Fermentaion question
 

First time brew here, Belgain white, the whole brew process went smooth, Cooled down the wort to 70 and added the yeast... its been about 16 hours now at around 68-69 degrees in the primary and im really not seeing much activity with the airlock... i mean its going but nothing fast, maybe a bubble every 5-6 minutes maybe even longer. any ideas, or is it just too soon to tell?

Did you use this...

patience, grasshopper... :)

16 hours is just barely enough time for the yeast to start doing their thing. check it tomorrow and see how fast it's gurgling.

-walker

Thanks guys, I'm still too excited about this homebrewing idea, i dont know if im going to have the patience to handle it though.


Also one more question. The final liquid i put into the primary was a brown color, Im just hoping its the sediment and that will all sink to the bottom? I mean beligains are white, not brown, lets get serious here. Let me know, thanks.

Beer always looks a lot darker when you're looking at 5 gallons of it than it does in the glass.

One of the biggest challenges, though, of extract brewing (I assume that's what you did, right?) is achieving a truly light color. Using DME or extremely fresh LME helps.

If you want, post your ingredients and we can comment on the color.

Belgian Wits are not really white, of course. I think the name comes from the cloudiness from the unmalted grains used in them.

I wouldn't call a belgian 'white' beer 'white', but rather a milky tan color.

Also, keep in mind that the larger the volume of liquid you are looking at, the darker it will appear.

beer in kettle/fermenter = dark
beer in siphon line = light
beer in glass = somewhere in the middle

-walker

something else that helps with light colored extract brews is adding only half of the extract at the beginning of the boil, and then adding the rest near the end of the boil. Less boiling means less caramelization means lighter color.

Be aware, though... a second addition of extract means you will get a second hot break in the kettle. That can cause a sneaky boilover on you if you aren't paying attention.

-walker

Steep at 150 for 30 min
8 oz flaked wheal
8 oz of belgian aromatic malt
4 oz of flaked oats
4 oz of oat hulls

boil:
5.5 lbs muntion wheat DME
4.3 HBU kent goldings hops

1/2 oz kend goldings
1/4 oz bitter orange peel
3/4 tsp crushed coriander seeds
18 tsp crushed cumin seeds.

more boiling
1/2 oz czech saaz
1/2 oz bitter orange
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/8 tsp cumin seeds

my fingers hurt after that