Crap I think I screwed up (Well I know I did)

[BerylliumErbium]

So below is a Nut Brown Ale recipe that I pulled of this website and I decided to make it for my second batch.

So on Sunday I whipped it together. it took a day for it to start showing active signs of fermentation and when it did i noticed that the krausen wasn't as thick as I thought it should but I attributed all of that to the low temp of my wort when i added the yeast.

Anyways long story short, see at the end where he says that he adds 2 lbs before the boil and the rest with 10 mins left . . . I don't know if it really makes a big difference to the final product but I decided to try it that way . . . try being the optimal word because I realized a little while ago that I still have a 3 lbs bag of light dried malt extract sitting on my kitchen counter.

Is there anyway to save my beer or should I just start over?

If you are steeping grains, this one is pretty good:

5 lbs Light Dried malt Extract
10 oz Victory Malt
4 oz Chocolate Malt
2 oz Crystal 120L malt
1 oz Cluster Hops (Bittering @ 60 minutes)
.5 oz Fuggles Hops (Flavor @ 10 minutes)
.5 oz Fuggles Hops (Aroma @ 1 minute)

Wyeast 1098 is what i chose for this recipe, however #1187 or #1968 would work as well. I'm a big fan of the Wyeast Smack Packs...

60 minutes boiling total.

-Add grains to 1.5 gallons water and heat to between 150-170*F and steep for 30 minutes.
-Discard grains, add extract and bring to boil.
- At boil, add 1 oz Cluster hops for the total 60 minutes of the boil
- At 10 minutes remaining in the boil, add .5 oz Fuggles
- At 1 minute remaining in boil, add .5 oz Fuggles.

Add wort to 3 gallons cool water and top up to 5 gallons.
Pitch wort once it is under 75*F

***FYI, I added 2 pounds of the DME before the boil, and the rest with 10 minutes left in the boil

 

[flars]

Let it finish. You will have a good tasting session beer.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

I agree let it finish. It would be a great batch to harvest the yeast from for your next batch.

 

[pieman396]

I didn't think you were supposed to steep Victory malt?

 

[Yooper]

So you used a total of 2# DME instead of 5#?

What I'd probably do is boil up the 3# in as little water as possible, cool it and gently add it to the fermenter now. You could siphon it in from the cooled brewpot. Then you'd be all set.

 

[peterj]

I would definitely try to add the extra DME. As is stands now you're looking at an OG of about 1.019 which is just way too low even for a session beer. There just isn't any way that beer would be drinkable.

I would try to dissolve the DME in as little water as possible, bring it to a boil, then cool and pour it into the fermenter. I would try about 1-2 quarts. The yeast you have in there will be fine to ferment the new addition.

EDIT: Whoops, looks like Yooper beat me to it!

 

[Black Island Brewer]

So you used a total of 2# DME instead of 5#?

What I'd probably do is boil up the 3# in as little water as possible, cool it and gently add it to the fermenter now. You could siphon it in from the cooled brewpot. Then you'd be all set.

+1.

2 pounds of dme plus your specialty grains would make a disappointing beer. Alternately, you could pick up some canned LME, which would be sterile, and add it straight to your fermenter.

 

[ballsy]

+1.

2 pounds of dme plus your specialty grains would make a disappointing beer. Alternately, you could pick up some canned LME, which would be sterile, and add it straight to your fermenter.

How would that mix in with the already fermenting beer if not boiled in water first?? I would think that thick syrup would just sink straight to the bottom and not fully incorporate...

 

[TheZymurgist]

How would that mix in with the already fermenting beer if not boiled in water first?? I would think that thick syrup would just sink straight to the bottom and not fully incorporate...

Yeah, don't add the liquid without mixing it in water first, just like the dry. As it stands, I think you just made a five gallon yeast starter. Either use this to pitch another batch onto, or try to fix it.

 

[BerylliumErbium]

Thanks for the help guys, I mixed the DLME with some water boiled for 20 mins and added it to my carboy. With in a few short hours my yeast went crazy, the beer has turned a nice pretty brown color and I have a good thick layer of krausen. I was planning on letting it stay in the fermenter for 4 weeks, should I add more time due to my late addition?

 

[LogicBomb]

So you used a total of 2# DME instead of 5#?

What I'd probably do is boil up the 3# in as little water as possible, cool it and gently add it to the fermenter now. You could siphon it in from the cooled brewpot. Then you'd be all set.

This is what I would do.

 

[TheZymurgist]

This is what I would do.

Looks like that's what he did.

Thanks for the help guys, I mixed the DLME with some water boiled for 20 mins and added it to my carboy. With in a few short hours my yeast went crazy, the beer has turned a nice pretty brown color and I have a good thick layer of krausen. I was planning on letting it stay in the fermenter for 4 weeks, should I add more time due to my late addition?

4 weeks should be plenty of time, but be sure to take a gravity reading after the activity has died down to make sure you don't get a stuck fermentation. I'd be really interested to see how this beer turns out. Just wondering if the late addition of DME would have any effect, positive or negative.

 

[BerylliumErbium]

We'll I think it looks a lot better than it did, it is a good bit above the 5 gallon mark so I hope it's not too watered down

 

[ballsy]

Thanks for the help guys, I mixed the DLME with some water boiled for 20 mins and added it to my carboy. With in a few short hours my yeast went crazy, the beer has turned a nice pretty brown color and I have a good thick layer of krausen. I was planning on letting it stay in the fermenter for 4 weeks, should I add more time due to my late addition?

Just let it go till SG no longer drops, however long that may be.

 

[BerylliumErbium]

I took a hydrometer reading today and it was sitting at 1.012 and unfortunately I lost the bung for my carboy in my beer :-/ I am having bad luck with this batch all around.


However the sample I took was quite tasty

 

[LabRatBrewer]

I took a hydrometer reading today and it was sitting at 1.012 and unfortunately I lost the bung for my carboy in my beer :-/ I am having bad luck with this batch all around.


However the sample I took was quite tasty

You will have a disaster packing too (bottling/kegging). It will be your best brew, then you'll have to wonder how to re-create it.

 

[Shred]

We'll I think it looks a lot better than it did, it is a good bit above the 5 gallon mark so I hope it's not too watered down

Just so you're aware for future brews, there are 2 primary reasons to break up your extract additions.

Adding the majority (2/3 or so) closer to the end of the boil helps keep caramelization down so you have better control over your color.

Also - you get better hop utilization out of a lower gravity wort.