My first brew - is it ruined ??

[ronanmcd]

Hi guys first time brewer here. So I got a kit as a present for my bday in October but only got round to brewing a couple of weeks ago. So the kit came with a liquid wort that you just add yeast to. Sounds simple I thought . But I’m thinking the kit cans with missing stuff and I think I’ve made a huge “egg on your face mistake”. Kit comprised of thd wort, yeast, 6 gallon carboy, fermenting bucket, thermometer , gravity reader & syphoning kit. Followed the instructions and poured out the wort into the sterilized fermenting bin. Then added the yeast with cooled hot water. It was at this point I realized thd fermenting bucket doesn’t seal airtight. So I just rolled with it and left it in there for a week & moved it to the carboy. My questions are :
Is this stout ruined because of no air tightness ?
Was the yeast too old ( didn’t keep it refrigerated) ?
Is there any point continuing with the brew ?
Ill post a pic of how the “brew” looks now in a minute
Cheers in advance,
Ronan

 

[ronanmcd]

Hi guys first time brewer here. So I got a kit as a present for my bday in October but only got round to brewing a couple of weeks ago. So the kit came with a liquid wort that you just add yeast to. Sounds simple I thought . But I’m thinking the kit cans with missing stuff and I think I’ve made a huge “egg on your face mistake”. Kit comprised of thd wort, yeast, 6 gallon carboy, fermenting bucket, thermometer , gravity reader & syphoning kit. Followed the instructions and poured out the wort into the sterilized fermenting bin. Then added the yeast with cooled hot water. It was at this point I realized thd fermenting bucket doesn’t seal airtight. So I just rolled with it and left it in there for a week & moved it to the carboy. My questions are :
Is this stout ruined because of no air tightness ?
Was the yeast too old ( didn’t keep it refrigerated) ?
Is there any point continuing with the brew ?
Ill post a pic of how the “brew” looks now in a minute
Cheers in advance,
Ronan

 

[deadwolfbones]

As long as the kit didn't suggest you need to boil the wort, it sounds like you're doing fine. An airtight seal isn't necessary.

 

[Immocles]

Bucket lids are pretty notorious for not being super airtight. I was concerned the exact same way with my first one, but it turned out excellent. I bet you’re in the same boat

Did you observe any foaming or foamy evidence from a krausen when you transferred to the carboy?

 

[ronanmcd]

As long as the kit didn't suggest you need to boil the wort, it sounds like you're doing fine. An airtight seal isn't necessary.

Thanks bud . I’ve been reading the secondary is not necessary. That pic is a few days old . Think it’s been in secondary about a week. Little bit of foam appearing but not much. Plus I feel like I’ve filled the carboy too high. Any opinions on this ? I’m not seeing much activity but the airflow thing on top I have filled with sanitized water & it’s filled with small bubbles. Should I be positive about this ?

 

[ronanmcd]

Bucket lids are pretty notorious for not being super airtight. I was concerned the exact same way with my first one, but it turned out excellent. I bet you’re in the same boat

Did you observe any foaming or foamy evidence from a krausen when you transferred to the carboy?

That’s my whole issue ... the lid wasn’t air tight at all . Which makes me think it’s just a mixing bucket . I’ll try attach a pic.

 

[Metalhead_brewer]

If you look no krausen activity for 2-3 days (foam starting to form on top of wort) maybe the yeast was dead and you will have to pitch a new strain, airtight seal is to don't let bugs enter in wort while it ferments and oxygen when it has finished, but if you have it in a well closed area it wont be any problem.

if the carboy was well sanitized you can let the wort for a few days before pitching new yeast, this is in case you have to buy another strain to pitch, i've done it severeal times up to 5 days and hasn't had any problems with contaminated wort.

 

[ronanmcd]

If you look no krausen activity for 2-3 days (foam starting to form on top of wort) maybe the yeast was dead and you will have to pitch a new strain, airtight seal is to don't let bugs enter in wort while it ferments and oxygen when it has finished, but if you have it in a well closed area it wont be any problem.

if the carboy was well sanitized you can let the wort for a few days before pitching new yeast, this is in case you have to buy another strain to pitch, i've done it severeal times up to 5 days and hasn't had any problems with contaminated wort.

The wort been i secondary a week . There was foam in the original beer brewing bucket after putting yeast in and slowed down after 3 days . After 5 days i moved it to the carboy as the instructions said. No foam at all to start with but now there’s a little . Just a little . I’ll post a new pic here later of how it looks presently. Thanks for the help guys

 

[HB_ATL73]

Thanks bud . I’ve been reading the secondary is not necessary. That pic is a few days old . Think it’s been in secondary about a week. Little bit of foam appearing but not much. Plus I feel like I’ve filled the carboy too high. Any opinions on this ?

As you read secondary are not usually necessary. You did not fill the carboy too high- you want as little space as possible to reduce the amount of oxygen exposure to the beer. That goes for the rest of the process after primary fermentation is complete

 

[ronanmcd]

As you read secondary are not usually necessary. You did not fill the carboy too high- you want as little space as possible to reduce the amount of oxygen exposure to the beer. That goes for the rest of the process after primary fermentation is complete

Thanks . It looked to me like the instructions didn’t match the kit they sold as instructions said to put the seal on the bucket lid. There was no seal kit . Not was there a “one way airflow device” or hole in the lid. The lid just sat almost loose on top

 

[SRJHops]

First, welcome! Homebrewing is an awesome hobby!

Second, we ALL make mistakes, and truth be told, it's pretty rare to have a perfect brew day. Now, some mistakes are bigger than others, for sure! But they are all learning opportunities that will make you a better brewer.

From your description, it looks like you pitched your wort into what most people use as a bottling bucket. Next time, of course, put everything in the carboy and don't transfer to secondary (unless you have a really compelling/advanced brewing reason for it).

I agree it's probably OK that the top of the bucket didn't seal - without an airlock it probably would have popped off anyway, which probably would have been worse.

It's kind of hard to know if you had good fermentation there in the bucket, and I am guessing you don't have the tools (that hopefully you will get someday) to measure if fermentation occurred? So, it's hard to say if you should pitch more yeast. I'd suggest not doing it, for the sake of learning -- and you probably won't know if new yeast worked either.

My bigger concern is that the instructions didn't say to boil the wort -- or even heat it up? I suppose it's possible, but is there any way to double-check that? There are no-boil kits, but I have to believe even those suggest heating up the wort.

If you can confirm from the manufacturer that the wort really didn't need to be heated up at all, then I say proceed. If it DID need to be heated, I personally might bite the bullet and dump it. We have all dumped brews... I just hope it doesn't sour (brewing joke) you to homebrewing.

 

[ronanmcd]

First, welcome! Homebrewing is an awesome hobby!

Second, we ALL make mistakes, and truth be told, it's pretty rare to have a perfect brew day. Now, some mistakes are bigger than others, for sure! But they are all learning opportunities that will make you a better brewer.

From your description, it looks like you pitched your wort into what most people use as a bottling bucket. Next time, of course, put everything in the carboy and don't transfer to secondary (unless you have a really compelling/advanced brewing reason for it).

I agree it's probably OK that the top of the bucket didn't seal - without an airlock it probably would have popped off anyway, which probably would have been worse.

It's kind of hard to know if you had good fermentation there in the bucket, and I am guessing you don't have the tools (that hopefully you will get someday) to measure if fermentation occurred? So, it's hard to say if you should pitch more yeast. I'd suggest not doing it, for the sake of learning -- and you probably won't know if new yeast worked either.

My bigger concern is that the instructions didn't say to boil the wort -- or even heat it up? I suppose it's possible, but is there any way to double-check that? There are no-boil kits, but I have to believe even those suggest heating up the wort.

If you can confirm from the manufacturer that the wort really didn't need to be heated up at all, then I say proceed. If it DID need to be heated, I personally might bite the bullet and dump it. We have all dumped brews... I just hope it doesn't sour (brewing joke) you to homebrewing.

Hey good to meet ya mr hops lol. No. It made no mention of boiling anything . Just said to put it in the fermenting bucket & proceed . It was an oatmeal stout. Not sure if that makes a difference. And no a ruined brew here won’t deter me lol . I’ll be back

 

[SRJHops]

Hey good to meet ya mr hops lol. No. It made no mention of boiling anything . Just said to put it in the fermenting bucket & proceed . It was an oatmeal stout. Not sure if that makes a difference. And no a ruined brew here won’t deter me lol . I’ll be back

The type of beer should not matter. I am guessing the wort was pre-hopped (already had the hops in it)? The good news is that I don't think oxidation is your biggest concern here.

Personally, I'd still contact the manufacturer to be sure about the boil. Did you say you think you got the wrong instructions?

 

[ronanmcd]

The type of beer should not matter. I am guessing the wort was pre-hopped (already had the hops in it)? The good news is that I don't think oxidation is your biggest concern here.

Personally, I'd still contact the manufacturer to be sure about the boil. Did you say you think you got the wrong instructions?

I thought when posting I did as the lid on the bucket wasn’t water tight . I’ll post pics later of the instructions when I get home. If I’m right do you think I should make an issue with the store ? I know the wort was $65. That’s what’s kinda pissing me off too.

 

[FatDragon]

You're good.

Your extract was pre-hopped and sanitary so you didn't need to boil.

A loose lid on the primary fermenter is low on the list of things that can mess up a beer.

The foam on the beer was krausen: one of the most reliable signs of fermentation. Krausen dies down when fermentation is finished, more or less, so your beer almost certainly fermented out.

Filling the carboy as high as you can for secondary is preferred to minimize contact with oxygen. Yes you can skip the secondary step, but you probably didn't hurt the beer by doing it. Maybe a bit of extra oxidation, but it's unlikely to make a drastic difference in the finished beer unless you splashed the beer a lot in the transfer.

In short, there's no reason to believe that anything is wrong with your beer. It's perfectly normal to worry about it your first few times brewing, but everything you've reported sounds totally normal. You can give it another week in secondary or probably even go ahead and bottle now. Don't forget the priming sugar! They'll carb up in a few days or weeks and then you can come back and tell us that, hooray! It tastes like beer!

 

[ronanmcd]

Thanks again guys . Fingers crossed I somehow pull this off. I’m attaching some pics . One is of the brewing bucket after I siphoned the wort to secondary. Ond is the carboy as it sits now and the other is the pic of the instructions I got with the kit. Last one is the air bubbles in the airlock device . Any opinions welcome. Good or bad .

 

[FatDragon]

Those little bubbles in the airlock are not the result of fermentation, just gases coming out of solution in whatever liquid you've got in the airlock. Your fermentation is done.

 

[SRJHops]

Here's an old thread about Festa Brew. I didn't read through it, but thought you might find it interesting: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/does-anyone-have-experience-with-festa-brew.67611/

You may also find this interesting:


Great post/reply by FatDragon! Sounds like you are good to proceed with bottling when ready, etc. Good luck!

For your next batch, I would advise going with a regular kit from a homebrew supply shop. You'll learn about boiling the wort and adding hops and yeast and such.

Making a good homebrew isn't hard, but making a great homebrew does take some trial and error! Have fun!

 

[jason613]

Bucket lids are pretty notorious for not being super airtight. I was concerned the exact same way with my first one, but it turned out excellent. I bet you’re in the same boat

Did you observe any foaming or foamy evidence from a krausen when you transferred to the carboy?

I have had plenty of leaks that all turned out good beer