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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
1) I mixed up my homebrew two days ago & it’s not bubbling! Should I put another yeast in? No! Many people assume that if the airlock does not bubble that their homebrew is not fermenting when in reality it may be as simple as the lid of the fermenter not sealing properly. Following is a list of things that indicate your beer is fermenting: - 1) A scum mark forms around the top of the fermenter. 2) The brew forms froth on the top. 3) The hydrometer reading has dropped from your initial reading. (If you did not take a reading at the beginning, a standard brew being 1.7kg can plus 1 kg brewing sugar should start around 1035 – 1040.) If there IS obvious signs of fermentation, your fermenter is not airtight. This will not affect the beer and you are best just monitoring it’s progress using your hydrometer. When you have bottled off the batch, check your grommet, o’ring & lid to find the problem. If you have none of the above signs, check the temperature to make sure you are between the range suited for the yeast you are using (for ale 18 – 26 degrees, for lagers 15 – 26 degrees). Note: Not all lager cans are supplied with lager yeast. If the temperature is too cold the yeast may not activate. Warm up the brew and the yeast should kick off. If it were apparent that your beer is NOT fermenting and you ARE maintaining a suitable temperature, only then would I consider pitching fresh yeast. 2) My beer is a bit watery and tastes a bit like cider! Why? At a guess, I would assume you have used white sugars in your brew. This does not do your beer any favours and you would really benefit by using a Blended Brewing Sugar. See “Benefits of Brewing Sugars” info page. 3) The temperature of my brew dropped overnight to 10 degrees. Will this hurt my beer? Not really. Yeast does not like dramatic changes in temperature but unlike brewing too hot, low temperatures do not create problems as far as taste or clarity. When the temperature drops below the optimum temperature for the yeast you are using it simply goes dormant. When the brew heats up the yeast will activate again. Of course in this situation you do want to warm the brew up and maintain a constant temperature if possible. It is more detrimental brewing too hot than too cold. See “Winter Brewing” info sheet. 4) May 30th: I have opened some bottles I have left for 4 weeks…but they’re flat. What did I do wrong? Nothing…Well let’s assume nothing for now. Let’s assume you brewed as you have many times before and you did remember to put sugar in the bottles…as you have done many times before. Bare with me! Many people go to great
lengths to maintain a constant temperature while brewing then bottle off the
batch and store the bottles out in the garage…where it’s
freezing! The yeast you used in the brew likes temperatures around 20 degrees and we are relying on the yeast to consume the teaspoon of sugar that we put in the bottle to create the gas to carbonate the beer. It is important
to store your bottles at the brewing temperature for at least 2 weeks to enable
the yeast to do it’s job…then chuck them out in the garage. To fix your problem…bring your bottles in side for a week or so & I think you will find there will be a notable improvement. 5) The batch of homebrew beer I’m drinking…one bottle is perfect, the next is flat and the next over carbonated. Why? See “Bulk Priming” info sheet.
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