A little nervous...

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oldf150

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I just bottled my first 1 gallon brew. Is a hefewiezen from a local store. FOllowed instructions, well sanitized. Was in primary 4 days, then glass secondary 14 days. OG 1.024, final at bottling 1.013. The brew was clear, but darker than the usual hefe, smelled strongly (!) of alcohol, almost like whiskey. Tasted too bitter. Not like hops bitter, but like medicine bitter. The hops pellet were left in throughout the process. I bottled it and plan to put it some where where an explosion would cause minimal damage, just in case, and let it sit a month or so. ANy ideas about the SG and bitterness?
 
1.024 to 1.013 is only 1.4% ABV. I don't think that would lead to a strong alcohol smell.
 
1.5 lbs wheat malt extract, 1/4 oz Hallertau hop pellets, 1/16 tsp CaCl, 1/16 tsp Bru-vigor. The guy at the shop said it was OK to put in the whole pack of yeast, even for a 1 gal batch, so I did, Safbrew WB-06.
 
1.024 to 1.013 is only 1.4% ABV. I don't think that would lead to a strong alcohol smell.

That's what I thought too. Maybe it was just a blast of etoh smell due to just opening the bucket. I'm thinking that since there were no signs of infection, and since it's already in the bottles, I'll sit on it and check on it in a month or 2.
 
OG is probably wrong. Malt extract adds a certain amount of points per gallon. I don't think the math works on what you posted.

Hydrometer readings need to be controlled for temperature FWiW.
 
Thanks for the input guys. While that six pack and a half sits, I'm gonna start a 5 gallon Pilsner brew.
 
oldf150 said:
I just bottled my first 1 gallon brew. Is a hefewiezen from a local store. FOllowed instructions, well sanitized. Was in primary 4 days, then glass secondary 14 days. OG 1.024, final at bottling 1.013. The brew was clear, but darker than the usual hefe, smelled strongly (!) of alcohol, almost like whiskey. Tasted too bitter. Not like hops bitter, but like medicine bitter. The hops pellet were left in throughout the process. I bottled it and plan to put it some where where an explosion would cause minimal damage, just in case, and let it sit a month or so. ANy ideas about the SG and bitterness?

What was your fermentation temp? The other way to get this smell/bite is from fusels, caused by fermenting above recommended temps.
 
What was your fermentation temp? The other way to get this smell/bite is from fusels, caused by fermenting above recommended temps.

It was fermented in a dark closet, both primary and secondary, with avg temp around 70F. Ranged from 68 to no more than 72 according to the stick-on thermometer. It is now in brown bottles in a cabinet. Still looks clear, not cloudy like some hefe's, minimal sediment in most bottles, none in the rest.
 
The guy at the shop said it was OK to put in the whole pack of yeast
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Yes he did. And he hand-wrote the recipe alterations to accomodate the 1 gal
 
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