First Brew in the can! (or carboy I guess. . .)

[KPSquared]

Well, I lost my brewing virginity yesterday afternoon. It was great! I have a couple of questions about my experience so I can do better next time. . .

Hopefully it'll be good to drink soon enough.

I decided to do a Fat Tire clone with a Partial Mash kit from hopdawgs.com. Everything went smooth except for one part. . . I had done the first step which was to keep the grain at 150 - 155*F for 40 minutes, dump the wort into my boil kettle, then steep the grain again. The instructions said to get the water up to 170*F then cover and let sit for 15 minutes. I did that, then I moved the pot over to the next burner on the stove which I thought was off. . . turns out it was on. . . so my grain sat and boiled/simmered at an unknown temp for those 15 minutes. I had read "RDWHAHB" enough times on here to know not to freak out, but I felt kind of stupid. I figured I'd get away with no errors. Anyway, I dumped that wort into the kettle, and moved on.

Can anyone tell me what effect that may have? My OG was 1.045 (ish) and the recipe called for 1.049 so I was close.

Also, I poured straight from the brew kettle into my primary carboy. When it all settled out there was a good inch and a half of stuff on the bottom. I think I've read that that's ok but I wondered if it would have been better to avoid that?

Everything went great other than that. Almost had a boil over (5 gallon batch in a keggle. . .) but my spray bottle kept it under control.

I threw together a quick and simple immersion chiller and it took it down to 70*F in about 12 minutes. Worked like a charm. I kinda want to start it over though and make the coils prettier. . .it looks a little ghetto 'cause I was in a rush.

Here's a few pics of the day. . .

SWMBO loved the mess I was making. . .

The ill fated burner on the left. . . I was heating extra water in that pot and forgot it on. . .

My Immersion chiller v1.0

I wanted to RDWHAHB, but being as this was my first, I had to RDWHAAS. . .

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

The gunk in the fermentor is fine....the grains boiling though MIGHT have extracted tannins from the grain and therefore you MIGHT have some bitterness to the beer. I have done far worse and the beer turned out fine however. The only thing to do in these situations is to jump back on the horse and brew up another one real quick lol....oh yeah and RDWHAHB

 

[KPSquared]

That's kinda what the plan is. I've only got the one carboy for fermenting right now so I'll be patient, let it do it's thing and see how it is a few weeks from now.

It was 2.75 lbs of grain and 4 or 5 lbs of dme so hopefully it doesn't make as much difference as it would with an all grain recipe.

Hoping to crack the first bottle on Canada Day weekend. (July 1st, in case you're not from Canuckistan)

 

[paraordnance]

Its little quick for it be ready on July 1. I notice most of the beers I brew get much better tasting after about 2 month mark (I keg), more for bigger ones. By then, most of it gone though

 

[KPSquared]

Ok cool. I know that times on recipies generally mean nothing but I was figuring on 21 days in the fermenter and then 10 in the bottle. should be drinkable by then I would think. I guess we'll see.

 

[KPSquared]

Well, it's happily bubbling away. Nothing crazy aggressive.
I can probably find this by reading and searching, but how do you know when it's done? I started this with a plan to bottle at 21 days (as per kit instructions) but I'm getting the feeling that's not the best approach. No plans for a secondary so when will I know it's time to bottle?

 

[ShinyBuddha]

The only way to tell when it's done is to take a sample and measure the gravity then take another sample a day or two later & measure the gravity again. If the reading is stable you're done. Depending on the recipe you might be looking for a 1.008-1.012 reading. At this point in the game I wouldn't worry about a secondary. If you're working with a kit they usually give you an estimated final gravity.

Also, an item to think about for the future, is getting a yeast starter going to ensure complete fermentation.

 

[KPSquared]

I can't find a FG in the recipe, but I'll check it out sometime in the next few weeks. I plan to leave it in the primary for at least 3 weeks either way.

In the instructions it said to follow the directions on the yeast package. On the yeast package it said to pitch the dry yeast directly into the wort. I thought for sure it would say to make a starter.

So, next time I will plan to do a starter. Also hope to be fully set up for AG for round 2. It seemed like a lot of work to do a partial mash and I may as well go AG for for all the messing around I had to do. Maybe I'll tackle a BIAB kit next if I don't have my mash tun built.

Frick, I never intended to invest this much money in this hobby but I can see things only getting more expensive from here. Might have to scratch one of the other hobbies off the list and allocate more resources to beer. . .can't see how that's ever a bad idea.

I'm in the middle of building a new shop and this recent foray into brewing has made me rethink a bit of the layout. . . I see a corner for a nice little brewery and a kegerator in my future. . .

 

[Maddoghoek]

For dry yeast you want to re-hydrate instead of making a starter. Dry yeast have a larger cell count then vials/smack packs. Re-hydrating helps ensure you keep the cell count high. Most manufacturers of dry yeast have instructions on the best temp to do it at.

Welcome to the obsession.

 

[ShinyBuddha]

As mad dog said above, a starter isn't necessary when using dry yeast unless it's a BIG beer. Dry yeast contains more cells than liquid in a packet but it is good to wake them up by rehydrating before pitching.

 

[KPSquared]

How do I "wake them up"? There was nothing on the package except for instructions to pitch directly into the wort.

Picked up a couple more carboys yesterday. . .might have another batch on the go soon.

 

[Maddoghoek]

The reason for re-hydrating is to give the yeast cells an ideal environment to wake up in. They are dormant while dry and the first few minutes they cannot stop toxic material from passing through the cell membrane. Re-hydrating helps maintain the larger cell count when you pitch the yeast.

There's some good threads on yeast in the stickies at the top of this forum.

 

[KPSquared]

So, as you've read from this thread, I pitched dry into the carboy. It started to do a tiny bit of bubbling but the fermentation never really got aggressive. It's been 5 ish days since I pitched the yeast and now its almost like nothing is happening.

To add to my joy, my little shed heater had a brain fart and when I walked in there this afternoon, it had jumped to around 100*F and the wort was around 80*F. It maybe got there for a few hours and now I've got it in a bucket of water cooling off. It still drops off in temp quite a bit here in the evening. It's been bang on 68*F for the last 5 days until this morning.

My OG was around 1.045 and I'm down to about 1.020 or so. I'm going to just cool this off and let it sit, but I was sure hoping for more activity. . .

I'm just following the RDWHAHB theory (This time with a Unibroue Blanche de Chamblay because I don't have any home brew yet. . .) and trying to be patient.

Would there be any reason this yeast is really unhappy? Is re-pitching needed or some other solution?

Oh, the yeast is Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05).

Anyone have some thoughts or not? Not freaking out, just curious. . .

 

[ShinyBuddha]

As I've understood from reading on the forums, the first 5 days are when you want to keep the temp steady as the yeast are more prone to stress at that time. That little heat bump shouldn't affect the yeast much, if at all.

Regarding the 1.020 gravity reading: Take another sample in two days and see if it's dropped more. If it's steady it's done. You can still leave it alone to let the yeast clean up after themselves and give the beer time to clear. Maybe a week or two.

 

[KPSquared]

I thought bottling above 1.010 was a recipe for bottle bombs? Or I guess you can just adjust priming sugar volume?

Anyway, I'll pull the SG again in Sunday and are what's up.

 

[psymonkey]

I thought bottling above 1.010 was a recipe for bottle bombs? Or I guess you can just adjust priming sugar volume?

Anyway, I'll pull the SG again in Sunday and are what's up.

This hasn't been my experience. In-fact, with extract and no starter my beers never got to 1.010..usually around 1.012-1.015. Never had a bomb. EDIT - actually, they were usually closer to 1.014-1.018!!

 

[FATC1TY]

You will hear that most extract versions will get the "stuck at 1.020" issue.

I brewed a DIPA that was 1.083 SG and finished at 1.020 and wouldn't move. It's bottle conditioning now while the other half of the batch is being dry hopped with Citra!

Check your gravity and if it's good, go ahead and move it or let it sit a few more days to clear up.

 

[KPSquared]

Well, looks like I'm stuck at 1.019.

Gonna let it sit for a while. Last sample tasted not bad but a little watery. That's only 7 days though.

Let the yeast do their thing. I'll bottle in a couple weeks. Not much alcohol but maybe it'll taste good.

 

[Maddoghoek]

The gravity you bottle at is not really relevant. As long as it is stable for 3 or more days, fermentation is done.

My last brew was a big Belgian with a 1.092 O.G. After a week, the S.G. was 1.022. Four weeks later, I bottled it at 1.017. I'd give the yeast time to do their thing. Forget about it for at least another week.

Really shouldn't worry about "visible" activity. Your gravity dropped. That's all the proof of activity you need.

 

[KPSquared]

Well, hoping to bottle this sucker up on Thursday or Friday. It'll almost be 4 weeks in primary. The last sample I took tasted not to bad so hopefully after some bottle conditioning and carbonation, it'll be great!

Can't wait to have me my first home brew!

 

[ShinyBuddha]

Time to start another! Buy the time you're done drinking this batch, the other will be ready for bottling.

 

[KPSquared]

Well, she's all bottled up. I guess I didn't top up the carboy enough. . .I only had 4.25 gallons when I got it into my bottling bucket.

Ended up with 24 500ml and 3 1000ml bottles. I had planned for 5 gallons but came up short. Do better next time.

Tastes a little watery but I'm gonna give it 3 weeks to sit before I crack one. Hope it's good!

 

[cbmikey]

Good job and welcome to the hobby KP! Now that these are already bottled, it's more than time to brew up another batch and get it in primary! Keep your pipeline full and you'll have a full fridge for some time. And the best part is you made it yourself!

 

[KPSquared]

I hope to start another one shortly. Trying to get set up for All Grain and want to have a ferm chamber built for round 2. Hard to control temps here and I'm not home enough to keep up with a swamp cooler.

Not sure what I want to try for my second batch. I would love to do an oatmeal stout but that's a hard sell to most of my friends and I just don't consume that much beer. I had a great barley wine the other night so maybe I'll learn what's up with those.

 

[ShinyBuddha]

Well, she's all bottled up. I guess I didn't top up the carboy enough. . .I only had 4.25 gallons when I got it into my bottling bucket.

Ended up with 24 500ml and 3 1000ml bottles. I had planned for 5 gallons but came up short...

This is one of the reasons I brew 6.5 gallon batches. I plan on loosing 1 gallon to trub in the brew kettle & 0.5 to yeast and sediment. All grain definately gives you flexibility you can't get with kits.

 

[KPSquared]

I'm learning. . .

I am going to get a Blue Moon or Rickards White clone going here shortly. I don't have my mash tun set up yet but might do a BIAB then I can just use my keggle for the whole thing.

Either that or run to Home Depot and get the stuff together for my mash tun. All grain is next either way.

 

[KPSquared]

Well, several things have transpired thanks to this damn forum and my already slightly obsessive nature. . .

I cracked my very first bottle after about 10 days. Tasted great, maybe a little under carbed but if it's just gonna get better, it's awesome. . . AND I MADE IT!!!

I poured a few glasses for some friends tonight. I was met with the following comments. . . "You made this?", "I could drink a lot of this", "This is awesome", "How come you want to wait a couple more weeks before we drink more?", and my favorite. . ."Maybe I should get you to make the beer for my party in 2 weeks. . ."

So, my first attempt at home brewing has been successful thus far.

I spent some time in the Big Orange Box and came out with all the parts for FlyGuys mash tun. Could only find a 5 gallon cooler, which at this point will work just fine. Keeping my eye out for a 10 gallon and I'll just convert this one back to a cooler. . .we already used it to serve iced tea at my wifes b-day tonight.

I also ordered an STC-1000 temp controller off of ebay and am going to use a spare chest freezer for a fermentation chamber for my next brew. Had a helluva time with consistent temps. . .that won't happen again.

And last but not least, I ventured over to Amazon.ca and ordered up Palmers "How to Brew". . . showed up yesterday and I haven't been able to take my nose out of it.

This hobby is freaking great. Can't wait to get round two brewed up. Got my recipe all sorted for my Blue Moon clone so now I just gotta get some supplies and get the mash tun built. . .

This is a great place! Thanks for all the good advice (and "inspirations to spend my money") thus far!

 

[cbmikey]

Gratz!