Is anyone able to tell me what went wrong?

I recently brewed a citra IPAD extract using muntons light DME and all citra hops with wyeast 1025 yeast. After two weeks fermenting I scooped up a batch to for a taste test pre bottling and the beer was transparent with a sandy look to it. I did dry hop for 5 days so the sandy look could had been the hops. Is the translucent look a bad sign? It did not taste great, but not bad either.

Full recipe: 5gal
7lbs muntons light DME
Hops:
4oz citra
Dry hop:
1oz citra

Can you post a picture of the beer?

Totally clear beer (meaning it looks like water) means something went wrong with your extract or your volume (either drastically low extract or drastically too much water). Did you take gravity readings?

Can you describe the "sandy" look a bit more? does it look different from yeast sediment? and Wy1025 isn't listed on the wyeast website, so I assume you meant 1056?

I can post a pic when I return home. Is called down the original recipe for a three gallon brew. So I actually used around 4 gallons. I don't have the exact measurements at the moment. The sand like consistency can best be described as flakes in the liquid. Is it possible that the sand like quality was due to dry hopping with pellet hops?

You ended up with four gallons instead of three? Do I understand that right? If so, then yeah, totally watered down.

Ferm temps and if you cold crashed could be helpful info to post. Primary only or secondary, times in each if.

Sorry for the ambiguity I added 4 pounds of DME for 3 gallons of water (again rough estimate because I am working and do not have the recipe in front of me).

I did cold crash and brought the temp down to 75 in about 15 minutes. The fermenting temp was 75.

Wyeast 1025? This can't be right, but assuming whatever yeast you did use wasn't a saison yeast 75 degrees is far too warm, especially if that is the ambient temp (fermenting wort can be 5-10 degrees warmer than ambient). You really should be trying to ferment around 65-68 degrees (wort temp, not ambient temp). You mentioned it not tasting great, and that is the most likely reason, high fermentation temp is probably the number one reason for off flavors (assuming proper sanitation of course). I assume the "sandy" ness is either dry hop dust or suspended yeast, give it time and it should settle out. FYI cold crashing refers to chilling the beer in the fermenter after fermentation to get the yeast to settle out, not chilling the wort after the boil.

Thanks for the help. This is all pretty new to me and I would really like this recipe to work out. Would it be true then that different yeast require different fermentation temperatures?

Anthonie said:

Thanks for the help. This is all pretty new to me and I would really like this recipe to work out. Would it be true then that different yeast require different fermentation temperatures?

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yes, wyeast post this on their site, 1056 has a good range

Anthonie said:

Thanks for the help. This is all pretty new to me and I would really like this recipe to work out. Would it be true then that different yeast require different fermentation temperatures?

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Every yeast has its own preferred temperature range. If you know the yeast you want to use you can look up the range on the manufacturer's website. I use dry yeast and I now know that Nottingham will ferment very clean (adding no extraneous flavors) between 55 and 62F. If I want to ferment warmer without odd flavors I choose a different yeast for that temp.

Once I learned to control the temperature during the ferment the flavor of my beer improved drastically.:rockin:

I imagine the iPad gave up the ghost when you put the Citra in on top of it in hot water... [emoji13]

Just keep bottles in the fridge upright for a couple of days before drinking. See if that helps.

Here is a picture a week into fermentation. It's hard to see but I can't tell if the yeast is still on top or or just patches of foam.

You should be fine. Anything that is suspended in the liquid will fall out after 2 weeks bottle conditioning and then chilling for drinking.

Unless the yeast is really poor at flocculation, you should be ok.

I'm terrified also I brewed my first batch used the bucket for primary and looks like a solid 1 inch crust is on top of my brew. Do you think its okay to open my primary to look into it?

That crust is totally normal. Its what happens when the krausen falls back into the beer. I would suggest you do not open the fermenter unless necessary, it introduces oxygen and potentially airborne contaminates. Just wait until you are ready to transfer before opening the lid. 10-14 days after pitching should be adequate..

Give your beer a chance to condition in the bottle or keg for a few weeks after that drink one and that my friend is the best way to tell if you messed up your brew.

RevKev: When I was brewing 5 gallons in the bucket I would often get a crust like layer but it always turned out great.

Would cold crashing my vessel work to get all the setiment down. My other concern was about the color of the beer but I think it's because I used an extra light DME and I'm not used to the color difference. Has anyone else used the extra light DME?

tooldudetool said:

That crust is totally normal. Its what happens when the krausen falls back into the beer. I would suggest you do not open the fermenter unless necessary, it introduces oxygen and potentially airborne contaminates. Just wait until you are ready to transfer before opening the lid. 10-14 days after pitching should be adequate..

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Okay thats very reassuring i thought it could be the hop particles that clumped but im going to leave it be.. I sort of jumped into the process and was worried i didnt use a thorough enough sterilization protocol or it was too warm ambient room temperature was between 67-74° which is with my yeasts range

Anthonie said:

RevKev: When I was brewing 5 gallons in the bucket I would often get a crust like layer but it always turned out great.

Would cold crashing my vessel work to get all the setiment down. My other concern was about the color of the beer but I think it's because I used an extra light DME and I'm not used to the color difference. Has anyone else used the extra light DME?

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I have a kegerator so I will cold crash that seems like a great idea but when do you do that after primary or secondary? And I messed that up too used gold malt extract I added 100% at the start of boil wasn't scorched but I heard its best to add in 1/3s.. But I'm a newb

Elkobrewer said:

Give your beer a chance to condition in the bottle or keg for a few weeks after that drink one and that my friend is the best way to tell if you messed up your brew.

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That's if I can figure out how to clean my sanke keg lol... Seems like its going to turn out great but you're completely right!

Anthonie said:

I recently brewed a citra IPAD

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Sounds delicious AND useful!

See it through and I'll bet you'll be fine.

Haha yeah sorry about the typo. Phones are not the greatest for posting on here. I'm certainly not brewing an iPad. However I love the smell of this citra IPA so far.

As far as cold crashing goes (and hopefully someone more experienced can jump in) I have read that cold crashing after primary fermentation and additional of dry hops is best. As for how long to cold crash, I am unsure. Some home brewers have told me that cold crashing for too long with reduce the aroma you get from the dry hops. Again not 100% just giving you the info I received.

RevKev said:

I'm terrified also I brewed my first batch used the bucket for primary and looks like a solid 1 inch crust is on top of my brew. Do you think its okay to open my primary to look into it?

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Looking through the side of the bucket it will look like there is a big crust but in reality, you see the little bit that stuck to the side of the bucket while the rest settled into the beer as it should. Not a problem. In a few cases you may find that krausen (the foamy stuff on top) will not fall but gently stirring should let it collapse.

Is there ever a chance of the yeast not dissolving into the brew? Could the yeast remain on top while in the fermenter and would giving the bucket (or vessel) a shake help work the yeast into the beer? Or does this maybe get caused by a temperature problem? Just speculating here.

RM-MN said:

Looking through the side of the bucket it will look like there is a big crust but in reality, you see the little bit that stuck to the side of the bucket while the rest settled into the beer as it should. Not a problem. In a few cases you may find that krausen (the foamy stuff on top) will not fall but gently stirring should let it collapse.

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I did do a slight tilt this morning and realized that's exactly what happened. I just can't wait to get it into my carboy so I can actually see what's happening with my beer without speculation. As for helping the clarity of the beer does anyone have good suggestions moss or otherwise?

Yes cold crashing can help a lot to clear your beer. Either put the whole fermenter in the fridge, or even outside if its below 40 degrees for at least 24 hours. 2-3 days is better. Once its cold you can use gelatin, which works amazingly well. I use the instructions here: http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/06/how-to-clear-your-beer-with-gelatin.html?m=1. I also use Whirlfloc with 5 minutes left in the boil.

tooldudetool said:

Yes cold crashing can help a lot to clear your beer. Either put the whole fermenter in the fridge, or even outside if its below 40 degrees for at least 24 hours. 2-3 days is better. Once its cold you can use gelatin, which works amazingly well. I use the instructions here: http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/06/how-to-clear-your-beer-with-gelatin.html?m=1. I also use Whirlfloc with 5 minutes left in the boil.

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Do you think I should cold crash before I put into the secondary? I was going to take a gravity reading at the seventh day to check in and then transfer into secondary to dry hop and add grapefruit peel

RevKev said:

Do you think I should cold crash before I put into the secondary? I was going to take a gravity reading at the seventh day to check in and then transfer into secondary to dry hop and add grapefruit peel

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I don't think you should put it into secondary. Wait 2 weeks for the yeast to finish fermenting and doing their cleanup, dry hop in the primary fermenter for 3 to 7 days, then do your cold crash. If you are careful when racking to the bottling bucket or keg you won't get any of the flocculated yeast stirred up and your resulting beer will be clear.

The only time I ever use a secondary is when I'm making a Russian imperial stout because I let it age for a full month or two (usually on oak cubes) after fermentation is complete. I make a crapton of ipas and I always dry hop right in the primary with no problems. Ipas tend to oxidize quickly compared to other styles due to the high hop content, so minimizing oxygen exposure is key to keeping them tasting fresh. Transferring to secondary just isn't worth it in my opinion.

It's been 5 days since the brew I got a little antsy and took a hydrometer reading I'm down from 1.068 to 1.011, I'm happy with that and I think it's almost spot on with a 7.48%, I may throw in the dry hops right now and say screw it to the vodka and grapefruit mixture I planned on using also. But I'm gunna take y'alls advice and not use the secondary.. It is just more pair and air going to oxidize whatever particles are in the beer already. I think 20 day turn around achievable is that me being naive?

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I also picked up some flavorless gelatin, I may or may not use it got it at Wegmans for 2$ so I said why not

RevKev said:

It's been 5 days since the brew I got a little antsy and took a hydrometer reading I'm down from 1.068 to 1.011, I'm happy with that and I think it's almost spot on with a 7.48%, I may throw in the dry hops right now and say screw it to the vodka and grapefruit mixture I planned on using also. But I'm gunna take y'alls advice and not use the secondary.. It is just more pair and air going to oxidize whatever particles are in the beer already. I think 20 day turn around achievable is that me being naive?

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I've tried a 20 day turnaround and while the beer was drinkable, it got much better with more time. Your sample looks like it has a lot of yeast still floating around in it and if you give it more time it will settle out. If you bottle early it all ends up in the bottom of the bottle. I've seen a yeast layer in my bottles that was a quarter of an inch thick. With more time that settles out and gets left in the fermenter and you lose much less beer when you pour your bottle into the glass. Patience is a virtue with beer, even though it is hard to wait.:rockin:

Thank you a bunch RM-MN & tooldudetool! Your answer are quite informative and eye opening 🍺 yeah there is just a lot of yeast in solution still hoping it will be damned near clear when it comes time to keg. I have a sanke sixtel so that will be where half my beer goes the other into bottles to share with friends 🍺🍺