First brew mistake(s)....

[Beldog41]

Just put my first brew in the fermentor and I'm not feeling too confident. Used the Wheat Ale mix that came with kit from NB. Boiling in garage since kettle is too big for stove(11 gallon).
- Started 2.5-3 gal to strong boil.
- Removed from heat and added LME I had in warm bath for 20 or so minutes.
- Wife then flies threw door and tells me to come inside quick. My 4 year old son had been playing with my thermometer and hydrometer I had sanitizing. He managed to drop both on the floor and break them.... Excellent!
- Ran back into garage, after making sure he didn't have glass stuck in him anywhere. to find my kettle boiled over. Couldn't tell how much I lost because it's 20 out today and there is a factories worth of steam coming from the pot
- Settled that down and returned to strong boil. Added first hops and started timer.
- While stirring I notice large black flakes sticking to my spoon, assumed burnt LME. Got as many out as I could.
- 15 minutes from end of boil I add second hops and finish boil.
- Bring kettle inside and start chill process with wort chiller(silver serpent which doesn't reach bottom of kettle, perfect). Manage to chill wort pretty quickly using, cool to touch side of kettle, as my "thermometer".
- Sanitized everything while I was cooling.
- Added 2.5 gallons of water to 6.5 gallon carboy then added cooled wort. Fermometer read 72 so I was happy to see wort was cool enough. Found where the black flakes came from! 5-6" circle burnt on bottom of kettle.
- Filled carboy to 5 gallon mark, took another 1.5 gallons, which seemed like a lot to me?
- Fermometer read 68-70 after filling to 5 gallons.
- Pitched dry yeast which I had rehydrated according to companies instructions.

Any chance this will be a decent beer in 3-4 weeks? I'm anxious to brew another batch but the way this first one went I'm a bit apprehensive...

On another note, with an 11 gallon kettle and plenty of burner BTU's I feel like I should be doing full boils. I wasn't sure with my first if I could just start with 5 gallons of water or not so I didn't.

What adjustments do I need to make when doing full boils?

Malt and hop additions at different times compared to partial boil?

Sorry for length and thanks in advance for replies!

 

[MattyIce]

I bet your brew turns out fine. While you give it two or so weeks to ferment, I would take the time to pick up another hydrometer (or two!) and thermometer.

As far as full boils go, there are a few new considerations.

-You will probably want to approximate your boil-off rate, meaning you'll start the boil with roughly 6.5ish gallons of wort in the kettle to finish with 5ish gallons in the fermentor.
-You will need to watch the boil more closely. This will be easier as you learn your equipment. Kudos for having the foresight to purchase an 11 gallon kettle to start with though.
-A full boil will take MUCH longer to cool using the same equipment.
-A kettle with 5+ gallons of boiled wort is heavy and hot. Be careful.

No need to alter your recipes. You will get more hop utilization with a full boil, but it will be closer to what the recipe intended than with a partial boil.

 

[frank_wood1966]

Great story... Maybe not comical now but when you are drinking it in 4-5 weeks it will be! Thanks for sharing.

 

[HB_in_Subic]

I agree with MattyIce. You will be fine, you may have some caramelization taste due to the burnt extract.

The only difference between a full boil and partial boil is the amount of time cooling it. I do full boils, start with 6 and end up with 5.25 gallons. I use a wort chiller to get it down into the 90s and then ice bath the kettle until it is low enough for the yeast (mid 60s for ales). Also whirlpooling the wort while running the wort chiller and in the ice bath will help it cool quicker.

5 gallons of boiling wort is hot and heavy (at least 40lbs). I only have to carry it about 10 feet so not too big of a deal. Just be careful to not splash yourself.

I try to maintain 2 thermometers and 2 hydrometers in my inventory at all times. I just broke one of my hydrometers last night.

Key thing is to relax and enjoy the experience. Take some notes about last night's process. I do handwritten on the recipes and also made up a spreadsheet brew log. This will help you in the future to figure out if any mistakes were made and when.

Get a fermenting bucket 7.9 gallon at least. You will find the carboy interesting to watch but it only has 1.5 gallon of headroom for a 5 gallon batch. You need to put a blow off tube on that batch you just made before it clogs your airlock. Also if in the bucket you are less apt to open it and look inside. After the activity slows down, replace the blow off tube with a regular airlock. Let the beer sit for 3 weeks. Take a gravity reading at day 18 and day 21. If both are the same, you are ready to bottle..

Overall, you didn't seem to make any horrific errors for your first day. I am sure that your first batch will taste good.

 

[Pappers_]

Great advice above, nothing more to add, other than my empathy at your plight. We've *all* been there, in one way or another.

We moved last fall, back into the city and a smaller space, joined a city brew club with a brewhouse and equipment, first brew day there turned out the mashtun I was using was not working correctly (the false bottom was mucked up). I used an autosiphon, tubing and strainer - ugh. Like I said, we've all been through one brewing disaster or another. It will be better the next time you brew.

 

[HB_in_Subic]

I brewed a batch of California Common last night. I start cooling with the wort chiller, and 2 minutes into it one of the hoses slips off and starts to spew! I calmly walked over to the faucet and turned it off (I brew on my back porch). Unlike the last time this happened (hose clamp broke), it was just loose and slipped off. I quickly tightened it back on and went back to my business. In the past that might have thrown me into the stratosphere. But I now have extra clamps on hand and usually I check them every other batch. I didn't this time as I had imbibed in a few (yeah broke the rules) but all ends well.

Cooled wort + pitched yeast = beer!! The stars realign and all is well again.

 

[jlinz]

That sounds OK! My first batch I broke the thermometer in the wort. Those bb things at the end, right into the wort. We went through with the batch and bottled it, but ultimately couldn't bring ourselves to drink it, since we didn't know what the bbs were and whether or not a stray piece of glass found its way in there. Live and learn!

I'll bet your beer will be fine!

 

[Beldog41]

Thanks for the votes of confidence everyone. I've read a ton of literature and even more threads in here and assumed it would be alright in the end. It is now bubbling away, bubble every 3-4 seconds. Time will tell but I'm sure I'll enjoy every beer that comes out of it! Fermometer reads 64-66 now. Is that a good temp for American wheat beer? I can adjust if necessary....


View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1427128656.507237.jpg

 

[MattyIce]

Yeast strain is the important consideration when determining temperature. Looks like everything is fine.