GoatLocker
Active Member
So yesterday I had a fairly eventful 2nd brew day trying to do a pliny pack PTE clone. Everything started off bad and yet somehow my stubbornness seemed to cause additional endless problems.
Issue #1) I use brewpal on my iphone to get all my measurements etc. for strike water, sparge water and the likes. Well with the latest update to the software you cant INPUT DECIMAL POINTS!!! I mean of all the minor problems, that one sorta hits HUGE!! So I figured I would just run it in my head knowing I had 13.25 lbs of grain and 1.2 qts per gallon..
Ended up going with 4 gallons at 160, settled at 155 (not sure how I figured that number, just sounded good at the time) and settled for 60 mins. Knew that with my last brew I had 8 gallons that ended at around 5.5 gallons or so..
Issue #2) After sparging 4.5 more gallons (for a grand total of 8.5 gallons, for those keeping tally) at 170 I ended with just over 7 gallons in the kettle. Decided to brew with that amount (stupid idea).
Issue #3) After 90 minute boil I ended with just over 5 gallons in the kettle. Not ever brewing an IPA before (but loving them so much) I didnt realize just how much I was going to lose from the hop sludge so I ended in the fermenter with 4 gallons.
..this is where stupidity takes over!
Issue #4) Its 11pm on a Sunday night and SWMBO and I both have to work at 6am Monday morning, so need to start wrapping this up. The small IC I have only seemed able to get the temp down to about 80 after an hour so we pulled inside and I put on ice (emptied ice bin) and let sit while I contemplated the amount of wort.
Issue #5) Now its coming up on midnight and the temp is at 77 and still at 4 gallons and SWMBO is none to happy this isnt done yet. I somehow let her talk me into adding a gallon of cold filtered water (not previously boiled) from our refrigerator tap to the 4 gallons. Did that and mixed vigorously.. probably still gonna end up with 4.5 gallons after re-racking for dry-hop.
Issue #6) Went to take a reading and broke the hydrometer before I got the sample.
In summation here are my concerns:
1) Are there possible off flavors from safale-05 pitched at 76-ish degrees?Seems to be bubbling away this morning though.
2) Without an initial reading is there anyway to tell just how much I dumbed down the taste of this beer and will it be noticeable in this large of a beer when I have never tasted a real PTE before?
3) Is it incredibly likely that I infected the beer by putting cold water that wasnt boiled previously?
Thanks for the help and letting me vent guys. Just hope I didnt screw up and waste such amazing smelling hops!
Issue #1) I use brewpal on my iphone to get all my measurements etc. for strike water, sparge water and the likes. Well with the latest update to the software you cant INPUT DECIMAL POINTS!!! I mean of all the minor problems, that one sorta hits HUGE!! So I figured I would just run it in my head knowing I had 13.25 lbs of grain and 1.2 qts per gallon..
Ended up going with 4 gallons at 160, settled at 155 (not sure how I figured that number, just sounded good at the time) and settled for 60 mins. Knew that with my last brew I had 8 gallons that ended at around 5.5 gallons or so..
Issue #2) After sparging 4.5 more gallons (for a grand total of 8.5 gallons, for those keeping tally) at 170 I ended with just over 7 gallons in the kettle. Decided to brew with that amount (stupid idea).
Issue #3) After 90 minute boil I ended with just over 5 gallons in the kettle. Not ever brewing an IPA before (but loving them so much) I didnt realize just how much I was going to lose from the hop sludge so I ended in the fermenter with 4 gallons.
..this is where stupidity takes over!
Issue #4) Its 11pm on a Sunday night and SWMBO and I both have to work at 6am Monday morning, so need to start wrapping this up. The small IC I have only seemed able to get the temp down to about 80 after an hour so we pulled inside and I put on ice (emptied ice bin) and let sit while I contemplated the amount of wort.
Issue #5) Now its coming up on midnight and the temp is at 77 and still at 4 gallons and SWMBO is none to happy this isnt done yet. I somehow let her talk me into adding a gallon of cold filtered water (not previously boiled) from our refrigerator tap to the 4 gallons. Did that and mixed vigorously.. probably still gonna end up with 4.5 gallons after re-racking for dry-hop.
Issue #6) Went to take a reading and broke the hydrometer before I got the sample.
In summation here are my concerns:
1) Are there possible off flavors from safale-05 pitched at 76-ish degrees?Seems to be bubbling away this morning though.
2) Without an initial reading is there anyway to tell just how much I dumbed down the taste of this beer and will it be noticeable in this large of a beer when I have never tasted a real PTE before?
3) Is it incredibly likely that I infected the beer by putting cold water that wasnt boiled previously?
Thanks for the help and letting me vent guys. Just hope I didnt screw up and waste such amazing smelling hops!