No signs of life - Virgin « Brew UK Forum

No signs of life - Virgin

2 years ago | Tjam (Member)

Hi peeps,
Im a virgin brewerer and clearly very impatient.

I bought all my kit and a Wherry pack last week and followed the instructions to the book.
The fermenting bin is sat out of direct sunlight in a stable-temperature room at about 21°.

Its now been 4 days since I sterilised everything and lobbed it all together with the skill and finesse of a Master Brewer. . . . but no bubbles yet, no sign of life, no movement, nothing.

The see-through airlock thingy has got some water droplets on it, but thats it.

What should I be seeing my lovely beer do at day 4 / 5?
Is it ruined?
Do I need to chill out and relax?
Am I going mad?

Lots of love

Tjam

Read responses...

Responses

new2brew:

Posted 2 years ago by Member

Hey Tjam,

Welcome to the Brew Forum.

I myself am a brewing virgin (hence the name) but i think i was in your position too when i started.

If you open the fermenting bucket lid can you:

1. See the water level has dropped by about an inch?
2. See brown crusty 'bits' of yeast all around the rim?

If so, it is likely you have missed the initial frothy ferment that occurs and now your brew is slowly fermenting away as normal for a few more days before barreling.

I have the Wherry kit and sometimes the lids to the FV (Fermenting Vessel/Barrel) can leak the gas and bypass the airlock valve on top..

Another idea is to re-steralise your stiring spoon and give the mixture a stir as this will re introduce the yeast to the whole mix rather than have it dotted about throughout...

Let me know how ya get on...

Regards,

New2brew

Greg:

Posted 2 years ago by Admin

Hi Tjam and welcome!

The only sure way to tell if its fermenting is to use a hydrometer. If you took a hydromter reading that the beginning then take one now and see if its dropped. If it has then you have nothing to worry about.

If you didn't take one then still take one now and let us know what its reading. You can then take one tomorrow and see if its dropping.

Sometimes there is little visable sign of fermentation but the hydrometer will tell if it is or not. If its not fermenting then as New2Brew states a gentle rousing with a spoon may help but take a hydrometer reading first.

Regards

Greg.

Planning:Maybe a lager.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning

new2brew:

Posted 2 years ago by Member

Hey guys,

Dont forget to make sure you have steralised your hydrometer before testing...

The Wherry kit usually starts at 1045 and ends around 1012 (on a good brew) so if your hydro is reading less than 1040/1035 your brew is fermenting but might just need a stir...

Cheers,

New2brew

Tjam:

Posted 2 years ago by Member

Guys,

Cheers for your help so far, Im at work til 10PM tonight, so will prob leave it til the morning.
I didn't use my hydrometer at the very beginning, infact I haven't unwrapped it yet . . . it scared me.

So Im aiming for a reading of around 1040/1035; thanks new2brew and greg, Ill update you and let you know how I get on.

BTW, what do you use for bottles?

Tjam

Greg:

Posted 2 years ago by Admin

Hi Tjam, there's nothing scary about a hydrometer. It simply measure the density of the liquid compared to water. As sugar is denser then alcohol you can measure the amount of sugar converted to alcohol by the change in the density of the liquid. Pretty simple really, just need to do a quick calculation based on the 2 readings and you can work out the ABV of the final beer.

I personally don't worry too much about the gravity of my beers but it is useful when determined if a beer is still fermenting, especially important if bottling as it if you bottle too early you risk getting exploding bottles. Therefore ensure you have a stable hydrometer reading for a couple of days before bottling. It should end up around 1010ish.

As far as bottles go, any bottles which have stored beer or fizzy drinks are fine. Personally I use the crown cap 500ml amber beers bottles as they look nice. I have some which I got from new and I also recycle if I buy ale bottles and just soak the labels off. Sterilise and rinse before adding the beer.

Hope this helps.

Planning:Maybe a lager.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning

new2brew:

Posted 2 years ago by Member

Personally, i would barrel...far less faffing around for a first attempt cos bottling can be a nightmare!

cheers

new2brew

Tjam:

Posted 2 years ago by Member

It says 1014 =/

Is that good?

Greg:

Posted 2 years ago by Admin

Hi Tjam, thats fine. Get on and bottle or barrel it.

Let us know how it tastes.

Planning:Maybe a lager.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning

Tjam:

Posted 2 years ago by Member

So . . . . what does 1014 mean?
Ive had a sample of it.
Its tastes very nice.
Ive chucked it into a barrel with some sugar for the last stage of fermentation, then will bottle it.
Ive managed to get hold of some awesome bottles.
330ml, with a Golsch style pop-off top.
They're currently blue, but that's only been painted on and will come off with a lick of paint-stripper.
Now to find some crates!

Nath:

Posted 2 years ago by Moderator

I went to my recylcling centre to get rid of some rubbish today and managed to pick up a beer crate. Problem is its for 330ml and I need 500ml. If you are close you can have it!

1014 is the drinks final gravity (or fg). So when you added the sugar and before you added the yeast if you took a reading it would have been higher (eg 1045 - this is the original gravity) so basically its the amount of sugar which the yeast has turned into alcohol (probaby a better way of explaining it somewhere!)

To get abv you do the following sum - O.G - F.G/7.36

so if you had 1045 - 1014 = 31 / 7.36 = 4.20%

This is a rough figure and some people do it with different maths.

Ta,

Nath

Conditionin'/Drinkin' - OPA Pale
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!

Tjam:

Posted 2 years ago by Member

Nath,

Thanks for the help.
I've managed to track down some crates; so alls good on that side of things.

So . . . after yesterdays empting of the fermentation bucket into the pressure barrel, I realised to my shock and horror, that my fermentation bucket was empty.
Nothing in there.
Nothing!

I fancy making something like a lager for xmas.
Anyone have any recommendations for a decent lager kit?

Cheers!
Tjam

Greg:

Posted 2 years ago by Admin

Coopers Lagers always get good reviews and comments. No bad price either.

Planning:Maybe a lager.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning

Nath:

Posted 2 years ago by Moderator

Yep coopers are good. A coopers euro as it had a "proper" lager yeast, brewed at a lower temp if you can.

Conditionin'/Drinkin' - OPA Pale
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!

Tjam:

Posted 2 years ago by Member

Ive got the Coopers Mexican cerveza with a sachet of Saflager 23.

Do you think it will be worth me chucking that in at the beginning?

Nath:

Posted 2 years ago by Moderator

I think the coopers kit you have is a lager yeast anyway so it should be fine. Have a look in the instructions to make sure, if in doubt use the s23 and keep the other yeast for one of those just in case moments

Conditionin'/Drinkin' - OPA Pale
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!

Lol:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

I have just done my first wherrys kit! Thought the instruction we a bit vague, do you need to add sugar when you barrel it or is this just when bottling?

regards
Lawrence

Greg:

Posted 1 year ago by Admin

Hi Lawrence, sugar is added for either. I would add 80g of sugar to the barrel, dissolve in a little hot water, put into the barrel then syphon beer on top.

Rgds

Greg

Planning:Maybe a lager.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning