Brew UK Forum | Beer Kits
Yeast deposits on surface?
Hi all, hangover has now subdued enough that I managed a peek under my wherry lid. It's day six now and I've noticed some small brown yeast deposits on the surface - is this ok, or has it gone wrong?
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Sounds fine to me. You often get a few bits floating in it. If it smells okay then it will probably be fine
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Yeah, small brown deposits are normal. But if they were green.....well thats another matter altogether
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Smells ok, so should be fine hopefully. Smells quite sweet mind you, hopefully that's normal too :/
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Now I'm getting worried.... I'm sure it's starting to smell a bit tangy....
Posted 1 year ago by Member
i think best bit would be to leave it alone not much you can do (i think i could be wrong) keep poping the lid to check may not be a good thing i would leave sealed until the time to do hydro to see if its ready for bottling.
Fermenting:Dandelion wine
Conditioning:Fullers pride extract Elderflower wine,Dandelion wine,Ribena wine,summer ale
Drinking: Turbo Cider/summer ale/way to amarillo/funked up wherry
beerlover1983brew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
It's day seven now, popped the hydro in today to check level, it's about 3 to 4 notches under the 1010 mark, can't work out what that is today for sone reason!
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Sounds like its around 1.014 so may still be fermenting but it may also have finished. Take another reading tomorrow and if its the same I would get it bottled/barreled.
Don't worry sounds like its going okay to me.
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
I think we all fear the worst when we ferment for the first time, its makes it even better when you taste it and it....is........ GOOD!
1.014 is what my wherrys all stopped at, but like greg says wait for 2 days of the same reading before keg/bottling.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
The final gravity can be very dependant on temperature, and kits can be very variable with their end result. I find, with all brewing, the key is to clean and sterilise everything, work methodically, keep strictly to temperatures for adding yeast, close the lid tightly (I have an airlock inserted in the lid of the FV) and forget about the whole thing for 7 or 8 days. If, after that, you open the lid and it's all gone quiet and the beer is fairly clear, do a hydro and provided it's well down (below 1020), bottle/barrel it, with priming, and try it in 2 weeks time. I had a brew in the early days which absolutely refused to ferment below 1020 no matter what I tried. I finally barreled it and it was fine. Opening the lid during fermentation allows the possibility of bacteria entering. You may think you live in a clean house, but bacterialogically speaking, you don't. The place is rife with millions of the little buggers. Open the FV 10 times, that's 10 times the risk of infection. If you keep dipping the hydro or sample jar in, that's more risk. It's the hardest lesson to learn in brewing: leave it alone. Also, keep it simple.
Planning: - To get some more brews on now the weather's a bit cooler
Fermenting: - Ginger Beer experiment
Conditioning: - A normal bitter with Styrians
Drinking: - All of it!!
E-mail: arnyfris@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hopefully I'll be alright. Admittedly i've popped the lid more times than I shouldve done, but that's the noob in me I guess, I won't do that next time. I'll read the hydro again tomorrow, I've left it in the fv so I don't need to keep dipping. If it's steady I'm barrelling, then I can relax a bit!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Morning all, hope a good weekend was had?
Anyway, just a little update of little significance...
Like I said earlier, I think my hydro reading yesterday morning was hovering around the 1016 mark, and the same this morning too. I've given it a gentle stir with my sterilised spoon so I don't think I've oxygenated it in the process. I'll check the hydro again tonight/tomorrow am, and if there's still no movement I'll transfer to keg. One thing I noticed though, was my brew seemed a little 'heavy', thick isn't really the word but you know what I mean. Is this normal? I definitely added the right amount of water in the very beginning, so hopefully this is a normal occurrance!
Cheers peeps
Phil
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Righty-ho, checked brew tonight, the hydro is reading somewhere between 1016 and 1014 - I think tomorrow might be the day for transfer, I hope so anyway, I'm getting itchy now. On the plus side, the smell from it has improved no end since I gave it a gentle stir this morning, it now smells much more beer-like, wonder if I gave the yeast a wee jolt? Can't be bad anyhow. The beer itself is still a little 'heavy', or 'thick' if we're going to get into it.
Does this sound OK?
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Thick is not something that I have ever encountered, the density of my brews have usually been fairly consistently liquid.
Can you be more specific?
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Erm, well it's still liquidy, and of drinking consistency but it just seems a little sort of... gloopy
My friend who has just finished his first Wherry said the same thing, might have to see how he's getting on now with it. I don't suppose adding more water is advisable? In fact, I know the answer to that already...
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Were you drinking the sample that you took the hydro reading from and was it taken straight off the top? There's always something floating on top after fermentation and maybe that's the gloopyness. I also sometimes get an slightly oily residue on the top which I think is from the hops which, I assume, could give a kind of viscous feel in the mouth like any oily, er, um, stuff.
I don't suppose the gloopyness can be photographed!?
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi Simon,
Exactly what you said - slight oily residue was present and I reckon thats what was giving it the appearance. But today is a joyous day! I've transferred my first ever brew into it's first (and only) ever barrel! I left about an inch o so at the bottom of the FV as it looked decidedly murky and 'orrible - should I have transferred the lot? I have a few inches free space in the top of my barrel which I can only imagine is a good thing, to allow the Co2 to develop.
The beer itself looks fine now, I think it may just have been the surface making it look iffy t'other day. It also tasted alright, even at this early stage!
In a nutshell, Woo Hoo!
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Nice one PMA, I sometimes get a slightly oily look in the right light, never stopped my beer from tasting and looking and smelling good. Maybe its the oils from the hops used in the kit??? Leaving the last bit is fine. I tend to use as much as poss because it will eventually drop out but to be honest its probably good practice to leave the last bit out, im just that stingy!
And now you play...... THE WAITING GAME!
(which for me is normally about 2 days!)
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I can't wait. It's been nearly 24 hours already and I just want to neck the lot! I poured myself a 30ml sample last night (bit premature, but hey) - it tasted nice! Quite bitter, which I like, but given time in the barrel, will the flavours develop more and kind of 'round off' a bit?
Also, I added 20 tsp normal granulated sugar to the barrel first, dissolved in boiling water then cooled. Is this enough sugar, too much? I'm sure I've read somewhere that 1/2 tsp per pint is acceptable.
Cheers!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I forgotten how much sugar per bottle I used to use as I started to batch prime in a second fermenter. Ideally I used to use between 80g to 120g per 23 litre kit, depending on beer style and level of carbonation required.
A good way of doing it is to mix the sugar with just enough boiling water to dissolve it then pour the liquid into your barrel and siphon your beer onto it. Different schools of thought on this but I like the idea of sterilizing the sugar before adding it just in case.
They reckon a teaspoon will hold 4.5g of cane sugar so sounds like you put about 90g which is perfect.
Just make sure you keep your beer in a warm place for about week then move it somewhere nice and cool, preferably where you will be dispensing it from (moving a full barrel without disturbing sediment is a challenge in itself).
J.
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Cheers J, yeah I dissolved the sugar in boiling water first just as you said. I've put the keg in the spot previously taken by the FV, which maintained a steady temp of around 20ºC, so it shoul dbe fine where it is unless it needs to be warmer, which I don't think it does.
In an ideal world I'd leave it to clear for a few weeks, but you just know I'm going to be on it this Christmas
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I'm guilty of drinking a cloudy pint or two.. or three.. or four..
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Maybe on the next one I'll give it some time, but with the drinking season (when isn't it?) upon us, I'll definitely be hammering into this too early. Oh well, such is life.
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Time to get another kit on then! It'll take your mind of the keg full of Wherry for a short while and will give you a bit of variety in a month or so's time.
Why not go for an extract brew this time? There are a few extract kits on this site and it's not much more effort than the Wherry you've already done.
Take a look at this one for the instructions on how to extract brew:
Way to Amarillo
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I will DEFINITELY be going down the extract route, but i have another wherry kit sitting here. Might throw in some hops or something though...
Posted 1 year ago by Member
You could use some extract techniques on your next Wherry kit. You could boil the contents of the tins with some hops of your choice. I think a 10 minute boil is about the maximum you should try.
You just need a reasonably sized pot (12 litres minimum). Put about 4 to 6 litres of water on to boil. When boiled, turn off the heat, add the contents of the tins (softened in hot water of course and get all of it out) and stir thoroughly. When back to the boil add the hops and boil for 10 minutes.
[NEEDLESS TO SAY THE CANS WILL BE HOT SO PROTECT YOUR HANDS ACCORDINGLY]
Pour the contents through a sieve into the rest of the your water in the FV to make it up to 23 litres. Check the temperature and pitch the yeast when safe to do so.
If you can find out what hops are used for flavour in a Wherry then even better.
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Challenger, Goldings and styrian goldings, but don't know which are used for flavouring.
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I've found a few recipes on other forums and some use the East Kent Goldings and others use both EKG and Styrians.
So take a punt and throw in 20 grams of each or 40 grams of either.
You'll have some left over for your first Extract brew!
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I've just asked my dad to buy me a 12 litre(minimum) stock pot for Christmas
I'm quite excited by this prospect, the more I read about extract brewing the more I want to do it. Especially as I love summer/pale ales, and the Amarillo and Summer ale recipes look the hounds rounds.
Does anyone have any experience in 'pimping' a Wherry like this? If so, how'd it turn out?
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
And that is just one small step from you know what.
Fermenting: Summer pale ale
Maturing/Conditioning: Marynka pseudo-lager
Drinking: Wheat beer, ESB, Vienna lager & shop bought stuff
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Ha ha, honestly don't think I'll be moving onto AG, and I'm serious. Not unless I get a new house, more time, and more patience!
No, I think extract may be my perfect partner in this little journey of mine... I can almost smell it!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Be warned.. I only did 3 extract brews, noticed the difference and moved straight to grain.
I was lucky with my stock pot. Picked a 20 litre stockpot up for £30 in a homeware shop in Camden. Really good quality too.
I recommend the Amarillo recipe pack from the shop as a nice pale ale. If you want something a little different, nice and hoppy, go for the rocker APA recipe. I loved that beer.
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
You'll hear the grains calling soon enough, I only did 4 extract brews.
I'm drinking my full mash Amarillo Pale Ale now (not right now you understand), the hop schedule is the same as the recipe here. It really is a great pint, I bet the extract version is equally as good.
I'm really pleased with the US-05, its stuck to the bottom of the bottle so well you can pour the whole pint out.
Fermenting: Summer pale ale
Maturing/Conditioning: Marynka pseudo-lager
Drinking: Wheat beer, ESB, Vienna lager & shop bought stuff
Posted 1 year ago by Member
That's the thing - if I can get as good an end result with extract, I may as well stick with it. I'm the first to admit to being a bit of a lazy bastard at times, so if I'm offered an easy route, I'll take it
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
You can get good results with extract but you're a bit limited, you're not able to brew every style/type of beer.
But then not everyone wants to experiment.
Fermenting: Summer pale ale
Maturing/Conditioning: Marynka pseudo-lager
Drinking: Wheat beer, ESB, Vienna lager & shop bought stuff
Posted 1 year ago by Member
To be completely honest, I pretty much know what I like and it seems that at least three of the extract recipes on offer here are right up my street. Who knows, I never say never, but it seems very unlikely that I'll go that route. Maybe when I'm old and retired and can lock myself away in my purpose built 'labeerotory'...
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I'm a big fan of the US-05 yeast at the minute. I've had a few problems with it dropping out too low and giving me high alcohol volume but I've had some great beers from it.
I said the exact same thing. Extract will make great tasting beers and if you choose to stay on extract you will enjoy every pint. Grain does take time and a bit more focus but it really is good fun to do.
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Thats the great thing about this hobby, there are so many options you can do what you like, there isn't necessarily a right or wrong way to do things, just different.
Let us know when the labeerotory is built.
Fermenting: Summer pale ale
Maturing/Conditioning: Marynka pseudo-lager
Drinking: Wheat beer, ESB, Vienna lager & shop bought stuff
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Is that a problem?.
Yes it did ferment out quite low, next time more water or less grain...hmmm...???
Fermenting: Summer pale ale
Maturing/Conditioning: Marynka pseudo-lager
Drinking: Wheat beer, ESB, Vienna lager & shop bought stuff
Posted 1 year ago by Member
That was the problem, getting the initial grains right.. It took me a few cracks to get it nailed but now I have the proportions right. I ruined a really nice beer though with a 6.2% ABV the frist time I used it
Always a learning curve and there's always a beer at the end of it so it's all good.
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