Long time listener, first time brewer... from orange county, CA

Hey folks! I'm getting ready to brew my first batch of beer tomorrow. I'll be using the Java Stout kit from Midwest Supplies, along with one of their equipment kits. I can't wait! Waiting that long will be hard enough, let alone the weeks and weeks it'll be before I can drink it.

I picked up some White Labs yeast locally, so that I won't be using the munton's dry yeast... but I'm not sure if I made a good choice. Midwest recommends the WLP023 Burton yeast, but my local store (Stein Fillers in LB, CA) was out of it, and so they recommended the WLP002 English Ale yeast. From what I've found this will be OK, but does anybody have any experience using this for a stout of this type? Here's the rough recipe:

6 lbs. Dark LME
8 oz. Chocolate Malt
4 oz. Flaked Barley
4 oz. Caramel 60°L
4 oz. Roasted Barley specialty grains
2 oz. of ??? hops
4 oz of coffee, brewed and added to secondary

Thanks in advance!

Welcome Aboard. English Ale yeast will work fine, Make sure you make a starter though. Happy Brewing.

I haven't done it personally, but I think you'll be allright with that yeast. You do know that when you shop with Midwest, you can upgrade from the default yeast to White Labs for a few bucks more, right?

Also, I've had my eye on that recipe for a while now. I think it'll be coming soon (after my Oatmeal Stout, more Apfelwine, a recipe whipped up by one of the forum junkies here, and a Scottish 70/-). Let us know how it turns out, it certainly sounds tasty.

Edited: Oh, and almost forgot... Welcome aboard! Personally, I don't bother with a yeast starter when using White Labs, and have yet to have a bad experience with this. Then again, I believe RICLARK may be more experienced than I am.

llazy_llama said:

I don't bother with a yeast starter when using White Labs, and have yet to have a bad experience with this.

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A starter is not required, Unless its a big beer. I make starters because if I just pitch the vial it takes my brew like 4 days to get going. So your right too.

llazy_llama said:

I haven't done it personally, but I think you'll be allright with that yeast. You do know that when you shop with Midwest, you can upgrade from the default yeast to White Labs for a few bucks more, right?

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Yes, and I actually did this for the other kit I got- the Hop Scare IPA as well, and I upgraded to the Wyeast American Ale II on that one. I had intended on just using the Munton's for this first batch, but after reading a bit online, it seems to be pretty universally panned.

Also, I've had my eye on that recipe for a while now. I think it'll be coming soon (after my Oatmeal Stout, more Apfelwine, a recipe whipped up by one of the forum junkies here, and a Scottish 70/-). Let us know how it turns out, it certainly sounds tasty.

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Will do! I am going to deviate from the recipe slightly... I am a bit of a coffee snob, so I'll be going with some really fresh local roasted coffee in the secondary. I am sure that the coffee that comes with it is fine, but I personally wouldn't drink coffee that could be pretty old, so I wouldn't put it in my beer either. I'll also be cold pressing the coffee, which is recommended by the recipe... this eliminates a lot of the acids from the beans, which could be the reason why they say to do this.

Edited: Oh, and almost forgot... Welcome aboard! Personally, I don't bother with a yeast starter when using White Labs, and have yet to have a bad experience with this. Then again, I believe RICLARK may be more experienced than I am.

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Thanks! I was not planning on doing a starter for this batch... I don't have a decent vessel for doing this, and at this point, not really enough time either. We will see how it goes.

RICLARK said:

A starter is not required, Unless its a big beer. I make starters because if I just pitch the vial it takes my brew like 4 days to get going. So your right too.

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I'm going to be brewing tomorrow afternoon, and I don't have any DME to use specifically for a starter... If I was to make one, should I just use some of the LME from the kit, and then pitch it all in when it goes in the fermenter? Is 24 hours enough time for it to be worth it?

Hopaholic said:

I'm going to be brewing tomorrow afternoon, and I don't have any DME to use specifically for a starter... If I was to make one, should I just use some of the LME from the kit, and then pitch it all in when it goes in the fermenter? Is 24 hours enough time for it to be worth it?

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Nah just go ahead and pitch it. IT will take off but may lag for a couple of days.

Welcome

Well, as far as I can tell the brewing was a success!

Steeped the grains in 3 gallons, within a couple degrees of 155F, boiled, hopped, boiled, hopped, and chilled. The wort chiller I built worked great... down to below 80 degrees within 10 minutes.

One thing I'm not sure about is that I didn't filter out the hops when I transferred it to the primary. I was going to, but one of the guys that was there said he always leaves them in.

OG came out to 1.045, which is in line with what the kit specified- 1.042 - 1.046. I was afraid that I was coming out way low when I first checked the reading, but that's what the kit instructions say... and it's only a 6lb batch, so I guess it makes sense. It'll be a pretty light stout compared to the kind of stuff I've been drinking lately... a bunch of 8 and 12%'s.

Now comes the hard part... waiting!!!

Making starters is a good idea for most beers. Wyeast and Whitelab vials have yeast cell count appropriate for pitching into 1.040-1.050 or so worts, but to reduce lag time a starter is always a good idea. For higher gravity beers it is necessary to pitch a higher active cell count for best results. Using dry yeast you can get away with not making a starter till your wort reaches 1.050+. I have almost always used starters, but when I was a beginner, I would just pitch my Wyeast/Whitelabs yeast directly into the cooled wort with fine results, albiet with a lag of 12-36 hrs. To me, thats a little too long(lot too long) so I started making starters with wort I've made from a mini mash on the stove w/ base malts as to not innoculate my AG beer with any DME/LME. For more essential/useful info checkout mr.malty.com for pitch rates and cell counts. This is a BIG deal when considering the health of your ferm. and the final result. You can make a GOOD beer by not making a starter, and slightly under-pitching, but you're trying to make a GREAT beer right? Then it's time to get a bit more involved in the world of starters and yeast propagation. It will make your beer exceptional. mr.malty.com. Check it and other sights on this topic out! You stand to really gain from this. I did!:rockin: