Just Back from LHBS

All right. I have questions b4I begin.

I read Palmer's How to Brew. I decided to keep things simple and make his Cincinnati Pale Ale. I went to the LHBS and asked for the ingredients to make the recipe.

They announced they did not have Amber dry malt extract but that they could provide other ingredients to approximate it.

I ended up with six pounds of Plain Extra Light Spraymalt extract and 1/2 pound of Crystal. Does that seem like a reasonable substitution? And now that I am home, I have forgotten what Crystal is. What kind of grain is it?

The LHBS also changed around the recipe a bit for me. Being the OCD guy I am, I really wanted to just follow Palmer's recipe exactly.

Instead of boiling two gallons of water plain and adding it to the fermenter, the LHBS recommends that I top off the wort afterwards. Is this six of one, half dozen of the other?

The LHBS told me to just shake the yeast (Safale US-05; dry ale yeast) into the wort once it is in the fermenter. This seems to be not what I have read to do nor is it what I am accustomed to do. I know when making bread one needs to proof the yeast.

I will not be able to brew until this evening. I gather I should refrigerate the yeast and hops. Do I need to bring to room temperature b4 using?

P.S. The Blue Angels are buzzing my house right now. Unbelievable!

Every time I've used dry yeast, I've added it directly to the fermenter. You are, in effect, proofing the yeast by sprinkling it into the wort.

Someone else will recommend something else. I'm sure they've had success with another method. This one is mine, and it works for me (for 5 gallon batches and a single packet of dry brewer's yeast).

The extract substitution looks fine.
The crystal that they sold you is probably crystal malt - it should look like (and is) grain.

You should steep the grain in 150-160 F water for 30 min, then remove the grainbag (if you've got one) or scoop out the grain with a strainer.

I've heard of people sprinkling the dry yeast onto the wort in the fermenter with good results. I've always rehydrated dry yeast, it's easy to do.

As far as topping off it doesn't matter whether you add the wort to water or vise versa, but how you plan to cool your wort may have some bearing on which is better for you.

The hops and yeast will be fine in or out of the fridge since you're brewing tonight. I store yeast in the fridge and hops in the freezer for longer periods.

Thanks guys for the answers. I truly appreciate the help. Ah yes, malt I suppose it is. D'oh!



Another question I should have asked . . . how long should utensils sit in a sanitizing solution b4 I can feel safe?

I like to put the wort into the fermenter then add water on top. If you are using a bucket pour the water from a height, as far as possible without splashing, this will introduce a lot of oxygen into the wort (a good thing).

I forgot to mention, crack the crystal before you steep it. Put it in a heavy plastic bag, like ziplock freezer bags, then break it up with a rolling pin or soup can.

Barley-Davidson said:

I forgot to mention, crack the crystal before you steep it. Put it in a heavy plastic bag, like ziplock freezer bags, then break it up with a rolling pin or soup can.

Click to expand...

Doesn't it look cracked in the picture he posted?

Batona said:

Another question I should have asked . . . how long should utensils sit in a sanitizing solution b4 I can feel safe?

Click to expand...

Depends on what you are using. I use Iodophor. It requires ~1 minute contact time. That doesn't mean submerged, I wet it and let it dry.

Beerrific said:

Doesn't it look cracked in the picture he posted?

Click to expand...

I can't tell from the picture. I assumed not because it looks prepackaged, but it could already be cracked.

Barley-Davidson said:

I can't tell from the picture. I assumed not because it looks prepackaged, but it could already be cracked.

Click to expand...

Looks like it to me. I assume his LHBS store cracks and packages their specialty grains instead of cracking 1 pound for each person that comes in.

$2.50 / lb for special roast seems awfully high to me. Must be charging for that fancy packaging they put it in. My LHBS just throws it in a plastic bag, ties it and writes briefly with a sharpie. But I pay closer to $1.40/lb

Beerrific said:

I assume his LHBS store cracks and packages their specialty grains instead of cracking 1 pound for each person that comes in.

Click to expand...

They cracked it for me on the spot. The price seemed high to me, but what am I going to do? It isn't like I have options here. I drove 40 minutes just to get to my LHBS. I imagine I will be mail ordering in the future once I figure out my needs.