First Batch Questions

[wisbob79]

Hi All! Last Friday I brewed my first batch of beer. I used Midwest's Irish Stout extract kit with dry yeast (Munson's). I brewed right to the directions in the box. Unfortunately, I forgot to take an initial gravity reading.

All day Saturday, the airlock was bubbling like mad. Sunday it stopped cold. Since I hadn't taken an initial gravity reading, I thought I'd open the bucket and do so. First thing I noticed is that there had been about a 2 1/2" krausen that had fallen. The top of the beer was still foamy, but it was like little islands of foam. The gravity was down to 1.021. This after only 39 hours in the primary. I drank the sample, and it was way hoppy and sweet (but you could tell it was beer!). I buttoned the bucket back up and it's been sitting ever since.

This morning, I wanted to take another reading just to see what's happened in the last week. This time, there was no foam on the beer at all. Once again, the sample was at 1.021. Again, I drank the sample. It wasn't quite as hoppy (but still bitter) but was still quite sweet.

Since I don't have a carboy, I'm just going to let the beer sit in the primary for at least another week, but I'm wondering if I should repitch yeast, or just let it be. I know the yeasties are the experienced ones, but I just want to make sure I'm doing right by them. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Wisconsin Bob

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Welcome to the forums and the hobby!

As you will hear many times here, the air lock is not a good fermentation indicator. The hydrometer is. Bubbling can stop and krausen can drop, and fermentation can still be going.

Assuming you brewed the beer correctly and had the right final volume, what did the recipe say the OG should have been? What does it say the FG should be? That is usually a really good indicator of where you are in the process.

1.021 for a stout of that style is a bit high. However, adding more yeast tends not to be the answer. You say it has been at this exact same gravity for an entire week?

If you really need to get a few more points out of it, make sure you don't have the carboy cold (get it somewhere around 68F-70F). Cold yeast is sleeping yeast. Give the carboy a gentle, gentle shake to kick up some of the yeast that has settled out on the bottom (no splashing!).

The reason you don't tend to add yeast:

-Yeast does not like alcohol, so adding it fresh into fermented beer is not advised.
-You should have enough yeast, they just need to do their thing.
-Yeast needs oxygen, and you don't want to add any more to your beer at this stage for risk of bad off-flavors.
-Adding yeast is usually only done if no fermentation occurs at all, or at bottling for very long conditioned beers.

 

[Calder]

That kit is supposed to be 1.042/1.046. That's what you would have gotten. assume 1.044 for your OG.

FG is supposed to be 1.012.

Did you aerate well? If not, that will slow the ferment down. Too late to do it now.

What temperature is it at? If it's under 65 F you should try and get it higher. If it's above 65 F then temp is not an issue. Remember, if you have it in a basement on the floor, the beer will be at the temperature of the concrete floor, and not the air temperature.

Leave it be and see what happens.

 

[kh54s10]

I have read that extract beers often finish around 1.020 for some reason. Let it go in primary at least as long as the directions indicate for primary and secondary. Warmer temps and gentle agitation may rouse the yeast. You are not far enough off to worry about repitching, IMO. Wait for it and you should end up with a very good beer.

 

[wisbob79]

That kit is supposed to be 1.042/1.046. That's what you would have gotten. assume 1.044 for your OG.

FG is supposed to be 1.012.

Did you aerate well? If not, that will slow the ferment down. Too late to do it now.

What temperature is it at? If it's under 65 F you should try and get it higher. If it's above 65 F then temp is not an issue. Remember, if you have it in a basement on the floor, the beer will be at the temperature of the concrete floor, and not the air temperature.

Leave it be and see what happens.

Thanks Calder, I forgot to put up the target numbers. I aerated quite well. The temp of the beer has been between 66 and 72 degrees the whole time (I'm fermenting in my office). Also, from reading Revvy's thread, I know that the airlock means nothing. Hence, the reason I've been letting it sit. I just want to make sure that letting it sit is the right thing to do at this point. Thanks for the responses!

 

[acuenca]

That was one of my first brews... It finished high too like 1.017 after a month in primary... FG didn't budge after the first 2 weeks. Still tasted great though.
I attributed it to the extract and the yeast... but who knows... other people have had great luck with Munton's. If you read on here, the experience is fairly variable with Munton's (regular not gold). Though I never experimented with Munton's again, some of my other kits came with US-05 and I've had nothing but great attenuation with Fermentis strains and the Wyeast liquid strains.

That being said, I'd give it the full 3-4 weeks before you bottle/keg though just to make sure.

 

[wisbob79]

I jostled the fermenter around (gently) today to see if that might kick things into gear a bit. I'm not planning on really touching anything until next weekend when I take another gravity reading. I have no time table, I just want a good brew!

 

[wisbob79]

Hey all! Here we are two weeks into fermentation, and my SG is down to 1.018. The recommended FG is 1.010-1.012. So there's that. The beer tastes ok for flat beer, but it's still sweet to me. The temp of the ferment has remained between 64 and 68 degrees for the last week.

So, HBT, do I let it hang in the fermenter another week (along with a possible temp adjustment), say f-it and bottle it, or something else? Thanks in advance for the help...it's invaluable!

Thanks!

Wisconsin Bob

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Hey all! Here we are two weeks into fermentation, and my SG is down to 1.018. The recommended FG is 1.010-1.012. So there's that. The beer tastes ok for flat beer, but it's still sweet to me. The temp of the ferment has remained between 64 and 68 degrees for the last week.

So, HBT, do I let it hang in the fermenter another week (along with a possible temp adjustment), say f-it and bottle it, or something else? Thanks in advance for the help...it's invaluable!

Thanks!

Wisconsin Bob

I would do a temp adjustment. A few points that drop when in bottle will lead to foamers. I made this mistake, had a brew drop 4 more points after bottling (I thought it was done), and now are all gushers. Up the temp to around 70F and give it a little longer. Patience is really hard to have, but it pays off. I have learned this the hard way!

 

[JonM]

Welcome from Milwaukee! I did a Brewer's Best Irish stout kit a year ago or so and it finished out around 1.018 or so. I just figured the extract was responsible for the slightly high FG. After a few months in the bottles, it was a great stout.

 

[PT Ray]

Up the temp to around 70F and give it a little longer.

Ditto! After peak fermentation I've let it get up into the mid 70's for a couple days just to squeeze out as much attenuation as possible.

 

[unionrdr]

I've heard mixed reports on Munton's yeast myself. I like their plain DME's,they work very well indeed. And despite what many folks say,The Cooper's ale yeast I've been using is good either in small starters,or re-hydrated with a couple tsp's of dextrose. 15-25 minutes later,it's got some major krausen. It's a tough,reliable yeast that is very forgiving temp-wise. It likes 62-72F,but can go higher,just have to give it time to clean up with higher temps. It can produce nondescript fruity esters,which complimented the hops in my 1st IPA amazingly well. Sort of "rounded out" the citrus flavors of the hops. Made them seem fresher,like real fresh fruit,not just hop by product sort of thing.
My whole point to this is even though some companies make good extract,their yeast may be so-so. Or their yeast may be great,but their extracts need help. From what I've read on here over time,some place's extracts won't attenuate properly no matter how many times you bust it off in it's fermenting backside.
Cooper's LME/DME is pretty Good. Munton's DME has worked out very well,haven't tried their LME's yet. LD Carlson is quite good as well. Just to name a couple I can honestly speak of. Fermentis & Safale are darn good yeasts too. So it seems like it's what you buy from who that has to be learned. That's my opinion thus far.
Over & above getting a good,solid process down cold.

 

[wisbob79]

Thanks again folks! I'm going to jack the temp up in my room a bit to get the beer temp back up and let it go some more.

 

[djfriesen]

I'm having a similar problem with a porter I am using Munton's in. The FG should be around 1.012, and it's been sitting at 1.02 for a week. I'm bringing the temp up and will check it again on Monday. If that doesn't do anything, I'll probably try a new yeast with the next go around. Mine is a 1-gal AG batch, and my OG was within a point of the predicted number on the recipe I was following. This seems pretty good, considering I was scaling down a 5 gal batch, and had to do what engineers call "fuzzy math" regarding mash and sparge water volumes, and hop numbers.

 

[wisbob79]

Hi folks! So, I decided to check gravity again tonight, and we're at 1.013...almost done! I'll probably check it the next few days and if it stays right around there, I'll bottle this Sunday (after my Broncos claim victory over the Dolphins!).

As usual, I drank my sample and noticed some things. First, the beer has a very flowery flavor to it, almost like I'm chewing on flowers. Second, the brew is VERY bitter. It kicks in just as you swallow and it lingers. Now both of these may be signs of young beer, but with the temperature fluctuations I've encountered during fermentation, I'm hoping I didn't have the yeast producing off flavors. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again fellow home brewers!

Wisconsin Bob

 

[wisbob79]

Sorry for the bump...just want to make sure I'm in the line of fire!

 

[acuenca]

The bitterness can be from several sources.

1) You scorched the extract as it was going into the pot
2) you extracted tannins from your steeping grains (if you steeped over 170)

3) suspended trub/hop particles if they got kicked up for some reason (agitating the fermenter/dipping the wine thief into the trub etc)

In the cases of 1 and 2, I think most people would say that it won't go away but may mellow with time. In the case of 3, allowing the debris to settle would get rid of it... I'm sure there are other reasons but those are the ones that come to mind.

In my case, the wort is definitely bitter for the first 2 weeks out but as the trub and other protein/hop coagulates settle... it gets better. Maybe when you moved the fermenter to a warmer temp or took a gravity reading the cake was agitated...

Was the sample that you tasted clear? or did it look like there was "stuff" suspended in it?

 

[wisbob79]

The bitterness can be from several sources.

1) You scorched the extract as it was going into the pot The pot was off the flame and I was stirring the entire time as my helper poured the extract in. I then continued stirring until the hot break.
2) you extracted tannins from your steeping grains (if you steeped over 170) Temp never got over 165 during steeping.

3) suspended trub/hop particles if they got kicked up for some reason (agitating the fermenter/dipping the wine thief into the trub etc)

In the cases of 1 and 2, I think most people would say that it won't go away but may mellow with time. In the case of 3, allowing the debris to settle would get rid of it... I'm sure there are other reasons but those are the ones that come to mind.

In my case, the wort is definitely bitter for the first 2 weeks out but as the trub and other protein/hop coagulates settle... it gets better. Maybe when you moved the fermenter to a warmer temp or took a gravity reading the cake was agitated...

Was the sample that you tasted clear? or did it look like there was "stuff" suspended in it? It's hard to tell how clear it is, as the beer is fairly dark, but it's been fermenting for 3 weeks without much agitation, so I'm guessing most of the debris has dropped out.

Thanks for the reply acuenca! See above for answers to some of the possible issues. I'm bottling tonight, so I'm hoping that the bitterness starts to mellow as the bottles age.

 

[acuenca]

Yeah... give it some time... if it doesn't mellow out in the next couple of weeks to months then you may be stuck with it... but have faith, they're probably okay.

 

[wisbob79]

Well, I now have 50 bottles of East Brooklyn St. Brewery New Moon Irish Stout! I taped the boxes shut and marked "DO NOT OPEN TILL TURKEY DAY" (this may or may not happen).

YES! First brew complete...now the wait begins! Thanks to all those who answered my noob questions and made me feel better about my brew.

Wisconsin Bob

 

[djfriesen]

Just make sure to get them well-chilled before you want to drink them. Especially a stout, you will want a nice think, creamy head. So make sure they're in there for a couple weeks before, maybe sometime the 2nd week in November?