After 5 hours, just finished my first batch. Ended horribly help me fix it.

[h0rse27]

Started with the Midwest Supplies Groupon deal (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/groupon-homebrewing.html) and ordered the Irish Stout (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/irish-stout.html) with it. As a first timer I knew there was going to be some hiccups along the way, however I think I majorly failed and don't really know how the beer will turn out or if its even drinkable.

I started off by boiling about 3.5-4 gallons of water on a Natural Gas stove which took a little long, probably about 30 minutes and then steep the grains for another 30. When that was done I added the gypsum (I read most people don't put in the gypsum but it was included in the kit and I used tap water so I figure I'd should add it) and malt extract. Brought that to a light boil then added about 1/2 oz of nugget bittering hops (it came with 1 oz so I eyed it and estimated 1/2 oz). Let that boil for another ~55 minutes then added 1 oz Williamette aroma hops and two grated orange peels because I wanted to try a orange chocolate stout.

Not a big deal so far, don't think I screwed too much up yet until I tried to cool down the wort. With the 3.5-4 gallons I started off with to bring to a boil, it took almost TWO hours to cool my wort using the kitchen sink and a 10lb bag of ice. The problem was the pot was too big for the sink and I could only submerge about 1/2 of the pot and I didn't have enough ice. Next time I'll have to get a wort chiller and 40+ pounds of ice and a big bucket that is able to submerge most of my pot.

Anyways I couldn't get it down to a pitching temperature of 70* which I wanted however the instructions did say that under 80* would be good. I boiled half a cup of water waited till it cooled to about 90* and dumped my dry yeast in, let it sit and pitched it into the wort when it was about 75*.

The problem is that with the original 3.5-4 gallons of tap water that I put into the pot, the probably half gallon of water that I used to rinse out the malt extracts, the gallon of water I used to help cool the wort, and the ice cubes that help cool the wort even more- I ended up with over 6 gallons of wort! I ended up pouring the extra gallon+ of wort down the drain after! I ended up keeping over a little over 5 gallons aerating it with a whisk. I took a sample from the left overs that I was going to pour down the drain and my readings seemed off.

So I took another sample from the batch after I already pitched the yeast. Does this look right? I think it says ~1.033 but I may be wrong.

Anyways would 1.033 sound about right for the original gravity of the irish stout?
I am leaving the plastic bucket fermenter in a bathtub filled with water at my brothers place. I decided it would be best to leave it in the tub of water to regulate the temperature because even right now at almost 1AM the of the water the bucket is sitting in is ~76* and I know the fermentation process heats up a little and plus tomorrow afternoon I think the temperature of the water will probably reach ~78*+ even with the A/C on.

So I guess I am asking is should I have just poured the extra gallon or whatever I could fit in my 6 gallon fermenter?
I'm afraid that I poured out the sediments on the bottom of the pot which would give the beer its flavorings and wondering if I will have a real plain tasting, low alcohol percentage beer.

Also does my readings for the OG seem about right?
I took a reading of plain tap water and it was ~.999 if I remember correctly, just a notch under the 1.000 mark.

I originally planned on doing a second stage fermentation with cacao nibs soaked in Grand Marnier for a chocolate orange stout but I may skip the whole process now if I already screwed up the batch.

Any tips or advice for a first timer that you guys can give?? Thanks

 

[SilverZero]

Honestly, I don't see a whole lot that would have killed your batch. MAYBE some stress on the yeast by pitching at a high temperature. You did lower your OG by adding extra water to the brew after boiling, but that's not going to kill you. Measuring your gravity after pitching will actually make it look higher than it is because you're including the yeast in the reading (more stuff in the water, basically), so you could be even less than 1.033 which is a ballpark OG, though maybe not for the style you're going for. Pouring off unused wort won't hurt either, as the gravity should be similar throughout (the sediment at the bottom is basically just waste, proteins and fats from the boil). If you were good about sanitation and hopefully didn't introduce anything during the whole cooling process, you should be okay. See how it turns out. It might not be great, and people have dumped batches before (but you shouldn't - see the stickies), but there's no harm in waiting it out to see.

 

[lpstudio18]

did you steep the grains in boiling water? It's not clear from your wording, but just fyi, this will extract unwanted tannins from the grains. Also were you adding tap water to the wort itself along with store-bought ice? From what I've read, you only want to add boiled and/or store-bought spring water to your wort, as plain unboiled tap water is a potential point of contamination. Also, any ice that's added should be made from boiled water and frozen in a pre-sanitized container. You'll probably be OK, but I wouldn't do that again.

 

[pericles]

I'm not sure that "Irish stout" is actually a recognized style, so when you ask if 1.033 is "right," there's not a great answer.

DRY stout is a style, though, and it does have specified OG, which ranges from 1.036-1.050. That's the very THINNEST of the stouts; the OG for a Russian Imperial Stout, on the other hand, ranges from 1.075-1.115.

So, the short answer is, since you're not brewing a specific style. . . sure! 1.033 is fine. On the other hand, if you're aiming for something that tastes like Guinness, then I think that you're a little low, and should aim for 1.040-1.045 in the future.

Reading over your procedure, I think I see the problem:

with the original 3.5-4 gallons of tap water that I put into the pot, the probably half gallon of water that I used to rinse out the malt extracts, the gallon of water I used to help cool the wort, and the ice cubes that help cool the wort even more- I ended up with over 6 gallons of wort!

Did you add ice to the wort? That's a no-no. In the first place, it adds water that wasn't calculated into your recipe, and it lowers the OG of your beer, as you discovered. Also, the ice isn't sanitized: it's just frozen. So adding it to your beer means you may be infecting it with all kinds of wild-yeasts and bacteria.

I'm afraid that I poured out the sediments on the bottom of the pot which would give the beer its flavorings and wondering if I will have a real plain tasting, low alcohol percentage beer.

No. The sediment that you're seeing is mostly what's called "hot break." They're proteins and amino acids that separated from the malt-sugars during the boil. You want some of them in the fermenter, because the yeast can use them to make sterols and build cell-walls. . . but you only need about 0.1% of the total hot-break. The other 99.9% of the hot-break material should remain in the pot and get thrown away or composted.

Also does my readings for the OG seem about right?

Like I say - it's a little low. But OG is a bad predictor of how a completed beer will taste. I would definitely let it ferment and taste it before I decided I didn't like it.

I originally planned on doing a second stage fermentation with cacao nibs soaked in Grand Marnier for a chocolate orange stout but I may skip the whole process now if I already screwed up the batch.

If the only problem with your beer is that it's a little thin, then adding additional flavors and mouthfeel will probably help. Go ahead with your plan, and let us know how it turns out!

 

[AB-Brew]

Also be aware that your hydrometer is calibrated to take readings at 60 degrees. If your temp is higher so is your SG.
The kit says to add water, as long as your water is safe to drink it is safe in your beer. You will think you did a million things wrong and you will end up with great beer. It is your FIRST batch!
Learn patience. It is your friend. Yeast are amazing when given time to do their thing. Take notes and learn, read everything you can find.
People have been making beer for thousands of years before refrigeration and water filtration.
Welcome to the obsession!

 

[TopherM]

I couldn't get it down to a pitching temperature of 70*

LOL....you mean you were not patient enough to get it down to 70. I can a full 5 gallon boil from 212 to 70 in an ice bath in my kitchen sink with 25 lbs of ice in about 18 minutes, so I think you have some issue in your process there.

Like someone else said, you definitely DO NOT want to just throw ice cubes into your wort unless it is prepared ice that has been boiled to sanitize then frozen beforehand.

If you want some tips on an ice bath, let me know!

 

[william_shakes_beer]

If you must refrigerate your wart directly, freeze a couple 2litre bottles of tap water the night before. Spray them with starsan just before you put them in the wart. That's what I did until I got my wart chiller and pump.

 

[ciphin78]

Just my 2 cents:

For your first batch (or couple of first batches) just follow the recipes and outlined process explicitly. Get comfortable with the process and prove to yourself that you can make a good product before you start tweaking the recipes. If you don't have a good baseline then you'll have a difficult time troubleshooting. Every time you mess with a kit or defined recipe you change the makeup and outcome of the beer. So, if your Irish Stout does not come out as the recipe states then you won't know if it was because of your other tweaks or because of something in the process.

+1 to not putting ice cubes in your wort. Once the wort stops boiling consider it holy and clean. Do not put ANYTHING un-sterile in contact with the wort post boil. Purchased spring water is fine, tap water is not (could actually be okay, but why risk it).

 

[smyrnaquince]

If you must refrigerate your wart directly, freeze a couple 2litre bottles of tap water the night before. Spray them with starsan just before you put them in the wart. That's what I did until I got my wart chiller and pump.

I like this idea!

 

[chrissomebody]

yeah, i agree with the above posts. the only thing that you may have done wrong is add unsanitized water/ice to your wort. invest in a chiller. they're worth every penny.

also, i wouldn't worry about your gravity. i don't know what temp your sample was at, but it was probably warm enough to through your reading off a little. regardless, it's not so low that your batch is wasted.

just hope that you didn't contaminate your wort with the ice. otherwise, you're good to go. unfortunately, you're not going to know until you ferment it out. even if it ends up contaminated, it will still be a good learning experience. always keep in mind that sanitation is probably the most critical element in your brew day.

 

[ChaosStout]

Invest in a chiller you can get em for 50$ or make your own for less

 

[h0rse27]

did you steep the grains in boiling water? It's not clear from your wording, but just fyi, this will extract unwanted tannins from the grains. Also were you adding tap water to the wort itself along with store-bought ice? From what I've read, you only want to add boiled and/or store-bought spring water to your wort, as plain unboiled tap water is a potential point of contamination. Also, any ice that's added should be made from boiled water and frozen in a pre-sanitized container. You'll probably be OK, but I wouldn't do that again.

I steeped them at 150*. And yea I added ice and bottled water to cool down the wort I knew it was a big no no but I thought cooling the hot wort down faster would be more beneficial.

 

[LandoLincoln]

If you must refrigerate your wart directly, freeze a couple 2litre bottles of tap water the night before. Spray them with starsan just before you put them in the wart. That's what I did until I got my wart chiller and pump.

BTW, it's spelled "wort" and pronounced "wert."

 

[h0rse27]

LOL....you mean you were not patient enough to get it down to 70. I can a full 5 gallon boil from 212 to 70 in an ice bath in my kitchen sink with 25 lbs of ice in about 18 minutes, so I think you have some issue in your process there.

Like someone else said, you definitely DO NOT want to just throw ice cubes into your wort unless it is prepared ice that has been boiled to sanitize then frozen beforehand.

If you want some tips on an ice bath, let me know!

I didn't have enough ice and the water coming out of my tap was already 75*- but lesson learned. Buy more ice and/or invest in a wort chiller.

 

[joelmole]

Normally what you did with the amount of water would not be a problem, but the recipe has to be calculated with this in mind, scaled to account for a 6 gallon post boil volume. I punched this recipe in to Beer Tools Pro, and with 6 gallons post boil, the calculated OG is 1.038, so not too far off from what you got. You either had more than 6 gallons, like 6.75 or something, or you ended up with a weaker wort by pouring some of it down the drain.

The recipe states a target OG of 1.042-1.046, so they were probably assuming 5 to 5.5 gallons total volume including top off water, and tailored the amount of malt extract and specialty grains with this assumption.

One thing you could have done to avoid adding too much water is that you don't need to use extra water to rinse out your liquid malt extract container. I think malt extract from Midwest comes in half gallon milk jugs. After you've poured as much of the extract out into the boil kettle (and stirred the boil kettle so that it doesn't scorch on the bottom), you can carefully dip the container into the kettle to get some hot wort into the jug. Put the cap back on, swirl it around, and then dump it back in. If there's still some left in the jug just repeat this process until it's all rinsed out.

On future batches, if you want to top off in the boil kettle (I used to do this because I had a kettle big enough for a full volume batch, but not an immersion chiller, so I would do partial boils, but top off in the boil kettle to full volume with chilled water rather than in the fermenter), you need to estimate on the conservative side and be conscious of every bit of water you're adding. If you boiled with 4 gallons, you can assume you probably have about 3 gallons left post boil, but maybe there's more or less because the amount that boils off can vary with your equipment and environment (altitude, weather, etc). To be on the safe side I would top off with 1.5 gallons of water that's as cold as possible, chill the rest of the way with an ice bath, then pour into your fermenter. If you're short on your volume at that point you can safely top off with however much more water you need to reach the 5 gallon mark.

On the bright side, you made beer, it will just be a little on the weak side. Some people do this on purpose and call it a session beer. Just think about the fact that you can enjoy more of your brew in one sitting without getting shnockered.

 

[lpstudio18]

yeah I undercalculated my ice for my second batch and couldn't get the wort to come down. I ended up pitching at 79, which wasn't a great idea, but the beer came out fine anyway. the important thing is to get it down before fermentation really kicks in. also, if you were to seal your fermenter after following good sanitation practices, you could easily leave the unpitched wort until later/next day and then pitch. it's not ideal but it won't hurt if you're in a pinch....from what i've read it's better than pitching hot

 

[joelmole]

I originally planned on doing a second stage fermentation with cacao nibs soaked in Grand Marnier for a chocolate orange stout but I may skip the whole process now if I already screwed up the batch.

You can do this, but if it was me, (and this was me not too long ago), I would shoot for simplicity on my first batch. Don't secondary, don't add extra stuff to your beer, just shoot for good technique and keep it as dirt simple as possible. If you experiment too much and let the temptation to "do" things to your beer take hold, you'll possibly end up with a worse product and you won't know enough about your process to figure out what actually caused the problem. This is just my humble opinion, and I'm close enough to a newbie that you can probably ignore me if you feel like it and do whatever you want. Personally, I just like to take the approach of introducing as few variables as possible when I'm learning something new.

 

[ACbrewer]

if you have to do a 'ice bath' for you cooling , condier a bath tub if you don't ahve a big sink. Also fill it first with water, get the wort cooled as much as possible (when the soaking water feels warm) then dump and put in the ice. With the ice in the water you can get below tap, but if you put ice in first, I find that the heat xfer might godown faster, but the over all low temp point isn't as low.

You can with a sanatized spoon sir the wort while in the bath to speed that up, and use a hand to stir the bath water.

I have good tap water and top off with that. Others swear by boiling tap water first. Let it cool in covered pot over night - if you boilit with the lid on, everything is sanatized by the boil.

As for rapidly cooling your wort, there has been a big discussion on how fast to get it cooled. The 2 advantages of that are clearer beer (pointless in a stout, you can't see through it) and less chance of contamination because it is a contamination temps for a shorter period of time before pitching the yeast. Some people do long cooldowns just covering their boiled worts until something like 8 or 12 hours has passed and then pitching.

I'm not sure I'd advocate that long, but I've waited close to an hour before pitching - forgot to buy ice. Beer came out tasting fine.

I agree with the others that your first time process is a little rough and can be improved, but that you proably will have beer in 3 to 4 week time that is ready for the bottle and drinkable in 6 weeks. (these times are rough and you may find yours is longer/shorter). With an OG of 1.033 look for an FG of 1.008 - generall about one quarter is a good guage. It isn't perfect/exact but more a reference point.

 

[Diaperload]

I keep reading that adding tap water to top off the wort is a bad idea. However, EVERY batch that I've made this is precisely what I've done and each batch has turned out fine.

 

[sailrat]

I keep reading that adding tap water to top off the wort is a bad idea. However, EVERY batch that I've made this is precisely what I've done and each batch has turned out fine.

Most tap water is sanitary and does not have any microbes or other nasties in it. On occasion, tap water does have contaminates in it. On these occasions your beer could develop properties other than your desired yeast strains.

On the whole, beer making is easy and simple. Most of the general rules of thumb have developed from trying to minimize potential problems. Think of it as putting your seatbelt on, in the car. You probably wont need it, but you can't be 100% certain.

 

[copyright1997]

Here's what I did for my batches prior to investing in a immersion chiller.
1. The day before, boil up a gallon + of water and let it boil for 15 minutes. This will sterilize the water. Cover it about half way during the boil so that the steam also sterilizes the lid.
2.While the water is cooling on the stove (covered), clean and then sanitize a couple of 1/2 gallon containers using star san or iodaphor or whatever no-rinse sanitizer you want.
3.Fill the containers (after the water has mostly cooled) most of the way and place them in a freezer to be ready for brew day.
After doing the above, you now have 1 gallon of sterilized ice you can add to your wort on brew day and get that wort chilled quickly.

If your sink isn't big enough, use the bath tub.

Remember to adjust your gravity readings for temperature. Here's an online calculatorr you can use.

You can always add sugar or honey or other forms of sugar (up to a point) at the end of the boil if your miss your begging SG level. Just mix up the sugar with a little bit of water and bring it to a boil for 10-15 minutes (just enough to ensure it is sterilized). Then let it cool (covered) and add to your wort prior to pitching the yeast. The formula is (from another post)
1 pound of sugar will add .046 points per gallon.

so 1 pound will add .0092 points to a five gallon batch.

Formula:
(.046 * "lbs of sugar") / "batch size in gallons" = "total extra points per batch".

I believe you can still do this while the wort is fermenting (I haven't had to). Don't add too much sugar or you will end up with a cider-like taste.

I now have a immersion wort chiller, but still keep some sterilized water on hand. On my last batch (first time using a barley crusher) I overshot my target gravity (by a lot), and used some of the water before pitching the yeast (after bringing it UP to 65 degrees as I had it in the freezer).