Brew UK Forum | Beer Kits
1st kit under way
Trying one kit before moving over to AG. Muntons Smugglers Gold. OG Came in at 1048 @ 23.7 degs. Got a brewmaster barrel with top tap. Had a look at it. Filled it with water to see how the top tap works. But nothing was coming out, does it need to be under pressure or something? Sorry never used a barrel before. Anway, bet concerned with the temp in the bedroom, sorry brew room. 17.5 degs but the brew this am is 22, will check again tonight..
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Hey jampot,
Yep the barrel needs to be under pressure to dispence properly. Even if you have a bottom tap barrel, with the lid on nothing would come out until there is a build up of pressure.
18c is fine for most ale yeasts, the reason the brew is hifgher is because of all the action of yeast multiplying and producing co2 and alcohol. This will produce heat by itself. With fermentation its always best to try to keep the temperature at the lower end of the scale but unless you can keep the temperature constant its a hard battle to fight. Even so 22c will still ferment out fine, and if the room stays around the 17-18c mark then you will probably find after 3-4 days the brews temp will calm down due to a reduction of yeasty activity!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by
Ok, thanks, just home large yeast fluff on the top, does it need strirring back in?
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Nah, leave it alone and let it works its magic!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by
Ok, 2 days in and the yeast has fallen back somewhat, hope thats normal. All looks quite dark and chocolatey even...
Posted 1 year ago by
4 1/2 days in little yeast on the surface now. Took a sg reading 1018 now temp was 19.3 deg....
Posted 1 year ago by
Er,oh dear, still at 1018 so no change for 2 days temp 19 degs
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Is it possible to move it somewhere a little warmer? This will (hopefully) kickstart the yeast. If not you can stir up the yeast (with a sanitized spoon, being careful not to splash too much air into the mix)
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by
Think we are up and running again now at 1016. Nath, what would be the visable signs of restarting be?
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Dont worry about visible signs, dropping from 1020 to 1016 is a sure sign that fermenting is taking place. Nice one matey!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by
Well, 1018 to 1016. As your in Salisbury like me Nath do you treat your water?
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I heard he takes it out for a posh meal every now and then...
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
A posh meal of ninerals, salts and acid!
Yep I have started treating my water as its fairly hard round salisbury. Its quite a science so you cant rush into it, ask wessex water for a detailed water report (they normaly get back to you in a day) and get a alkalinity test ket from porton garden centre (other shops are available!) Thats a good base line without getting a scientist type place to look at your water for you.
Ask wessex the following-
Calcium
Magnesuim
Sodium
Sulphate
Chloride
Alkalinity (as CAco3)
Ta,
Nath
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by
Calcium – 108mg/l
Magnesuim – 1.84mg/l
Sodium – 8mg/l
Sulphate – 15mg/l
Chloride – 18mg/l
Alkalinity (as CAco3) – 196 mg CaCO3/l
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Or you could, of course, buy bottled water instead!
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Tesco's ashbeck is relativly cheap, but after going on skinners brewery tour it seems that mineral additions will have the same effect (as long as you get the additions correcty that is).
The alkilinity is the one you wanna check, especially if your using crs to drop the alkalinity as you dont want to overdose. Aquarium alkilinity testers are relativly cheap and I can pretty much guarantee the result will be different from the water report.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by
Er, pardorn lol! Remember I am a newbie "crs"?
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/crs-water-treatment-1ltr.html - its an acid mix that gets rid of alkilinity in water. Because of the fact its an acid you dont wanna overdose! There are other ways to get rid of alkilinity ike boiling the water beforehand.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by
TY Hmmm, I now have a 40 leter boiler. Maybe thats the option to keep costs down. Do you add campden. How much to 35 leters aprrox..
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Overdosing on acid is certainly not a good idea...
Thank heaven the water here in Co.Down isn't hard!
Fermenting: Damson pale
Conditioning: Morello Cherry Lambic 2
Drinking: Schneider Weisse Tap 7 clone, Morello Cherry Lambic 1, Rauchbier
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I used Tescos Ashbeck for my Amarillo
Posted 1 year ago by
Ok, got my brew in the barrel tonight and had my 1st experince with a s30 co2 cannister. TBH I was unsure what I was doing. I screw the cannister on and it started to pump far too much co2 in so I undid it and was unable to get the gas to stop coming out for about 90 seconds. Scared the hell out of me. Could you burst a barrel. Have I lost most of the gas. What is the correct way to adminster the gas. It all seemed so haphazerd to me. So I think I need to see someone doing it correctly. How dangerous is all this stuff?! I think I got some in on the 2nd attempt as the valve was whistling a bit after I removed the cannister so I imagine it was releasing a bit?
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi Jampot.
Couple of questions:-
1. Did you prime your brew with sugar/DME/etc,? in which case there was no need to apply the CO2 cannister as the natural carbonation process of yeast/sugar would have created plenty of CO2 in your barrel after a week or so.
2. did you have the cannister connected to the barrel for the full 90 seconds? If so, the whistling is a good sign that your barrel is at least getting rid of the excess CO2 that would otherwise turn your barrel into a viable explosive.
The recommended dose of CO2 from the S30 cannsiter is 1-2 seconds at a time for a good few pourings. In your case, excess seconds of attachment have possibly frozen the cannister workings into staying open. Rule of thumb is, twist the cannister slowly until you hear the hiss, say 'sh*te!' and then very quickly twist in the opposite direction. I would suspect you've pretty much depleted the cannister but if you live in mainland UK (some of us are more outlying) a refill is no big hardship.
My advice is to leave the barrel for a week, after which time, try a 1/2 pint sample. If she gushes into the glass, you're in good shape.
Hope this helps,
-Bazza
Fermenting: Marston's Pedigree
Conditioning (Bottles): Warsteiner Lager Clone
Drinking (King Keg): Fullers London Pride
Posted 1 year ago by
Hi, yes other on the various forums suggested a small amount of co2 to be added at the start as a "blanket." Its a new barrel as I am new to brewing beer and I thought I would test it. No, the cannister was not attached to the barrel for 90 seconds it was with me running around the house saying sh*te! Trying to to press the nipple in which it wouldnt until it finaly did after 90 or so seconds. So what do you guys do when you run out of co2 and you want more beer from the barrel?
Posted 1 year ago by
Ok only 9 days in the barrel. Poured out a small drop of beer to see what green beer is all about. Well its still cloudy (of course) and yeasty tasting. I could feel the co2 in my mouth but not alot visible in the glass. How do you know if the beer is full carbinated etc. I would say its a little flat tasting after 9 days but I dont know what is normal when doing it at home. I am still wondering if the is co2 escaping. It may not be. I can here a kind of faint crackle fromt the valve also...
Posted 1 year ago by
Right, its 2 weeks since the beer has been in the barrel. Managed 3/4 of pint before pressure ran out. Though I should of got a bit more than that!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi, jampot.
Just to let you know the Stonehenge brewers group is up and running on Facebook. If you don't use FB then the next meet on is on the 5th May at The Wyndham Arms starting at 1900 hrs. Hopefully see you there.
Cheers
Si
Fermenting: GW's Timothy Taylors - Landlord AG
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: GW's Fuller London Porter AG, GW's Gales Festival Mild AG
Drinking: Excellent English shop bought stuff with depth and character
that the Canadians cannot even imagine.
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Put some more co2 in there and then look out for leaks (hissing etc). The barrel will bulge slightly under pressure and the small feet may rise a bit. Leave it for 3-4 days and see if its still under pressure, if its not or only has a small amount left then theres a leak.
The one thing I used to do is over tighten the cap. This literally only needs to be hand tight and then just a smidgen more. If you over tighten it the white rubber washer will distort letting the gas through. Also make sure you apply plenty of vasaline around the thread on the cap this is a must for the standard barrels.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by
Nearly 3 weeks in and the Smugglers is tasting surprisingly good. It really does come on with time. Called in to see Dr Greg and picked up my 1st ag pack of summer lightning. Hope to get it going over ther easter break. So what are the % on the hops bags all about. Most is challenger but sayig 7 % or something...
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Nice one jampot, dunno about the hops - have a look on the main site and they will probably be the same as the ready to buy hops.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
That the alpha acid content. The higher the number the more bitterness can be extracted from the hops.
Don't worry about it at the moment 'cos the kit comes with all the recipe details and you just add the quantities stated.
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Haha, I completely read that question wrong! I thought he meant what aa content the hops he has had!
Duh!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
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