Pliny the Elder extract kit help
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SteelCityBrewery
Active Member
I brewed mine on Sunday and my gravity is down 1.025 already and the smell is INCREDIBLE!!!!
Less chances of oxidation and contamination are huge benefits of not using secondary unless needed. Do a search on this site, there should be a thread on the subject "Primary only vs Secondary"
JoeBronco said:
Cool I'll keep it in the primary for dry hopping. I had read that thread and others previously, just wondering if there was anything different about this beer that would necessitate a secondary for dry hopping. Five days in and the airlock is no longer going crazy but is still pretty active. I did a partial boil and didn't adjust the recipe at all. I've already accepted that the beer will be different, but I'm hoping it will still be amazing. My question: is there anything I should do at this dry hop stage, given my failure to up the hop bill in the boil?
trojandux
Well-Known Member
I would definitly move it to the secondary before dryhoping. Typically dry hoping you are looking for a cleaner/ clearer beer and getting it off the yeast cake will prevent from a soapy flavor developing. If your sanitation process is good as it should be there should be no real risk of contamination. As far as oxidation goes, when you siphon make sure it is quiet and not splashing around. If you are really worried about oxidation you can always add some CO2 from your keggin system into the secondary so it will sit at the bottom of the carboy while you add your beer (A little overkill in IMHO). I have done many batches and always move to the secondary. infact I have a Torpedo Clone in the secondary waiting to start dryhoping. I like to have big IPA mellow alittle before dryhopping just to get the residual fermentation products off. Remeber Patience is a vurtiue when home brewing. Also Sanitation is everything.
Hope this helps.
Scott
Hope this helps.
Scott
SteelCityBrewery
Active Member
So my Pliny is currently fermenting in my conical fermenter. I walked out to my garage to check the gravity only to see my fermenter reading 77F!!! I brought it in a box with ice and will keep it inside. Any chance this will kill my beer?
SteelCityBrewery said:
I'm pretty much a beginner (this is my third brew), but I always thought the guidelines for fermentation temps were to keep it between 65-75. I try to keep it closer to 65, but I don't think you'd kill it at 77. I'd try to get it a bit lower and wait it out.
I have had my batch in primary for exactly a week and the air lock has slowed to about a bubble every 15 seconds. Should I take a gravity reading or just be patient? For my previous two brews I have waited three weeks before taking a gravity reading and either transferring to secondary or bottling. But real Pliny is so much better fresh I don't want to leave it too long. Or is freshness only an issue after dry hopping?
If you said that you brewed it last Sunday then after 5 days you shouldn't have a lot to worry about. It was probably at < 1.020 so I'd have left it alone at 77 F to finish up. The real question is, what was the peak temp during the first 2 or 3 days?
I plan to ferment this at about 72 F for three days and then 75 F max for about 10 days followed by up to 79 for a few days. Or at least my ac will be set at 75 F at first and then turned off a little later.
Yes go ahead and steep your grains in 3 gallons of water. Be careful to add your malt extract slowly...it can easily boil over.
If you are kegging you don't need priming sugar. But when your are kegging be sure you are getting good co2 into solution...Also don't be a big hurry for the beer. After it has been moved it will have a tendency to foam up more.
Let it rest at least a week under pressure in the keg...Make sure your beer lines are proper length and keep consistent psi on it. The beer should be good.
Pliny from the brewery uses hop oil/extracts. They also dry hop. So your kit might not taste like Pliny but it should be an okay IPA.
If you are kegging you don't need priming sugar. But when your are kegging be sure you are getting good co2 into solution...Also don't be a big hurry for the beer. After it has been moved it will have a tendency to foam up more.
Let it rest at least a week under pressure in the keg...Make sure your beer lines are proper length and keep consistent psi on it. The beer should be good.
Pliny from the brewery uses hop oil/extracts. They also dry hop. So your kit might not taste like Pliny but it should be an okay IPA.
sentfromspain
Well-Known Member
Should be fine
badbrew said:Why wouldn't you want to taste your gravity sample?I say rack if it's done.
Well, I just don't want to unnecessarily open my primary and risk any sort of infection, however minimal the risk may be, if it definitely isn't done yet.
cdeme123 said:
Yeah, am I right in the the following rules of thumb for when to rack:
- down to target FG
- gravity has been stable for several days
- not a lot of cloudiness in sample
My one week sample was not quite to target FG and was quite cloudy. As a result I'm thinking I'll take another sample around Thursday, but project racking to secondary on Saturday after 14 days in primary.
SteelCityBrewery
Active Member
Well I have hit and stayed at my fg for about three days. I'm going to try and dump the trub and harvest the yeast out of my conical and begin dry hopping! I can't wait!
Well I'm stable at 1.016 for four days. Is that badly off if the target FG is 1.011? It sure tastes good!
According to Dave's Dreaded Calculator and adjusting for temp, I had an OG of 1.0705. It says attenuation: 61%.
According to Dave's Dreaded Calculator and adjusting for temp, I had an OG of 1.0705. It says attenuation: 61%.
SteelCityBrewery
Active Member
My recipe calls for it to start at 1.074 and end at 1.014. I started at 1.072 and dumped trub/yeast at 1.010. Adjusting for gravity, that's about 8% from what I have seen. Can't complain about that!
SteelCityBrewery said:
Yeah that looks right. Mine is off and I think will be more like 7%. I'm curious if those with more experience think I'm badly off or if the difference is negligible. It's still in the primary, but I plan to transfer and dry hop on Saturday.
You both should be good. 1.014 and 1.016 will leave a little sweetness but that should balance out some of the bitterness. IMO the highest i would go is 1.016 anything more is to sweet for the style.
Just to put it into perspective, 1.015 leaves about 3.4oz of sugar per gallon of beer. So in a 5 gallon batch that's a little over 1 lbs of sugar. Cutting it close, but still doable.
Just to put it into perspective, 1.015 leaves about 3.4oz of sugar per gallon of beer. So in a 5 gallon batch that's a little over 1 lbs of sugar. Cutting it close, but still doable.
Hop bag - Normally the hop bag sinks. Putting a weight (stainless steel or hardened good grade plastic) just makes it happen quicker.
No hop bag -
Whole leaf - No need to weigh down, but a quick stir with a sanitized spoon doesn't hurt to get them all wet. I normally mix them up every few days if they dont sink.
Pellets - No need, they will sink.
No hop bag -
Whole leaf - No need to weigh down, but a quick stir with a sanitized spoon doesn't hurt to get them all wet. I normally mix them up every few days if they dont sink.
Pellets - No need, they will sink.
Whole or pellet?
badbrew said:
Combo. The pellets are fine, obviously, but the whole are not all making contact with the brew. I tried to push them down with a sanitized spoon. It's hard to reach them all in a carboy, but I think they are all wet now at least. Hopefully they will draw in more liquid and sink further.
I'll be dry hopping mine this weekend hopefully with pellets only and plan to use a bag with a string. I don't want to leave them in for more than a couple weeks so I'll just let them hang out on the upper layer of beer and when I drink 1/3 of the keg they'll be hanging over the beer.
brewingmadness
Active Member
So thursday I checked my gravity and it was at 1.025. This was after 11 days fermenting. Today I checked it again and it is still at 1.025. My target is 1.015. I have it fermenting in a chest freezer that stays between 64-68. Maybe a little cold so I upped the controller to 71. I was about to rack to a secondary, but want some opinions. I used safeale-05. Is it stuck? On brew day, I dropped a bit of lme on the ground, and had a boilover. My starting gravity was supposed to be 1.077 and I came in at 1.069. I sampled and it tastes good, a little sweet though. I have some nottingham, safeale-05 and some wlp001 if needed. What do you guys think? Wait a couple more days at a higher temp, pitch some more yeast, or just rack to the secondary? Thanks
brewingmadness
Active Member
I guess this question would belong in the fermenting thread. Going to ask there. Thanks
I'd swirl the carboy around to get things going and raise it a little more to 73. The website says it can handle 75. Don't give up. I think 25 is too high.
Mine was at 30 yesterday.
FWIW, mine stopped at 1.016 and stayed there for five days before I decided it wasn't going any lower. My target was 1.011. I racked to secondary on Friday and added the dry hops. I don't know if that roused some of the yeast still in suspension, but the airlock on my carboy is now bubbling again. It's very mild bubbling, but I'm hoping that maybe it will come down a bit more. Like yours, mine tastes very good, but is just a tad sweeter than I would like.
brewingmadness
Active Member
I'd swirl the carboy around to get things going and raise it a little more to 73. The website says it can handle 75. Don't give up. I think 25 is too high.
Mine was at 30 yesterday.
I thought you wanted to avoid shaking a fermenting wurt at all costs.
SteelCityBrewery
Active Member
Yet another noob question, how can you tell if there is an infection? I don't see a film but my beer smells a little funny. It tastes fine. When I dumped my trub and added dry hops, I took a small glass and was a little concerned. Cause for concern?
No shaking just mild swirling. Get a whirl pool to bring up the yeast on the bottom.
NO SPLASHING! You dont want any air getting into the beer, But yes a little bit of mild swirling helps bring the yeast around. The temp is too low for the yeast this far in the game. They are already stressed from the vigorous consumption of the mass amounts of sugar that was in your beer to begin with. They are tired. Make it easy for them by bringing it up a bit around 70- degrees. No much more as you dont want to shock the yeast. Do it one or two degrees at a time. Don't worry, no off flavors will come from it. The Beginning stages are when temperature is more detrimental.
To avoid this in the future, a Yeast starter is in order. If you can make a yeast starter on all your beers it will never hurt your beer but will help with fermentation speed and completion. Healthy yeast is key to a good/great beer. Commercial brewers dump substantially more yeast than we do into there beer to ferment.
SteelCity - Relax. You would know if you had an infection. Chances are you smell a bit of the gas that has settled on the top of your beer that may include some normal fermentation smells. You will know if you have an infection when you drink.
To avoid this in the future, a Yeast starter is in order. If you can make a yeast starter on all your beers it will never hurt your beer but will help with fermentation speed and completion. Healthy yeast is key to a good/great beer. Commercial brewers dump substantially more yeast than we do into there beer to ferment.
SteelCity - Relax. You would know if you had an infection. Chances are you smell a bit of the gas that has settled on the top of your beer that may include some normal fermentation smells. You will know if you have an infection when you drink.
SteelCityBrewery
Active Member
I have heard, "Relax and have a homebrew" more times than I care to count. Perhaps I should just go ahead a follow their advice?
brewingmadness
Active Member
Thanks, I'll try this out.
I'm going to be adding the five day dry hop this weekend. Vinnie's recipe calls for an additional .25oz of each of the three varieties of hops for a total of .75oz. I had to do a partial boil which, as I understand it, will result in lower hop utilization. I have a full oz. of each of the three hops, so I was wondering if it would be beneficial (read: help compensate for the lower hop utilization in the boil) to add more hops than called for.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
Are you doing a small batch? Mine calls for 5 oz total dh. You can always add the hops and taste test after a few days and add some more if you want.
badbrew said:
I'm doing Vinnie's recipe as published in Zymurgy.
http://486286.cache1.evolutionhosting.com/attachments/0000/6351/doubleIPA.pdf
It calls for 3oz for two weeks and .75oz for five days. I just bought ingredients from my LHBS; this is not a kit.
