First all grain! Please help

I am going to make a wheat ale based on a hefe recipe.
5 gallon batch
Wyeast 1318 (with a starter)

7 lbs german wheat
5 lbs german pilsner or 2-row
.5 lbs munich
.5 lbs rice hulls

Hops mosaic, cascade & ahtanum
@60 1 oz cascade
@10 1 oz mosaic
@ FO 1 oz ahtanum
dry hop w 1 oz each for 7 days

I'm going for a citrusy wheat which I think this will make.

This is my first all grain recipe and my first time using a harvested yeast! 1/2 cup dme-2 cups water... If that doesnt work I ll get a traditional hefe yeast.
I have a 10 gallon mash tun but only a 5 gallon boil pot so I am targeting a 1.066 OG for a 4 gallon wort boil. Then diluting the beer by adding my water 1-1.5 gallons to bring it up to 5 gallons (which should bring it down to 1.05-1.055 I think).

All suggestions are welcome here!

Get a bigger pot! 4 gal in a 5 gal pot is going to be risky at best!
Find an 8 gal (minimum) better yet a 20 gal BK.

I boil up to 4 gal in my 5 gal pot, it's doable but you have to pay attention. I routinely start with 3.75 though. Might want to check your calculations, after boil off and slight loss to cooling I think you are going to have to top off with more like 2 gallons. I lose .65 gal per hr in my 5 gal pot boiling on the stovetop so that plus chilling brings me from 3.75 gal to 3.

Looks like a tasty recipe man! Don't worry about the little kettle, I used a 5 gal for my first 3 brews and it worked fine. You do need to be careful of a boil over though, it can happen very quickly! Also I agree with chickypad about the boil off, you will more than likely need more than 1.75 to get back to 5 gal. Before you add additional water make sure you cool your wort and take a gravity reading to see how much water you will need to add to reach your OG!
Brew on!

I also have a 3 gallon pot so would it make sense to boil 2 more gallons of wort in that? I ll eventually buy a bigger pot.

Make sure you are accounting for lower boil volume for proper hop utilization

EMH5 said:

I also have a 3 gallon pot so would it make sense to boil 2 more gallons of wort in that? I ll eventually buy a bigger pot.

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Just use the 5. Your process sounds fine.

You could just make 3 gallons instead of 5.
You are no less a human being making 3 gallon
batches. The beer Gods smile on all who brew.

All the Best,
D. White

Many ways you can go. As mentioned you can just make a smaller batch, do a split boil in 2 pots, or your original plan of topping off - it's just you will tend to hit a limit on the OG you can do with the last one. For example to hit 1.055 at 5 gals you'll need 3 gal of 1.092 wort - you might find your efficiency suffers with a big grainbill like that. If you undershoot you can always make up the difference with a little DME.

I always use a 5 gallon pot, 4 gallon boils. But when you go to add the 1st hop addition take the pot off the burner, get the foam to settle down, then add the hops and put back on flame. I burned my hand from trying to pull the pot off the burner before it went over....I tell you, that frickin hurt. I had pulled the pot off at least a hundred times before. But I learned a lesson.

Hi Everyone,

Here is the yeast I harvested (date on the mason jars) that I plan on using in this batch.

1. How much should I pitch for a 5 gallon batch? I have 3 mason jars worth which look like they have 3 layers: beer-yeast-leftover trub and yeast. I have no idea how to measure this stuff with the calculators. I have a 1/2 gallon mason jar.
2. I collected this yeast about 3 weeks ago so how many days before should I make a starter for a Saturday night brew session? Is Wednesday night too soon?
3. Since this is a top cropping yeast, would it be better to make a starter on Wednesday and collect the top cropping yeast on Friday just to make sure I have a healthy yeast?

I appreciate everyone's input... This is my first time harvesting yeast and then repitching so I'm nervous about EVERYTHING. How much to pitch, whether the yeast is healthy, how much of a starter should I make, etc.

Get a spray bottle of Starsan to help control the boil over.

EMH5 said:

Hi Everyone,

Here is the yeast I harvested (date on the mason jars) that I plan on using in this batch.

1. How much should I pitch for a 5 gallon batch? I have 3 mason jars worth which look like they have 3 layers: beer-yeast-leftover trub and yeast. I have no idea how to measure this stuff with the calculators. I have a 1/2 gallon mason jar.
2. I collected this yeast about 3 weeks ago so how many days before should I make a starter for a Saturday night brew session? Is Wednesday night too soon?
3. Since this is a top cropping yeast, would it be better to make a starter on Wednesday and collect the top cropping yeast on Friday just to make sure I have a healthy yeast?

I appreciate everyone's input... This is my first time harvesting yeast and then repitching so I'm nervous about EVERYTHING. How much to pitch, whether the yeast is healthy, how much of a starter should I make, etc.

Click to expand...

Personally, Id start harvesting yeast from your starter so you dont need to deal with trub and hop compounds muddling up your yeast. Plus, the starter yeast will be healthy and pure than anything you get from the yeast cake after a full fermentation. Ive been doing this over over a year now with 16 or so yeasts and many of them have made it through 10 or more batches. I'd add whicher of those jars is cleanest into a starter (decant first) and then just use that yeast to harvest. I generally get ~100ml of decanted starter slurry to save and it works great for making a 2L starter next brew day

m00ps said:

Personally, Id start harvesting yeast from your starter so you dont need to deal with trub and hop compounds muddling up your yeast. Plus, the starter yeast will be healthy and pure than anything you get from the yeast cake after a full fermentation. Ive been doing this over over a year now with 16 or so yeasts and many of them have made it through 10 or more batches. I'd add whicher of those jars is cleanest into a starter (decant first) and then just use that yeast to harvest. I generally get ~100ml of decanted starter slurry to save and it works great for making a 2L starter next brew day

Click to expand...

I can make a 1/2 gallon batch of starter (I don't own a flask)... should I decant and throw both slurries into the starter to make sure I get as much yeast to harvest as possible or would that be too much?

Depending on how long you let the starter go (2 days or so will get you a nice layer of yeast at the bottom with regular shaking) I think jsut the 1/2 gallon starter would be fine. You dont necessarily need a flask for starters. I use growlers and big cider jugs for mine. But I have a big 2L flask to heat and santiize the LME wort on the stove beforehand. Once it cools, I pour it into the jug with a foam stopper that fits it. You can use airlocks but ive heard oxygen is good for starters

Im nto too keen on the idea of using a significant amount of harvested slurries for a new batch but thats just me. I know the smell of that hopped up yeast cake on the bottom of the fermentor and I dont want that going into my new fresh beer. Thats why I always decant my starters too since the starter is basically a small oxygenated warm fermented batch of beer so I want as little of that stuff as possible in my new wort.

How big are those 2 mason jars with yeast you've got?
If they're a pint, either of them is suitable for a direct pitch into a 5 gallon batch, IF they were stored in a fridge and are not older than say a month (or 2 at the most) after the beer they came from, was racked off it.

Otherwise, make a ~1.6 liter starter in your 1/2 gallon jar with either but not both. You want to grow new yeast and adding too much won't grow enough new.

After you decant the beer from the pint (?) mason jar you can scoop out the 1/2" top layer, the lighter color of the 2, and make your 1.6 liter starter with that. That's more pure yeast, less trub. But there is just as much good yeast in the bottom layer, just not as pure.

Swirl as often as you can, recruit other members of your household to do it too each time they walk by. Just no-one is allowed to lift the foil... only you, the brewmaster can do that.

If you still have only a 5 gallon pot, I would split the boil either over 2 pots (if you have another large one) or collect all runnings in a bucket and boil each of half the volumes separately, chill, and combine in your fermentor.

For a 5 gallon batch you will have 6.5-7 gallons of collected wort (runnings) before the boil. Diluting concentrated wort may not be an advantage, plus you'd waste a lot of good wort left behind in the mash.

This is all very helpful guys. Having this forum avail for a new brewer like myself is a great resource. Many thanks.

I'll make a starter (Wed night) with one jar of yeast slurry (they are a pint), then harvest the new top cropped yeast (It is Wyeast 1318) after 2 of days (Friday night). Should I let it sit at room temp if I intend to brew the next night (Sat night) or it in the fridge and take it out the next morning?

I also think that after hearing everyone's suggestions, I'll go with a split batch in my 5 gallon (4 gallon wort) and 3 gallon (2 gallon) pots. After a 60 min boil I should be very close to 5 gallons assuming a 1 gallon boil off per 60 min (which is typical I think). The math splits will be easy - 2/3 - 1/3 hoping plus I'm only putting in 1 oz of cascade @60 min, then 1 oz Mosaic at 5 min, then 1 oz of Ahtanum at flameout... so the threat of a boil over shouldn't be too bad either with that amount of hops.

First, always use good sanitary methods when handling yeast.

It's best and quickest to let it settle (cold crash) in the fridge for 24-72 hours prior to pitching, depending on the yeast. Some floc out quicker than others. Don't know how long 1318 takes.

Then when you start brewing, take out of fridge, pour off (decant) most of the starter beer, but leave about as much beer behind as you have yeast, or a bit more, it's not critical. Recap and let come to pitch temps while you're brewing. When your wort is at pitching temps, swirl the yeast cake into a slurry and pitch.

Don't forget to aerate your wort. Very important!

Starter is fermenting after 12 hrs for brewing Saturday!
Is it enough or should I pitch another jar?

This is the pic I wanted to upload. Sorry.

No, if fermentation started that early you are great!

EMH5 said:

Starter is fermenting after 12 hrs for brewing Saturday!
Is it enough or should I pitch another jar?

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This recipe was altered a bit to what my LHBS had in stock for my wife's hoppy wheat:

5 gallon batch
Wyeast 1318 (with a starter) going strong now
Split batch boil in a 5 gallon pot and 3 gallon pot (I’ll gather some extra wort too in my 2 gallon pot to be safe)

7 lbs american white wheat
4 lbs german pilsner
1 lbs rice hulls (based on LHBS guy recommended a high amount of hulls to prevent a stuck mash)

Hops mosaic, cascade & amarillo
@60 1 oz cascade
@10 1 oz mosaic
@ FO 1 oz amarillo
dry hop w 1 oz each for 7 days

Strike water – 3.75 gallons
Sparge water – 4 gallons
Mash at 152 for 60 min

I plan on drinking my last homebrew, Pants Off Dance Off IPA for inspiration...

Thoughts?

Update:

The starter was a success as was the split boil. The fermenting took off after 6 hours and was going fast and furious for 2 days. It has slowed significantly since but still bubbling a little after brewing this Saturday.

pre-boil OG was 1.060
post was 1.055

My first all grain is in the books.

Just tasted this brew last night and I think it turned out great. Thank you every one for the feedback and help on my first of many all grain. Summer is just about gone but I think this is a great summertime brew. I'm posting the recipe (High Hopes Hoppy Wheat).