wesw801

Recipes 

Hi, I brewed my first holiday brew last night. Its an Amber brew. The receipt said to add the 1 lb of honey to the beginning of the 45 minute boil, but the guy that helped me at the brew store said to add the 1lb of honey at flame out instead for flavor, so that's what I did and the OG is higher than estimated at 1.066 instead of 1.054. Is it ok to add the 1lb of honey at flame out? Second, I pitched the yeast last night at 69 degrees and noticed today the temp is at 60 in the room and there wasn't any activity in the airlock yet. This is probably do to lower temp, but will the brew ferment ok around 60 degrees? Or is it from added the 1lb of honey at flam out instead of beginning of the boil? Thanks for any help

RainyDay

Recipes 

I dont believe your gravity would change depending on when you pit the honey in, as long as you put it in, if that makes sense. Did you adjust your recipe to include honey? You may have boiled off more than anticipated, which would cause a higher gravity.

As far as fermentation temp, you're fine. It'll be a little slower at 60 as opposed to 68, but you'll also be less likely to develop off flavors, also depending on what yeast you used. You're fine, relax and have a home and/or craft brew!

JLem

Recipes 

I think it would be better to add the honey at flameout like you did - you'll retain more of the honey flavor and aroma this way - so no worries there. Was this an extract kit that you topped off with water? If so, chances are your gravity reading is just a result of poorly mixed wort - happens all the time.

I think an ambient temp of 60°F is pretty ideal for an ale yeast. It may be a little slower, but it will still ferment and you won't have to worry about excessive ester or fusel alcohol production.

What was your recipe? Which yeast?

__________________
Brewing blog at Brew by Brew

wesw801

Recipes 

Yeah, this in a extract recipe I found on beersmith.com

Type: Extract
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 3.98 gal
Boil Time: 45

Ingredients

5 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) 71.43 %
1 lb Amber Dry Extract (12.5 SRM)14.29 %
1 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L 14.29 %

2 oz Goldings East Kent [5.00 %] (45 min) Hopps
1 oz Williamette [4.80 %] (5 min) Hopps

0.25 tsp Cloves (Ground) (Boil 10.0 min)
0.25 tsp Ginger (Powdered) (Boil 10.0 min)
3.00 tbsp Cinnamon (Powdered) (Boil 10.0 min)
1.00 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 10.0 min)
4.00 tbsp Vanilla (Boil 10.0 min)
1.00 lb Honey (flame out)

1 Pkgs Safale us-05 (Dry Ale Yeast)

edecambra

Recipes 

Make sure it is all mixed up. Sometimes if you add it to flame out it might not all dissolve.

wesw801

Recipes 

It will dissolve as it ferments though correct?

jmg727

Recipes 

It looks like you are trying to retain some honey flavor. One option is to reduce two lbs of honey on the stovetop. That creates a nice portable toasted honey flavor and you could mix in at 5. To minimize the chance of infection i'd reduce the honey during the boil itself. You would want to dilute with about 1.5 cups of hot water or wort in the honey pot so it does not harden before you add it to the boil. Good luck.

__________________
You can't always get what you want, but when you find what you need, buy two of them ...

JLem

Recipes 

Based on some rough calculations, I would expect your OG to have been around 1.066 so it looks like the original recipe did not account for the honey addition (without the honey I estimate the OG at 1.058).

I know this is already brewed, but that seems like a tremendous amount of cinnamon. It might be too much, especially at first. Though with time it will mellow out. The vanilla also seems high, but I have no experience with it so I can't be certain.

An ambient temp of 60F should be fine with that yeast. Might start off slow, but should give you a nice fermentation.

__________________
Brewing blog at Brew by Brew

wesw801

Recipes 

Yeah, I'm still new at brewing. This is only my third batch brewed. We'll see how it turns out and if I need to make any adjustments if I brew this batch again. My first two different batches turned out great. Thanks for your replays

wesw801

Recipes 

I have a nice fermentation happening now!