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I'm brewing my 1st kit which my gf got from a local hardware store (ironically there's a home brew store not 5 mins away sigh) but wasn't a cheap one.

http://www.wilko.com/cider+beer-brewing/wilko-golden-ale-kit-40pt/invt/0318381

Just need a bit of advise as there is a mountain of information out there and it's making my head spin.

WHAT IVE DONE

It's golden ale, 23 liters (5 gallons) came with two large tins with syrupy like mix in.

Iv'e added the yeast and left it at 20 degrees (68f) and it stopped fermenting after only 3 days, which i thought was odd. tested it with hydrometer and got a reading far short of what was required (22ish not close to 10) the So i added a packet of amylase enzyme to get it going again.

1 week later the fermenting has stopped, tested and carefully transferred to secondary.

After only 24 hrs i pulled some into a glass and it was carbonated with as expected a bitter yeasty taste as it still needs to mature.

WHAT THE QUESTIONS ARE

1) why after such a short time is the beer carbonated with no fermenting when it was flat before transfer to secondary? There are no visual signs of fermenting going on. Might my keg explode? it's good for 15 psi.

2) should i leave it 2 weeks (as suggested by some members and mico brewers) in the keg and then add my 5 ounces of primer and bottle or should i prime and bottle now?

Hope that is clear, thank you.

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  • I should mention that i haven't primed the ale yet and only transferred to secondary as my primary was a cheap, no frills plastic bucket with no tap.
    – Bradley SD
    May 6, 2014 at 12:30
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    The addition of the amylase is going to change the beer's character. If will convert some long-chain sugars (dextrines) into simple sugars that the yeast will then ferment. You'll end up with a drier beer with very little body.
    – FishesCycle
    May 6, 2014 at 13:58

1 Answer 1

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My bet is that after only 3 days, it wasn't really finished. In combination with the addition of amylase enzyme, you're simply seeing more fermentation activity. Fermentation does not always have an obvious visual component; gravity readings over time are the only solid way of knowing.

My corny kegs are marked as "good" up to 150psi. 15 psi is extremely low for a keg intended for beer; I'll regularly see keg pressures in the 20-30psi range during force carbonation. Do you have any info/link to the keg you have?

If there is still fermentation going on, then you should wait for it to complete. 2 weeks is totally a reasonable amount of time. You should vent the pressure in the keg during this process. You should treat the keg more as fermentation vessel, not as a sealed keg, right now. This will prevent more than the usual amount of fermentation-produced CO₂ from being dissolved in the beer, throwing off the priming sugar addition.

Then, prime and bottle.

Of course, some questions come up: if you have a keg why are you bottling? And if you have a CO₂ tank for the keg, why are you using priming sugar? (Note: I've done both of these things, so I know there are reasons why you would do so, but I'm curious to hear your reasons.)

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  • Wow! You're a regular home brew ninja huh? The pressure barrel is standard 40 pint 15 psi (i double checked). Unlike the link it has the new better quality black pressure cap with what looks like an emergency vent. wilko.com/homebrew-accessories+equipment/… I too thought the same but it vent from crazy 2 inch of foam to nothing in 3 days. i tested (gravity readings) two consecutive days and got the same reading hence why i added the enzyme.
    – Bradley SD
    May 6, 2014 at 12:46
  • I just vented the Keg and a whole lot of gas came out, maybe it is still fermenting. I have the keg but it's not practical for friends family, transport and chilling before drinking. Also i may have spent a few bucks on some rather nice porcelain topped bottles which mu gf will kill me if i dont use them! So you think im good to leave it two weeks in the keg, vent every now and then. I don't know why im priming, i was told it was necessary to add it before bottling. i.e add, stir then bottle straight away.
    – Bradley SD
    May 6, 2014 at 12:49
  • You need the carbonation from the yeast consuming the priming sugar to be contained in order to force it into the liquid for carbonation, which in this case means sealed bottles. Leave in keg for now, vent every day, then add priming sugar and bottle.
    – jsled
    May 6, 2014 at 13:29
  • Great, will do and thanks for the advise. I'd offer you a bottle but it's a bit of a trip from Burlington VT to Manchester UK. Cheers.
    – Bradley SD
    May 6, 2014 at 13:35

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