Did I Screw Up?

I recently brewed a Belgian Wit (Blue Moon clone). When I transferred the wort to the primary, I left the hops as well as the orange peel and coriander seeds. I just transferred to a secondary and filtered out the hops, orange peel and coriander seeds. It smells good and the hygrometer sample tasted pretty good. It's perhaps just a little harsh, but I'm sure that will mellow.

Couple of questions - should I have filtered out the hops when I transferred the wort to the primary? Should I have filtered out the orange peel and coriander seeds?

Thanks!

Well, if you are satisfied with the depth of flavor then you did the right thing .

(btw, a Hydrometer measures specific gravity whereas a Hygrometer measures moisture/humidity)

zoebisch01 said:

Well, if you are satisfied with the depth of flavor then you did the right thing .

(btw, a Hydrometer measures specific gravity whereas a Hygrometer measures moisture/humidity)

Click to expand...

Oops, yes, hydrometer...I know better (I are an engineer) - I just type faster than I think sometimes.

Can you just sanitize your hydrometer and put it right in your fermenter or do you have to take a sample out?

It seems like it goes pretty deep so you would need to take quite a bit or Wort out.

Also, when can you have your first taste test to see how it is. (We are in the process of brewing our first batch, 2 more days till bottling)

It is easier to take a sample and measure the Hydro from there. You can taste the sample to see how it is. I normally taste when it goes into the primary, into the secondary and into the keg/bottle. After kegged or bottled I wait 1 week intervals for the first three weeks. I do this just to see how the tastes change over time. The longer it sits the better most homebrews become.

You can taste anytime you want as long as you are clean about it.

Be warned, green brew is not too pleasing. And also know that your finished product will be much better.

- WW

Seems like you would have to take a fairly large sample since the hydro is aprox. 8" long. How much easier could it be than just sanitizing it and dropping it in.

You can sanitize it and just drop it in- but then it's hard to read. It's easy to use a sanitized turkey baster and suck out some beer and put it in the tube and then drop the hydrometer it. I hold it up (or bend down) to eye level to read.

The hydrometer holds a couple of ounces, I'd think, maybe 3? You don't fill it to the top (because when you put the hydrometer in, it would overflow) just enough to float the hydrometer.

So...hydrometer readings aside, any general comments on my procedures? Should you filter out the hops when transferring to the primary or is it ok to leave them in and filter out when going to secondary. Also, what about the spices (coriander and orange peel in my case). Should those be done in a mesh bag and removed after the boil or is it ok to leave them in too?

My hydrometer cylinder is about 250ml. Sanitize a pyrex measuring cup, dip it in the primary, pour into the cylinder.

EDIT: I sometimes strain out the hops before going into the primary, but sometimes I just cant be bothered. Never noticed a problem

It really doesn't matter if you strain them out or not- I do most of the time because then I have less trub on the bottom after fermentation. I siphon some of the cooled wort first, allowing it to splash, and then when it's light enough to lift and pour (five gallons of liquid is too heavy for my wimpy arms), I pour the rest through a colander/strainer.

It should all settle out in the primary, and you just rack from it to secondary, leaving the trub on the bottom behind. You don't actually "strain" because you don't want to aerate it by pouring. You just hold or secure the racking cane above the trub and you'll have very little "stuff" that makes it through.

Thanks Yooper. Yeah, when I said strain between primary and secondary, I didn't mean dump it through a strainer. What I did was put a fine mesh nylon bag over the end of my auto siphon and use that to strain out any hops, orange and coriander that might have tried to make it to the secondary.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=4356

Jfrizzell, meet my friend the Wine Thief. Wine Thief, meet Jfrizzell. There, you have now been introduced to the easiest way to take a hydrometer reading from a sample and return it to the wort/beer if you so choose (as long as you are absolutely positive it is thoroughly sanitized). I love mine. I have enough trouble as it is getting a full 5 gallon yield.

Not sure how we went from my initial question to how to take a sample, but I'm familiar with the wine thief and the sampling procedure. Thanks anyway.

Quick update on this batch...I don't think I screwed up! :rockin:

I just bottled it and had a taste as I was bottling it. The color is spot on compared to a glass of Blue Moon. The taste was pretty close but of course it's still green. It's perhaps a bit more bitter than the real thing, but I'm hoping that will mellow out.

Thalon said:

...a sample and return it to the wort/beer if you so choose...

Click to expand...

Never put your sample back into the fermenter.

Drink it. Taste it for possible problems. Take notes of its flavor, body, color, what you like about it, what you don't like about it, etc.