Brew day #3

So things started off nice and easy with a kit, I then moved on to a seasonal beer recipe, and am now trying my hand at #3...

I've read through Papazian many times and am coming up with a question that I haven't been able to address through any number of podcasts or forums...I think I may be using a partial mash method, or I may just have been set astray from day 1 from using a kit.

Anyhow, what I did for the first brew was repeated for the second and is as follows:
(RDWHAHB)
Steep specialty grains for 45 minutes around 155, but not to exceed 170 (as to avoid leaching any tannins from the husk)
Remove the grains, bring to boil, add in the LME or DME and continue to boil with hop additions along the way, full boil for 1 hour
Drop temp using an ice bath until appropriate for pitching the yeast
Let set in the fermintor until you just can't wait any longer
Bottle, wait another two weeks..

Anyhow, Papazian is saying to boil everything together...extracts, grains, sugar additions, etc..

Any advice on the benefit of either method would be much appreciated!

Can you quote where Papazian say's to boil the grains?

Do not boil grains.

Brent

Where I'm reading is in the intermediate brewing chapter, page 46 in the 3rd edition, second paragraph after "Plus:..."

"From the above ingredients, you will prepare a wort...To make 5 gallons of beer, concentrated wort is prepared by combining malt extract with 2 gallons of water, any cracked grains, sugar and hops and boiling for 1/2 to 1 hour"
He goes on to transferring to the fermenter by saying "The hops and grains are then removed from the concentrated wort by passing the wort through a sanitized strainer and into the cold water in the fermenter".

Just want to be certain the method I've been using isn't off base, and that steeping and then removing the grains before bringing the kettle to a boil is not stealing any of the final glory from the beer!

The closest thing I found was on page 51 of the third edition.

Perkt said:

Where I'm reading is in the intermediate brewing chapter, page 46 in the 3rd edition, second paragraph after "Plus:..."

"From the above ingredients, you will prepare a wort...To make 5 gallons of beer, concentrated wort is prepared by combining malt extract with 2 gallons of water, any cracked grains, sugar and hops and boiling for 1/2 to 1 hour"
He goes on to transferring to the fermenter by saying "The hops and grains are then removed from the concentrated wort by passing the wort through a sanitized strainer and into the cold water in the fermenter".

Just want to be certain the method I've been using isn't off base, and that steeping and then removing the grains before bringing the kettle to a boil is not stealing any of the final glory from the beer!

Click to expand...

Your method is spot on. There is never any reason to boil your grains. None. Bad things will occur. You've been doing it right all along, so brew on!

Wow...

So there were a pair of firsts on this brew when it comes to yeast...

#1: Used a liquid yeast rather than the dry yeast I had been pitching.
#2: Created a starter that worked for 48 hours before being pitched.

Anyhow, it was a late start to the brew day (around 8:30pm) and concluded in the early morning (close to 1:30am). By the time I had gotten up to get ready for the day (6am, or 4.5 hours later) there was no evidence of fermentation...wouldn't really expect there to be. By 9am though...wow


I attached a blow-off tube and let the sucker go. Less than 8 hours to really get cookin' and here we are almost 24 hours later and it's still moving at a pretty good pace.

My question is this: Is the blow-off needed for most starters, or more so for larger batches, or both? This batch is coming out closer to 6 gallons, so the Carboy was a bit more full than the previous two batches, however I'm not certain it was necessary to do a yeast starter, as I've never had issues with fermentation, just more interested in learning more about the process and having more control over the finished product.

Also, the beer is a "Winter Warmer" and I believe (will verify the targets tomorrow) the gravity may be a bit larger with this brew, as the corrected OG was 1.052.

Any info on what lends to a more aggressive fermentation is appreciated, as this blew off my airlock and I'd like to know when a blow-off is called for and when the airlock is sufficient.

Blow off tubes are needed if the vessel you're fermenting in isn't large enough. There is no set in stone rule when to use one. The carboy in your photo doesn't look like it's more than 6 gallons so you should always use a blow off for primary until it slows down a little.

I've had 7 gallon buckets that needed blow-off and 5 gallon carboys that haven't. So it's best just to use one at the start so you don't have a mess like that again.

After brewing for a year, I'm starting to find that the only time you need a blowoff tube is when you didn't use one! I've only had 2 beers come up into the airlock, and all the times when I used a blowoff tube, I had more gentle fermentation. Luckily nothing ended up in a carpet, yech.

I use blowoff tubes for the entirety of my primary fermentations. I keep the end in sanitized solution, and realized somewhere along the way that I wasn't really gaining anything by switching to an airlock.

Everything looks good to me, and I'm sure you'll make some great beer. Only thing I would suggest is some sort of fermentation temp control. If your fermenting warm you can get a much more vigorous fermentation and heavier blow off. It can also lead to some off flavors. I use Fermcap in my boil, which seems to help keep the krausen to a managable level during fermentation.

I have been a bit concerned about fermenting temps, though the ambient temp seems to keep it right around 68, which may be on the high side, but I haven't invested in any type of container that can cool/heat to control what the brew is sitting at. I'll look in to that fermcap, I haven't heard much about, and am doing my best to pick up as much info in the early stages of brewing as I can.
Thanks for the feedback, I've had to swap out the growlers and it's still going, so I'll probably have the airlock on it by tonight...The only change it will see is an added vanilla bean when it's transferred to the secondary, then it sits until bottling, which won't be until the middle of December.

Perkt said:

I have been a bit concerned about fermenting temps, though the ambient temp seems to keep it right around 68, which may be on the high side, but I haven't invested in any type of container that can cool/heat to control what the brew is sitting at. I'll look in to that fermcap, I haven't heard much about, and am doing my best to pick up as much info in the early stages of brewing as I can.
Thanks for the feedback, I've had to swap out the growlers and it's still going, so I'll probably have the airlock on it by tonight...The only change it will see is an added vanilla bean when it's transferred to the secondary, then it sits until bottling, which won't be until the middle of December.

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Sounds good man. The fermcap is nice because it virtually elimantes boil overs. If used during the boil it also keeps krausen down during fermentation. I got mine from AHS for like $5 IIRC. I've gone through 5 brews and several starters since and still have half of it left. As far as temperature control goes search swamp cooler. I used a simple igloo cooler that I filled with water and frozen water bottles to keep temps where I want them. I've been doing double brew days lately and since have been using my spare bathtub in the same fashion. Works really well and is cheaper than purchasing a chest freezer and temp controler.

Hmm..I usually have been doing ales and keeping the fermenting temps closer to 65-68, how low are you dropping these? Is this for lagers or all brews? Maybe I need to do a bit more research on fermentation temps!

Perkt said:

Hmm..I usually have been doing ales and keeping the fermenting temps closer to 65-68, how low are you dropping these? Is this for lagers or all brews? Maybe I need to do a bit more research on fermentation temps!

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Depends on the yeast I'm using. Most are around 65 or so. I have a 60 minute clone and a cream ale in my bathtub currently that I'm keeping at 61. Just remember that in a tub of water the wort temp will be within a degree or 2 of the water temp. If it's just ambient temp the wort temp can be as much as 5-10 degrees higher than ambient. If you research the yeast you are using you will find a recommended ideal fermentation temp. This is what I usually go by.