Screw it..Im moving up!

If you read my Mr. Beer post, you know that I have been wanting to do an oatmeal stout. I went to my LHBS and told the guy what i wanted to do and even brought him to the Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout recipe here on this forum (of which he was very familiar).

I told the guy that I only had the Mr. beer fermenter and he basically said that was no problem. I asked him if he had the extract so it would be as easy as the Mr. Beer and he asked what I had against having fun with it? He then set me up with everything that I needed for a partial mash and sent me merrily on my way.

So, I have just finished bottling my first Mr. Beer kit brew and now I am preparing to do my first partial mash! I just need to go get a new pot (because I dont have a big enough one) to do this and Im going to brew tonight!

here is a pic of my new toys that will be brewing in about an hour! WISH ME LUCK!!

Woot! You go girl!

thughes said:

Woot! You go girl!

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or Man. LOL

Cheers. Have fun

The lbk is a great fermenter, dont let anyone hate on it.

Good luck!!

OK...now im scared!

Of course I'm watching this one now, lol. Excited to hear how it goes!

It will go fine. Doing a partial mash is not that dfficult and the reward of an Oatmeal stout is well worth the effort.

GeorgiaTiger said:

OK...now im scared!

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Its really easy, infact stove top all grain is easy.

Just remember to add the dme at or near the end of the boil to avoid scorchin and off flavors

Im making BEER!! Got it steeping at 150 degrees....already smells great and looks DARK!

Sounds like your having fun! Congrats.

Just before I stuck it in the pot...

20 minutes into the mash...looking good!

Are you using the burner to keep it warm? If so, just be careful that the bag doesn't get trapped against the bottom and melt. Also, I've heard that some agitation or stirring can increase efficiency of the mash, so you could try that if you would like.

burner on low...temps staying around 150-152. I have a diffuser between the bottom of the pot and the bag. The guy at LHBS told me not to let it touch the heat source. Smelling SO good right now. Im lifting the bag and floating it back down every 10 minutes or so. Am I messing up in any way with what I am doing so far?

Boiling now! Smelling good...looking good. Had no idea hops had that tangy weird smell.

nice, what hops are you using?

Doctor_Wily said:

nice, what hops are you using?

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Kent Golding 5%AA is what is n the pack. The guy at the LHBS took the recipe from right off this page and mixed it up for me.

Never smelled hops before except IN a beer. Lol

Lucky brewer! Sounds like you are having find and that's what it is about! Congrats!

Haha, yeah. I remember how I felt when I did my first partial mash after doing Mr. Beer kits. :rockin:

Looks good to me!

Just starting the boil after adding the dme. She's boiling but good right now.

Watch out for the hot break!

dbsmith said:

Watch out for the hot break!

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Splain! What is the hot break?

NM, google is my friend. LOL. It wont boil over, as Im only doing a half (2.5 gallons) in a 5.2 gallon pot.

At the beginning of the boiling, your wort will likely foam up really fast as proteins are coagulating together. You can either lift the pot off of the heat and turn it down, or use a spray bottle and spray water onto the rising foam.

Edit: Ok good!

I have a question, though...the guy at the LHBS told me to steep the grains for 45-60 minutes. At the 45 minute mark, I noticed the recipe here said steep for THIRTY minutes. I took it out of the pot at around the 50 minute mark. Did I mess this up? Please say it will be OK.

50 minutes should be fine. might change the OG and FG by a little but not much.

Thanks Wayne. One more question...when I put this in the LBK and pitch the yeast, should I stir vigorously to aerate it? If so, for how long? I read somewhere to shake it vigorously for 5 minutes. If I shake the LBK, Im gonna make a MESS!

you can stir or use a sanitized pitcher or measuring cup to pour wort back and forth to aerate the wort then pour the wort into the fermeter.

Just stir it with a sanitized large metal spoon vigorously for about 5 minutes.

I used to shake my Mr Beer back and forth just being careful not to splash too much up onto the lid. worked fairly well, I did splash a lil bit out of it once tho.

Well...I stirred the hell out of it before and after pitching the yeast. Put the lid on it and now just going to wait on the fermentation to start. For my first batch that I actually used grains and mash, I am pretty damned proud of myself! If this beer tastes half as good as what I had the other night at the brew house, then I will be very pleased.

God, I hope this is drinkable.

now my hands are sticky and they smell like beer.

Just keep your fermentation temperatures under 70 and you should be good. I would try to keep the fermentor around 64 degrees.

64...got it. Maybe Ill take it down to the basement tomorrow. My house is usaully around 65 so I may just stick it in a closet upstairs. cool and dark.

Yeah, his advice of 30 minutes is good for extract with specialty grains, but for partial mash, which is what I think you did here, 60 is ideal. I usually do 75, but it isn't really necessary.

Keep in mind fermentation will raise the temperature above the room around it, so if it's sitting in a 65 degree room the beer itself is likely to rise to 75, which is way beyond what you want. I like to keep mine in a rubbermaid container with ice water and just exchange ice bottles, keeping an eye on the thermometer on the side of the fermenter.

Didnt know that about the fermentation causing the temp inside to rise. Maybe I WILL take it to the basement. Its usually really cool down there.

indeed it does. fermentation is an exothermic reaction taking place so those little guys warm things up a bit while they get their chow on. Most people say it can raise the internal temp about 5 degrees.