Temerature

[Peter Dear]

Hey, i'm very new to home brewing, and have my first one on now.
i'm struggling to keep the temperature above about 15c. i understand that 18-30c is recommended.
any tips/hints?

thanks
pete

[denimglen]

To be honest I don't know the answer to that, but have thought about it before when ending up with break material in my sample jar.

I did a little looking around and couldn't find a definate answer, personally I think they would but in such a minor way that it wouldn't be noticable.

This is a good read if you wanna get your brew-geek on.

[Tony]

No, if there no yeast conversion happening then, it won't be converting sugars. Although, I would think that it is still possible to have a little bit of conversion going on, without much activity. What say yee?

Also, I agree with Reviled. You need to take hydrometer readings. Once you get 2 readings the same back to back, conversion has stopped.

[denimglen]

I think the point trying to be made was that the yeast in suspension change the density of the sample in the tube, but then there's also the point that the yeast won't change the density of the liquid only the density of the entire sample, ya'know?

I dunno, I don't reckon it matters that much.

[Ally Mcg]

i have thought about that a bit and I don't think yeast in suspension will change the hydro sample that much,

Thinking about it, unless you're sampling the yeast cap pour there's probably not that much yeast in suspension.

if you're feeling that there might be you could always let the hydro sample settle for 2/3 mins - then the heavy material will sink to the bottom and you'll be getting a pretty clear reading.

In summary its likely not an issue cos there's nowt on the web about it

[Christian]

Thanks guys, yes I was thinking about the effect of the yeast on density. It accumulates in my tap so the samples I draw are initially quite yeasty though I usually tip the first bit down the drain.

I usually just take one reading to check that the FG is in the range I expect. In combination with CO2 activity and waiting at least two days after things have settled down, I can make a pretty good guess that things have finished.

[Peter Dear]

hey,
what a week? just realised that i spelt temperature wrong in the post title - oops!
so i took my first hydrometer reading a minute ago, and got 1.014 - the beer was very cloudy and tasted ok, not as good as i was expecting. i've attached a pic for your viewing and comments.
i think it was cloudy due to sediment/yeast gathering at the bottom of the fermenter, will this effect my beer when i bottle it? anyway of stopping this from effecting the bottled finished product?

so, if my hydrometer readings are the same over the next few days, i will add my finings and leave for another 24hrs and then bottle.

any comments/suggestions, or more probably, corrections?

cheers once again for all of your help and advice, hope you're having good successful brewing weekends!


pete

[Peter Dear]

p.s. i'm brewing a munich lager

[JoKing]

I'd leave it in the fermenter for another week before fining it to make sure that the yeast has removed all the nasties from the beer.

Then once you have fined it - find somewhere where you can get it as cold as possible so as to help get that yeast out. Fining is more effective at colder temps.

Leave it cool for a few days after fining it - no more than 3, then prime and bottle.

I know with your first batch that your gagging to get it in the bottle - but patience is a virtue. If you brew regularly - you'll always have conditioned beer on hand for when you are waiting for your previous brews to ferment / condition / fine / carbonate / condition.

[Peter Dear]

whats involved in priming pls?

[JoKing]

Probably about 175 grams of sugar to 20Liters of beer... somewhere around 2.5 - 3 volumes of CO2.

[Peter Dear]

so the carbonation?
i am cheating on this stage and propose to use carbonation drops, good or bad idea?

[JoKing]

They're fine - but if you have different size bottles... they are a pain in the bum. Just use whatever the packet says to use... is it 2 per 750ml bottle? Seems like a lot!