After bottling problem ??

[blaskos]

So i just made my first batch and i bottled it about 3 days ago. Now my problem is here. I did a 2 stage fermentation and in the 2nd stage i left it fermenting probally about 1 week longer than expected. I believe the first stage was about 1-1.5 weeks and then 2nd stage about 3-3.5 weeks (probally around 3 weeks). Now im looking in the bottles and it appears as if nothing is happening.

Now i know it shouldnt be going crazy like primary fermentation or anything close (or else i would have a huge glassy mess to clean up). I am worried that the yeast are dead or wont wake up from their inactive state. Is this something i should be worrying about, or should everything be fine after i leave the bottles alone for 1-2 weeks?

BTW While i bottled i tried some and it was pretty tasty, just a little bitter but thats because my wort didnt cool fast enough so the bittering hops were in there a while longer =[. But hopefully everything is fine, as i cant wait to make my 2nd batch. Any suggestions on what to make next. My first batch was a 90 Shilling Ale clone?

[fretlessman71]

Relax - you have another 1-2 weeks to wait before anything happens that you can detect. You may not even be able to see anything - if the glass is dark enough, you won't even be able to see the yeast on the bottom. THIS TAKES AWHILE. I know you're rearin' to go, but you may have to settle for buying some new beers you've never tried for the next week or so. Be patient, okay? Carbonation takes 10-14 days. Oh yeah - you have it in a warm place, right? 70-74 degrees? That's optimum for carbonation temps - just a little warmer than you keep the fermenting brew. Putting them up high on a shelf isn't a bad idea, either - heat rises.

Relax, don't worry, have someone else's homebrew! :)

[HogieWan]

bottle fermentation isn't visual at all. Don't worry about having enough yeast. You probably have 4 or 5 times the amount needed in each bottle.

[blaskos]

Awesome! Thanks for the input.

[bruin_ale]

Agree with Hogie. Also, I doubt that your beer is overly bitter because the wort didn't chill fast enough. The likely possibilities are:
1. It just tastes more bitter than you expected because it's not carbonated or because you just didn't know what level of bitterness to expect (hard to know how much bitterness to expect when you haven't brewed a particular recipe before)

2. Supposing you did know what level of bitterness to expect, perhaps your hops had a higher alpha acid content than the recipe called for. Hops of the same variety can vary quite a bit in the amount of AA they have.

The only reason I say this is that your wort would have had to remain boiling to extract more bitterness.. once you cut the heat, it should cool to a point that your not extracting more AA from the hops almost immediately.
You should get yourself a wort chiller, waiting around for wort to cool before you pitch the yeast is no fun at all.

[blaskos]

Originally posted by bruin_ale


The only reason I say this is that your wort would have had to remain boiling to extract more bitterness.. once you cut the heat, it should cool to a point that your not extracting more AA from the hops almost immediately.
You should get yourself a wort chiller, waiting around for wort to cool before you pitch the yeast is no fun at all.

Yea i definately need a wort cooler. Well thats good to know that once you get the wort off the heat then the Alpha Acids no longer continue to extract. I was thinkin that maybe i noticed the bitterness because it was flat. Yummmmm icant wait for my beer to be ready!!

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by blaskos
I was thinkin that maybe i noticed the bitterness because it was flat.

You may be noticeing extra bitterness because its young. Give it 2 or 3 weeks

[cluckk]

I definitely agree with waiting two to three weeks. You should get your carbination and the bitterness will most likely mellow out some.

Another factor that can effect hop utilzation--the amount of AAs you are able to extract and the resulting bitterness--is your water. If the water has alot of natural salts this can increase the bitterness. I have one Amber ale I make that I experimented with Burton Salts to see what they would do. It came out so bitter it was almost undrinkable.

As for what you should brew next, what do you like? Based on this batch (a 90 shilling ale) I assume you like Scotch ales. Do you like beers that are hoppy? Do you like them thick and heavy or light and clean? My first batch was a Robust Porter but then I like stout, dark and heavy.

[Halgarmeister]

Yep, let it sit, the carbonizing process is not an "active" one like the fermentation process is.

And definitely buy or make a wort chiller. My first batch was cooled using ice in the kitchen sink, it took forever to cool the wort down to pitching temp, and even longer for the additional preboiled water to cool (no more ice... ). The second batch I preboiled the water the day before, then only had the wort to deal with, much better, but still a long cooling period. Then I made a chiller, now cooling takes 10 to 15 minutes (never really checked the time, it's just drastically less than an ice bath ). I can cool the preboiled water while the wort is brewing, and the total brew process from start to clean-up in about 4 hours. I'm always amazed at how long pre-cleaning and sterilization takes, as well as the after-brew clean-up.