1st Batch

[aholloway17]

Hi everyone,

I am new here and new to home brewing though I am not new to beer. I am trying my first batch and I know I have surely screwed up but I need to know how badly.

First, I am making a Christmas Ale, it came as gift. My timing was a little off and so after the malt extract boil was half complete I realized I had not prepared my x-mas spice so I took the boil off the heat quickly boiled the spice and then further cheated by adding a small portion to the spice boil (not the rinsed portion off the spice) and returned the boil to the heat for the remaining time.

Next screw up, I could not find the whirlfloc tablet. This I'm not so concerned with as I don't (think) I mind a very cloudy beer. That was followed by not realizing how fast yeast pours out of the pouch so I lost a good portion (maybe 1/4) I did however rinse the pouch to get something back (or make myself believe I did).

Now its all sitting in the Carboy and its fermenting like crazy! But as I've never done this before I am wondering about the mistakes above and the thick (at the begining) nice beige colored foam that is now turning a nasty greenish color as the yeast does its thing.

So, have I thoroughly destroyed my first batch or is there hope yet?

Thanks,

Allen

 

[khiddy]

First off, Allen, welcome!

The interrupted boil probably isn't a huge deal. It's not optimal in terms of hop utilization, since hops added at the beginning of a 60-minute boil will have had additional time in the wort, making for slightly higher utilization. But I wouldn't sweat it too much, just be aware that it may be a tad more bitter than expected.

As far as the whirlfloc, not a big deal if you're not concerned about cloudiness. If you let the beer sit in the fermenter for three weeks or so, you'll get a similar precipitation of the proteins and hop solids that you would've seen at week one with whirlfloc. No biggie.

As far as the yeast, it sounds like you managed to pitch enough to get the job done, even if you lost some in the process. Was it a liquid or dry yeast?

Finally, the beige/greenish foam at the top of your beer is called krausen, and it's simply foam that gets generated by the yeast bubbles and the proteins in the beer, colored by the hop remnants in the wort. If you see krausen, then the yeast are going to town and you're gonna get beer!

Welcome!

 

[beerthirty]

You rinsed the yeast packet with what? cooled wort? You will be fine. Wirlfloc missing= no problem, if you can cold crash after fermentation has finished you can still get clear beer. The greenish color is probably the yeast picking up residual hop material in the carboy= no problem. The only mistake I can see is that you plan on drinking this around Christmas. 5 weeks is the minimum time most of us will use kettle to glass, and a Christmas ale usally requires a bit longer due to higher alcohol. Don't worry it can be ready and drinkable, it will just be better if you wait a couple more weeks after bottleing.

 

[aholloway17]

After I posted my message I found others with similar questions and with your responses I don;t feel so bad, thanks. To answer your questions ithe yeast was a smack pak liquid. The gravity at the yeast incisdent was 1.075 which is a little high I guess and made me think the yueast would give out before finishing fermentation. So the unsighly green foam will sink to the bottom or will I siphon from the middle?

The yeast packet was rinsed with water LOL. I did not choose this ale it was a gift so I realize I'll have to wait past xmas, I think I'll be okay with that.

Thanks for the help!

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Sounds like everything is going ok. Some of the krausen will stick to the sides and dry, some of it will fall back into the beer, so you won't have to worry about it when you siphon.

It should turn out just fine.

 

[aholloway17]

Well, everything was going well yeasties were doinf there thing for three days. I returned home on Thursday and no more Krausen and no more bubbles. The gravity is 1.018 after .002 correction for it being 79 degrees. So I know I'm supposed to let it sit for 3 days to ensure there is no more activity but does this seem right? If after 3 days the gravity falls no further what then?

Thanks,

 

[Bullshivit-brew]

Are you going to secondray this? The rule of thumb is 1,2,3 1 week primary 2 weeks secondary -you can just go 3 weeks primary with no secondary then 3 weeks in the bottle to condition. You want to leave it in the ferminter so the yeast can have time to clean it up.

 

[khiddy]

I think I'd be most worried about why your temperature is 79 degrees. What is going on with your temps? That's freakishly high, the normal fermentation temperature range is 62 to 72 for most ales (Belgians notwithstanding).

You seriously need to get your temperatures under control. Those too-hot yeasties are going to throw some really powerful esters that aren't normally welcome in most ales.

 

[aholloway17]

Okay, so the latest update I still can't explain why the temp on the carboy read 79 degrees but now it it resting copmfortably at 72 degrees. The color of the wort is a very nice deep malty brown and defeinately less murky. There is the tineist formation of foam
about the size of an almub (if you remeber those) and a bubble every every minute or so. As I understand it I should be waiting until there are no bubbels for two minuets? And, the gravity is sitting stable at 1.018.

 

[khiddy]

Well, you should go ahead and ignore the frequency of the bubbles. Any airlock activity is simply a co-sign that can give a hint that something's taking place. The far more reliable (indeed, the only scientific method) of knowing when the fermentation is finished is to take regular readings with your hydrometer. When three consecutive days' readings are identical, then this is a good sign that the fermentation has stopped. If it's at 1.018 today, and tomorrow, but then on Monday it reads 1.017, then you'll still want to wait before you do anything.

And actually, you should go ahead and leave that beer right where it is, even if you see no change in the hydrometer reading, for at least a week or two longer, simply because your fermentation temperature was so high that you want to give the yeast a chance to "clean up after themselves", which they will do after they're done eating all of the sugars they're gonna eat in the primary fermentation. I mentioned the esters that the yeast were producing when the temperature was 79*F, and that will make your beer taste like hot ethyl alcohol and harshness. If you give the yeast a chance to relax and clean up, these hot and imbalanced flavors will begin to be muted.

This beer that you're making is going to take some time to get really drinkable in the bottle. You're gonna want to be patient with this one. It's a good learning experience - sanitation, temperature control, and patience are the most critical methods that the new brewer needs to master.

 

[aholloway17]

Khiddy, thanks for your instruction it is a huge help. I think I will retire the carboy filled wort (replace the blow off tube with an airlock) to a cool area and forget about bout it for awhile then check the FG before bottling. At what point should I be concerned about the length of time in the carboy and mold or is that not an issue?

Thanks,

 

[Bullshivit-brew]

There are threads that talk about how long to leave in the ferminter. I go any were from 3 to 5 weeks normaly. Not saying that I do it rite but thats what I do. Your temp will rase while the fermintation is most active. It will produce its own heat. This would account for the 79*F at the beginning and 72 now. A water bath and a fan can help you control this in the future. And +1 to what khiddy said let it sit and let them yeastys do there thing. RDWHAHB

 

[aholloway17]

Latest update and question. The temp has been stable and those yeasties have been doing thier thing, I can tell because the wort has been changing color (its really dark now) getting clearer and all those floaties are gone. The question now is the gravty has not changed in the past week and nothing floats at the top but a few lingering bubbles. So I think I am going to bottle. But, as I managed to spill maybe a 1/4 of the yeast smack pack I am wondering how much sugar to ad to the bottles? I have the recepie so should I just follow that or try and comsensate for the lost yeat or does that not really matter?

Thanks

 

[khiddy]

Follow the recipe - the yeast that you lost at the beginning were replaced through reproduction of the yeast that did make it in, and there are now many more yeast in there than at the start. There will be plenty of yeast to eat the bottling sugar and carbonate your beer.

You're doing well! Relax!

 

[aholloway17]

i have made beer i have made BEER I HAVE MADE BEER!!!!!

LOL This is soooooo cool, Khiddy, everyone whos has posted and or replied, thanks so much. This has really been cool and I'm sure its going to get better. But, when I was botteling we tasted some as we started. It was just a little sweet, dry and hoppy. A little more dry than I typically like but hey I made this. Then we tasted again just the last left over , not enough to fill a bottle. And it was waaaaaaay good. Still a little hoppy but malty and a little more sweet, something I could drink ALL DAY! I know it will change as it continues to eh hmm mature but this is going to be good.

Thanks again and I will let you know what happens upon opening around the 25th of January will be the first cracking! But don't worry I'm ordering more bottles tomorrow and I'm moving on!

Thanks again!

 

[aholloway17]

i have made beer I have Made Beer I HAVE MADE BEER LOL

This has been cool. Khiddy, all of you posting on this site, and those that may have replied, and my girl who bought me this kit for my birthdaythanks.

All is bottled and waiting now. While botteling we cheated and tasted it was a little sweet, hoppy, and dry. Drier than I would normally like but hey I made this! As we were finishing the last of it I was going to dump the rest but my girl convinced me to bottle it. It is still just a littel dry and hoppy but definately more malty and sweet. This is really really good stuff. I can't wait to try this stuff. Don't worry I'll be brewing more stuff but this will be cracked around the 25th of January.

Thanks again!

 

[Cart]

If you can restrain yourself (or flood the pipeline with more batches) set a sixer aside for a few more months, or even til next Christmas. Bigger beers age pretty well, and the spices will change over time.

 

[khiddy]

Congratulations! And +1 on Cart's advice - try to set aside even just a few bottles to try down the road, so you can see how they age as well as compare your early work to your later batches to see how your technique and knowledge have improved!

 

[aholloway17]

Well it is January 24th and as promised we sat dwon to open our first beer and here is what we found and agree on. First, the beer has definately changed in that it is not as hoppy or dry as we anticipated. Not that it is sweet but I believe sweet is the opposite of dry. The hops still have a large presence but they contribute more to an overall bigger flavor. On the drink and finish the beer is loaded with texture and flavor all the way through with a very nice aroma. And, the finnish I think is somewhat complex in that one it is rather long, still full bodied with a good deal of spice and pronounced sweetness and yet drier than the beginning. Overall we like it very much and mean that if it were served (not just because we made it) out somewhere we would still like it. It also seems to be a beer that you can have a few of because it is or at least feels like a big beer. Also, we noted it feels the carbonation results in finer bubbles so to speak. Which, leads to this question, will additional time in the bottle result in more carbonation and bigger bubbles so to speak?

Thanks,

Allen