First Brewing success... comments please...

So, this past weekend we finally brewed our first beer. I was hoping to get some feedback on the process and ingredients in hopes of learning as much as I can. I've been lurking for a while, so I hope that I got the basics right!@

BTW, this was loosely based on the Good Eats recipe with some input from my LHBS.

Ingredients:

3.3 lbs briess dark malt extract - liquid
4 lbs amber malt extract - dry
.5 lbs 40l crystal grain steeped 30 minutes

1oz cascade hops 60 mins
1oz kent golding hops 60 mins
1oz kent golding hops 15 mins


All this was done in a 3 gallon batch in a 20 quart pot with water and ice being added to get things to 5 gallons in the bucket.

Pitched pale ale yeast at 88 degree (it was getting late)

Initial gravity was 1.054

The second day, the airlock started bubbling like a madmen and continues strong.
Friday (7days) I plan to rack to a glass carboy and let it sit two weeks, at which point I'll bottle with priming sugar.

Any input would be great.

thanks

Lucas

Sounds like a decent bitter to me. I would avoid melting ice directly into warm wort. I know people do this but I would be nervous of chlorine getting into The Good Stuff.
Depends on where the ice comes from I guess.

I would also leave the beer in the primary for 3 weeks and then bottle. Check the gravity after a week, then after the 2nd week. At this point you can tell if you're nearing your FG which should be aboot 1.013 or so. Sample the beer when you check the gravity - taste checks are important for getting a feel for the process and for early warning of any weirdness that may be going on.

There's really no need to rack to a secondary then bottle/keg. Just leave the beer on the yeast and then bottle/keg after 3 looooong weeks of discontent!

Sounds like things are progressing. Not sure what good eats is, but okay.

i would give it at least 10 days before doing anything to it. I generally leave mine 3 weeks in the intial vessel (I use all glass carboys) but many people do 1 week intial, 2 weeks (in a new vessel) and then 3 in the bottle (or keg). You need to give your yeast enough time to ferment and then clean up by-products they have created that can become off-flavors.

I assume from your comment that you know that your wort temp was a little high to be pitching in but all seems well. Good luck.

Sounds like a good recipe. I hope it turns out well for you.

One thing, since this is your first brew, I highly recommend skipping the secondary fermentation step. I know many will disagree, but your beer will turn out perfectly fine if you just leave it in your primary for 2.5-3 weeks, bottle, and then wait an additional 2 weeks for it to condition. The only reason I say this is because when you rack to secondary, you run the risk of 1) infection and 2) aeration. After you have a few brews under your belt, go ahead and rack to secondary because you will have a much better idea of what you are doing. You want your first brew to be a success, so you should minimize your chances of contaminating your beer. Just my two cents.

zero said:

Sounds like things are progressing. Not sure what good eats is, but okay.

i would give it at least 10 days before doing anything to it. I generally leave mine 3 weeks in the intial vessel (I use all glass carboys) but many people do 1 week intial, 2 weeks (in a new vessel) and then 3 in the bottle (or keg). You need to give your yeast enough time to ferment and then clean up by-products they have created that can become off-flavors.

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Good eats is a food show on Food Network by alton brown... Awesome guy, I've got his cookbook.

Alton Browns brewing was flawed in that he did some things that are really risky as far as sanitation goes.


1. Never add anything to the wort after cool down or just before cool down that is not boiled. You risk the whole batch to infection. Ice cubes are notorious for infecting beer. You must sanitize anything that touches the beer after this point.

2. A secondary fermenter can be used for lagers that would otherwise be sitting on the yeast for a long time. Ales do not need a secondary as they are not on the yeast long enough to make any problems and in fact it is desireable to let the ale sit on the yeast to clean up unwanted by products of fermentation.

Where did you buy your supply from?

idolcarazy said:

Where did you buy your supply from?

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Homebrewit for the kit with glass carboy and my LHBS for some odds and ends, as well as ingredients.

Cheers

Lucas

As of this week... end of week one in secondary... after 8 days in primary.

Beer smells and tastes amazing! Albeit flat!

FG is at 1.014 or thereabouts.


one more week and then its off to the bottles!

Starting a batch of honey chamomile hefe next weekend!

Cheers

Lucas

Adding the ice to the wort to cool directly is fine if proper steps are taken to insure sanitary conditions. This is how I've had it explained to me: sanitize some quart or gallon freezer bags and add cooled boiled water to them, seal and freeze. When you are cooling your wort, you can carefully place the ice into the wort until you are at 80-90° and top off with RT boiled water.

I've never done this, and although I watch and enjoy Brown's show - he does have some questionable practices, (although good entry level stuff) and would steer you away from this. It works in a pinch, but putting the pot in a ice-water bath is much safer - although not ideal.

Sounds like you are going to have a very tasty brew once it is bottled and aged a few weeks. Cheers