Coopers Real Ale

FXRS

Have a Coopers Real Ale in the FV, it went in 3 days ago.

I was a bit surprised to see the pressure build so quickly and then to see froth fight its way out of the closed FV. After taking some advice I opened the lid a wee bit and let the froth do what it wanted. The next morning the overflow had stopped and I replaced the lid. Thankfulyl only a very small amount of froth had left the FV so very little mess to clean up.

I have been advised that leaving the brew in the FV for about 2 weeks is perfectly acceptable. Is this the case? It would help me greatly if it is ok as I am going away for a week or 2.

Once its ready I will be bottling it and leaving it for a month or 2.

Grateful for some advice on how long I can leave the brew in the FV.

HBO_Staff

Sometimes the brew can have a very vigorous initial ferment, this can be down to the temperature if it is quite warm, some yeasts, and varies from beer type to type. Whilst it isn't a problem, it can sometimes get a bit messy so it's best to store it in a place where no damage could be done to be on the safe side. It depends on what stage the beer is at as to how long to leave it in the primary vessel, as if it is still slowly finishing off then it will be OK to leave for a little while, but once it has reached a low SG reading and stayed the same for a couple of days in a row and has definately finished, we wouldn't recommend leaving it in there for too much longer. A couple of days probably wont do too much harm, but the risk with leaving it in there for a while such as a week or more, is that it can affect the taste. Muntons say on this 'leaving the beer on a thick layer of sediment can result in off flavours developing during storage' as yeast breakdown can cause the off-flavours. So it is a risk if you leave it too long, but that said, on a few occasions when we have left it in the primary for too long by mistake, once in particular with a Woodfordes Wherry, it seemed to have no detrimental affect and the brew turned out really great, but it's best you know the risks.

The official guidelines are don't leave the brew in the fermenter longer than necessary. If you had no choice, we would suggest moving it somewhere cooler to slow down the last stages of the primary fermentation, and may help minimise the risk of the dead yeast affecting the taste

FXRS

My Coopers Real Ale is on its 8th day of being in the FV at about 24 degrees. Took a hydro reading last night and its very slightly more than 1000. Is this a low or unusual reading? Before taking the reading the FV lid was bulging slightly. Does this mean its still brewing and producing "gas"?

I will take another reading today and compare with yesterdays.

Grateful for some guidance.

HBO_Staff

The temperature is good and should ensure fermentation completes in reasonable time. Coopers are a little vague on their hydrometer readings, but around 1000 is not unusual, the main thing now is to check it again like you intend to, and make sure it has stopped changing, which it probably will have after 8 days. The bulging of the lid shows that the fermenter is holding pressure, but as fermentation is probably completed, the lid will not be under pressure like when you took the first reading.

If the reading is the same today, you can go ahead and bottle it, and prime the bottles as usual, with carbonation drops or sugar, as it sounds like everything is as it should be. Keep the bottles somewhere warm for around a week, and then they can be moved somewhere a bit cooler if you want to allow them to condition and clear. An extra few weeks in the bottles will make all the difference too

FXRS

Thanks.

When it comes to bottling, should I use brewing sugar or carbination drops? What would be the quantity per bottle?

FXRS

Or maybe spraymalt would be best for this type of beer?

HBO_Staff

Carbonation drops are definately easier to put in the bottles to prime them, use just one per 500ml bottle for Real Ale, lagers can be done with two if you want them more lively. Real Ale will be good with one per bottle, and then store it for a few weeks to condition and carbonate. If you wanted to try a spraymalt, you could prime each 500ml bottle with a teaspoon of spraymalt such as the spraymalt light, other spraymalts could be used to add a little variance to the flavour if you wanted to experiment. Often people tend to use what they have to hand to prime, as you don't need that much, but either drops or spraymalt would be suitable