1st batch in 8 years!!!

I woke up today to the nice welcoming of my fermentation lock bubbling away!
Friday night I dove back into this lovely activity with a partial mash and using a new setup given to the wife and I for our wedding. Of course not everything could go perfectly but so far, so good.

The beer will (hopefully) be Irish Red ale. Color and aroma of the wort are wonderful so far! A guess of my recipe is below. Just by memory so…

oh, this was also my first shot at doing a partial mash!

Some questions...

-when pitching yeast, do you just toss it in or stir it as well? (used a liquid yeast)

- I also had to wait until Saturday morn to get the temp down a bit more. So the wort sat for about 8 hr before pitching. Any issue with waiting?

-unfortunately my kit came with a hydrometer but nothing to float it in! The only thing i had deep enough would have had me wasting a lot of beer. Hope to grab one after work today but on OG reading So now how do I tell when to move it to the secondary fermenter? I've heard to do it 2/3rds through the fermentation but not knowing the OG makes that tough. My recipe has it listed so I could make some assumptions... Really the only reason I want to use the secondary is that it's got a spout at the bottom that will make bottle filling much easier. As well I can add the priming sugar without stirring up too much of what’s settled. Any helpful comments here?

-Can I immediately reuse the yeast? I time another batch and brew it up when i move to the secondary can I pitch in some from the first batch? (used White Labs California ale yeast)

- How will I survive the wait!!! I guess I’ve got 'regular' beer in the fridge. This weekend will be easy... I’m pouring at the GABF Friday and going to the member’s session on Saturday so that will help!



Below is a guesstimate of the recipe!

5lbs amber Munich malt
1lb Crystal 75 (crushed)
1/2 lb melanoidan (toasted and steeped in prior to boiling)
N. Brewer for bittering
tettnang for flavor

8 hours isn't too long, assuming the wort is covered.

Current thinking is to leave the batch in the fermenter until the target gravity has been reached or the SG hasn't changed in 3 days. By leaving the wort on the yeast, the fermentation finishes faster. Early transfer was based on an erroneous concern over autolysis.

I frequently pitch on the cake. You can also search in yeast washing.

thanks for the info! Found some good info on yeast washing. (didn't know the term before!)

Welcome to the site Dave. And congrats on your return to the Wonderful; World of Home Brewing.

First off, welcome back to brewing!

Some quick answers to your questions:

I normally make a starter with liquid yeast, but you can certainly pitch it right in form the vial. It will still work fine, it will just be a bit longer before you see airlock activity.

There should not be an issue waiting 8 hours as long as you kept the wort covered from the elements.

I leave all my ales in primary for 7-10 days. Wheats stay in primary for 2-3 weeks then go straight to bottles.

You absolutely can re-use a yeast cake. Siphon off as much of batch #1 from the yeast cake as you can, then just pour batch #2 right on top of it. Just be prepared for a much more agressive fermentation - a blow off might be required.

ohiobrewtus said:

Just be prepared for a much more agressive fermentation - a blow off might be required.

Click to expand...

oooohhhh i'd better get one of those made! It would not be well received to blow the top and make a mess!

Yea, i was carefull to keep the fermenter coverd before pitching. Figured it would be fine as long as i could keep it from contamination.
thanks!
-d