First Brew Drama's

[Divewombat]

Hi guys

I'm having a slight drama from my first brew. It's a Brewcraft Munich lager with brewcraft enhancer no 15 added, Instead of the yeast in the kit used a Saflager yeast from the LHBS because i was impatient to be started and had an empty fridge in the shed which enabled me to keep the temp constant in the recent hot spell we have had in Vic. My initial s/g was 1038 after a week the airlock had stopped bubbling and the s/g was 1018 on advice from the LHBS I raised the temp from 12deg to 16 and had three days of bubbling airlock, now stopped again with an s/g 1018. Am I being Impatient and need to just sit back and wait for it to drop to the 1008 area it mentions on the can or do I have a problem?

Russ

[Kevnlis]

Are you sure you have your gravity right? I do not see how you could measure 1.018 then have 3 days of airlock activity only to get the same measurement again? You also need to take the temp difference into account, and the fact that you used a different yeast. Though an FG of 1.018 from an OG of 1.038 does not sound finished! At 12C a wort of 1.038 should be mostly fermented in a week.

[KEG]

he turned the temp up, then got airlock activity. CO2 comes out of solution as temp goes up.

[Kevnlis]

he turned the temp up, then got airlock activity. CO2 comes out of solution as temp goes up.

Yes of course, but 3 days of activity? I would think that is more than a bit of CO2 coming out of solution?

[KEG]

yeah. perhaps a false SG reading for one of them (i'd expect the 2nd one, not the first).

Divewombat, make sure to 'twirl' the hydrometer in the tube to detach any bubbles that can alter the reading.

[rwh]

I'd just bottle it. I never take SGs any more.

[Divewombat]

Thanks Guys

Well its got me stuffed just went to take another reading and its bubbling like it was a week ago. From the start when it was bubbling it was only a bubble every five seconds or so. Is this normal for a brew at 12 degrees?

I did twirl the hydrometer and also ran it around the edge of the tube to displace any stubborn bubbles. I'm not discounting an error in reading the hydrometer either.

[Kevnlis]

A bubble every 5 sec is pretty fast for a 12C brew. I think you are doing just fine mate! Relax and have a home brew

[Divewombat]

Thanks Kevnlis

I would have one but I don't have any yet this my first batch.

I guess I'm just being impatient, tasted the brew when i first mixed it and then again when I have tested the s/g and I'm pretty happy with the most recent tasting at this rate it will be half drinkable.

[Kevnlis]

Geez I just realised it says "first brew dramas" sorry I did not put 2 and 2 together, or maybe I did and got 3? Who knows...

Anyway, you did not make the best move by picking a lager as your first batch. It is no doubt the hardest to do. Not only because it requires a lot of patience. But it requires so much attention to detail.

Best of luck mate! Let us know how ya go

[warra48]

Anyway, you did not make the best move by picking a lager as your first batch. It is no doubt the hardest to do. Not only because it requires a lot of patience. But it requires so much attention to detail.
Best of luck mate! Let us know how ya go

I doubt he deliberately "picked" a lager as his first brew. The Brewcraft HB kits include a can of Brewcraft Munich Lager, also a pack of their No.15, and Rogers-Wilson's book, which is where the info for the Saflager would have come from.
If the HB kit makers produce a kit for an ale, they are likely to turn off a lot of people who would like to brew their favourite beer, which is almost always megaswill eg VB, Tooheys New, XXXX etc. Therefore the kits are marketed towards that perceived need, not towards enabling a new brewer to make the best beer possible with his first brew while he learns what it is all about.
I give Divewombat credit for seeking help from a forum such as this one.
At least he will get help and ideas what to do for his next brew and avoid the problems from his first one.

[Divewombat]

yeah you got it one guys the kit came with the lager.

Prob would have chosen an ale as my first had I put much thought into it. The yeast idea actually came from here i think it is in the recipes section that they mention the different yeast rather than using the one supplied with the kits. I was trying to work out how I could start a brew with the kit I had in the middle of summer.

Anyway its all fun and unless you loose an eye it all ends well. I am just a bit worried about making bottle bombs so thats where the caution is coming from.

Russ

[Divewombat]

Got another question for you guys.

When reading my hydrometer is it best to wait until the beer I'm testing has gone flat in the tube? I have been spinning the hydrometer and dislodging bubbles that stick to the sides of the tube but Im still getting a much lower reading after waiting half an hour for the beer co2 to come out of solution and stop forming bubbles.

Also can any one tell me the make up of the Brewcraft enhancer kit 15 ie dextrose, light malt etc. the website is pretty devoid of that kind of stuff. I also throw out the packet without taking any notice of it. Don't they always say to read the instructions after it has gone pear shaped.

[warra48]

Yeah, the hydrometer readings are always more accurate if you wait a while to allow the CO² gas to escape. Some brewers will pour the sample from one cup to another to hasten this. I just tap the test tube down a few times to dislodge the gas, and spin the hydrometer, as you have noted.

No.15 Brewcraft Blend is something like this, or close to it:
dextrose, maltodextrose and LDME, about 40%, 40% 20%.
Certainly much better than plain sugar.
Not sure if the packet actually specifies what's in it, haven't seen or used one for a long time.

[Divewombat]

Thanks very much warra

Thought that might be the case with the hydrometer. I'm loving this learning curve I'm on at the moment.