Okay, so I am making my second batch of beer(making a porter), and I want to make sure I am doing everything correctly.
1) Brewing Water:
-Treat with campden before diluting with RO water(1:1). This will bring my sulfates down, which my water report indicated were a little high.
-1 tsp of calcium chloride
2) Mash:
I understand how to hit the proper range of temperatures; I just don't have a way to measure ph(no ph meter). I've heard that the ph strips aren't reliable. For this, I have to assume that the darker malts will bring the ph into proper range. To be honest, I'm not too worried about getting this perfect. I've deemed this recipe "kitchen sink porter" because I am using left over grain from the first brew and the remaining grain bill is cheap. Also, I am using left over hops, so there is very little expenses all around.
3) Boil, follow recipe and cool
4) Pitch Yeast:
I am planning on pitching the yeast at 68 degrees. I have a fairly low gravity beer(1.043). I figured I might be able to get away with just 1 smack pack rather than doing a starter. Oh, and I'll be aerating the wort by splashing it back and forth between the brew pot and the primary.
5) Swamp Cooler:
Fill the cooler until it is a couple of inches below the beer in the primary. I plan on doing this until fermentation is complete then I'll stop adding ice and let it come to room temperature(72 degrees).
6) Bottle after 4 weeks in the primary vessel.
I tried being general when describing the steps I am going to take. I figured it would be too much if I included sparge temps, recipes, etc. Also, I am sanitizing everything with starsan.
1) Brewing Water:
-Treat with campden before diluting with RO water(1:1). This will bring my sulfates down, which my water report indicated were a little high.
-1 tsp of calcium chloride
2) Mash:
I understand how to hit the proper range of temperatures; I just don't have a way to measure ph(no ph meter). I've heard that the ph strips aren't reliable. For this, I have to assume that the darker malts will bring the ph into proper range. To be honest, I'm not too worried about getting this perfect. I've deemed this recipe "kitchen sink porter" because I am using left over grain from the first brew and the remaining grain bill is cheap. Also, I am using left over hops, so there is very little expenses all around.
3) Boil, follow recipe and cool
4) Pitch Yeast:
I am planning on pitching the yeast at 68 degrees. I have a fairly low gravity beer(1.043). I figured I might be able to get away with just 1 smack pack rather than doing a starter. Oh, and I'll be aerating the wort by splashing it back and forth between the brew pot and the primary.
5) Swamp Cooler:
Fill the cooler until it is a couple of inches below the beer in the primary. I plan on doing this until fermentation is complete then I'll stop adding ice and let it come to room temperature(72 degrees).
6) Bottle after 4 weeks in the primary vessel.
I tried being general when describing the steps I am going to take. I figured it would be too much if I included sparge temps, recipes, etc. Also, I am sanitizing everything with starsan.