First Brew Research

Hello everyone.

I am doing a lot of reading the past month or two about the art of homebrewing. I have assisted in a couple of AG batches in the past and since then have wanted to try my own hand at it. I am currently hunting down deals on all of the equipment and am getting ready to pull the trigger on buying.

Doing research, I found the BIAB method and I am going to pursue that as I like the single-vessel idea quite a bit. However, to get started, I thought I would do an extract brew for my first go at it.

What to brew? I am a huge fan of hoppy beers, and one of my favorites is Stone Ruination. I was happy to see Yooper's clone recipe and even happier to see an extract version of it. From the reading I have been doing, beginner's aren't supposed to start with big OG beers, but I want to try it nonetheless. Here is Yooper's recipe: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/stone-ruination-clone-155771/



I have some questions (and I am sure that I will have more).

1. I am going to have a 10.5 gal kettle and a propane burner. I would like to do a full boil. I am thinking of 6.5 gallons of water to start boiling in the kettle. My question is: should I steep the crystal in the kettle, or in a smaller volume of water on the stove? If so, how much water for the 1 lb of crystal steeping on the stove?

2. My next question is about the yeast. I have read that making starters can provide better fermentation and better results. Am I really going to suffer that much (other than the extra cash) if I just pitch more vials of liquid yeast instead of doing a starter?

Sorry for the long post. I am sure that I will have more questions as the time grows nearer for the first brew.

Thanks in advance!

I thought of another question. This recipe calls for dry hopping. I have read opposing views on whether or not to dry hopping in a primary fermenter. What are your thoughts on doing this? Ferment for a couple of weeks in the primary, then throw in hops for another 7 days or so? Is it ok to do that? Or should I rack to a secondary before dry hopping?

I think most people will steep the specialty grains in a smaller amount, say 2 or 2.5 gallons I believe. Been a while since I've done an extract batch. As far as the yeast, just pitching more vials should give the same results as long as the cell count is high enough for that beer.

As for dry hopping, you certainly don't have to rack it to secondary. A lot of people do, but I've done a couple of beers with dry hopping in the primary. Even 4-5 days produced some pretty good results for me.

Good luck!

69Bronc said:

1. I am going to have a 10.5 gal kettle and a propane burner. I would like to do a full boil. I am thinking of 6.5 gallons of water to start boiling in the kettle. My question is: should I steep the crystal in the kettle, or in a smaller volume of water on the stove? If so, how much water for the 1 lb of crystal steeping on the stove?

I think you'll want to steep the grains at a ratio of 1 to 1.5 gallons water per pound. This will also get you thinking of mashing ratios as you advance - a partial mash might be appropriate for this beer too if you are up to it!

2. My next question is about the yeast. I have read that making starters can provide better fermentation and better results. Am I really going to suffer that much (other than the extra cash) if I just pitch more vials of liquid yeast instead of doing a starter?

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You won't suffer at all! For a first batch I'd just keep things simple and pitch 2-3 packages of liquid yeast. There are lots of calculators online that can help you with pitching rates, here is one: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Two small suggestions that shouldn't complicate things and might lead to a better brew:
1. Don't do a full boil, in terms of quantity of water. Using the extract there really isn't any reason to do so. You're starting with a higher gravity beer which can be more difficult to get oxygen back in after boiling. I'd start with a boil amount around 4 gallons, figuring you'll end the hour with +/- 3 gallons. You can add clean cold water to bring the volume up to 5 gallons. This will help cool your wort faster as well as having water with oxygen included (I'd still stir/agitate the wort a bit after the boil too!)

2. Consider adding half or more of your extract in the last 10 minutes of the boil. You can search for "late extract brewing" for more on this. The basic idea is that extracts can caramelize on the bottom over the course of the boil adding a somewhat uncontrollable flavor. The more extract you have, the higher the possibility for this happening as the wort will be more syrupy. Definitely stir regularly throughout your boil to help minimize this effect. The added benefit to the late extract is it apparently adds to hop bittering.

No worries on the hop addition between primary and secondary. I prefer to do it in secondary but not for any good reason. There are number of folks on here who don't ever do a secondary but rack right to bottling. Good luck and have fun!

In regards to picthing more yeast - a good White Labs vial contains 70-120 bilion yeast cells. A Wyest smack pack is supposed to always have 100 billion. These numbers go down as the yeast ages and becomes less viable.

Most brews do best with 200-300 billion. Two might cover it, but it might not - especially if your gravity is high.

Starters seem intimidating when you read about them (beakers and burners and extra gear, oh my!), but they are stupidly easy to do. Boil a little DME in a little water. Place in jug (or just about any sanitized vessel) and cool. Pitch yeast. Shake it when you walk by it.

Enjoy your starter, which will certainly improve fermentation, and may do so drastically.

Three questions for you:

1. Can you heat 6 gallons to exactly 163 F.? (is your thermometer very accurate?)

2. Can you boil 6 gallons and keep it boiling for an hour?

3. Do you have a way to crush your grains?

If all these are answered yes, then you should just go all grain BIAB. There is little more for you to learn by doing an extract batch at this point.

Thanks for the responses. I am building a wort chiller, so I will be able to cool quickly.

RM-MN: I don't have a grain mill yet. Once I save up enough to get one, then I think I will go ahead and go BIAB.

69Bronc said:

Thanks for the responses. I am building a wort chiller, so I will be able to cool quickly.

RM-MN: I don't have a grain mill yet. Once I save up enough to get one, then I think I will go ahead and go BIAB.

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You'll have to save for quite a while. These grain mills that are suitable for BIAB are pretty expensive. Here is one like I have. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038NPJVG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

RM-MN said:

You'll have to save for quite a while. These grain mills that are suitable for BIAB are pretty expensive. Here is one like I have. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038NPJVG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Click to expand...

That works ok for you? All of the stuff I have been reading is pointing me toward grain mills in the $150-$200 range.

Well, first brew day was very fun. It is in the fermenter. My buddy and I hit an OG of 1.076. Now to wait. :rockin:

Yooper's Stone Ruination clone. I have an aerator on the end of the hose, then I hit it with a degasser to give it some extra. Pretty cloudy looking now. I tried to whirlpool in the kettle, but it didn't work too well. I think I was pulling the brew out too fast. Next time I will only open the valve a little bit and see if more of the cold break gets left behind. But, no worries - just let it settle in the fermenter.

Yeah, she drained out pretty quickly. Oh well, this is all fairly new to me. Doing is good way of learning.

Super fun, though. It has been awhile since I woke up in the morning so excited to do something.

Well, it has been in the primary for a little over 2 weeks now. Fermented vigorously for the first few days and then slowed tremendously. I cracked it tonight and got a gravity of 1.011. Nice!

Dumped in the 2 oz. of centennial and stole a quick taste. I was surprised at how decent it tasted. I could definitely catch the dry bitterness hints that I like. Pretty excited to see how this turns out in the end.