Did I just make a light beer?

[dstock13]

Hi Everyone,

I am onto my second batch after a not bad start on the first, for the second one I got a premium kit from brewcraft in oakleigh sth ( cascade pale ale). Anyway my Og was about 1034 and after 8 days its now reading 1016 (2 days in row), I'm thinking another day or two and I'm ready for bottling. I have used the brew calculator and it says its alcoholic content is about 2.6% .Does that sound right and how would that have happened? I'm not overly concerned but would rather know what I did as not to repeat it. Temp range was 24c - 18c

Any help would be appreciated Thanks Deryck

[earle]

Hi Deryck,

You OG sounds a little low and your FG sounds a little high. Sounds like your fermentation may not be complete. In which case it would be best not to bottle yet as you may end up with bottle bombs.

Google seems not to be my friend when I search for the kit you mentioned. If you can post some more detail on the recipe and yeast used we can offer some more specific advice.

Cheers
Earle

[Oliver]

Hi and welcome, Deryck.

I concur with earle on all fronts. Most importantly, do not bottle this yet as it may end up causing a big - not to mention dangerous - mess.

It seems like you may have bought this kit, which contains 1 can Cascade Master Craftsman Pale Ale, medium bodied malt blend, Crushed Crystal Grain, Amarillo hops and Safale US05 Yeast.

If it's a standard tin and a kilo of "malt blend" in 23 litres, you'd expect somewhere around 1.040 (if memory from my kit-brewing days serves), for an alcohol content of 4ish per cent.

Can you confirm the ingredients and the final volume in the fermenter.

A couple of things spring to mind: that the wort wasn't mixed properly and that bubbles on the hydrometer caused a false reading.

Cheers,

Oliver

[dstock13]

Thanks for the replies , I found the ingrediants
1.5 kg Black rock east india pale ale
#76 Pale ale kit converter
Danstar Nottingham Yeast
the kit came with granules of hops which I simmered in a pot for twenty minutes then strained before adding to the wort

This went into a 23 litre container with the yeast added @25c, the air lock bubbled for the first 7-8 days then has stopped

Thanks Deryck

[Oliver]

Hmmm, something is not right here. I would give it a gentle stir (don't splash because you want to avoid admitting oxygen at this stage) then draw off another sample to take an SG. Discard the first bit if it's mostly yeast. Hydrometers need temperature correction, so allow for that if necessary. The instructions that come with the hydrometer usually have a correction figure.

Depending on what the kit converter contains I would expect a final gravity of 1.008 to 1.010, assuming an actual original gravity of around 1.040.

You might also want to check that your hydrometer reads 1.000 in water at (probably) 20C. Again, you will find this information on the instructions or on the hydrometer itself.

Sorry we haven't got any definitive answers yet.

Oliver

[earle]

Not sure what is in that converter kit but Nottingham shouldn't finish that high. Maybe give your fermenter a gentle swirl to rouse the yeast.

[dstock13]

Gave it gentle stir/swirl and it seems to have done something, the airlock is again making noises so i assume the yeast has been given the kick in the a#*e it needed .I'll keep on eye on the SG and hopefully it will drop to 1005 -1008 over the next few days

Thanks again, Loving this forum and looking forward to reading and learning heaps so eventually i know what I'm doing


cheers Deryck

[Oliver]

Good stuff. Keep us posted on progress.

Cheers,

Oliver

[dstock13]

Ok a few days have passed and all has gone quiet in the tank again, hydrometer is now reading 1014 and has done two days in arow , before that a couple of days @1016 Gave it another gentle stir with nothing happining. With temp calibration taken into consideration the OG was probably around 1038 eleven days ago, Question is now what do I do ,should I bottle tommorrow or hold off

love some advice from some learned brewers

Cheers Deryck

[Guru]

I'd say leave it a bit longer. I always leave mine to brew at least 2 weeks before I even take an FG reading. Leaving it a few more days wont hurt it.

[Oliver]

I would bottle, but I like to live life on the edge! If you are putting it into plastic then you're not risking life and limb.

Did you calibrate your hydrometer, as in the post above?

Oliver

[dstock13]

Ok I ended up ringing brewcraft where I purchased the cascade premium kit and the bloke I spoke to said the FG would be about 1012 -1014 because of the converter that is used in the kit, I said yep thats what I've got three days in a row now so we agreed it was ready to start bottling which I did yesterday. Now can someone explain that to me in laymans terms why the kit converter affects the FG reading .

Oliver I looked at the hydrometer (no instructions) and it has a 20c indication on it, from this I assumed the temp has to be at 20c to be calibrated, the temp when I took the OG was higher and I found a website (Brewers Friend)which can input the temp from the time I took the OG and it gave me a corrected OG which was approximately 1038-1040

I used carbonation drops in 75% of the bottling and used some different types of sugar (raw, white and brown castor)in the others to see if it made a differance to the flavour. So at this stage I wait I presume until I can try one to see the results, How long at a minimum before I can refrigerate and try one ?I put one in the frig straight away and was going to give it a day or two before tasting

cheers Deryck

[earle]

Sounds like you're on the right track with your gravities now. Temperature adjustment didn't occur to me for a kit brew as I tended no to use much hot water.

Different fermentables will affect your FG as they have different amounts of unfermentable sugars. Sugar and dextrose finish low as they are highly fermentable, malt will finish a bit higher as it has a higher level of non-fermentables, more complex sugars which give body and flavour. Maltodextrine is only a little bit fermentable so can increase your FG.

The problem with some of the converter kits is that you don't really know what is in them so its hard to predict the results.

[emnpaul]

So at this stage I wait I presume until I can try one to see the results, How long at a minimum before I can refrigerate and try one ?I put one in the frig straight away and was going to give it a day or two before tasting

cheers Deryck

G'day Deryck and welcome.

The rule of thumb is 2 weeks from bottling. Leave them at room temperature (between 20-25 deg. C) for 2 weeks to carbonate, out of direct, or preferably any light at all. Then chill and try one. If it's not yet carbed then wait another two weeks and go again. You'll figure it out in any event.

[bullfrog]

So at this stage I wait I presume until I can try one to see the results, How long at a minimum before I can refrigerate and try one ?I put one in the frig straight away and was going to give it a day or two before tasting

cheers Deryck

G'day Deryck and welcome.

The rule of thumb is 2 weeks from bottling. Leave them at room temperature (between 20-25 deg. C) for 2 weeks to carbonate, out of direct, or preferably any light at all. Then chill and try one. If it's not yet carbed then wait another two weeks and go again. You'll figure it out in any event.

To expand on this, the rule of thumb Paul mentions above is for the minimum amount of time required between bottling and drinking.

You'll find, however, that your beer will drink a lot better the longer you can leave it in the bottle before drinking it.

Most average-OG beers will be best at around 3 months in the bottle, in my experience.

[dstock13]

Thanks for all the replies, now just waiting until I can start tasting . I can see how this would be addictive in that you need to make enough beer as to not be constantly drinking your supplies before they have aged enough . Think I might start on another batch asap

Cheers deryck