First Timee Brew Experience

Hi All.... Great forum, great people.

I've read both brew books I have cover to cover and scoured this forum for weeks. And finally attemped my first batch yesterday. I wanted to share my experience and ask a few follow up questions.

I brewed a Brewer's Best India Pale Ale.

Steeped Grains
Added Malt syrup - Boiled
Added Hops - Boiled (and some boil over )
Added finishing hops last 5 minutes
Cooled to 78
Poured into 6.5 gallon bucket (1st question here - Filter at this point ?)
Added water to equal 5 gallons
Took OG reading (1.043)
Poured wort into Carboy (I DID filter here)
Made yeast slurry from dry
Proofed yeast
Poured slurry into carboy
Inserted stopper and Airlock

5-6 hours after stopping if was bubbling very little, this morning its bubbling good
1-2 inches of "foam" on he top of the wort. Everythings "SEEMS" likes its working

Now this afternoon all the trub that was on the bottom has rose to the top, maybe not all, but certainly most. (2nd question, Hadn't heard of this, is this correct? )


Ok, really i only had one big question during the cook. I have an 8 inch funnel that at first i used to pour the cooled wort into the 6.5 bucket (before I add more water). It wouldnt go through the screen in my funnel. All the hop pellets just turn to a paste and clogged the screen, so i removed it and poured it into the bucket, added water, and then poured it into the carboy through the screen.

Just making sure this is ok. The directions said when pouring off, leave whatever sediment was in the bottom of your pot. But there wasnt any, it all went into the bucket and MOST went into the carboy.

Thanks for all the great info here....I have found a new hobby.

MNBugeater

Sounds just fine to me. I've never had much luck straining, but everything more or less settles on the sides or bottom of the fermenter.

What you are seeing with your yeast is quite typical... you'll get a big foamy head (rocky head, in brewing terms) for a few days, then it will die down. When it dies down, siphon the beer off the sediment into a new sterile carboy and airlock it for a couple of weeks. It's as simple as that.

After pitching yeast, you must make sure to disturb the beer as little as possible so that it does not become oxygenated.

After a couple weeks in the carboy, make a priming sugar solution (something in around 1 cup of dextrose for 5 US gallons, 1 1/4 for 5 imperial.) with sugar and boiling water, and either rack the beer into another container after adding the sugar solution, or just add the sugar solution to your carboy, if there's room. Then give a gentle stir, and siphon into sanitized bottles.

It sounds like you're well on your way to success, to me.

The hops will settle out effentually. Just transfer to to the secodary without picking up the trub (sludge on bottom) when it's ready..about a week.

Thanks for the reminder on not disturbing the brew once the yeast has been pitched. I know I need to avoid any extra oxygen.

So delima ??

How do I add the priming sugar solution AND get it well integrated into the brew before bottling WITHOUT getting too much oxygen? Stir or just pour it in and it will be good ?

MNBugeater said:

So delima ??

How do I add the priming sugar solution AND get it well integrated into the brew before bottling WITHOUT getting too much oxygen? Stir or just pour it in and it will be good ?

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Pour the priming solution into the bottom of your bottling bucket, then syphon on top of that, stirring gently as the bucket fills. Then stir gently again periodically as you fill the bottles.

Make sure you disolve the sugar in boiling water first.

Regarding your hops pellets, do you have a hops bag? If not, get one. It will keep your wort a lot cleaner. Also, if you do mini-mash recipes, you can use it to steep your grains.

Keep us posted on how your beer turns out. Welcome to a great hobby.

i dont understand homebrew shops that sell funnels with those little screens in them. as you found out the only thing those little screens will do is clog up, and ensure that by unclogging them you will contaminate your wort. what i use is a funnel with a ss strainer i got at walmart for 3 bucks. the strainer is about the same size of the funnel and has a handle, making it easy to dump out what ever clogs it up. i use some plug, or whole hops in the boil, which acts as a natural filter in the screen/funnel. i usually have to dump the spent hops only once during the transfer process.
your o.g. of 1.043 sounds low for an i.p.a. (1.050-70+ is more normal)but im assuming that is a fault of the recipe. i found that homebrew shops recipes assume your going to get 100 percent efficiency which, i dont understand , unless your using only extract. i usually get 75 percent efficiency when all-grain brewing.
you didnt say if you aerated the wort before you pitched the yeast-this is a very crucial step indeed!
i would recomend dry hopping in the secondary as well. especially if your going for an i.p.a.
good luck!

Ok, really i only had one big question during the cook. I have an 8 inch funnel that at first i used to pour the cooled wort into the 6.5 bucket (before I add more water). It wouldnt go through the screen in my funnel. All the hop pellets just turn to a paste and clogged the screen, so i removed it and poured it into the bucket, added water, and then poured it into the carboy through the screen.

Just making sure this is ok. The directions said when pouring off, leave whatever sediment was in the bottom of your pot. But there wasnt any, it all went into the bucket and MOST went into the carboy.

Click to expand...

You might want to buy a hop bag (about $2) so that when your hop pellets break down they dont just mix into your wort and clog your screen. Mine is basicly just a nylon drawstring bag. I got one big enuff for my specialty grains then I rinse it out and wash it up a bit (NO SOAP) and use it later on for the hops too. I would guess a NEW & CLEAN nylon stocking would work just as well. May want to stick to like a knee high type otherwise you may find it hard to explain to your wife why you have a pair of her panty hose in your beer (and if they aren't her's who do they belong to?), and IMHO it's a waste of a pair of thigh highs

Once ya get the hops contained when ya pour your wort through the screen in your funnel you will get a bunch of "snot" on your filter that might clog it up and slow it down some. Relax it's just protien (wont really hurt anything) and you can rinse the filter out and then continue your transfer.

Sounds like you wil be fine, just may have to wait a bit longer to let everything settle out in the primary and you might want to consider using a secondary fermenter if you dont already. It will just help even more stuf settle outa your beer. Just remember when you transfer this batch to try and leave as much of the sediment behind as possible, mainly for appearance.

I did aerate the wort prior to pitching. I actually had that very same question regaring dry hopping. I have read that most IPAs are dry hopped during a second fermentation, but this was a kitt, and didnt come with any hops to dry hop with and I dont live anywhere NEAR a homebrew supply. So i will be unable to dry hop. I am expecting to move to secdonary on Friday - Sunday sometime. It started this past Saturday.

MNBugeater

It's only Tuesday- You might be able to get some hops for dry hopping delivered in time. The first time I dry-hopped, I added them after the beer had been in the secondary for a couple days. Still came out great.

i wouldnt worry about dry hopping then if its that much trouble. you will still have a great beer when your done. in the future a good way i think to get a decent hop aroma without the hassle of dry hopping is to add an ounce or so of plug/whole hops after you turn the boiler off. (0 min boil). if you turn the boil off, add the hops and quickly cover the pot, all that good oily, smelly hopstuff will end up in your beer. i do this with all my ales, regardles if im dry hopping or not. they tell you to add hops 5-15 minutes from the end of boil, but for me you lose way too much good stuff to evaporation that way.

p.s. i cant believe you live in a world where this is not a homebrew supply shop!

I just recenlty tried siphoning my cooled wort from the kettle to the pimary and it leaves most, if not all, the break and hops behind. When I rack from the primary to the secondary there should be less sediment.

Iwas also uisng an inline air infuser for aeration. (tube with hole in it..lets air in through venturi effect)

i used to "whirlpool" my beer by stirring it with a sanatized spoon, and then rack it off the trub, which works pretty well. then i got a few infected batches and i couldnt figure out the problem, so i stopped touching the wort at all after i turned the boiler off, i didnt even take a gravity reading i was so paranoid!
i never did figure out what i was doing wrong but that was a few years ago and in a different city, now, even though i think its a good idea to whirlpool, i still dont touch the wort, but i do take gravity readings.
i havnt had an infected batch since, but i think its more due to the fact that i only use glass for fermentation, and i always use a starter.there are so many variables though, so i try to minimize the risks by controlling the ones i can (i.e. not touching the wort). i do hate the sight of all that nasty trub though! but, according to Papazian, in theory trub affects fermentation, but the afffects are small and not much to worry about for homebrewers.

Those little funnels with screens work fine, IF you have a big screen in the kettle or you put your hops and grains in bags. Don't for beans with free-range hops!

Dry hopping can happen any time in the secondary. If you don't have the hops when you rack, just leave the ale in the secondary a little longer.

My brew looks good, it really cleared up in the last 24 hours. I noticed all the Krausen is gone, now just a thin spotted film on top.

The bubbling has virualy stopped, My wife says she saw it bubble once yesterday, but I have yet to see it in the last 24 hours or so and i stood there and watched for 90-120 seconds at a time and nothing...

I have read both that you should let the first fermentation go about 7 days and that you should move to 2nd fermenter once the bubbling stops to less than every 90 seconds. I am certainly patient enough to wait to move to secondary, in fact I was planning on do this on Friday after work or Saturday morning which would put it the 6-7 days.

My concern is that ive read if the yeast has completed its fermentation it will start consuming it self and you could get "funky" flavors. Am I to be concerned if I dont move to secondary at this point and wait until day 6 or 7 ?

Move it or leave it ?? Thanks

MNBugeater

MNBugeater said:

My concern is that ive read if the yeast has completed its fermentation it will start consuming it self and you could get "funky" flavors. Am I to be concerned if I dont move to secondary at this point and wait until day 6 or 7 ?

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Autolysis (yeast [FONT=&quot]cannibalism[/FONT]) is not a problem after just 7 days...in fact it's not likely to be a problem for at least 4-5 weeks.

I bought one of those strainers at Walmart and figured on using a large grain bag inside of it to provide a finer strain but the idea of putting it in the funnel as a second strainer may work better.

Prowler 13 said:

I bought one of those strainers at Walmart and figured on using a large grain bag inside of it to provide a finer strain but the idea of putting it in the funnel as a second strainer may work better.

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the only problem ive had with the walmart strainers is that the handle fell off after the 3rd or 4th batch, but they are cheap so i bout 2 more.

You can buy a Paint strainer bag from anywhere that sells house paint. Just soak it in sanitisor (and rinse) or boil it first.

I had been meaning to pick some up but seem to keep forgetting to get some. Though now I think I'll stick to siphoning from the kettle to the primary.

I ordered some ingredient for my next batch that I am going to do next week. Due to the quanity the hops come in, I will have 1/2 oz of extra Hallertaur whole leaf.

I originally thought I wouldnt be able to dry hop my this first batch of IPA, but now that i have some extra hops available my question is...

1) Is 1/2 oz enough to dry hop with ?
2) Are Hallertaur hops suitable for IPA dry-hopping ?

If this was your only option, would you dry-hop with the Hallertaur (1/2 oz) or not at all? Thanks

MNBugeater

go for it! you only live once...although hallertauer are considered a lager hop, there is nothing written in stone that says you cant use them in an ale. they are considered one of the best german hops in the history of the world...

another option is to put them in your pillow, and supposedly youll have weird dreams at night.

cgravier said:

go for it! you only live once...although hallertauer are considered a lager hop, there is nothing written in stone that says you cant use them in an ale. they are considered one of the best german hops in the history of the world...

another option is to put them in your pillow, and supposedly youll have weird dreams at night.

Click to expand...

Does that go the same for rolling and smo........nevermind...

Racked to Secondary today (01/22/06). 8 days in Primary.

I mentioned earlier that I was going to dry hop this, but I couldnt get any leaf hops in time.

Racking today went well. The secondary is now sitting in a cool room at about 62F.

Just one observation and question, and Ill preface it by saying I know there is a gentlemen on this board that is quite respected and posts often that says "Throw out the hydrometer..." and I wanted to state that I am not putting much stock in my hydrometer readings at this point other than for checks and balances...

So my OG was 1.045 and the FG this morning was 1.013 giving an est ABW of 3.36 and a ABV of approximately 4.2%.

Both the FG and the ABV are lower than the kit estimated, HOWEVER, I do know that I didnt take readings at the optimum 60F, so im not too concerned. I'm sure its close enough and will be fine. No worries

My question is, how much additional alcohol is produced during secondary fermentation if any?

My observation of the fermented wort was:

Great Aroma
A little Bitter
A little sweet
A little "yeasty" in flavor
Flat (obviously)

Not that I am experienced in the known "funky" flavors yet, but I didnt taste anything that I didnt expect. I imagine the bitterness, sweetness will mellow out while conditioning. Is there an explanation for the yeasty flavor other than the obvious ?

I expect to leave in secondary for 2 weeks and then bottle, wait for 3 weeks and then drink.
Thanks

MNBugeater

cgravier said:

...although hallertauer are considered a lager hop, there is nothing written in stone that says you cant use them in an ale. they are considered one of the best german hops in the history of the world...

another option is to put them in your pillow, and supposedly youll have weird dreams at night.

Click to expand...

Where did you read Hallertaus are for lagers? I know you can use them in lagers (the borders get shadier every day), but not as the main hop. Hallertaus are used mainly in German Hefe Weizens, which are ales.

I've been drinking HWs since I lived in Germany (1975). All I've known them to use are Hallertau (region between Ingolstadt and Munchen), Spalt (southwest of Nurnberg), and Tettnang (down at the south east section of Lake Constance). I've been to the hop fields in all those areas, including Saaz farms in the Czech Republic, but if you know something I don't, I am willing to learn.

As for IPAs, originally British, I would use a British hop and not a German one.

Use fresh hops for your Hop Pillow, not pellets. You'll end up with hop oil soaking into the pillow case and sheets. (Not that I know this from experience. It's just a logical deduction).

If you boil hops in water alone your house will smell like pot. This I do know from experience.

Question about aerating the wort ... what affect will it have on the beer if you do NOT aerate before adding yeast?

Reason I ask is that I pulled a blunder and did not do what I would call an adaquate job aerating my current batch.

Just wondering what I should be looking for in flavor? fermenation? body?