First brew! NB patersbier

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SMTX

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Hello folks,

My girl and I recently decided to give brewing a try, so we bought all the stuff and did our research to hit the ground running. We're using a Patersbier extract kit from northernbrewer, and doing a half batch in a 3 gallon carboy.

I basically cut all the ingredients in half to make 2.5 gallons, but used the entire yeast packet (Wyeast 3787). The boil went well, aside from some confusion on the time required to steep the specialty grains. Using a home made CFC we got the wort down to ~75 degrees going into the fermenter. To bring the level up to 2.5 gallons, I used half tap water and half distilled to cut down some high bicarbonate levels (300ppm).

The yeast packet swelled up pretty well in only a couple hours, and was directly pitched shortly after the fermenter was filled. Shook it up for a few minutes, and set up the blow off.

We finished around 11:30PM Monday night. By 9AM Tuesday it was bubbling pretty well and krausen was forming. By Tuesday evening we had a good 1.5" layer of krausen. This morning (8AM Wednesday) It was evident that the krausen had creeped into the blowoff slightly. This evening, though, the krausen has fallen back down to about a couple inches tall.

Up until this evening there were many bubbles forming in the brew, but now there aren't near as many (visible, anyway). The blowoff tube is still bubbling consistently every second or so, and the brew is still churning and swirling around well. I keep a thermometer in the blowoff jug water assuming the brew should be about the same temperature (too afraid to measure the actual brew and possibly contaminate). It stays a consistent 68 degrees.

I've read a lot of comments saying the 3787 is a high flocculator, and I am concerned that something may have gone wrong with my yeast. Also, patience is something I have never been good at so I may be worried about nothing.


Anyway, heres a pic of the brew right now. You can see the krausen filled the carboy, but has fallen to just above the little dark line. Hopefully it turns out good, all comments/suggestions welcome!! :tank:

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Looks great! I've done this recipe all grain a couple times and I love it. Such a simple recipe but very yummy.
Welcome to the obsession!

:mug:

Edit: you might want to get a fermometer, they're cheap. You can also tape a probe to the side of the carboy and cover in styrofoam or bubble wrap. The yeast will be kicking off heat so the wort will be warmer than ambient or than your jug of sanitizer.
 
That is one tasy kit. Last time I did a kit that was the one. It got drank up fast.

That yeast is a powerhouse. Plus the beer is low gravity, and you did a half batch.

I'd bet the farm it's already terminal. Still, it wouldn't hurt to leave it a little longer for housecleaning purposes.

Eventually you'll have to get over your fear, and take a sample for terminal gravity. It's good to take note of these things.
 
I will be brewing that same beer probably Monday so I gotta get my starter going saturday I guess. Be patient. Your tastebuds will thank you for it.
 
The timeframe finally clicked in my head. It's still casually chewing some sugars. Really no reason to check gravity until the weekend. Or just do it when you bottle. It's doubtful you have to worry about it not finishing.
 
Don't forget to be patient as this hobby takes a lot of that. I'm new to brewing also but have learned to be patient over the years thankfully. To help with that I waited until my first batch was racked to the secondary, then I started another batch in the primary. Finally I bottled the first batch, and I figure 3 weeks until my first carbonated tasting, as soon as I bottled I decided to brew a third batch. I also set myself up with a keg system, so in short my bottles will be ready for the Super Bowl, and my second batch (4 week kit) will be ready to keg and force carbonating just b4 the Super Bowl as well. This is how I plan to solve the waiting issue, u just have to have one batch brewing all the time. Your beer looks great though!
 
Thanks for the comments!

I know I had them written down on my list of supplies and still forgot to order fermometers! Oh well, I'm going by AHS this weekend for some other stuff anyway.
 
So I popped a few of these open at a week in the bottle with an extra 24 hour fridge time. Nice champagne cork pop from the 16oz flip top. Decent carbonation, not all the way there but close! Tasted pretty good too, I'm trying to resist drinking them all now!

After bottling this batch we brewed up the second half of the kit and pitched harvested and washed yeast from the first batch.

The ferment was much more vigorous and faster than the first batch, peaking a few hours sooner and with quite a bit more blow off. What concerns me is it is now day 8 and the krausen has completely fallen to show clear beer on top. It took the first batch 15 days to reach this point.

The ONLY difference in the batches was the yeast. So, is harvested yeast just ****in awesome or has something gone awry?

My roommate thought it would be a great idea to use my SG tube as a tee for a cupcake bat (drunk on my home brew, irony I know....) and as a result I have no way to measure the gravity of my current batch.
 
Just give it 3 weeks from pitch. That will give it time to clean up and clear and get a graduated test tube when you buy your next ingredeints. I will bottle my patersbier Tuesday or Thursday. Can't wait to try it.
 
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