Fermentation - newbie questions

[mChavez]

Hi!

I am brewing my first batch from kit and I'm looking for some advice and reassurance that I'm doing the right thing There seems to be a lot of conflicting advice, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

For my first batch I chose Munton's Nut Brown Ale kit with 1kg Munton's beer enhancer.

OG read 1044 at about 24 degrees C.

1) When to bottle
Following the instructions, I've tested the wort in 7 days of fermentation and got a reading of 1016 at about 22C. Seems too high, so I decided to leave it to ferment for another week or two.

I've read that a low of homebrewers leave their ales in primary fermenter for 3 weeks and then bottle - is that a good idea? Alternatively I would have to keep testing the beer, risking contamination so I am tempted to wait these 3 weeks and then bottle if FG is reasonable...

1B)
My next 2 batches are going to be a wheat beer and an IPA (also from kits). I remember reading somewhere that these 2 styles should be bottled earlier than others. Is there any special guidance on them that I can read?

2) Priming sugar
Local homebrew store advised to add a teaspoon of regular sugar to each bottle to carbonate the beer. I have then read that this is likley to contaminate the beer and it is better to boil the sugar in some water and add to the whole batch before bottling. Would adding the sugar (and mixing it in!) not result in oxidisation?
What's the best thing to do?

3) Temp control
I am fermenting my batch in my boiler cupboard. The temperature there can fluctuate from 19C to 23C, but mainly remains around 22 & 23C. Seems perfect for ales, however I intend to add a little temp regulating system.
I have already bought a digital thermostat with a heating and a cooling cutoff channels. I intend to use a lightbulb for heating (might use a tube heater instead if they are not a fire hazard), but what can I use for cooling? My best idea so far was to use a fan to blow warm air out of the cupboard and draw colder air from the room (the room is unlikley to be warmer than 23C for most of the year, execpt for 2-4 weeks in summer). Are there any more elegant solutions? In future I'll get myself a wee fridge to put in my shed but for now it's got to be the boiler cupboard =(

Thank you for the advice and apologies for posting silly-beginner questions!

 

[cullen]

1. You should wait until fermentation is complete (as measured by specific gravity changes) and the fines have settled. The time varies. There's no problem with waiting longer.

2. I find it easier to mix the sugar with a little water, heat it to boiling, and add it while racking the beer to the bottling bucket. I think that's easier than trying to put it directly in the bottle. Don't splash your beer around or create a whirlpool and oxidation won't be an issue.

 

[unionrdr]

You bottle after the beer reaches a stable FG & has settled out clear or slightly misty. This gives less trub in the bottom of the bottles & has also started a bit of aging on the beer as well.
This process usually takes 3 weeks for my average gravity ales. About two weeks to finish fermenting,& the third week to clean up fermentation by products & settle out.
Wheat beers & IPA are ment to be drunk while young,insomuch as just giving them to 2-3 weeks in the bottle to carbonate & condition. I find 4-5 weeks on IPA's,pale ales & the like to be a bit better for flavor & aroma.
Wheat beers are usually the fastest to carb & condition,hence drinking them young. But they can be kept for a month or so it'll take to drink 2 cases,ime.
Here's a priming calculator that'll help you prime to style in bulk; http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html
Get a bottling bucket & a bottling wand to bulk prime & fill bottles with. A cheap,small digital scale comes in handy to weight the priming sugar,as amounts given in calculators are by weight. Good for weighing hops,grains,& extracts too!
Heat 2C of water to boiling for a few minutes in a small saucepan. Remove from heat & stir in weighed priming sugar till water goes clear again. Cover & cool a bit. Set fermenter of beer higher than the bottling bucket,using tubing from an auto siphon or the FV's spigot (with tubing) to half way around the bottom of the bottling bucket. This will induce a swirl to slowly pour the priming solution into the surface of the swirling beer. This should mix the two enough. But a few gentle stirs with a sanitiozed spoon can help as well. Just don't splash at all,& you won't get any oxidation.

 

[mChavez]

Thank you for the replies!

Is the bottling bucket just for mixing in the priming sugar?
I was going to bottle straight from primary...

I guess to avoid using an extra bucket I can get the same results by boiling 200ml with sugar and then using a syringe or turkey baster to add the liquid to the bottles before filling them with beer?

For priming sugar calculator - I take it that's US gallons? 5 for a regular 40-pint kit?

Also, when filling the bottles, do I fill them up to 1 inch from the top of the neck, while the bottling wand is still in?

 

[unionrdr]

A bottling bucket allows for priming the whole batch at once. It's a better way to prime,since the size of the bottle no longer matters to get accurate priming. Any other way,& you have to figure out eactly how much to add per bottle & size of bottle. A bottling bucket & bulk priming elliminates all that extra hassle.
Yeah,you input how many gallons of beer you're going to prime. So 48-12oz bottles on average for 5 gallons of beer,or about 40 pints.
When using the bottling wand,you let it fill up to the top,& then quickly pull up on the wand a couple inches to close the pin valve on the end to stop flow. Removing the wand will leave the perfect head space in the bottle by way of volume displacement.

 

[mChavez]

Thanks!

What about my temp control plans? Does it sound ok or is it crazy talk? I havent decided yet whether to monitor air temp or wort temp.

 

[andy6026]

From my limited knowledge (doing 5th batch tomorrow) your temps are ok, although some would suggest a bit lower to be ideal. The fermentation process can raise the temperature of the beer by several degrees. I've not had to develop any cooling system for myself yet, but I've heard that 'swamp coolers' are a cheap, simple and effective way to bring down temperatures if necessary. There's a thread on them here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/swamp-cooler-199965/

 

[BigFloyd]

3) Temp control
I am fermenting my batch in my boiler cupboard. The temperature there can fluctuate from 19C to 23C, but mainly remains around 22 & 23C. Seems perfect for ales, however I intend to add a little temp regulating system.
I have already bought a digital thermostat with a heating and a cooling cutoff channels. I intend to use a lightbulb for heating (might use a tube heater instead if they are not a fire hazard), but what can I use for cooling? My best idea so far was to use a fan to blow warm air out of the cupboard and draw colder air from the room (the room is unlikley to be warmer than 23C for most of the year, execpt for 2-4 weeks in summer). Are there any more elegant solutions? In future I'll get myself a wee fridge to put in my shed but for now it's got to be the boiler cupboard =(

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but 22-23*C (71.6-73.4*F) air temp is much too warm for a typical ale fermentation. The temp inside the fermenter at its peak activity (also when most off-flavors are produced) in that cupboard may get in excess of 27*C (80*F). You may even get some fusel alcohol production as well.

What yeast are you using?

 

[billpaustin]

Agree, the temps sound a bit high. The fermentation will add another 6 or more degrees, so what you think is 72, is really 78, or higher.

62 is probably a better target for the room temp.

 

[mChavez]

Thanks!
I am using kit yeast.

I'll see how it turns out - only one way to find out! The thermometer was lying on the bucket's lid, so was hopefully showing temp somewhere between wort and air. Now when the active fermentation is over, the temp does not rise over 20.5.

I guess I might have to get a fridge sooner rather than later =(

I'll experiment with putting bags of ice into the cupboard to see if it brings the temp down.
I guess temp falling below 18*C is not such a big issue?

 

[mChavez]

How good are these freezer blocks?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Two-x-Fre..._Home_Garden_Food_SM&var=&hash=item4608e348eb

 

[BigFloyd]

I generally begin ferment for ales at or below 18C for the first week and then let the temp slowly come up to about 20C to finish.

 

[BigFloyd]

How good are these freezer blocks?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Two-x-Fre..._Home_Garden_Food_SM&var=&hash=item4608e348eb

You can use frozen water bottles and get the same effect.

 

[mChavez]

Thanks!
2l bottles with salt water should do bring the air temp down a few degrees. I'll try to put the fermenter in water but I'll need to find a VERY big bucket.


I'll take 2 readings for my second batch: one of the wort (sensor taped to the bucket with some foam insulation) and one for the air temp.

 

[cullen]

The bottling bucket serves two purposes:
1. allow you to bulk prime.
2. makes it easier to bottle without sediment.

As you've doubtless noticed, there's a substantial amount of sediment on the bottom of your primary. I'm assuming you're planning to use a siphon to bottle (since typically you don't have a valve in your primary bucket, though that's not a rule). Trying to siphon out clear beer, leaving behind the sediment, while bottling takes 3-4 hands and careful attention. Racking from primary to a separate bucket and leaving the sediment behind is a relatively easy and relaxed process, freeing up your attention to focus on the bottles in the second phase.