StevenR
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- Nov 10, 2009
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Hi,
I brewed my first batch of beer this evening, but I'm not entirely certain I did it right and just want to get some feedback.
I brewed an Irish Red Ale. The homebrew supply store sold me the dry malt extract, a can od Crystal Amber malt, bittering hops, finishing hops, grain and bag, and primer. I followed the instructions but ran into a couple of things that weren't addressed in the store's instructions or Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing, 3rd Edition.
1) When I finally took the wort off the stove and put it in the sink to cool, the wort had the consistancy of molasses. Is this normal?
2) When the wort cooled some, it developed a tan colored film on top. Is this normal?
3) When it came time to siphon the wort into the primary fermenter, the sheer thickness of the wort I had meant that the auto-siphon was barely working. Additionally, between the thickness of the wort and the film on top, I had no way to know where not to siphon to sediment. some of this sticky wort couldn't be sucked up by the auto-siphon and I wasn't sure about sucking up the film on top so I didn't. Are there any tips on how to proceed?
4) When I took my initial specific gravity figures, I came up with 1.020 when the instructions indicated I should be between 1.040 and 1.045. What could I have done wrong and how can I avoid that in the future?
Thanks.
I brewed my first batch of beer this evening, but I'm not entirely certain I did it right and just want to get some feedback.
I brewed an Irish Red Ale. The homebrew supply store sold me the dry malt extract, a can od Crystal Amber malt, bittering hops, finishing hops, grain and bag, and primer. I followed the instructions but ran into a couple of things that weren't addressed in the store's instructions or Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing, 3rd Edition.
1) When I finally took the wort off the stove and put it in the sink to cool, the wort had the consistancy of molasses. Is this normal?
2) When the wort cooled some, it developed a tan colored film on top. Is this normal?
3) When it came time to siphon the wort into the primary fermenter, the sheer thickness of the wort I had meant that the auto-siphon was barely working. Additionally, between the thickness of the wort and the film on top, I had no way to know where not to siphon to sediment. some of this sticky wort couldn't be sucked up by the auto-siphon and I wasn't sure about sucking up the film on top so I didn't. Are there any tips on how to proceed?
4) When I took my initial specific gravity figures, I came up with 1.020 when the instructions indicated I should be between 1.040 and 1.045. What could I have done wrong and how can I avoid that in the future?
Thanks.