Monday, April 20, 2009

Anything?

7:30 pm
Nothing. SG hasn't even moved. I've determined it must be an aeration problem but as the internet sites warn me this is bad after fermentation has occurred. Shook the carboy hoping would get something, all i got was a bunch of foam and beer in the airlock. Decided to shake it good for about a minute then do the beer thief and let er rest.

After some more reading this site says if SG is around 1.02 or below, tough love. http://www.bodensatz.com/staticpages/index.php?page=Fermentation-FAQ#stuck_ferm

10:30 pm
OK, shook the heck out of it, thought the top was going to blow off but it didn't. Filled the hydrometer again and cleansed the airlock. Will let it sit and see. There was a mass of bubbles covering the very top of the beer, seems to be steady, will see what happens. I think the whole cause of this is either the cool temps, or too little aeration in the wort. Thinking if nothing happens then going to bottle.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Stuck Fermentation?

8:00 pm
Still no movement in sg, had enough. going to pitch new yeast. surprisingly though i tasted the hydrometer and it tasted good! But the abv would be way too low.

after i pitched new yeast i swirled the beer thief a bit to mix everything in. got some initial bubbles but now it's doing nothing, again. the bubbles may have been due to the aeration? Maybe. will see what goes on.

Still going?

10:00 pm
Bubbles have slowed alot, the hydrometer is still about 1.018 but moving towards 1.017/6... did a lookup and ideally the sg would be to 1.004 for a 5% ABV. hmm. im tempted to repitch it but read a couple good threads saying not to. so i'm sitting tight. might not be ready for CL but am still hoping it's fermenting. it's been a week, but still progress.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

2nd Stage

7:00 pm
hmmm.. looks like it's a stalled fermentation, not sure. some minor fermentation on the top but nothing really active. took the blanket off the carboy thinking it might get more heat that way. temp was sitting around 62.. thought it'd be way more. Read online and i'm not going to worry too much. may need to pitch more yeast as it hasn't moved too much, but it is looking like 1.018, so there is hope. could be newbie blues. will wait and see what happens tomorrow.

10:14pm
temp about 66,

10:20pm
:) as soon as i write the 10:14 i'm seeing the airlock bubble through. think that the yeast was dormant, there is hope!

11:40 pm
bubbles seem to clip at about 1 minute per pop

Monday, April 13, 2009

First Rack

6:40 pm
racking day, i looked at the temp and it was at 55F! huh? hope everything's alright. spent a fair bit of time figuring out how to rack. easiest way was to fill up the tube all the way with watch from the fridge.

everything was really messy. water everywhere. but i did get it racked. used the side table from the living room.

a couple of things.. need an autosiphon and something to prevent the bad stuff from getting in. cockblock or something.

think im going to leave the batch in the kitchen so as to keep it warm.

8:10 pm
done by 8:10pm, but could have been a lot sooner minus the racking issues.

i did taste it, certainly not carbonated yet, and a little bland, but seems ok. hoping for the best.

sg looks like 1.019

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Is it done yet?

8:30 pm
looked like fermentation is over.... bubbles and foam pretty much gone. sort of dark.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Getting There...

10:30 am
still churning away, temp was at 64F
hydrometer looks like 1.020

T+1 Badger Amber Ale

7:50 am
lots of fermentation, seems to be very active

11:50 pm
still lots of fermentation.. everything is moving around inside. very interesting. sg has dropped, but cant tell due to all the goo. temp at 68F

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Badger Amber Ale - First Beer

7:45 pm
Started the water - took measuring cup and filled from fridge, needed 6 quarts to boil. Put malt in sink in warm water to try and loosen it up. while waiting for the boil i sanitized 1 oz of easy clean with the 6 gallon carboy and started 2nd pot for boiled sanitzed water

8:19 pm
why did I mark this time... no idea

8:26 pm
Finally water is boiling, to boil, took about 30 minutes to get to boil using back of pizza pan, still waiting for the lid from Ryan.

9:30 pm
i think i started yeast too early, i should have waited until the cooling the wort to start it, ah well. cooling the wort takes some time but still works ok in the right ride of the sink. just fill it full of ice and let it chill. if i would have started it in the right side i probably would have been ok.

9:40 pm
themometer looks like the wort's at about 78F, so going to transfer. after i transferred then i added the yeast. gave the whole thing a few good shakes. then applied the airlock and moved into the basement

9:45 pm
used the beer thief to fill the hydrometer. looks like... 1.042 sg

9:47 pm
all complete - wrapped it up with the 7 dwarfs.