RDWHAHB.....I have and its not working.

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Selfsufficient

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I have brewed 65 gallons of extract. Tomorrow, first all grain and I am nervous. I suppose as nervous as the first time I brewed. After all the reading and all the watching of you-tube, I should be fine. Right, all the confidence I have, is lost when it comes to beer. I don't understand. Sorry to ramble, just had to vent because someone out there has been in my shoes. Lots of things to remember. First time to crush my own grain. Coolers were built this evening and tested, fixed one, the other is fine. I think I should start at about 7am so I don't cash the whole day, still need to mow 4 acres. Wish I still had more 8% Honey Belgium. :drunk:
 
Recommendation, don't have any beer until your done. Other than that, you'll be fine, it's easier than it looks :)
 
Just follow the recipe and pitch yeast...you will make beer. Just relax...don't worry if you don't hit your temps or whatever. Not too many years ago recipes said things like "Boil ye wort for the length of time it takes to cross a field and back."

And guess what?

They made great beer..Otherwise Beer as we know it would have gone the way of Pepsi Clear and New Coke.....And we wouldn't be making or drinking it to this day....It would have died out culturally...that's what things do....

Check this out....



Didja catch his attitude? Didja catch his last line? "And I get what I get...." That my son is RDWHAHB at it's best. THAT is the LEAST you will end up with....But if you measure your stuff, take grav reading, hit close to your temps, yadda yadda yadaa...your "get what you get" will STILL be better than how it was done 200 or more years ago...

IF you follow basic sanitary precautions, and follow instructions even if it is not 100% perfect you will still have beer. And the more you do it, the more you nail your process, the closer you will get to the mark...But you can't "fail" at this....since no pathogens can live in wort, you won't make poison....so even if the recipe isn't exactly right...you will have something drinkabe, then you can look at what you did wrong, and improve on it with each batch you make...

Capice???

:mug:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Revvy said:
Just follow the recipe and pitch yeast...you will make beer. Just relax...don't worry if you don't hit your temps or whatever. Not too many years ago recipes said things like "Boil ye wort for the length of time it takes to cross a field and back."
And guess what?
They made great beer..Otherwise Beer as we know it would have gone the way of Pepsi Clear and New Coke.....And we wouldn't be making or drinking it to this day....It would have died out culturally...that's what things do....
Check this out....
Didja catch his attitude? Didja catch his last line? And I get what I get.... That my son is RDWHAHB at it's best. THAT is the LEAST you will end up with....But if you measure your stuff, take grav reading, hit close to your temps, yadda yadda yadaa...your "get what you get" will STILL be better than how it was done 200 or more years ago...
IF you follow basic sanitary precautions, and follow instructions even if it is not 100% perfect you will still have beer. And the more you do it, the more you nail your process, the closer you will get to the mark...But you can't "fail" at this....since no pathogens can live in wort, you won't make poison....so even if the recipe isn't exactly right...you will have something drinkabe, then you can look at what you did wrong, and improve on it with each batch you make...
Capice???

:mug:
Click to expand...



Thats just a more eloquent way of saying what I said ;)
 
enderwig said:
Thats just a more eloquent way of saying what I said ;)
Click to expand...

Dude needs to hear it in ALL it's forms. :D

The more the better.

:mug:

People take this crap too serious these days...They gotta remember that this has been done pretty successfully for 45+ million years.....LOOOOOOOONG before we had incessant internet debates about stainless or aluminum, batch or fly sparging or before people even knew about thermometers and germ theory...and it worked!!! even our worst f-ups utilizing the latest equipment and knowledge are still going to at least match, more likely exceed what was made back then.

One of my best brewer buddies who makes awesome beers is a 21st century hippie...he could be Papazian...He takes the ultimate rdwhahb attitude to his beers, and they taste awesome. And basically he just throws stuff together and lets nature happen.
 
Now I don't know if I'm just nervous or just plain excited, I mean, Revvy yelled at me!! I've only been reading posts from him for 6 months..... I have made it, Revvy yelled at me. LOL I'm gonna do it regardless. Just so much to take in....Thin mash Thick mash Batch Fly Starter Dry.....Nervous and excited and all the above I guess....But relaxed I am not. I can make an extract kit like I make and heat a bottle for my son at 5:30am. This is just new so it will take some time. But, Revvy yelled at me....:ban: OH, and I love the video, didn't help though...
 
Hey, leave Revvy alone. He's just got a lot of energy and he speaks loudly and with emphasis. Why? Because he really, really wants to help. Listen well. :D

Oh, and relax. It's not as difficult as it seems. Appears you're encountering paralysis by analysis.
 
I was married to Italian once, a long time ago....Capice was basically an open hand to the side of the head. And you can't say Capice lightly and without the open hand...LOL Seriously, I'm still nervous but I will update you guys. The knowledge you folks share is absolutely priceless, hence the reason I paid up my membership early into my hobby....I almost spelled hoppy........:drunk:
 
Revvy said:
..since no pathogens can live in wort, you won't make poison....
:mug:
Click to expand...

Just a very important point here. There are many if not all pathogens that can thrive in wort! (PH may be off for some of them).
The key with homebrewing is to chill quickly and pitch a large amount of yeast to make beer.
Once you have beer, no known pathogens can survive that to make you sick.
 
Kauai_Kahuna said:
Just a very important point here. There are many if not all pathogens that can thrive in wort! (PH may be off for some of them).
The key with homebrewing is to chill quickly and pitch a large amount of yeast to make beer.
Once you have beer, no known pathogens can survive that to make you sick.
Click to expand...

Beer, I meant Beer......But you don't reallly need to worry him MORE by bringing that bit of semantics up. He's going to be boiling and pitching his yeast on the same day so your point is moot.

I'm trying to calm him down NOT add more fear to it.

Nothing pathogenic can live in beer, including botchulism. So the only "poisoning" you can get is liver poising...but we're all in the same boat with that anyway, so you are in good company. :D

I came across this from a pretty well known and award winning homebrewer railing against a fellow brewer (it was on one of those "color coded" brewboards where they are a little less friendly than we are.) I just cut and pasted it and stuck it in a file...here it is.


Can you get a PATHOGEN from beer. No. NO *NO* Did I make that clear? You have a ZERO chance of pathogens in beer, wine, distilled beverages. PERIOD!

Pathogens are described as organisms that are harmful and potentially life threatening to humans. These are some 1400+ known species overall encompasing viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and helminths. Of that group, we are only interested in those that can be foodborne. Quite simply, if it can't survive in food, it isn't in beer. That knocks out all but bacteria and fungi. Viruses need very specific circumstances to be passed around... like on the lip of a glass or bottle, not the beer in it. **Ahhh...CHOOO!**

Pathogens as a rule are very fastidious beasts. Meaning that they want very specific temperatures, acidity, nutrients and other conditions to thrive.

Bacteria that *could* live in wort, cannot survive even a little bit of fermentation. There are several reasons for this. One is in the 'magic' of hops. It is the isomerized alpha acids that provide a preservative effect to the beer, which happens to inhibit pathogens! Good deal for fresh wort!

Another reason is the drop in pH from fermentation. Next, yeast emit their own enzymes and byproducts, all in an effort to make the environment hostile to other creatures. The major one is alcohol, of course, but their enzymes will break down less vigorous organisms and they become sources of trace nutrition. Now the latter is very minor compared to the effect of alcohol, but it exists! Most of the time these enzymes work on the wort, not organisms until late in the process. Good deal for beer! ...uh, wine too.

Oh, Botulism specifically... did you know that this is an anaerobic pathogen? It's toxin is one of the few that is broken down by boiling. Did you know tht it is strongly inhibited by isomerized alpha acids, even in water? Since fresh wort has a healthy amount of oxygen in it, the beastie cannot even get started, then once the O2 is used up, it doesn't have a chance against the hops or the yeast.

All that is left are a handful of acid producing bacteria that'll ruin a batch of beer. Overall, there are less than 200 organisms that can survive in beer and lend flavor effects. None of these for very long, or very often. Lambic being the sole exception, and if pathogens *could* survive, that'd be the style where you find 'em.
Click to expand...

It's important to remember that one of the reasons we have beer today (one of the oldest beverages in existence) is because it was made to be drunk in places where drinking the WATER was deadly....By boiling the wort, adding hops (which is an antiseptic), changing the ph, and pitching yeast, you killed of any microorganism that good be harmful.....in fact the third runnings of the brewing process was fermented at an extremely low gravit 1-2% ABV, and it was called "table beer" or "Kid's Beer" this is the stuff that people drank with meals...it was their water replacement, like Iced tea or soda pop...because again the fermentation process insured that it was safer than the water.

I was just trying to tell him that he's not going to make poison or something that's going to cause zombi-ism, that no matter what the does during his proces, it's still going to make beer.
 
Hey SS-
This is how I look at situations like this:
Yeah, I get a little nervous, but I get more excited because I'm learning something new, and extremely cool. Sure, you might have a little difficulties with it at first, but just think how much more knowledgeable you will be about brewing in six months, a year, so on. And in that time, how much of a better brewer you will be.
You'll probably look back at this and realize it wasn't as hard as you thought it would be.

Just my $.02!

Jim
 
Hey Selfsufficient:

This forum has a TON of great information, and hundreds of helpful brewers that will help answer any question.

One problem is that there's about a Bazillion ways to brew a batch of beer. You can read too many suggestions, read too many great ideas, and try to remember too many recommendations.

Just do it, learning is doing. The process will become easier and much more apparent once you brew a batch or two with your equipment, your process, and your style.

No animals will be injured when you brew, at least I hope not (lock the dog in the bedroom).

Get er Done.... and good luck...
 
Ok, mashed in. Now all I have to do is wait until 11:00. Smells so good. My fear has subsided a little, especially since the temps from Beer Smith seem to be spot on. It looks just like every other all grain batch I've watched brewed, well, except for the one Revvy linked me to. I'll stick with iced tea till well after this batch is in the primary. Thanks everyone for calming me down.
 
I'm so friggin excited now. Preboil gravity 1.049. 6.3 gallons. I love Beer Smith. It has predicted everything so far. I MADE WORT!!!!!!!!!....:rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin:
 
Selfsufficient said:
I'm so friggin excited now. Preboil gravity 1.049. 6.3 gallons. I love Beer Smith. It has predicted everything so far. I MADE WORT!!!!!!!!!....:rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin:
Click to expand...

AWESOME!!!!!!!

I agree about beersmith, 99% of my ag beers have tended to hit all the marks the software predicted....Preboil gravity, Original gravity, etc....it makes it really seemless.
 
I am hooked. Preboil was 1.049. OG is at 1.056 @ 5 gallons. This Irish Red smelled so much better boiling than the extract kits I'm used to. I cannot wait to try this. Neither can my wife. But I'll wait at least 5 weeks including force carbonating. My first brew and Beer Smith tells me my overall efficiency is 72.13% so I cannot complain at all. It was time consuming but its sunday and it was relaxing. 9:30am to 1:30pm. I still have to clean up though so add another 30. All the advice on this forum has really helped me. Thanks again for everyones help and wish my yeasties a happy feast.
 
Beersmith has really amazed me for how accurately it calculates things. The temperatures seem to be just exactly dead on, and once you figure out your efficiency from the pre-boil volume, all the rest of the calculations seem dead on as well. It really took the mystery out of the AG process for me, since most of the other directions say things like "heat your water about 10-12 degrees higher than your desired mash temp." The engineer in me just doesn't handle things like "about 10-12 degrees higher" so well :)
 
I tried to stick to the brewsheet spot on, however I'm using an analog thermometer that can't possibly show 174.9 or 198.3 so I just got close. Also, I have to find a more accurate way to measure water. 13.13 qt? 3.26 gal? Oh well, I just winged it and it worked out well enough for me.
 

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