First brew made on Sunday! Awesome hobby!

Hey guys,
My buddy and I have been talking about home brewing for years and finally stepped up to the plate. We made a imperial IPA with a 60 min boil with Warrior, Amarillo and Cascade hops. Also made a our own mash. Wanted to make everything ourselves. We forgot to strain the first 8 seconds of the wort... Stupid first time mistake I know... To make a long story short I wanted to post some pics of the brew and have some guys tell me if it looks ok.... Really don't know to much about what it's supposed to look like 48 hours later..... Let me know what you guys think...


- OG after wort boil at 60F is 1.084
-Temp for fermentation is around 75F



(1st taken right after the 1 fermentation bottling)


(Taken 24 hours after)


(Taken 48 hours after)

Your ferment temp is too high. Get it down into mid 60's. You are risking off flavours with anything over 72 ish.. Research Swamp Cooler on here but it is basically a big plastic bucket, fill with cold water and add frozen water bottles to it to maintain temp.

Also, I am a faily new brewer but is that blow off tube without a bung a good practice?

Congrats man! Welcome to the hobby!

I can't see the pictures, but I will say that you might want to get that fermentation temp down. I don't know what yeast you're using but generally you want the yeast in a IIPA to just get the job done and stay out of the way, flavor-wise. If you're using a standard clean ale yeast (US-05, WLP001, Etc.) you'll want to get that temp down into the mid-to-high 60's. Otherwise you might end up with some hot alcohol flavors in your final product.

My first few batches were fermented in the high 70's and they tasted like someone dumped a shot of cheap vodka into the beer.

What these guys said.. if it's an american ale yeast you should have fermented cooler but the damage is probably done now. I'd try and keep it 65-68 in the future. If you for some reason used a belgain yeast which you probably didn't it's fine or you could even warm it up some more if you like

Congrats on the brew though it looks great!

NewWestBrewer said:

Your ferment temp is too high. Get it down into mid 60's. You are risking off flavours with anything over 72 ish.. Research Swamp Cooler on here but it is basically a big plastic bucket, fill with cold water and add frozen water bottles to it to maintain temp. Also, I am a faily new brewer but is that blow off tube without a bung?

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Ok I will do that search now. Do you know if I've gone to long at that temp? I can try to have it ready by Thursday. Thanks for the heads up!

ICWiener said:

Congrats man! Welcome to the hobby! I can't see the pictures, but I will say that you might want to get that fermentation temp down. I don't know what yeast you're using but generally you want the yeast in a IIPA to just get the job done and stay out of the way, flavor-wise. If you're using a standard clean ale yeast (US-05, WLP001, Etc.) you'll want to get that temp down into the mid-to-high 60's. Otherwise you might end up with some hot alcohol flavors in your final product. My first few batches were fermented in the high 70's and they tasted like someone dumped a shot of cheap vodka into the beer.

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Hey,
Yeah I'm going to work on that temp this week.... I want to get it down ASAP but hopefully by Thursday the latest, fingers crossed that isn't to late.

We made a starter yeast of WLP001.... Sorry should have put that in my thread at the top. New at this lol

I want to get it down ASAP but hopefully by Thursday the latest, fingers crossed that isn't to late.

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The quicker the better. Do you have a spare bathroom? You can always fill up the tub.

It is probably too late for this brew but the quicker the better. I am also not saying your brew will be ruined...it most likely will be very good. After perusing this site for months the most common theme seems to be healthy and proper amount of yeast pitched with the proper ferment temps being the two most important steps for making great beer. Good luck

HopHead_32 said:

Ok I will do that search now. Do you know if I've gone to long at that temp? I can try to have it ready by Thursday. Thanks for the heads up!

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It'll be OK. Lower temps would be better, but most of us started at room temps and loved our first beers.

Don't bother straining your wort. It won't make a bit of difference.

That's a big IPA. I don't see a recipe here, but I've found that big IPAs like that are better when you replace some of the malt with sugar (table). Otherwise, you usually end up with a high FG (i.e., > 1.020) which is not nearly as digestable as a IIPA that is under 1.015.

That blowoff is fine, but you probably should consider something that will keep the fruit flies out. They love beer. And, they carry bacteria that will turn your beer into vinegar.

ICWiener said:

The quicker the better. Do you have a spare bathroom? You can always fill up the tub.

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Nope no spare tub.... Plus our 7 week old baby is in the hospital for a high fever, she is getting better thank goodness. That's one reason why I can't get it done tonight but hey she is way more important than beer. Thanks for the heads up, next time swamp cooler to the rescue! Lol

our 7 week old baby is in the hospital for a high fever, she is getting better thank goodness. That's one reason why I can't get it done tonight but hey she is way more important than beer.!

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Yes she is. I'm a father of two, and my little one is only 5 months now....gotta take care of those babies. Everything else comes second. Glad to hear she's doing okay.

NewWestBrewer said:

It is probably too late for this brew but the quicker the better. I am also not saying your brew will be ruined...it most likely will be very good. After perusing this site for months the most common theme seems to be healthy and proper amount of yeast pitched with the proper ferment temps being the two most important steps for making great beer. Good luck

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Thanks again for all the super fast response. I will keep the thread updated and let y'all know how it's going. Damn this hobby is fun!

passedpawn said:

It'll be OK. Lower temps would be better, but most of us started at room temps and loved our first beers. Don't bother straining your wort. It won't make a bit of difference. That's a big IPA. I don't see a recipe here, but I've found that big IPAs like that are better when you replace some of the malt with sugar (table). Otherwise, you usually end up with a high FG (i.e., > 1.020) which is not nearly as digestable as a IIPA that is under 1.015. That blowoff is fine, but you probably should consider something that will keep the fruit flies out. They love beer. And, they carry bacteria that will turn your beer into vinegar.

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My friends brother has been fermenting at the temp for about a year with his pale ales and he hasn't had a issue but I will look into lower temps tonight.

I have the recipe at home but I wanted to say it was a 10 pound mash we used.... Not to sure of what exact malts and grains at this time...

I removed the blowoff today since the head didn't get any larger over the last 48 hours. I didn't noticed any flys in my man cave but I will note that for next time.

Thanks for your help!

ICWiener said:

Yes she is. I'm a father of two, and my little one is only 5 months now....gotta take care of those babies. Everything else comes second. Glad to hear she's doing okay.

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Thanks man. Being our first we were pretty uneasy around 1:30 AM this morning. If it's a good first brew.... Might have to use a baby name for the brew lol.... Baby taste????? Hope not! Lol

Hello everyone,

I am fairly new to brewing. This past weekend I tried my hand at a chocolate bock. It seems to have come out pretty well. I am however a slight but confused with figuring my o.g. I used 10.6 lbs of malt extract. I filled my fermenter up to six gallons and measured my gravity. I came up with 1.026 @ 80 degrees. I used a correction factor of .0025 for each 10 degrees higher than 60, which gave me 1.031 o.g. It seems as though this it's too low with the amount of extract that I used. Did I screw it up by measuring it at 6 gallons instead of 5 by it being diluted?

Any advice or ideas?
Thanks

Colew1978 said:

Hello everyone,

I am fairly new to brewing. This past weekend I tried my hand at a chocolate bock. It seems to have come out pretty well. I am however a slight but confused with figuring my o.g. I used 10.6 lbs of malt extract. I filled my fermenter up to six gallons and measured my gravity. I came up with 1.026 @ 80 degrees. I used a correction factor of .0025 for each 10 degrees higher than 60, which gave me 1.031 o.g. It seems as though this it's too low with the amount of extract that I used. Did I screw it up by measuring it at 6 gallons instead of 5 by it being diluted?

Any advice or ideas?
Thanks

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You did dilute but also extract is notorious for not mixing with water even after crazy shaking. Most likely once you pitched your yeast and it does its thing you will be fine.

Just checked my temps... It's downstairs in the closet of the man cave. It's around 70-72 degrees now... I think I'm going to hold off on the swamp cooler since it's this far unto it... Next time we will look into a cooler fermentation...

I will keep y'all updated

It's there some kind of a correction factor for having added more water? There must be some kind of a standard for measuring with 5 gallons. It's so you could use that standard number to re-configure for 6 gallons.... hmm

HopHead_32 said:

Nope no spare tub.... Plus our 7 week old baby is in the hospital for a high fever, she is getting better thank goodness. That's one reason why I can't get it done tonight but hey she is way more important than beer. Thanks for the heads up, next time swamp cooler to the rescue! Lol

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Brewing is wonderful, but priorities are priorities!

IMO you'd be hurting your understanding of the hobby if you didn't ferment one or two at room temp, so you can taste/understand the difference once you have evolved to temp control. Even with temp control there will be nuances you will be better able to pick out while fermenting at different steady temps or ramping your temps during fermentation. Congrats on getting to this stage on your first beer!

Best wishes on getting that young'n well!

Maybe get a proper airlock and I wouldn't worry about the beer. Live and learn since you brewed it you will enjoy it no matter what.

I just set up a chest freezer to hold ferm temps but, before hand all my beers had the same band aid after taste. Band Aid or not we drank them just the same.

Enjoy the addiction. Cheers!

When I brewed my first, I immediately went out and got another, and another. Now I get to finally have my first this weekend, second next weekend, two in the fermenter and going to brew another this weekend. I kind of dove in head first, and I'm ok with that.

501irishred said:

Brewing is wonderful, but priorities are priorities! IMO you'd be hurting your understanding of the hobby if you didn't ferment one or two at room temp, so you can taste/understand the difference once you have evolved to temp control. Even with temp control there will be nuances you will be better able to pick out while fermenting at different steady temps or ramping your temps during fermentation. Congrats on getting to this stage on your first beer! Best wishes on getting that young'n well!

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Yeah I'm going to keep it at the temp now... It's at 70. You live and learn right? Well just calk it up to learning! Plus like everyone said and yourself I need to know the taste of a non temp controls fermentation. If it's a good tasting beer for our FIRST beer we will consider it a success!

Thanks man she is better today than yesterday already!

twofocused said:

Maybe get a proper airlock and I wouldn't worry about the beer. Live and learn since you brewed it you will enjoy it no matter what. I just set up a chest freezer to hold ferm temps but, before hand all my beers had the same band aid after taste. Band Aid or not we drank them just the same. Enjoy the addiction. Cheers!

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What brand/kind of airlock? That one just came in the local brew kit

geek_chaser said:

When I brewed my first, I immediately went out and got another, and another. Now I get to finally have my first this weekend, second next weekend, two in the fermenter and going to brew another this weekend. I kind of dove in head first, and I'm ok with that.

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I hear ya... Already planning a extra pale ale for the next one

Hey guys,
Just a little heads up... I racked the brew into it's secondary carboy with the dry hops, I will let it set until the first weekend in Nov because of work and such... We took a OG reading after racking of 1.018 at 60F (We had a OG reading after the boil of 1.082 at 60F). Just wondering if this OG reading is a good number at this time and temp is good for this type of IPA.

Took a taste of my first brew... Tasted ok and could tell it was a Imperial IPA for sure with the high OG. Can't wait to bottle in a few weeks!!

-I took the chance of keeping the temp at 68F downstairs (I wanted to taste the non cooled vs cooled fermentation for my next batch so we can tell the difference... Gotta learn right??)
-We left it in the first carboy for a full 7 days. About a 1 of yeast at the bottom so we could tell the yeast was doing its job


[The pics below are before the racking into the second carboy... I will put up new pics of the brew in the 2nd carboy later on tonight]

Before the racking

Way to go all-out on the first one!

Are you going to dry hop? That could be a long secondary for a hoppy brew.

Was the fermentation finished by the time you racked to secondary?

Looks great and glad the baby is okay.

d3track said:

Way to go all-out on the first one! Are you going to dry hop? That could be a long secondary for a hoppy brew.

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Thanks man we are pleased so far! Yeah we are thinking about dry hopping. If not this one we will try our next IPA. It's going to be a long fermentation but only because of our work schedules. Can't find a weekend we can bottle together until then haha

Hello said:

Was the fermentation finished by the time you racked to secondary? Looks great and glad the baby is okay.

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Yeah it is complete... That was taking prob two days before we racked. It was nice a clear on top and all the yeast was a the bottom. About 2:00 between airlock pops. The brew it looking good and tasting pretty nice (For my first brew not really sure how it's supposed to taste between racking lol... It doesn't taste to bad from what I was expecting)

Thanks man our baby is doing great. Her and Mom will be coming home from the hospital this weekend. We can finally relax at home together

PS this forum is the best out of any hobby that I've done. Everyone is super nice and helpful

Just a heads-up for next time. Let the beer age out for as long as you need, just wait to do the dry-hopping until you're about 5-12 days out from bottling. I think you'll find you get better results that way. Although...to each his own...you might find that a month of dry-hopping works for you.

The 70-72 temp is just fine, not too warm. Glad the beer tastes good so far.

ICWiener said:

Just a heads-up for next time. Let the beer age out for as long as you need, just wait to do the dry-hopping until you're about 5-12 days out from bottling. I think you'll find you get better results that way. Although...to each his own...you might find that a month of dry-hopping works for you. The 70-72 temp is just fine, not too warm. Glad the beer tastes good so far.

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Just wondering what would be the reason for waiting in the dry hopping? Taste? Aroma?? Lol sorry man still reading up on this... Noob I know

Just wondering what would be the reason for waiting in the dry hopping? Taste? Aroma?? Lol sorry man still reading up on this... Noob I know

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No sweat man. We were all noobs at one point. Hell I've been brewing for almost a decade and I still learn new stuff all the time.

The thing with dry hopping is that the flavor and aroma changes, and more importantly, fades over time. Ideally, you want to add your dry hops then start sampling the beer every few days until it's got exactly what you're looking for. A lot of people will tell you that a dry hop addition that sits for too long will leave vegetal aromas or flavors, or worse yet, will start to fade out.

Then again, someone will probably post here to tell you that a month of dry hopping is fine and won't hurt a thing. I'm not saying there's a right or wrong way to do it. Lord knows that how it goes with all aspects of homebrewing. All I'm saying is that you want to maximize your flavor and aroma. Lock it in when it's at its peak.

ICWiener said:

No sweat man. We were all noobs at one point. Hell I've been brewing for almost a decade and I still learn new stuff all the time. The thing with dry hopping is that the flavor and aroma changes, and more importantly, fades over time. Ideally, you want to add your dry hops then start sampling the beer every few days until it's got exactly what you're looking for. A lot of people will tell you that a dry hop addition that sits for too long will leave vegetal aromas or flavors, or worse yet, will start to fade out. Then again, someone will probably post here to tell you that a month of dry hopping is fine and won't hurt a thing. I'm not saying there's a right or wrong way to do it. Lord knows that how it goes with all aspects of homebrewing. All I'm saying is that you want to maximize your flavor and aroma. Lock it in when it's at its peak.

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Ahhhhhhh I hear ya... Well damn lol makes more sense now. Just going by Beersmith.... I know what to try for the next batch for sure. Going to run this info by my buddy. Thanks man. Once again great help lol

I will keep ya update for sure on how everything goes.

Do you have any tips for bottling for a new brewer? I just bought all of out bottling equipment besides what came with the brewing kit... The Ferrari bottle cleaner (pretty badass setup I think) and bottle tree. Also my buddy said something about using caps lined with a CO2 agent to start the process... I hope it's a smooth process for the first time

Do you have any tips for bottling for a new brewer?

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Start here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

You'll tweak things and develop your own process, but that thread goes into far more detail than I can in a single post.

ICWiener said:

Start here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/ You'll tweak things and develop your own process, but that thread goes into far more detail than I can in a single post.

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Duh.... Should have looked lol... Thanks man for all the info. Have a good one

A lot of guys never use a secondary fermenter, including myself. I just leave it set in the primary fermenter for 3 weeks, then test the FG. If your FG remains the same for 3 days or so then you should be set for bottling. As far as many are concerned, transferring to a secondary increases your chances for infection and adding oxygen to your beer.

Some beer caps have a substance to remove the small amount of oxygen in the bottle headspace. I used to bottle the beer, then set a plain cap on top of the beer for a few minutes before capping. That time allows the small amount of fermentation from the priming sugar to replace the oxygen with CO2.

Enjoy your beer!

Cider123 said:

A lot of guys never use a secondary fermenter, including myself. I just leave it set in the primary fermenter for 3 weeks, then test the FG. If your FG remains the same for 3 days or so then you should be set for bottling. As far as many are concerned, transferring to a secondary increases your chances for infection and adding oxygen to your beer. Some beer caps have a substance to remove the small amount of oxygen in the bottle headspace. I used to bottle the beer, then set a plain cap on top of the beer for a few minutes before capping. That time allows the small amount of fermentation from the priming sugar to replace the oxygen with CO2. Enjoy your beer!

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Yeah my buddies brother just started using a 2nd fermenter this year after not using one for two years. A guy a work pumps CO2 into the bottling bucket and has been doing that for 20 years.... WAY to much stuff for me to try now lol... He tried explaining it and my head started hurt.... Thanks man just want to start drinking it

Here is the pic I promised the other day of my 2nd fermentation... Gravity reading taking last night after letting the brew settle to get a better reading... Measured at 60F and got a reading of 1.013

Hey guys, still waiting on my brew to finish up....

Quick question..... I've been watching the temp and its stays around 72 degrees and I want to keep it around 65 for my next batch. Does anyone have or tired the cool brewing fermentation cooler?? Just wondering how it is because my buddy is thinking about picking one up. The place I keep the carboy isn't the best for a swap cooler set up and I was thinking of giving the cooler bag a try...


Just wanted to see what you guys think (Oh yeah don't have the money for a freezer or space at this time)

Thanks guys