Youngs American Amber Ale kit

Mal1841

Hiya, Just a quick couple of questions.

I bought the above beer kit yesterday and when buying it I was asked to pick a yeast type. I chose the safale s-04 ale yeast. The kit has just arrived and its already got a sachet of yeast in it. A Newcastle dark ale yeast. Isn't that a strange choice of yeast for an American Ale?. Not that annoyed you didn't tell me there was yeast already in the box but now I'm wondering which one is best to use!.

Also I accidentally bought wine finings instead of an ale one. Will this matter much if I add it anyway?.

Cheers for any input/ advice you can give

M

HBO_Staff

A yeast upgrade is offered on many beer kit ingredients as there are a lot of brewers who discard the yeast included and use an upgraded one to get the best results and reduce sediment etc, you can use the one included though and keep the Safale for a future brew or return it for a refund that is no problem. The yeast included by the manufacturer is usually selected for it's suitability although they are not necessarily the best ones and it sometimes comes down to cost. the finings may be very similar we're not sure if it will make much difference, finings such as Clear-It are for use with both beers and wines so should be fine, again though it can be returned for a full refund if not needed

Mal1841

Thanks for that I shall use the upgrade yeast!. The finings I bought by mistake are young's finings and comes in 2 parts A & B. I normally use the young's beer finings. The instructions on this say " Add part a after stabilisation and degas the wine let it stand for an hour then add part B" Having never made wine myself should I just add A wait an hour then add B? Not sure degassing would be recommended for beer!

M

HBO_Staff

Quite right, no need to degas so add an hour apart and it should clear nicely

Mal1841

Something I was just thinking about.

Is a higher O.G better than a lower reading when you start your fermentation?. My original reading just after i pitched my yeast was 1.049/50....ish. According to my calculations it'll need to drop to 1.008 to reach the strength it says on the box. The instructions dont say what your starting gravity should be, only that you should record it, but it does say to dry hop at anything below 1.013 which is only a couple of days before you bottle it.

HBO_Staff

The hydrometer reading just tells you the amount of sugars in the brew, wines for example will usually start higher as they will end up around 11 to 14%, as the sugars are fermented the reading will drop, and the low reading shows that the sugars have fermented out. Many kit ingredients don't state the original starting reading and just give a number to aim for or below, and the kits will always turn out around the same strength as long as they are made to the correct volume, the alcohol content will also increase a little from the priming sugar you add once bottled/barreled as this too will ferment

Mal1841

Ok so it's 10 days now in the bucket I added my hops according to the instructions yesterday at 1.014 or below. Mine was bang on that with 2 days to go before bottling. I checked it 24 hours after and it's still 1.014. This according to my math only makes it 4.5% as opposed to the 5.5% it says on the box. It's been at a very constant 18 degrees all the way through according to the optimal temps on the packet of ale yeast I bought with the kit to replace the one in the box.
What am I doing wrong? Does this mean there's more sugar left in the beer than is ment to be and this will obviously make flavour changes?. I don't understand, I've done everything according to the instructions but the yeast seems to have stopped working a full 1 % behind what it's supposed to.
Why does my beer never reach the required ABV ON THE BOX?.

HBO_Staff

Once the reading has gone as low as it will and stays consistent this usually means all the sugars have fermented out, the two hydrometer readings would suggest that the alcohol would turn out around 4.7/4.8% although would be increased a little by the priming sugar adding to the bottles/barrel as that will secondary ferment too.

A couple of possible reasons for the alcohol percentage showing as low can be either a hydrometer problem or can vary with how it is read/temperature, or if the volume of liquid used is either higher or lower than the amount specified, an extra bit of water would have the effect of diluting it a little. Sometimes if the initial reading is taken before all the sugars have fully dissolved this would give a low original gravity reading

If needed we can ask the manufacturers if they have the official original gravity reading, the final is around what you have at 1.013

Mal1841

If you could that would be great.

I have to say though I'm quite specific in my measuring and temp control these days and I've never had a beer kit come out the same strength as it says on the box. I might give it a bit of a stir tonight and see what happens tomorrow night.
The hops will have been in for 2 days today though and i'm worried leaving it any longer might impair the flavour.

Also if I do give it a stir, how long will it have to sit to clear before I bottle it?.

HBO_Staff

OK we've asked them and they should let us know the expected original gravity reading soon, because your final reading is just about what they say to aim for and is the same as what we got when we made this it has finished and will be ready for bottling/barrelling, it wont go much lower now

Mal1841

I saw someone on here said their OG was 1.050 which was almost the same as me give or take 1 or 2 I assume that's the norm.

It'll be interesting to find out what they say as I calculate taking my 18/19 degree brewing temp that to make it the 5.5% it says on the box the hydrometer reading should be as low as 1.008 or 9 which is never going to happen.

HBO_Staff

The manufacturers say the original reading should be around 1.052 and the final 1.013 so that would work out around 5% or just over, the additional strength will come from the priming sugar added to it which will then secondary ferment and increase it

Mal1841

Thanks for that.

Its at that now so I'll prime and bottle tonight. I guess if its any good I can always add less water for this kit to get it to that reading.