no problems with cidery tastes in cider, is there?
(see coopers mexican cerveza directly above.)

[drtom]

Beer turning into cider might not be all bad - I have a regular set of cider preferring friends.

T.