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Summer Ale Recipe Pack kit questions
Hi all
i have purchased that summer ale dme kit from here - the review all seem very positive
i have got it underway but have a couple of queries
I have made beer kits from the usual beginners kits before and usually i expect the fermentation process to take a week. However i started the fermentation of this last tues morning and on wed evening it had a lovely deep foamy cap which was nicely encouraging. However it started to diminsh quite quickly so that by thurs evening the cap had dropped down to a decent covering but it was fairly obvious that by friday the fermentation was stoppping.!!! so much so that i barrelled it on saturday. Is this usual for this kit? its a summer ale so its fairly light - only has a ABV of 3.5% or so. I did have a heater in the brew keeping it at a fairly constant warmish temp. - it was also very very flat when i barrelled it and i am hoping that the priming sugars will fix that though.
what do you think - seems very quick?
secondly if i wanted to ensure it was perfectly clear - when should i add finings if needed?
thanks in advance
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Did you take a hydrometer reading over 2 days to make sure it has completely stopped? sometimes you may not see much happening but it still is.
The beer will taste flat to start with. When its in the barrel and you add priming sugar the barrel will pressurise with co2 given off from the beer. After a few days/week in the warm move the barrel to somewhere cooler. This will allow the beer to absorb some of the co2, making the beer more lively.
Dont add finnings - go au naturel!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I've used Irish Moss in extract brewing but I'm not convinced it makes any difference. Was it the Safale English yeast? If so it's gone really quick for me in the past as well.
A Nath says, the hydrometers the only way to find out the fermentation has stopped for sure.
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi Nath
no i didn't take a reading to be honest - i haven't before because on the odd occasion i have tried its been difficult to read the markings!!!:-) must be doing it wrong. I'm pretty sure it had stopped though - it really wasn't giving of any CO2.I got to say although it was flat - it did already taste very good so i am hopeful of a decent outcome.
The only reason i want it completely clear is i am brewing it to take to a social event and dont really want it to be cloudy!!!!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
irish moss - is that for clearing?
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Yes. During the boil. I think the proteins suspended in the wort are attracted to the Irish Moss and sink to the bottom. It's a seaweed called Carrageen.
It's no good to use other than in the boil.
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
I used to use Irish Moss and its good, something to do with positivly charged protiens in the wort being attracted to the negativly charged irish moss. I use protofloc and its like irish moss on steroids and speed and red bull
and coffee.
Oh yeah its that good!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
[/quote]When its in the barrel and you add priming sugar the barrel will pressurise with co2 given off from the beer. After a few days/week in the warm move the barrel to somewhere cooler. This will allow the beer to absorb some of the co2, making the beer more lively.[quote]
thats an interesting observation - the beer only starts to absorb the CO2 when its cool is that correct? - i did wonder when that happened. I dont suppose there is any real way of checking whether it has absorbed the CO2 is there?
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Beer will absorb co2 over time but absorbs it at a quicker rate when cooler (Im led to believe!)
No real way of telling until you try it! And try it you wil!
mwa ha ha ha ha!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
can i ask another question
i have read on this forum here and there about secondary fermentation. what is that? - with the limited experience i have of beer making i usually brew in the bin with a tea towel and loose lid - transfer into keg and prime - thats it! where does the secondary fermentation come into it - or is that another term for priming?
many thanks
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Secondary is when you transfer the beer from the primary fermenter to a second one. This gets the beer off the turb (dead yeast and bits n pieces at the bottom of the fermenter) and will allow the beer to clear quicker and prehaps taste better. Its also a good place to dry hop as the beer is not fermenting (or not fermenting as much) so the co2 wont drive all those lovely smells away from the hops.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
so do you have to restart the fermentation? - as i assume the primary fermentation will have finished! it sounds like you just removing the brew from the turb as its slowing down - not finished - and let it finish in cleaner circumstances!
and dry hopping is purely an aroma thing then - very interesting
i wish i'd found this forum much earlier!!!
a mine of fantastic information - thank you
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Secondary is exactly that - removing from the trub and letting it finish. There will stil be plenty of yeast in suspension, which is evident if you bottle and prime cos your beer will get fizzy. No need to resart anything, just transfer to another vessel.
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Stu,
You've just answered a question i was about to ask - Thanks.
However, is it necessary to put into secondary? Only 9 times out of 10 i just go straight into priming.
Neil
Posted 1 year ago by Member
"is it necessary" is one of those questions that will get you two answers...
No it isnt, but lots of people do it. I'll tell you why I do it though, I dont take any readings while the brew is in the bucket. I take one as its going in and thats it. I've never liked the idea of dipping something (albeit sanitised) into a bucket of beer. Perhaps thats just me though. So instead, I leave in the FV for 10 days (ish) and then transfer to the barrel that came with my first wherry kit. I then leave for a day to settle, then take 2 consecutive readings using the handy tap. once happy its finished, I gently stir in the priming sugar, and bottle it.
Not saying thats the right of doing things, its just what works for me.
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
I only ever used to primary ferment but (for me) secondary has improved my beers clarity, and taste.
I find it needs way less conditioning even with the extra 6 or so days in secondary, and of course it lets you dry hop the $h1t out of an beer which is always good!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Cheers Stu/Nath,
That has more than made my mind up on secondary. I will do that with the brew i've just made..
Mmmmm tempted with dry hopping too. Although i put Mouteka hops for 30 minutes at the end of the boil and left them. I wonder what a few more would do to the beer? What do you reckon?
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Id do it without, and if its a good beer you would brew again then do the dry hopping to see what difference it makes.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
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