Suggested Primary for Double IPA?

I've got a double IPA kit coming from AHS and I have visions of exploding krausen given the high OG (1.088 - high og at the request of SWMBO so who am I to say no? ). I have 2 7.5 gallon buckets that I normally use as primaries, but I get the feeling that when I brew this IPA in a couple of weeks that if I pitch into one of my buckets and attach the fermentation lock the lid is going to pop off and scare everyone half to death in the middle of the night.

I have two 5 gal glass carboys, and I went and picked up 10' of 1.25" odx clear tubing for blow off in antipation of using one of the carboys as my primary on this one (with blow off into one of the buckets), but is that enough room? Should I pick up a 6.5 gal carboy or am I just being paranoid for no reason?

A 5 gal carboy isn't big enough to be used as a primary. Even with a modest fermentation, you'll lose quite a bit of beer. I'd use a 6.5 carboy or one of those buckets with a blowoff tube.

I'd like to be able to use one of my buckets, but the lids only have a small hole for the fermentation lock. I suppose I could take some of the smaller hose that I use with my auto siphon and see if it will fit in that hole. Some blow off has to be better than none, right?

I've used my siphon hose as a blowoff. It works fine, but you might want to check it here and there to make sure it doesn't clog.

I had a lid blow off a bucket so I attached my siphon hose to the airlock hole and it worked fine, no more exploding beer. Do check for clogs though.

With such a high OG should I make a starter for this? I've never used a starter before, so what's the best way for me to go about doing this?

ohiobrewtus said:

With such a high OG should I make a starter for this? I've never used a starter before, so what's the best way for me to go about doing this?

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I checked AHS's site, and they don't say what kind of yeast it comes with, or even IF it comes with yeast at all.

What kind of yeast are you using? If it's dry, then just pitch it without a starter. If it's liquid yeast, you should make a starter every time, always...especially with high-grav brews, but I make them all the time.

My technique is this: Bring 6 or 7 oz of DME and 2L of water to a boil for 15 mins. Cool it down. Transfer it to a sanitized gallon water jug. Drill a hole in the jug's cap and put a small rubber stopper and airlock into it. Pitch the yeast into the jug and place it somewhere warm. Do all this a day or two before you brew.

If you don't feel like doing the airlock thing, you can always just put some alum. foil over top of the opening of the jug...but I like the airlock because it lets me know if anything's going on.

I got a vial of White Labs California Ale yeast (with yeast fuel) with it. This will also be my first time using anything but dry yeast.

This is the first I've ordered from AHS, so I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that the "Munich malt grains' listed in the recipe (http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=2179) are to be steeped. If that's the case, I don't have any DME sitting around, so I'm not sure how to proceed with a starter in the absence of DME.

Do you have any LME or corn sugar? Both could substitute. However, you want to minimize the usage of corn sugar because in high enough doses it can add a nasty cidery taste to your brew. Did you get the "alcohol booster" option? That's just corn sugar, so you could safely use that for the starter.

Or, hell, dude, just use some of the extract that comes with the kit. It's all gonna end up in the final product anyway.

Which kit did you order? If you ordered the "extract" kit, then, yes, the munich grains are for steeping. If you ordered the "mini-mash" kit, then they're for mashing.

I say build that yeast up. You want to have a rocking primary to get it fermented down ASAP.

I ordered the extract kit. I did get the alcohol boost for use on future brews, and although this Double IPA certainly doesn't need the alcohol boost, using that seems like a much better option than opening a can of LME and using half or so of it in a starter.

I'll boil the alcohol boost in about a half gallon of water and pitch the yeast into that.

Sounds like I need to pick up a couple pounds of DME at my LHBS next time I'm there just to keep around for starters.

I'll post updates on this monster brew as it progresses.

Thanks so much for the help, guys!

Here are my 2 cents:

1) You absolutely need to make a starter for a beer that size, the pitchable yeast vials and packets typically mention that starters are required for all beers over 1.070. I made a 1.5 quart starter for my wee heavy and had a lag time under 24 hours.

2) High OG is not an indicator for potential blow-out. My 1.054 brown ale blew out bigger than anything I have personally experienced, while my 1.089 wee heavy hasn't come close to touching the top of the fermenter. That said, go with a 6.5 gallon vessel or higher and if you use the buckets, siphon tubing will work just fine as a blow-off.

3) Be prepared to wait for fermentation to be complete. My wee heavy is still bubbling away after 18 days (hydro reading last night was 1.032 so it's getting there, just 10 more points to go).

ohiobrewtus said:

I ordered the extract kit. I did get the alcohol boost for use on future brews, and although this Double IPA certainly doesn't need the alcohol boost, using that seems like a much better option than opening a can of LME and using half or so of it in a starter.

I'll boil the alcohol boost in about a half gallon of water and pitch the yeast into that.

Sounds like I need to pick up a couple pounds of DME at my LHBS next time I'm there just to keep around for starters.

I'll post updates on this monster brew as it progresses.

Thanks so much for the help, guys!

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I would add SOME of the extract to the starter. Not half, but some. I dunno how much sugar is in the alcohol boost, but probably not that much. Do you have any molasses? You could add some molasses or honey to the starter too, and neither would hurt the final brew. You'll also want to adjust your final wort volume down to account for the starter addition.

Hey, if you ever go Partial-Mash, I have a Double IPA recipe (of my own creation) in my recipe database (under my avatar) that is ridiculously awesome.

I would keep more than a couple pounds of DME onhand if you can. It has many uses.

Evan! said:

That's just corn sugar, so you could safely use that for the starter.

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I was under the impression that the AHB alcohol boosts are not just corn sugar.

Let me see if I can dig up the thread.

Edit: I found it.

Our Alcohol Boost is not DME, LME or corn sugar. It is a blend of 55% Maltose and 45% Glucose. Corn sugar is Dextrose.

Many breweries use this sugar as an economic way to boost alcohol content without effecting flavor.

This blended sugar is more expensive than simple corn sugar, that is why there is a price difference.

Forrest
Austin Homebrew Supply

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https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=254867&postcount=10

Evan! said:

I would add SOME of the extract to the starter. Not half, but some. I dunno how much sugar is in the alcohol boost, but probably not that much. Do you have any molasses? You could add some molasses or honey to the starter too, and neither would hurt the final brew. You'll also want to adjust your final wort volume down to account for the starter addition.

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I guess my only question then is what to do with the LME after I've opened a can. Probably just covereing it with some plastic wrap and a rubber band for a day or two until the starter gets kicking should be ok.

Evan! said:

Hey, if you ever go Partial-Mash, I have a Double IPA recipe (of my own creation) in my recipe database (under my avatar) that is ridiculously awesome.

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I would love to try a partial-mash batch. Thing is I'm not sure if I need any additional equipment or not. I've only done LME kits to this point, and have two 7.5 gal buckets, two 5 gal carboys and I picked up a 22 Qt stainless stockpot for boils. I'd really like to get away from LME altogether, so if you don't mind, I'd love to see your IPA recipe (PM).

Evan! said:

I would keep more than a couple pounds of DME onhand if you can. It has many uses.

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Make it 5 pounds then

ohiobrewtus said:

I guess my only question then is what to do with the LME after I've opened a can. Probably just covereing it with some plastic wrap and a rubber band for a day or two until the starter gets kicking should be ok.

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Oh, yeah, it'll be just fine. The stuff doesn't just spoil. It takes awhile for anything to happen. And don't worry about any kind of wild yeast or bacteria or anything, because it gets added to the boil and all that gets killed anyway.

I would love to try a partial-mash batch. Thing is I'm not sure if I need any additional equipment or not. I've only done LME kits to this point, and have two 7.5 gal buckets, two 5 gal carboys and I picked up a 22 Qt stainless stockpot for boils. I'd really like to get away from LME altogether, so if you don't mind, I'd love to see your IPA recipe (PM).

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You know, if you have a strainer/colander of some kind, you could probably do a smaller mash, ghetto-style, like I did when I started PM'ing. What I'd do is mash in a kettle (I still do that, actually), then put the SS pasta strainer insert from my cooking set over top of another kettle or bucket. Then, when the mash was done, I'd pour it into strainer insert, thus separating the wort from the grains. Then I'd toss those grains back into the original kettle, add water for sparging, stir for 10 minutes or so, and repeat the process with the strainer. It worked pretty good for a ghetto solution! So, you're really not that far off from PM.

Yeah, like I said, check out my Hop Beatdown recipe under my recipe database under my avatar.

HarvInSTL said:

Our Alcohol Boost is not DME, LME or corn sugar. It is a blend of 55% Maltose and 45% Glucose. Corn sugar is Dextrose.

Many breweries use this sugar as an economic way to boost alcohol content without effecting flavor.

This blended sugar is more expensive than simple corn sugar, that is why there is a price difference.

Forrest
Austin Homebrew Supply

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I stand corrected! I've never used them...I was just speculating.

ALWAYS use a starter. it gets things rockin :rockin:

Evan! said:

I stand corrected! I've never used them...I was just speculating.

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I can't speak from experience because I've never used any brand of alcohol boost, and unless you are 100% sure of the ingredients I'd assume (just as you did) that it is nothing but corn sugar.

I'd hate for someone to go off and buy some of this stuff expecting it to be a blend like AHB's just to find out it is indeed corn sugar.

So caveat emptor!