NB Caribou Slobber

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RiffMagnum

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A friend of mine is brewing this for his first batch. I know it's a popular kit, but was wondering if those of you who had brewed it went exactly by the directions or made your own changes or modifications? The main reason i ask is because it says to to steep the grains at 170 for 20 minutes. Compared to conventional wisdom and most kits i've seen, this seems too high of a temp for too short of a time.
 
Is this for the specialty grains?
IIRC it is steep the grains for 20 minutes or till the temp reaches 170deg. As I remember I did both. Yeah no complaints about the beer, it got me a girlfriend even( long story).
 
I've brewed this kit straight-up and it makes a good beer. Definitely a confidence booster for new brewers!

That having been said, the instructions that I read specified to put the grain in water and then heat the water to 170 over about 20 minutes. It worked out okay, but it makes me wonder if they changed the directions.
 
Is this for the specialty grains?
IIRC it is steep the grains for 20 minutes or till the temp reaches 170deg. As I remember I did both. Yeah no complaints about the beer, it got me a girlfriend even( long story).

Yeah. I just went on their website and read through the instructions so i'd be familiar with it if i end up helping him with the batch.
 
Are you sure that's what it said? It seems to be standard NB instructions to steep the grains for "20 minutes or until it hits 170 degrees." Which I think is just dumbed down for those without thermometers. I do it the "how to brew" way, and start steeping at 150 degrees, heat up to 160 degrees and hold the temp, for a total of 30 minutes.
 
Are you sure that's what it said? It seems to be standard NB instructions to steep the grains for "20 minutes or until it hits 170 degrees." Which I think is just dumbed down for those without thermometers. I do it the "how to brew" way, and start steeping at 150 degrees, heat up to 160 degrees and hold the temp, for a total of 30 minutes.

Yeah, this is what the directions said. It just seems really vague to me. Depending on the conditions, it might take 10-15 minutes for a person to get their water up to the 150-170 degree range, so you end up not really steeping it at the proper temp for very long.
 
Good kit. Don't stress too much about the steeping, just don't go above 170. If I was doing it again I'd use US-05 instead of Windsor though.
 
Good kit. Don't stress too much about the steeping, just don't go above 170. If I was doing it again I'd use US-05 instead of Windsor though.

I was actually thinking about picking up a pack of 05 so we could double pitch. You think there's anything wrong with using both strains or should we go with one or the other?
 
I was actually thinking about picking up a pack of 05 so we could double pitch. You think there's anything wrong with using both strains or should we go with one or the other?

I'd say stick with one or the other. Multiple strains will make it difficult to know where flavor characteristics came from so you'll have trouble re-creating it next time.

Personally I'd make a small starter from the US-05 and use that. It'll make a drier & cleaner finish with better attenuation and less chance of off-flavors.
 
Mine turned out really good. Threw the grain in until I hit 170 then pulled it. Tasty
 
Mine turned out really good. Threw the grain in until I hit 170 then pulled it. Tasty

Well i'm glad people have had good results, but this method still seems weird to me. Doing a full boil it sometimes takes a while to even get the water up to 150 degrees, let alone 170. Which means the majority of the time the grains will be steeping in cold/tepid water, if you're only letting them sit 20 minutes like the instructions say.
 
I steep in a gallon on the stove and then have five gallons in the BK in the garage heating up at the same time. I can almost time it perfectly now in terms of having the BK ready to boil about the time grains are done steeping.
 
This was my first beer 2 years ago. Got the kit for a birthday present, god knows how long the liquid yeast wasn't refrigerated for. Made the kit and the yeast was dead, but I ended up pitching dry yeast instead. It came out great for my first beer.
 
It was my first kit and I still think it's great. (I measure every other beer against it)

As for steeping grains, I remember it saying get it up to temp then steep for 20 minutes. Reading it now that's not what it says at all. I've done it both ways and it comes out well.
 
Some total newb questions:

I just got this Caribou Slobber extract kit as a gift and will be brewing it as my first batch (as soon as I decide on a brew kettle). I can't help but want to modify it though (probably from all these years of modifying vehicles). I tend to like bigger beers.

It came with the Danstar Windsor Ale yeast. I asked the person that got it for me how long it had been sitting around before he gave it to me: "no more than a month or two," so the yeast is probably dead. I happen to have an extra Wyeast 1968 London ESB yeast in the fridge. What might be the difference in using that instead of the previously mentioned Safale US-05?

Northern Brewer's description of both:
Wyeast 1968: "rich, malty character and balanced fruitiness. This strain is so flocculant that additional aeration and agitation is needed"

US-05: "Produces well-balanced beers with low diacetyl and a very clean, crisp palate."

Danstar Windsor Ale: "produces a beer that is estery to both palate and nose with a slight fresh yeasty flavor. These are usually described as full-bodied, fruity English ales. Depending on the substrate, the Windsor demonstrates moderate attenuation that will leave a relatively high gravity (density). "

The other add-on options for yeast that you can get with this kit are the Wyeast 1332 Northwest Ale (Produces a malty and mildly fruity ale with good depth and complexity) and White Labs WLP041 Pacific Ale (The yeast will clear from the beer well, and leave a malty profile. More fruity than WLP002, English Ale Yeast. Good yeast for English style ales including milds, bitters, IPA, porters, and English style stouts).

I also got a 1000ml yeast starter, so I plan to add that to the process as well.

One other thing I was considering: adding some dry hops to the secondary fermenter. Bad idea? If not, which hop would you recommend? The kit comes standard with an ounce each of US Goldings, Willamette and Liberty.

I know, I probably shouldn't mess with modifying things with my first ever batch, but I'm not sure I can help myself.
 
Caribou Slobber is my all time favorite extract brew. It is spot on with Moose Drool, which I have had the pleasure of enjoying numerous times, including at the brewery. If you like that beer, you will love this kit as is.

Regarding the Danstar yeast, it is still completely fine. 1-2 months is nothing for dry yeast. I've used packets that were over a year old with no issues. Just make sure you follow the re-hydration instructions. If you really really want to swap it, I would suggest S-04 over S-05. S-04 has a similar English character to it, versus S-05's American/neutral character. But that being said, I would be willing to wager that whatever packet of yeast you buy will have been sitting on a shelf in a warehouse/store for at least a month or so since it was packaged in the factory.

Since this is your first brew, and this recipe comes out so perfectly, I would suggest leaving it as is. This will allow you to see what went right and what went wrong more easily (without having to worry about if it was a variable you introduced). As you become more familiar with brewing, feel free to branch out and experiment more. That being said, this is your beer so feel free to do whatever you want with it!
 
Regarding the Danstar yeast, it is still completely fine. 1-2 months is nothing for dry yeast.

Even without being refrigerated? You're probably right that I shouldn't mess with it. Soooo... maybe I'll just dry hop one gallon of it in a separate 1 gallon secondary carboy so I can see the difference.
 
Ideally it should be refrigerated, and I always put my yeast packets in the fridge whenever I buy more. That being said, I have forgotten to do this in the past and been fine.

Here is a little more info from Danstar:

Should I refrigerate or freeze my dry yeast until I use it?

Yes, although dry yeast can be stored at room temperature and performs well for the duration of the shelf life it is preferable to store it at colder temperatures. Dry yeast will always lose some of its viability and activity over time but at colder temperatures these losses are less than at warmer temperatures. If you choose to freeze your dry yeast for storage, let it warm to room temperature in the package before rehydration & pitching.
http://www.danstaryeast.com/about/frequently-asked-questions

Dry yeast is surprisingly hearty, and it takes a lot to screw it up. Just make sure that you rehydrate the yeast properly, and aerate your wort prior to pitching the yeast. If you do these two steps, you will be fine.

Also, if you find that your beer hasn't started fermenting after a couple of days (via a hydrometer reading, airlock activity isn't a reliable indicator), you can always pitch a fresh packet of yeast.

Cheers!

EDIT: splitting your batch into two fermenters and doing different things to each is an AWESOME way to see what differences additions make and how you like them!
 
My 2 cents on this beer since I just brewed it last week, as my first ever...

The windsor yeast seem to stop at 1.020 as a FG... I tasted my hydro sample and it was a little too sweet for my liking, and I read the optional liquid yeast for this kit would bring you down to a final gravity more in line with the style.
 
I used supplied yeast in mine and got down to 1.016 after two weeks. It's been in bottle for a week and I'm so anxious I wanna open one. I do love moose drool, and hope mine is close. It was my first brew ever.


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I have found that if you use the oven set at the lowest temp(usually 170) and leave the oven door cracked open, the steep temp will stay in the 150-155 range if you preheat the water on the stove top to 160 ish prior to putting the steeping grains in and placing in the oven.

I use a separate kettle for the steeping grains and add the steeped water to the boil kettle when the steep is completed.
 
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