Brew Belts

BaronVanDuck

Hello again,

My first ever batch of Coopers Australian Lager has been on the go since Sunday which had a OG of 1040. Today i took my first Hydro reading which was 1006.

I plan to take another reading on Saturday and hopefully get it bottled on the same day if the reading remains the same.

I read that using a brew belt speeds the whole process up so should i be looking at getting it bottled sooner or will i be ok sticking to the plan.

First sample looked slightly cloudy with abit of sediment but looked, smelled and tasted fine.

Not sure if your supposed to sample this early so this could be my last post.

Once again thanks in advance,

Cheers

Si

 

 

HBO_Staff

Hi Si, a Brew Belt (or heater tray) can speed fermentation up because the brew ferments faster with the extra heat. The only real way to know how the fermentation is going is by using a hydrometer though, so if you take your next reading in the next day or so it may well stay at 1006 as this sounds like quite a good low reading. If it is constant and all bubbles have stopped it can be bottled/kegged, or it wont hurt for a day or so if you want to wait until Saturday. You will still have a cloudy brew at this stage as it wont clear until it's been bottled and left to condition for a while, the longer the better, but you can help it clear faster by leaving as much sediment behind as possible when you fill the bottles. Sampling it now wont do you any harm, although it wont taste at it's best as it is yet to have the priming sugar added and left to condition and carbonate, but it is always reassuring to make sure it has no off smells or flavours such as a strong smell of vinegar. In these very early stages though the flavours can be far from enjoyable, but this is nothing to worry about as it is not yet ready for drinking!

platos

HBO that reply was helpful to me.I was a bit worried that with my Gluten free German pilsner did not make bubble too much but the taste before bottling was encouraging.