My first brew, ran into some problems, help

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

avillax

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Messages
60
Reaction score
1
Hello, so I ran into a few problems in my first brew and I wanted to know your opinion.

I brewed 2.5 gallons using liquid light malt extract and added cascade hops as instructed by my local beer shop.

Everything was OK but it took about 30 minutes to cool it down and once the beer was transferred to the fermenter I noticed that the spigot was dripping so I washed one hand really well and placed it inside the fermenter and tightened the nut. Is it still OK or I completely wasted it?

Second mistake: I couldn't find a thermometer so I had to calculate with my finger as I'm used to having aquariums and can sort of tell the temp, so my finger calculated that the temp was 77 f and that's when I added the yeast.

Am I still good or totally messed up?
 
The hand in the beer while not ideal happens, only time will tell, 77 is a bit warm but not a deal breaker.
Do yourself a favor right now and look up swamp cooler and set one up unless you have a better temperature control solution.:mug:
 
Thanks, there are many thing I will need to fix for the next batch, in fact, one of the problems is that the bath tub was not deep enough, only about 3 inches deep or less, that's why I wrapped it in some cold towels.

Also one question I couldn't find a clear answer at the howtobrew book is, how do I know when the beer is ready to bottle? I don't even know how to use the hydrometer.
 
Thanks, there are many thing I will need to fix for the next batch, in fact, one of the problems is that the bath tub was not deep enough, only about 3 inches deep or less, that's why I wrapped it in some cold towels.

Also one question I couldn't find a clear answer at the howtobrew book is, how do I know when the beer is ready to bottle? I don't even know how to use the hydrometer.

Fill your sample tube with the wort before fermentation, or beer after fermentation and float the hydrometer. Read the scale where the top of the liquid intersects the hydrometer.

Get a good thermometer. I can't imagine you can tell 70 degrees (which is a bit on the high side) from 77 degrees which is too warm with your finger.

After about 10 days minimum to 3-4 weeks take a gravity reading. Wait at least 24 hours and take another reading. If the gravity is not to high and the 2 readings are the same, it is safe to bottle.

If you bottle before fermentation, too much co2 will be produced giving you, at best overcarbonated beer, and at worst exploding bottles.
 
Put it whereever you are going to put it and leave it alone, I know this is hard to do but do it, brew another batch to keep yourself busy but leave the top on for 2 or 3 weeks.
What book do you have?
Do you have a hydrometer? And a tube to put it in? Fill the tube with distilled water and it reads 1.00, can't be simpler, will go higher with more sugar in solution, 3 reading the same several days apart and you can bottle.
 
I didn't take an OG, so in how many days should I test the gravity?
 
I didn't take an OG, so in how many days should I test the gravity?

7 -10 days is minimum. One thing to consider is clarity, if it is still cloudy, wait longer. I always ferment for 14 days (if rushing things) to 3 weeks (usual) and a month or more when I get lazy about, in my case, kegging the beer.
 
Also, another problem came up:

The spigot was still dripping so I transfere the beer to the secondary bucket which in which I placed the rubber o-ring from the spigot on the outside and that seemed to be the solution. So in other words, the recently brewed beer was aerated again. Will this generate too much trouble?

Also the reading on the thermometer of the secondary which seems to be more functional shows that I probably pitched the yeast at 86 f. Any problems from this?
 
Also, another problem came up:

The spigot was still dripping so I transfere the beer to the secondary bucket which in which I placed the rubber o-ring from the spigot on the outside and that seemed to be the solution. So in other words, the recently brewed beer was aerated again. Will this generate too much trouble?

Also the reading on the thermometer of the secondary which seems to be more functional shows that I probably pitched the yeast at 86 f. Any problems from this?

No problem with moving the beer. 86 degrees means that you may have some off flavors in the final beer due to the high temperature. Try your best to keep it at 68 degrees if you can, as active fermentation produces heat and the beer will get even warmer without temperature control.
 
The two things you need a Hydrometer and a thermometer. with those you can make decent beer. Beer is all about tempature from the right temp to pitch the yeast to the right temp to ferment, Also the right temps to soak any grains you use.
 
The only time I put beer in a vessel with a spigot is for bottling. Maybe a good conical, etc. with a valve would be OK, but I would never trust a spigot on a bucket for longer than it takes to bottle a batch.

A good thermometer is amongst the most important tools to have for brewing. A hydrometer and knowing how to use it is also high on the list.
 
I pitched at such high temp because my rudimentary cooling method was not cooling fast enough: I could probably pitch at 70 f but it will take me 1 hour to cool it down to that temp.

What's preferable? Pitching at 86 f after 30 minutes of flame off or pitching at 70 f after 1 hour of flame off?
 
Also, another problem came up:

The spigot was still dripping so I transfere the beer to the secondary bucket which in which I placed the rubber o-ring from the spigot on the outside and that seemed to be the solution. So in other words, the recently brewed beer was aerated again. Will this generate too much trouble?

How did you transfer it? Racking cane? Through the spigot with a piece of tubing leading to the bottom of the 2nd vessel, or just through the spigot with no tubing? And how long had it been fermenting before transfer?

Depending on the answers to those questions, there could be a risk of oxidation, but your high temps are he bigger issue.
 
I pitched at such high temp because my rudimentary cooling method was not cooling fast enough: I could probably pitch at 70 f but it will take me 1 hour to cool it down to that temp.

What's preferable? Pitching at 86 f after 30 minutes of flame off or pitching at 70 f after 1 hour of flame off?

Cool it to mid to low 60s. However long it takes.

I "no-chill"... Well overnight chill, really... The wort sits for ~18 hours before. Pitch. I also use a swamp cooler with frozen water bottles to get down the final few degrees from ambient to pitching temps.
 
The aeration is probably alright as long as it happened early, before fermentation is fully underway.

86F is way too warm and you need to cool it down ASAP.
 
I pitched at such high temp because my rudimentary cooling method was not cooling fast enough: I could probably pitch at 70 f but it will take me 1 hour to cool it down to that temp.

What's preferable? Pitching at 86 f after 30 minutes of flame off or pitching at 70 f after 1 hour of flame off?

I pitch most ale yeasts at 70 or lower. 30 minutes... 1 hour... 2 or more hours... Get the temperature down however long it takes, and keep it controlled at least for the first 4 or so days of fermentation. Look up the yeast's recommended range and keep it close to the midpoint.

A swamp cooler it the cheapest way to control fermentation temperatures.
 
I'm used to having aquariums and can sort of tell the temp, so my finger calculated that the temp was 77 f

This part had me rolling, LMMFAO! You sir, have one accurate finger!

Okay, but seriously...if it was just a slop drip, I would have let it be and transferred without sticking my hand in...but I doubt you caused any serious damage, worst case is you didn't rinse all of the soap off and you may have killed your head...but I think you'll be alright.

:mug:
 
This part had me rolling, LMMFAO! You sir, have one accurate finger!

:mug:

That's what she said!

OK so next time I will take longer time to cool it down for sure.

The transfer was basically dumping everything to the other bucket, no siphon or anything but this happened 1 hour after pitching.
 
This thread has me feeling better, this weekend I brewed only my second batch of beer and while taking the final temperature before pitching the yeast, I accidentally put the thermometer in too far and some of my fingers touched the wort. I was worrying about infection, but I'm hoping for the best.
 
The transfer was basically dumping everything to the other bucket, no siphon or anything but this happened 1 hour after pitching.

You're fine. It would have had to be multiple days for there to be any real oxidation risk here. At 1 hour after pitching, you WANT oxygen in the beer.
 
Well, as an update I have bottled the beer yesterday, 1 more week and it should be ready. I've tasted it and it tastes as almost there but if it got infected I wouldn't know how it would taste like. Any feedback about the taste of infected beer?
 
Well, as an update I have bottled the beer yesterday, 1 more week and it should be ready. I've tasted it and it tastes as almost there but if it got infected I wouldn't know how it would taste like. Any feedback about the taste of infected beer?

Live and learn.. :rockin: Now you know next time don't use a bucket with a spigot, and either get some temp control or brew up a saison, they love the hot. Also while one beer is conditioning, time to brew up another, don't let the pipeline run dry. :mug:
 
"It tastes as almost there", what does that mean? There are different kinds of infections that dictate the off flavors. But you'll generally know, or at least suspect, if it's infected, and if it's infected it will get worse with time.
 
Don't worry... If it's infected you'll know. :) If it tastes mostly like beer. It's probably not infected.

More likely you'll have off flavors from the high temps.
 
Well, as almost there I mean that it almost taste like normal IPA beer and something not completely fermented yet, as far as infection, I can't say it taste bad at all.
The spigot is not that bad after all, once the rubber band was placed on the outside it never dripped again.
 
You will continue to learn with each batch. I think brewing is like poker and golf - you can learn basics pretty easily, but you can spend the rest of your life and never really 'master' it. That's what makes it an engaging hobby. As long as you learn from each brew day, it's a success, IMO. Your beers and practices will improve with reading this forum, talking to other brewers and joining others in their brew days.
 
OK so finally today is the day and I tried the beer: it looks great, smells herbal and molasses, really great smell but the flavor is a bit off: every flavor is quickly cut off, it does taste fruity but gets cut off quickly and has some sort of after tasete bitterness/sour taste, makes it seem dry.

Are these signs of infection?
 
I'd give it another two weeks in the bottle before judging anything. You're rushing things, which is typical for your first brew. Let this one sit, and brew another batch, only this time, don't use a bucket with a spigot, and figure out a way to control your temps. Keep reading this forum, it's a wealth of knowledge. Good luck.:mug:
 
I'd give it another two weeks in the bottle before judging anything. You're rushing things, which is typical for your first brew. Let this one sit, and brew another batch, only this time, don't use a bucket with a spigot, and figure out a way to control your temps. Keep reading this forum, it's a wealth of knowledge. Good luck.:mug:

I will let the rest sit, but how would I know if it got infected? how does infection taste like?
 
On a note: it didn't taste like sour milk or metallic nor buttery. Does have lager-like similarities.
 
You will know if it is infected. It will probably not taste like any beer you have had. If it is infected and bottled at 9 days, which in my opinion was too soon, watch for extreme foam when you open a bottle. If that happens post immediately. It might mean bottle bombs. Though it seems unlikely from what has been described.

At one week of bottle conditioning your beer is very young. It will probably taste a lot different when fully conditioned at about 3 weeks. I have tasted 1 bottle of a lot of my beers at 2 weeks - ALL of my beers tasted better at three weeks or longer.

As others have said. Start another beer ASAP and let these ones age. If you have a few beers going in the wings it make you less tempted to finish off one that is not really ready.
 
11903707_10153107305617081_9037586425152341532_n_zpsnzpa2tuo.jpg



This is the way it looked. So that's cool, it can still improve, like I said, the aroma is really nice but it lacks lots of flavor, also it did have nice head, I wasn't expecting that, though not some crazy bomb or anything like that, but who knows.

I can't brew more right now, I'm very sick.
 
get a bucket without spigot and an auto-siphon for your next brew.

Get a big cement mixing bucket as a swamp cooler.

Be patient, much more patient.

This should make your beer much better.
 
after a few days Im having another one and tastes even better to the point that I dont think it got infected, only thing is: the hops have the right bitterness but no taste, the smell is excellent, why did I miss the hopie taste?
 
Back
Top