rasherb
Well-Known Member
I brewed my first batch about a month ago. A lot went wrong. I was able to turn to this forum for advice and fixes.
To return the favor, here are a few things I learned.
First, I have an electric, glass-top, convection stove the single burner just didn't have the power to boil 3 gals of water in my stainless steel pot. I ended up putting the pot 1/2 on one small burner and 1/2 on one larger burner. This worked because the edge of the bottom of the pot directly touched the burner. Still, it took a long time to get a boil going. Have patience
Second, I used liquid malt extract (LME) and when I poured in the extract it settled on the bottom and burned (scorched). Taking the pot off the heat for this maneuver and stirring while slowly pouring would have helped avoid this. However, it turned out okay in the end. Although the wort was very bitter and with a strong bitter ashy aftertaste, after a couple weeks in the fermenter and a week of bottle conditioning, it turned into a pleasant caramel taste.
Third, I vigorously shook my liquid yeast vial then when I opened it less carefully than I should have, it sprayed all over my kitchen. I ended up pitching less than half the yeast. It took about 24 hours to start, but eventually primary fermentation got going.
Fourth, primary fermentation was extremely vigorous. So vigorous in fact that the air lock blew apart. I had to attach a blow-off hose instead. That went well, but the tube I used was my only tube, and I didn't have the budget to purchase a new tube before bottling time. (Yeah, I keep track of my pennies that closely!) So when it was time to bottle, and my tube was all scummed up with blow-off I had to find some way to clean off the dried on blow-off. I found that placing the tube on my kitchen counter then very firmly rolling it out with a rolling pin rubbed the sides of the inside of the tube together. This quickly dispatched the offending gunk.
Finally, I accidentally used about twice the priming sugar called for (corn sugar). The ale was great for about two to three weeks after bottling, but eventually the yeast ate the extra corn sugar and created too much carbonation, too much alcohol, and degraded the flavor.
Overall, the first batch turned out very well. I was surprised that despite the issues above, I enjoyed drinking most of it.
I'm on batch two now. So far none of the above have happened. Fingers crossed.
To return the favor, here are a few things I learned.
First, I have an electric, glass-top, convection stove the single burner just didn't have the power to boil 3 gals of water in my stainless steel pot. I ended up putting the pot 1/2 on one small burner and 1/2 on one larger burner. This worked because the edge of the bottom of the pot directly touched the burner. Still, it took a long time to get a boil going. Have patience
Second, I used liquid malt extract (LME) and when I poured in the extract it settled on the bottom and burned (scorched). Taking the pot off the heat for this maneuver and stirring while slowly pouring would have helped avoid this. However, it turned out okay in the end. Although the wort was very bitter and with a strong bitter ashy aftertaste, after a couple weeks in the fermenter and a week of bottle conditioning, it turned into a pleasant caramel taste.
Third, I vigorously shook my liquid yeast vial then when I opened it less carefully than I should have, it sprayed all over my kitchen. I ended up pitching less than half the yeast. It took about 24 hours to start, but eventually primary fermentation got going.
Fourth, primary fermentation was extremely vigorous. So vigorous in fact that the air lock blew apart. I had to attach a blow-off hose instead. That went well, but the tube I used was my only tube, and I didn't have the budget to purchase a new tube before bottling time. (Yeah, I keep track of my pennies that closely!) So when it was time to bottle, and my tube was all scummed up with blow-off I had to find some way to clean off the dried on blow-off. I found that placing the tube on my kitchen counter then very firmly rolling it out with a rolling pin rubbed the sides of the inside of the tube together. This quickly dispatched the offending gunk.
Finally, I accidentally used about twice the priming sugar called for (corn sugar). The ale was great for about two to three weeks after bottling, but eventually the yeast ate the extra corn sugar and created too much carbonation, too much alcohol, and degraded the flavor.
Overall, the first batch turned out very well. I was surprised that despite the issues above, I enjoyed drinking most of it.
I'm on batch two now. So far none of the above have happened. Fingers crossed.
