This is my first time ever brewing beer and the process is tricky. I think everything went well except we couldnt cool the wort fast and it took about 40 mins to get the pot cool to the touch (thinking back it might have been to hot to add yeast which may be the problem). This is on the third day now and the krausen is almost gone and the airlock is barely bubbling. Is this normal or is this batch trash? I am attaching a photo, any help will be great.
NB Irish Red Ale Extract.
Photo of fermentation
If you pitched warm and let it ferment in a warm area it very well could be done with the main fermentation. You’ll want to let it sit a while though. I’d give it 3 weeks to clean up any off flavor. The best thing to do is take a gravity reading a few days apart, if they’re the same it’s done
Brewing beer isn’t really to tricky. Most of brewing is just getting comfortable with a few standard procedures. Cleaning, sanitizing, yeast pitch rate, temperature control, patience, and asking for answers to what seems questionable.
All your equipment should be cleaned and rinsed. Mainly using other than dishwashing soaps.
Everything that touches the wort post boil should be sanitized. Boiling the wort sanitizes the boil kettle and everything that goes into it.
Proper amount of yeast should be pitched, liquid or rehydrated dry, to fully ferment the wort and not stress the yeast. Stressed yeast can produce off flavors.
The fermentation temperature should be optimum for the yeast being used. Therefore the temperature of the beer in the fermentor needs to be controlled. Some ale yeasts ferment better in the low 60°F to upper 50°F range, or mid 60°s, or upper 60°s. There are simple and elaborate methods to control the temperature of the fermenting beer. The stick on thermometer strips for the fermentor are rather accurate and cheap.
Good beer can’t be rushed. The yeast don’t care if you want to drink the beer you brewed in three weeks. The yeast are done with your beer when they are done.
What we do after the yeast is done also makes a big difference in the quality of the beer that will be poured from the bottle.
I would suggest a specific gravity reading at day 12, from pitching, and another a few days later. If the temperature corrected readings are the same, fermentation is complete.
Link: How to hydrometer/temp correction
Taste your samples even though this is green beer. Pay attention to the amount of CO2 bubbles in the sample. The CO2 bubbles that cling to the hydrometer can lift it.
Most of my beers are ready to bottle at about three weeks. By this time most of the CO2 produced has off gassed allowing excess yeast and sediment to drop out. The trub/yeast layer will be more compact allowing for more beer to be siphoned into the bottling bucket.
No rush to bottle. The beer can sit there for a few more weeks if necessary. Just keep the airlock filled with sanitizer or vodka.
Any questions on your first brew, to make the second more fun?
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Thank for the generous amount of info. My worry was if the beer could go bad if I waited too long to bottle after fermentation stops. The kit says 1 to two weeks. I was planning on at least two anyway.
I recently brewed my first batch which was also the Irish Red. After a few days bubbles stopped but I kept it in primary for two weeks. Then secondary for another week. After that keg’d it for a week at 32 degrees and about 11-12 psi. It turned out wonderful.
I wouldnt stress it. I bet it turns out nice!
