My Virgin Voyage

After all of the hassles with UPS and an unbelievably frustrating week (work, moving a friend, etc.), I've got my first batch ever in the fermenting pail. Start to finish, including cleaning the kitchen, this batch of extract based American Pale Ale (Listermann's) took me 5 hours and 10 minutes. I was extremely careful with sanitation, and I'm pretty sure I did everything right. OG was 1.055 at 60 degrees before pitching the yeast, and it's supposed to be 1.058. So I guess that's close enough. I took a lot of notes and pictures along the way. This should help when I'm ready to start the next batch.

Now I'm smoking a pipe full of Blue Note and relaxing while watching Jeff Foxworthy's Big Night Out on CMT.

Congratulations, VInce. Five hours is not bad at all, better than my first brew... or second, or third...

Feels great, doesn't it? Keep an eye on the fermentation lock. You should start seeing bubbling anywhere from a few hours to a day after pitching.

beer4breakfast said:

Congratulations, VInce. Five hours is not bad at all, better than my first brew... or second, or third...

Feels great, doesn't it? Keep an eye on the fermentation lock. You should start seeing bubbling anywhere from a few hours to a day after pitching.

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Thanks Breaux! Yes, it's a good feeling. I just got back from LSU. A kid who used to work with me plays in Hamiruge (Hammer Rouge, the LSU Percussion Ensemble). They gave an incredible concert tonight. Checked the lock when I got home, and no activity yet. But I know it can take a day, so I'm not worried.

Tomorrow is the first time in over a week that I go in at my normal time (6am instead of 5am). I think I'll have a Sam Adams Boston Lager or two before going to bed.

Congrats Vince.

Post your recipe!

My first is an APA too. Centennial bittering hops, Amarillo flavoring and tomorrow I'll rack to secondary and add cascades for true American aroma. My OG was 1.052 and hopefully it will end up at 1.013 and hopefully 39 IBU which will fall into the middle of the APA range.

dantodd said:

Congrats Vince.

Post your recipe!

My first is an APA too. Centennial bittering hops, Amarillo flavoring and tomorrow I'll rack to secondary and add cascades for true American aroma. My OG was 1.052 and hopefully it will end up at 1.013 and hopefully 39 IBU which will fall into the middle of the APA range.

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Thanks! I don't really have a recipe. It was an extract kit from Listermann's. I just followed the instructions. I can list what was in it, if you like. It's fermenting now. I like seeing the bubbles in the lock. Since my kit is a 2 bucket deal, I won't have a secondary. I'll just rack it to the bottling bucket when it's ready for bottling. If all goes well, I intend to get a carboy for secondary before too many batches are brewed.

I guess it was a pre-hopped kit then. Well, be sure to let us know how it comes out. My brew buddy is coming over to rack our brew tonight. I only have 2 buckets also but I'll just use the "bottling" bucket as a secondary and then move it back to the first bucket as a bottling bucket.

dantodd said:

I guess it was a pre-hopped kit then. Well, be sure to let us know how it comes out. My brew buddy is coming over to rack our brew tonight. I only have 2 buckets also but I'll just use the "bottling" bucket as a secondary and then move it back to the first bucket as a bottling bucket.

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Ah, forgive my ignorance. I'm brand new to this. It was not a pre-hopped kit. Here's the recipe:

First I simmered .25 lb. 60L Crystal Malt Grains in 2.5 gallons of water.
Then I added 4 lbs. Canadian Light Syrup and 4 lbs. Munton's Malt Syrup
Then 1 oz. Nugget hops (bittering). Boiled 45 minutes. Then .5 oz. cascade hops (flavoring), boiled 15 minutes, then 1 oz. cascade hops (aroma) and steeped 10 minutes.
I cooled the wort and got my level up to 5 gallons by adding water.
I had suspended my Nottingham yeast in a water solution earlier, and I'd gradually added cooled wort to it to equalize the temp. between the yeast solution and the wort. At 68 degrees, I pitched the yeast.
I got active fermentation some time between 7 and 12 hours later.
I still have .5 oz of cascade hops to add to the fermenter in 5 days (4 now). This is "dry hopping", but I can't say I really understand exactly what it does. More flavor?
When it come time for bottling, I've got 5 oz. of priming sugar to use.

Is that what you were looking for?

Thanks Vince.

On the hopping. The first addition that is in for all 60 minutes of your boil is adding primarily bitterness and very little flavor or aroma. The longer the time the hops is in the wort the more of the bitterness is extracted but more of the flavor and aroma get boiled away. The later addition adds more flavor but less of the bitterness is extracted. The dry hopping extracts no bitterness but gives more of the floral aromas to the beer, the aroma from the dry hopping is also more trasitory and with bottle aging is the first part to go away.

Mine is based on "Libery Ale" and is a bit more reddish than your will likely turn out.

Sounds like a good batch be sure to post your results.

Will do, Dantodd.
Thanks for the clarifying info on hops. In the Listermann's site, there's a pdf file saying this is supposed to be similar to Sierra Nevada. I hope so! I'll definitely post a review, and you do the same, please!

Off topic, sort of, but...

Blue Note in the pipe? I used to manage a tobacco store... I lOVE pipes! We used to sell Blue Note, but not enough flavor for me... Ever tried the Solani series? Monjure International is the importer, Steven Monjure is an AWESOME individual!

I work at a tobacconist too. Those pipes can get to be a bit of a habit!

I have a couple peterson golds, one exotic and a handful of scandinavian pipes. My prefered smoke is Dunhill 965.

usc_cop said:

Off topic, sort of, but...

Blue Note in the pipe? I used to manage a tobacco store... I lOVE pipes! We used to sell Blue Note, but not enough flavor for me... Ever tried the Solani series? Monjure International is the importer, Steven Monjure is an AWESOME individual!

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I've not tried the Solani series, but I certainly will! I'm not big on aromatics, in general. But now and then I like one. McClelland's Frog Morton series is great, and I love several of Greg Pease's (GL Pease) blends, especially Haddo's Delight. Thanks for the Solani tip...I'll try some!

dantodd said:

I work at a tobacconist too. Those pipes can get to be a bit of a habit!

I have a couple peterson golds, one exotic and a handful of scandinavian pipes. My prefered smoke is Dunhill 965.

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If you go to my profile and then click the link to my blog, you can see some of my pipes. I don't have a big collection, and money is definitely an object, so I buy estate (used) pipes a lot. Yes, they can become quite a habit! I also like a good cigar from time to time. But the pipe is my daily smoking choice. On my blog, I also have 3 pics from my first batch of beer!

Well, I work for "trade in product" and tobacco is pretty cheap so I send the owner out to do my bidding at RTDA each year!

dantodd said:

Well, I work for "trade in product" and tobacco is pretty cheap so I send the owner out to do my bidding at RTDA each year!

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Smart man!

Maybe the question should be a different thread. We'll see...

My fermentation was pretty active for about two days, then it started slowing down. Today is 5 days since I brewed, so I dry hopped. This is the last step before racking to the bottling bucket and bottling, since I don't have a secondary (I know I could sanitize the fermentation bucket and rack back to that for secondary, but I'm going to try this first batch without that). So, the question...

When I replaced the lid after dry hopping (it was only open long enough to add the hops and take a good sniff), the bubbling started back up, a bit faster, right away. How will I know when it's time to bottle? The instructions read that you bottle when there's no foam left. How long should I wait before checking?

wait a few (3 or 4) days after the bubbling stops. The best is to take a SG reading as soon as the bubbling stops, if you're at your target FG you can probably bottle.

The only problem with waiting to bottle a few more days is that you'll have to wait a few more days to drink it! Bottling too early can be um... explosive.

As for the restart of fermentation it's probably just some CO2 coming out of solution. If it continues for more than a day or so it is possible that you picked up an infection. Infections while dry-hopping are extremely rare. Also, an infection shouldn't starting immediately.

Personally I'm trying to leave my batch on the dry hops for a week to pick up as much of the aroma as possible.

dantodd said:

[snip]
Personally I'm trying to leave my batch on the dry hops for a week to pick up as much of the aroma as possible.

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I'm thinking that's what I'll do, too. Wait about a week. But I'll keep watching the fermentation lock and take a reading when it stops completely.

Thanks!

I haven't done many brews yet, but I've left mine in primary from 11 days to three weeks, then two to three weeks in secondary. I think if I was going to bottle after primary without conditioning in secondary, I'd give it two full weeks before bottling as a minimum, and more like three. Maybe that is more than is needed, but I'm paranoid about bottle bombs.

I'll be bottling two batches tomorrow, the FIrehouse Amber Ale, and Brewsmith's Leftover Kolsch.

Here are all my brews so far:

1) Northern Brewer ESB, brewed 09/03 and in primary for 11 days, racked to secondary on 9/14 for 16 days, bottled on 9/30.

2) Firehouse Amber Ale: brewed 9/18 and in primary 13 days, to secondary on 10/1 for 27 days, bottling tomorrow 10/28.

3) Brewsmith's Leftover Kolsch, brewed 9/24 and in primary 21 days, to secondary on 10/15 for 13 days, bottling tomorrow 10/28.

4) I imagine I'll rack my Shakespeare Stout clone from AHBS, brewed 10/15, to secondary on Monday after 15 days in primary. That just seems about right.

It's time to head to the LHBS tomorrow for the stuff I need for my next brew, a red ale. I figure I got to be brewing at least every couple of weeks to ensure a continuing good supply down the road.

I get busy and don't keep a regular schedule for the time in primary and secondary. I'm sure it's better for the beer than racking or bottling too soon as long as I don't leave it on the trub too long, so I don't worry about it.

Oh yeah, one other thing. Haddo's Delight tonight in my Gepetto rhodesian. Life is good.

beer4breakfast said:

I haven't done many brews yet, but I've left mine in primary from 11 days to three weeks, then two to three weeks in secondary. I think if I was going to bottle after primary without conditioning in secondary, I'd give it two full weeks before bottling as a minimum, and more like three. Maybe that is more than is needed, but I'm paranoid about bottle bombs.

I'll be bottling two batches tomorrow, the FIrehouse Amber Ale, and Brewsmith's Leftover Kolsch.

[snip]

Oh yeah, one other thing. Haddo's Delight tonight in my Gepetto rhodesian. Life is good.

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Too cool on all the bottling. I'm sure I'll leave this batch in primary for about 3 weeks, since I'm going straight to bottling after that. The bubbling that started yesterday after dry hopping stopped after a few hours. So I don't think there's a problem with it.

Haddo's Delight is good. I'm all out. My birthday is on Thanksgiving! Oh wait, you already got my present. Nevermind...I'll buy some!

Heading out to a bluegrass jam, now. Later!