First brew mistakes

[Redleg84]

I just brewed my first beer a couple days ago and realized I messed up a bit. I used a Scottish ale recipe and everything went well until I looked back over everything afterwards.

The recipe calls for 1.5oz of Kent Goldings Hops, I used 2oz.

I pitched the yeast higher than I should have at around mid to higher 70s.

I also used softened water from my house.

I'm hoping that it turns out decent. I knew there were going to be some growing pains as I get started.

I'm curious to know if the extra hops are going to have a significant impact. I've read that the high pitch temp will have probably added unwanted flavors but when it comes to hops there seems to be alot of variables.

 

[stonebrewer]

Most people will tell you RDWHAHB. You've made beer, it will be tasty and you will drink it. A half ounce of hops will not have a huge impact on a 5 gallon batch. Pitching in the 70's probably won't have a huge impact, but it might have some esters or even a touch of fusel alcohol, though it may not depending on the yeast. You are going to have to provide a lot more information for people to be able to predict any issues that might come from this. I wouldn't worry about it...we've all done worse than this.

 

[ericbw]

It's ruined. Dump it out. That's a joke!!

The extra hops aren't too much of a problem. The temperature is more of one.

What yeast? Did you chill it down after pitching? How is it looking now?

 

[Redleg84]

I used WLP007 from White Labs

I prepared it in a starter for around 24hrs, cooled it, decanted and then pitched after it sat at room temperature for a bit

When I came home from work the day after it was bubbling alot in the fermenter and has a good amount of foam on top. I have it in the basement at around 65°

I don't want to throw it out of it's any good. I figure I'll taste it in a couple weeks and see how it is.

 

[CamG]

The extra hops might hide any off flavors from pitching at a high temp.
How long did it sit in the mid 70's before you put it in the basement ?
In my opinion pitching in the mid 70's is not as bad as fermenting in the mid 70's

 

[Redleg84]

I moved it to the basement as soon as I pitched it. Popped the stopper/airlock on and brought it down

 

[stonebrewer]

This will be a fine beer. Don't even consider tossing it. Keep in in the basement and it will ferment great. If you are really concerned, wrap it in a wet towel or put it in a container of water, but honestly I have fermented with 007 in the mid 70s more than a few times with no detectable off flavors. Cheers!

 

[Gnomebrewer]

I also used softened water from my house.

For me, this is the biggest issue. How much of an issue will depend on how much hardness there was in your starting water. Softeners replace hardness with Sodium ions, thus you could potentially have a very salty tasting beer.

 

[popgunandy]

I don't see anything wrong here - just stuff you might do differently next time. Enjoy your new hobby!

 

[RedlegEd]

This will be a fine beer. Don't even consider tossing it. Keep in in the basement and it will ferment great. If you are really concerned, wrap it in a wet towel or put it in a container of water, but honestly I have fermented with 007 in the mid 70s more than a few times with no detectable off flavors. Cheers!

+1 this^^^ By their nature, Scottish Ales are rich and malty, so they effectively "hide" any minor brewing missteps. If you watched/maintained good post-boil sanitation, and keep your fermentation temps <70*, you'll be fine.
BTW, if I read your handle correctly, thanks for your service!

 

[Redleg84]

+1 this^^^ By their nature, Scottish Ales are rich and malty, so they effectively "hide" any minor brewing missteps. If you watched/maintained good post-boil sanitation, and keep your fermentation temps <70*, you'll be fine.
BTW, if I read your handle correctly, thanks for your service!

You indeed read that correctly, always good to see fellow brethren. Thank you for your service and advice!

 

[Bradlo]

I moved it to the basement as soon as I pitched it. Popped the stopper/airlock on and brought it down

Speaking from experience with Scottish Wee Heavy and 90 shilling, you probably better get a blow off tube on your fermenter in place of that air lock. 70 isn't terrible for a Scottish but it will be active sooner than later.

 

[kh54s10]

The extra 1/2 ounce of hops will only be an issue if you added them all at the beginning of the boil, then it might be pretty bitter.

Fermentation temperature control is fairly easy and one of the best places to improve your beers. Make an effort to control your fermentation temperatures, you will not regret it.

 

[Redleg84]

I feel better about the beer now, I was about to do another batch but now I'll move on to my next recipe. I probably should have started with an extract kit to start with, would have had a little less on my plate.

I ordered a few things and fixed my water situation to be more prepared for my next beer.

Thanks for the input everyone. There is more to this than I originally thought there was.. good to know there's a place I can ask some questions

 

[kh54s10]

Get the next one going ASAP. You will be surprised at how fast it will disappear, especially if you share any.

 

[Morrey]

Ales are more forgiving by nature than lagers, and lots of brewers claim that what are actually off flavors are layers of complexity. LOL but small mistakes with an ale is more easily passed off as ok. When you try your hand at lagers you'll have some experiences under your belt as these beers require precision.

If I am not mistaken, the Kent hops are around the 5% AA level? If so, you probably won't have a problem, conversely if the hop's AA was really high, you could have overdone the IBUs for the style you are brewing.

You could always load a free trial copy of BeerSmith, plug in the hop bill you used and see the IBU calculations. BUT, enjoy your beer as I'm sure it will be a good one!!

 

[oakbarn]

Terrible. Wrap in foam and overnight to me. I like off tasting brews! PS: It will be fine.

 

[sleepspeaking]

Most people will tell you RDWHAHB. You've made beer, it will be tasty and you will drink it. A half ounce of hops will not have a huge impact on a 5 gallon batch. Pitching in the 70's probably won't have a huge impact, but it might have some esters or even a touch of fusel alcohol, though it may not depending on the yeast. You are going to have to provide a lot more information for people to be able to predict any issues that might come from this. I wouldn't worry about it...we've all done worse than this.

+1 We've all done worse ... some of us much worse...

I find that suffering through drinking the bad batches (most of which are still quite drinkable) only help us learn what not to do.

But if these were your only missteps I doubt this will be too rough a batch.

Cheers

 

[mongoose33]

I feel better about the beer now, I was about to do another batch but now I'll move on to my next recipe. I probably should have started with an extract kit to start with, would have had a little less on my plate.

I ordered a few things and fixed my water situation to be more prepared for my next beer.

Thanks for the input everyone. There is more to this than I originally thought there was.. good to know there's a place I can ask some questions

You might consider doing the same recipe again, this time working on the water and the hops. That way you'll learn how much of a difference it made.

 

[ericbw]

Do not dump it. I think White Labs says to keep it above 70 till fermentation starts. Maybe that's fermentis?

 

[Redleg84]

You might consider doing the same recipe again, this time working on the water and the hops. That way you'll learn how much of a difference it made.

I plan on it making it again, just have one other beer I'd like to make first.

It'll be good to compare the changes and get a feel for how they impact everything.

Water is my priority right now, going to just get some RO water and put the appropriate additives in it. I figure it'll be more consistent that way.

 

[mongoose33]

I plan on it making it again, just have one other beer I'd like to make first.

It'll be good to compare the changes and get a feel for how they impact everything.

Water is my priority right now, going to just get some RO water and put the appropriate additives in it. I figure it'll be more consistent that way.

RO water will help; my first batch was an extract batch at which time I fell for the old "if your water tastes good, your beer will taste good" fallacy.

Well. It was drinkable, barely, and in fact I recently just dumped the rest of the bottles. I'd rather fill them with something good!

I'm on my 14th or 15th batch right now, and every time I've made beer I've tried to do something better--continuous quality improvement, if you will. I switched to RO water. I was able to do a better mash. I've reduced oxygen exposure when racking to keg.

I'm sitting here drinking a wonderful Rye beer I brewed myself (fourth batch of it!), a beer that, to me, is better than anything I can get at my local pub. The first batch was good, but then I changed the base grain from regular 2-row to Maris Otter. That's another incremental improvement that has helped.

Among the last 9 or 10 batches, I've brewed 4 and 4 of the same beers--the other was a SMASH I tried on a lark. Worked, according to the people who prefer it. Each of those other two beers have gotten better because I've tweaked them and now, they're about there.

I guess all I'm suggesting is to tweak those recipes--and the processes--of those beers that have promise, rather than constantly brewing new recipes. I know, too, that while that beer sits in the fermenter, there's no feedback yet, so a different recipe may well be in order. Maybe you can alternate them until you nail them down. My problem is patience, but I now have two recipes that I consider my "house brews" and they're stable. Next on the list is a Vanilla Porter or a California Common, I can't decide.

Good luck and enjoy! Meanwhile, my glass is empty . I guess I'll go fill it up again.

 

[ericbw]

I've reduced oxygen exposure during racking to fermenter as well as when kegging.

You want to increase oxygen exposure when racking to the fermenter. The yeast need O2 to work, so I try to splash it and get it as foamy as possible, then swirl it some more. Some people invest in an O2 tank and pump it into the wort.

Definitely try to avoid O2 exposure after fermenting.

 

[ericbw]

Remember also that if your basement is 65 degrees, the inside of the fermenter is probably warmer by 5-10 degrees. If you can cool it own more (google "swamp cooler") it will help.

 

[mongoose33]

You want to increase oxygen exposure when racking to the fermenter. The yeast need O2 to work, so I try to splash it and get it as foamy as possible, then swirl it some more. Some people invest in an O2 tank and pump it into the wort.

Definitely try to avoid O2 exposure after fermenting.

Yeah, I mispoke on that. Perhaps the Rye beer had something to do with that.

I'll change it in the original.

 

[Redleg84]

Just opened my first bottle and it isn't bad at all.

I changed water, got a temp controlled fermenter, oxygenated with O2, used the proper amount of hops and got closer to the OG on the batch I just did

I'm curious to taste the difference

 

[SkllGent]

My first brew mistake was when I was just starting out. I thought I knew what I was doing and got a great kit from the beer store down the road. No instructions on the package or on the internet that I didn't need to know trigonometry to follow. So let the list begin...

Boiled the grain instead of steep
Didn't boil the hops long enough
Didn't let the wort cool before pitching yeast

Surprisingly the wort still fermented!

Then...
Bottled and opened WAY to quick

It tasted beerish... I could taste the beer it was just really flat and after a few days it really started to have an off taste.

Then I found me a beer mentor and he taught me how to brew. Beer mentors are a must!

 

[mongoose33]

Just opened my first bottle and it isn't bad at all.

I changed water, got a temp controlled fermenter, oxygenated with O2, used the proper amount of hops and got closer to the OG on the batch I just did

I'm curious to taste the difference

What you're doing is, to me, one of the keys to all of this--that is, continually making things better each and every time. Incrementally improve things and over a period of time you'll get to a place that is producing better and better beer.

Every time, do something better. Over time I've achieved better temperature control, better PH in the mash, better aeration prior to pitching, better temp control during fermenting, etc. etc. Your beer will only get better and better!