First 5 Gal Batch, Pictures (I have questions)

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S2005

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So, I put together my very first 5 gallon batch today.

It's an DME American Wheat Ale (I added 1 lb of honey after I turned off the boil) from More Beer.

I'm a little concerned, as it looks like soup that I left out for a couple days...

It has a lot of stuff floating in it... see the pictures. I'm guessing this is completely normal, and I should relax, and have a home brew...

But just in case :D

 
Fermentis Safbrew WB-06 "Dry Wheat Beer Yeast"

It's in a little purple packet. Purchased it at my LHBS

It's been about an hour, and I can already see small quarter size islands of yeast (I think).


********

Also, while I'm thinking about it, I did have a boil over... will that hurt this noticeably?

I boiled the water, then removed from heat, added the DME, then brought back to a boil. Wasn't paying close enough attention, and it boiled over.
 
I think it was still a little warm from when I poured it in. The closet its in is mid 60s.

I got the wort down to 130 before pouring it into refrigerated water in the carboy.


****

Just checked it, it already dropped to 74
 
Didn't even read the thermo. He's right, 78 is way too hot.

Get it down to the mid sixties, or even 70. But at 78, you're going to have a really harsh brew.
 
Those pics were about 30 seconds after yeast pitch.

It was about 78 when I pitched. I probably should have waited a bit longer...
 
Looks like cold break to me. Cold break has that miso soup look. It will settle out and you will leave it behind when you rack. I like the color.
 
Good to hear! Thanks guys! Miso soup is exactly what i was thinking!

Theres already a lot of krausen. It almost covers the entire surface. A good 80%. Its about an eighth inch high.


What is cold break?

Also, yes rehydrated for 15 min.
 
looks fairly normal....the funky spongy clouds of stuff will settle out
 
Thanks guys for the posts!!!

A lot of the clouds have settled out, some are moving around! Very neat to watch in this clear carboy. Solid krausen. Here is a picture from about 9 hours later.

 
I took this one about 10 minutes ago.

Which is about 20 hours after pitching.



I do have an update question.

Because I added honey, should I leave it in the fermentor for 3 weeks instead of 2?

Also, while I'm thinking about it, I did have a boil over... will that hurt this noticeably?

I boiled the water, then removed from heat, added the DME, then brought back to a boil. Wasn't paying close enough attention, and it boiled over.
 
The boilover won't affect your fermentation. Just makes a mess to cleanup(been there, cleaned that)
The added honey won't significantly extend your total fermentation time. Having said that, leaving your batch in primary for 3 weeks, if you can, is generally a good thing.
 
Cool. Thanks Jim.

It was BAD. I couldn't move the pot to clean it while I was boiling, so I just left it for the full 60 min boil...

I had to scrub for about 20 minutes to get that gunk off of my stove top :(

Worth it.
 
If you happen to have a glass top stove you can use a razor blade to scrape off the real tough stuff.

Also, your beer looks great! I have almost zero experience, but I'm still pretty sure that's a very nice start.
 
Sadly, no. Its a white painted top stove.

I have access to a burner that uses a propane tank that I may use next time... would get it hotter faster... I don't know, I'll do more research.

Thadius, yeah man! Its tucked away in a closet in a part of the house we never use. I was only open for pictures, and now it is in pure darkness for 3 weeks.

I only open it when I'm changing out those frozen 2-liter bottles, and I only do that before the sun comes up, or after it sets, and I use an LED flash light.
 
S2005 said:
Sadly, no. Its a white painted top stove.

I have access to a burner that uses a propane tank that I may use next time... would get it hotter faster... I don't know, I'll do more research.

Thadius, yeah man! Its tucked away in a closet in a part of the house we never use. I was only open for pictures, and now it is in pure darkness for 3 weeks.

I only open it when I'm changing out those frozen 2-liter bottles, and I only do that before the sun comes up, or after it sets, and I use an LED flash light.
Click to expand...

I don't think you have to be quite that worried about sunlight. :eek:
 
S2005 said:
Sadly, no. Its a white painted top stove.

I have access to a burner that uses a propane tank that I may use next time... would get it hotter faster... I don't know, I'll do more research.

Thadius, yeah man! Its tucked away in a closet in a part of the house we never use. I was only open for pictures, and now it is in pure darkness for 3 weeks.

I only open it when I'm changing out those frozen 2-liter bottles, and I only do that before the sun comes up, or after it sets, and I use an LED flash light.
Click to expand...

Your attention to detail seems great! I wouldn't be overly concerned about the light. As long as you don't let it sit in sunlight for days, it will be fine. A propane burner would be a great option. You can do full boils that way (If not next time, sometime in the future) and that will have a positive effect on your brew. You seem well on your way towards the obsession.
 
I didn't think sunlight was that big of a deal either. Just wanted to be sure, so if I have any issues I could rule it out as a cause :)

Thanks guys for the advice and support!

I'd love to do full boils. I'd have to find a wort chiller and a 7.5 gal brew pot.

I have a half barrel keg (15.5 gal) that I was considering cutting up to use as a brew pot.
 
thadius856 said:
You're going to cover that thing to block out incoming light, right?
Click to expand...

How much "incoming light" is a problem?

I keep my fermenters out in the open in my basement, so they're exposed to the lighting (a mix of incadescent and flourescent), although they're on the side of the house which never gets sunlight through the window.

The lights are only on while I'm down there working on beer (maybe a few hours per week). I was under the impression I only had to worry about strong, direct sunlight. Am I mistaken?
 
there have been some interesting experiments done on light exposure here on HBT. In clear glass direct sunlight can cause hop skunking in 15 minutes! Clearly indirect sunlight and fluorescent light will take longer.

I keep my fermenters in a closet....and my carboys are covered by old towels to reduce the exposure when the closet is open.
 

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