Caribou Slobber BrewDay

So, I decided to test out my new turkey fryer and 9 gallon pot yesterday.
I also was excited to make the Caribou Slobber recipe from Northern Brewers.

After many attempts with two different turkey fryers, I finally got the boil going.

I bought the 9 gallon pot because I wanted to be able to do full boils. I added 5.5 gallons to the pot and started the fryer.

When the water hit 150°, I threw in the 0.25 lbs Briess Caramel 80L, 0.25 lbs Fawcett Pale Chocolate, 0.125 lbs Black Malt and let the temperature rise to 170°. I then took the grains out, let them drain and continued on my goal of 212°.

Once I hit boiling, I threw in the 1 pound of Amber DME and US Goldings. At 45 minutes, I threw in the Liberty, and at 15 minutes I threw in the 6 pounds of Amber LME and the Willamette hops along with 1 tsp of Irish moss. At flame out, I started the wort chiller and it took about 18 minutes for the wort to get under 70 degrees. I noticed a lot of stuff on the top of the wort at this time, I assume it was a hot/cold break?

After the wort was cooled, I used a wine whip for aeration. I then took a hydrometer reading - 1.056 and had a taste of the cooled wort - it seemed quite sweet, is that normal?

I pitched the yeast starter that was on the stir plate for the last 12 hours. When I woke up today, I had bubbling in my blowoff tube, placed in a growler, every second or so.

One thing I did notice was not that much water seemed to boil off, only about .3-.4 gallons which seemed low.

Any comments? Things that I could improve?

Thanks!

Sweet taste is normal the caribou slobber is one of my favorites

scottvin said:

After many attempts with two different turkey fryers, I finally got the boil going.

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When you say "many attempts with two different turkey fryers" were the problems that you just couldn't get it up to temp?

scottvin said:

...
I bought the 9 gallon pot because I wanted to be able to do full boils. I added 5.5 gallons to the pot and started the fryer.
...

After the wort was cooled, I used a wine whip for aeration. I then took a hydrometer reading - 1.056 and had a taste of the cooled wort - it seemed quite sweet, is that normal?

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Very normal. Remember, at this point you have enough sugar suspended to jump your OG from 1.000 (water) to 1.056. The sugar (and therefor the sweet) will ferment away and leave behind alcohol. It's a beautiful thing!

scottvin said:

...

One thing I did notice was not that much water seemed to boil off, only about .3-.4 gallons which seemed low.

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There are a lot of variables that could play into this. Did you boil inside or outside? What was the temperature? What was the humidity that day? All these things play into how much liquid actually boils off and up into the atmosphere.

Sounds like you had a pretty successful brewday for me, especially first time out on new equipment. Was this your first brewday period?

You have created your wort. You successfully cooled and transferred it to an environment your yeast is thriving in. Just be patient with it. Then from there, just rinse and repeat!

Great job and continued success!

Wd2048 said:

When you say "many attempts with two different turkey fryers" were the problems that you just couldn't get it up to temp?

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I was having trouble starting the first fryer (pushing the incorrect button) and the second one I bought did not work at all.

Wd2048 said:

Very normal. Remember, at this point you have enough sugar suspended to jump your OG from 1.000 (water) to 1.056. The sugar (and therefor the sweet) will ferment away and leave behind alcohol. It's a beautiful thing!

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Awesome!

Wd2048 said:

There are a lot of variables that could play into this. Did you boil inside or outside? What was the temperature? What was the humidity that day? All these things play into how much liquid actually boils off and up into the atmosphere.

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I boiled outside in the garage. It was about 35-40. Humidity was low.

Wd2048 said:

Sounds like you had a pretty successful brewday for me, especially first time out on new equipment. Was this your first brewday period?

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This is my third this go around, I used to brew seven years ago.

Wd2048 said:

You have created your wort. You successfully cooled and transferred it to an environment your yeast is thriving in. Just be patient with it. Then from there, just rinse and repeat!

Great job and continued success!

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Thanks!

Went I got home tonight I noticed the fermenter bubbling quite a bit.

Quite normal - as you monitor your beer's progress, you will notice the sweetness diminishing.

scottvin said:

After the wort was cooled, I used a wine whip for aeration. I then took a hydrometer reading - 1.056 and had a taste of the cooled wort - it seemed quite sweet, is that normal?

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I just brewed this kit on Sunday. It was my first 5 gallon home brew. What is the advantage/disadvantage of adding the LME at 15? I added the DME and LME at the start of the boil.

You didn't boil with the lid on did you?

mountainman13 said:

You didn't boil with the lid on did you?

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Me, nope.

scottvin said:

Me, nope.

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Cool. Just checking.

What would boiling with the lid on do? I assume it is bad.

Dimethyl Sulfides (DMS) are produced in the wort while boiling. By leaving the lid off, you let that DMS leave your wort instead of condensing on the lid and dropping back in. DMS produces "cooked vegetable" off-flavors.

So, NB suggests 2 weeks in the primary and then 2 weeks in secondary. I believe I am just going to leave it 4 weeks (or more) in primary... Thoughts?

This was my first beer that I brewed. After 4 weeks it has a strong fruity flavors tasted kinda funny and sweet. Each day it got better and better. The day it turned 6 weeks it was magically transformed into an awesome beer. It's just delicious! Carmel/Chocolate, my wife said is that they same beer, it tastes nothing like what it tasted like last week.

I have another batch (all grain this time) fermenting right now. I won't keg it for at least 4 weeks and leave it in the primary this time.

I wouldn't recommend leaving it in Primary for the full 4 weeks. Once all the sugars the yeast are going to eat have been converted, you want to get it off of that yeast cake. If you don't, then you risk picking up off flavors.

2 weeks in the primary, IMO, is maybe pushing it. Once your airlock calms down (isn't bubbling as frequently) start taking gravity readings. When you get three days in a row of the same gravity reading, the yeast is full, fat and happy and it's time to transfer.

Wd2048 said:

I wouldn't recommend leaving it in Primary for the full 4 weeks. Once all the sugars the yeast are going to eat have been converted, you want to get it off of that yeast cake. If you don't, then you risk picking up off flavors.

2 weeks in the primary, IMO, is maybe pushing it. Once your airlock calms down (isn't bubbling as frequently) start taking gravity readings. When you get three days in a row of the same gravity reading, the yeast is full, fat and happy and it's time to transfer.

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A lot of folks here leave there wort in the primary well over 4 weeks (just depends on the style) and on the yeast cake so the yeasties can do their thing and clear up the beer.

3 weeks in the primary (no secondary) worked well for me when i brewed this recipe.

Wd2048 said:

I wouldn't recommend leaving it in Primary for the full 4 weeks. Once all the sugars the yeast are going to eat have been converted, you want to get it off of that yeast cake. If you don't, then you risk picking up off flavors.

2 weeks in the primary, IMO, is maybe pushing it. Once your airlock calms down (isn't bubbling as frequently) start taking gravity readings. When you get three days in a row of the same gravity reading, the yeast is full, fat and happy and it's time to transfer.

Click to expand...

Mase said:

A lot of folks here leave there wort in the primary well over 4 weeks (just depends on the style) and on the yeast cake so the yeasties can do their thing and clear up the beer.

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I agree, most think that leaving the beer on the yeast causing off flavors is an outdated idea.

I leave most of my beers in primary for 3 weeks. Very strong beers I will leave for 4 weeks.

Up to about 12 batches tasted by the 3 week schedule and not a bad flavor among them.

You could probably do 3 weeks in the primary and no secondary. Let it sit in the bottle for 3-4 weeks after. I did the AG version of this recipe a while back, and I remember it is rather sweet and chocolatey tasting early on. It mellows over time though.

I brewed the all grain version yesterday and plan on leaving it in the primary for 2 weeks and secondary for 4 weeks. Almost all the reviews on NB's site give it 5 stars but say it definitely benefits from aging a bit. By the way, this was the fastest fermentation start I have witnessed to date (just over 2 hours) and it is currently bubbling like a jet engine. You can actually feel the breeze from the CO2 blowing out the airlock 3" above the lock.

Don't even worry about secondary, just let it sit for a month. It will clear nicely and taste great. Trust me on this.

That's what I am doing now. Can't wait to try it!

Bottled last night.. ended up with a FG of 1.012. Will try one in a week and then weekly thereafter until they are tasty!

I'm confused, how did you handle the temp drop? You should of added your grains to a temperature of like 160. What was the temp after you mashed in!?

My FG always seems a bit high. In primary for a month and FG was 1.018 Wednesday when I bottled. Any ideas why?

I think the yeast just attenuates high. Mine had an FG of 1.014.

cherokee180c said:

My FG always seems a bit high. In primary for a month and FG was 1.018 Wednesday when I bottled. Any ideas why?

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Windsor yeast attenuates low. Your FG is normal for this beer.

I just brewed a batch of this last weekend. It fermented like a champ and is quieting down now. I plan on leaving it in the fermenter my standard 3 weeks and then 3 weeks in the bottle.

I'm curious about the late addition of they LME. Were you trying for better hop utilization?

Mike