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First BIAB - APA Amarillo - Final gravity after 8 days

Post #1 made 10 years ago
by Agdigger
Hi All,

Firstly, congrats to all of you on such a fantastic forum full of brilliant contributions and a good culture.

I had my first crack at BIAB 8 days ago. I used Ralph's Mini-BIAB guide and the APA Amarillo recipe along with the BIABicus. Being a newbie I missed a couple of gravity and volume readings but all in all it seemed to go pretty well. I decided to take a gravity reading this morning to see if I was on track to hit my target FG of 1.015.

My reading is approximately 1.014. I'm not entirely surprised that I've hit FG early because it's been quite warm over the last 8 days and I think my fermentation temperature has been closer to 20/21C (68/70F) rather than the recommended 18C.

The recommended fermentation time was 10 days at 18C.

My question is: If I'm at FG should I bottle and prime today? Is there any value in letting it ferment for the target 10 days if I'm already there after 8 days?

Also, I'm using carbonation drops as my primer. I've heard these usually take 4 days to carbonate a beer properly. Should I give the yeast a good week to feast on the carbonation drops (taking me to 14 days)?

Grateful for any advice.

Thanks All
Last edited by Agdigger on 28 Feb 2016, 09:45, edited 1 time in total.

Post #2 made 10 years ago
by joshua
Agdigger, Unless, you have a way to stop the yeast(Cold Crash, Benoite, Potassium Sorbate), you should wait until the Final Gravity settles out.

This is so you do not make Bottle Bombs.

It may be good the let the Beer clear a bit before Bottling as The Dregs/Lees may be very thick.

The Beer may take 4-5 weeks to Fully Condition.
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Post #3 made 10 years ago
by Agdigger
Thanks very much for your input joshua.
joshua wrote:It may be good the let the Beer clear a bit before Bottling as The Dregs/Lees may be very thick.
So, when the dregs are clear is usually a good indication of when it's safe to bottle?
joshua wrote:The Beer may take 4-5 weeks to Fully Condition.
Does this conditioning occur in the bottle? So I'd bottle in approximately 7 days time when the dregs have cleared and let the yeast condition the beer for another 3 weeks in the bottle?

Thanks for your help.
Last edited by Agdigger on 28 Feb 2016, 13:08, edited 1 time in total.

Post #4 made 10 years ago
by joshua
The beer yeast need 10-14 days to clean up the Beer, and then a week or more to clear.

If the beer appears to be Very Clear, it still will have enough Yeast to Carbonate.

Your Final Gravity may stay at 1.014 or Drop a Bit More, since there is no way to exactly predict the Final gravity.

The conditioning will occur in the Bottle, sometimes in 7-10 days, sometimes in 5-6 weeks, depending on the ABV, and the darkness of the beer.

It is best to try a bottle after a week, and see if it is Good, and try another in another week is it tastes Green/Hot/dry.
Honest Officer, I swear to Drunk, I am Not God.
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #5 made 10 years ago
by PistolPatch
joshua wrote:...there is no way to exactly predict the Final gravity.
This is true, however, with that ale recipe, and many others, even at 18C, 8 days will have fermented it. The recipe says 10 days to keep things safe. So, you can choose to bottle it now or leave it for a few more days, whatever is convenient.

If you're dying to taste the beer, allow say 7 days at room temp for it to carb up and then put one bottle in the fridge and try it! Leave all or most of the other ones another 7 days to play it safe.

That recipe won't really need any further conditioning; it tastes pretty good from the get-go, mainly depending on how the amarillo hops were in that particular harvest.

Let us know what you think of it. :luck:
Last edited by PistolPatch on 28 Feb 2016, 14:53, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #6 made 10 years ago
by Agdigger
Thanks very much for the advice guys. I'll take another reading on Tuesday and will likely bottle then if gravity is consistent and beer is a little more clear.

Looking forward to tasting it!

:drink:

Post #7 made 10 years ago
by thughes
Great job Agdigger! Get going on some more so you don't have to be so impatient at getting a batch bottled.

You are soon to learn the wisdom of an old home brewer's saying: "The last bottle of the batch always tastes the best".


---Todd
WWBBD?
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #8 made 10 years ago
by Agdigger
Thanks very much thughes. It's funny you say that because, after my post, I knocked up my second batch! I based it on the Little Creatures Bright Ale recipe.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Post #9 made 10 years ago
by Agdigger
Bugger! I think I've failed at my first attempt... I think...

The beer tastes very, very bitter. I'm not a brew tasting pro so I'm unable to accurately describe the taste. I'm not entirely sure why but I've got a couple of theories:

1) The higher Fermentation temperature has caused off flavours and bitterness (I think this is most likely given how hot it's been. Regularly above 35 degrees Celsius outside but the hottest the air outside my fermenter got to was 23 degrees Celsius)

2) My target volume was 10.5L (2.77 gallons) but my actual wort into the fermenter was 8L (2.1 gallons). Would this mean my ingredients were far too concentrated for my end volume?

I've tasted infected beer and I don't think it's infected. It certainly doesn't have that weird fruity taste. The beer I tasted was the first one out of the fermenter and was very cloud and gunky. I'm giving the other more clear beers another week to mature and I'm hoping they are miraculously better but I'm doubtful. They're all at 16 days now and are sufficiently carbonated so I'm thinking of popping them in the fridge rather than leaving them at room temperature.

I've taken the advice from the other threads of latching onto an experienced brewer and have scheduled in some time with my neighbour who is an experienced BIAB brewer to take me through his process. Hopefully I can gain an understanding of where I went wrong.

Post #10 made 10 years ago
by PistolPatch
Great post Agdigger :salute:,

Pop most of them in the fridge now and just leave a few out to taste a month or two from now - that is one of many advantages of bottling over kegging, you can do mini-experiments; never forget that!

What I like most about your post is that you have an experienced brewer next door. This is invaluable. Let us know if he also thinks there is a problem and if he can name it. He'll let you know if there is a problem...

Why I say that is because I've read your post carefully, and, I really think you are jumping to conclusions without sufficient evidence.

So, let's wait to hear what your neighbour reckons, and, for you to have another taste, before we start worrying.

;)
PP

P.S. Btw, I don't agree with either of your theories in your post - a dead give-away that you are probably suffering from premature exclamation!
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Post #11 made 10 years ago
by Agdigger
Haha! Premature Exclamation. That's brilliant!

Thanks for the advice Patch. I've popped them in the fridge with a plan to try them again on Saturday which will be the 3 week mark. This will also coincide with the tutorial from my neighbour so either way I'm going to be tasting some great beers on Saturday (even if they are my neighbour's)

First BIAB - APA Amarillo - Final gravity after 8 days

Post #12 made 10 years ago
by Agdigger
Hi All,

Just a quick update and lesson for new brewers. I tried my beer on Sunday and it was great. Prior to doing that I was definitely suffering from premature exclamation. As it turns out, the first beer I tried that made me worry was a) full of fermenter sediment and b) pretty young.

A mate and I sat down and drank the 18 good ones all Sunday. Was a ripper day!

Post #13 made 10 years ago
by PistolPatch
Lol Agdigger :lol:, and, thanks a heap for letting us know it turned out great. Bloody nice beer that when using amarillo hops from a good season. I think there's been only one dodgy amarillo season, it's the one where I bought a kilo (2.2 pounds) of the stuff. Loser :)).

Sounds like you have none left now :shock:.

Keep your gear clean and the world's your oyster, or bar, or something - can't remember :scratch:.
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