First Brew

[brentkruger1989]

So on Sunday I completed my first brew and horribly im uncomfortable with my performance. To give you a better understanding my concern I will tell you about myself.
I am analytically functioning individual with obsessive traits. Nothing diagnosed of course. Before buying most equipment I purchased hot to brew and the joy of brewing to gain an understanding of the hobby. After spending a lot of time doing that and reading forums, namely this one, I then purchased my equipment and first kit. I did buy a brewing bucket and a brewers best oktober kit. I didn't realize I didn't have proper lager ing equipment so I decided to do as an ale instead per the information online.
I had all my ingredients in order and truthfully I did much better than I thought I did but I walked away with a few concerns.

1. I intended to use wyeast 2124 because of the tempature where I live, typically 70 f around this time of year. Before I could pitch the yeast I knocked over the bag losing roughly 30 to 35% of its contents. thinking ill be fine i sealed it up as soon as i was done taking my tests. the next day i doubted myself so order to ensure proper fermentation I added the dry yeast that came with the pack. Will this damage my beer?
2. I pitched at 80 rather than the recommended temperature?
3. How long should it take to start fermenting?
4. What can I do to ensure the tempature doesn't kill the beer? Like I said it stays around 70 f in my basement. I didn't think purchasing a refrigeration unit is necessary for the first brew.
5. Am I just over worrying? My OG was right in line, boiling went fine with exemption of a slight boil over, and i over sanitized everything Most likely.

I just don't want to fail my first batch. Any input is welcome.
Thank you,

Brent

 

[mrgrimm101]

1.) What strain of dry yeast came with your kit? The 2124 is a Bohemian Lager yeast, so you might get some interesting flavors if you added, say, an American or English ale yeast.

--My question would be what temperature does the kit recommend? For lagers you want them much lower than the ale range. The typical ale temperature range is low 60Fs to about 70F, give or take depending on the strain. However, I have heard of using a lager yeast and fermenting at ale temps in an Oktoberfest style beer..I've never brewed an Oktoberfest so I'm not sure.



2.) That is slightly high but it could be alright. Pitching at higher than recommended temps can cause an excess in Esters and Phenols, which can cause off-flavors. However, you could be perfectly fine and not even notice this in the final product.

3.) In my experience, I see visual activity starting in about 24-36 hours after pitching. Sometimes it tames up to 48 hours, but usually it's within 24. If you have a carboy you can see the activity taking place..the yeast will swirl around in suspension. Airlock bubbles are a good indication that fermentation has started, however this is NOT a good indication of when fermentation stops. The airlock bubbles will slow down or stop long before the fermentation is complete. Usually the airlock slows down after the first week or 2, but I like to give my beers an extra week or 2 still after that to finish up.

4.) See what you can do to keep it in an area that is consistently the same temperature, and within the ideal temperature range of your yeast strain. This is most important during the first week or so of the most active fermentation. For my ales I try to keep them around 63F-64F for the first week or so, then I move them to an area that's closer to 68F after the most active fermentation is complete. The step-up in temperature seems to help the yeast finish up and leaves my beer nice and clean.
-You can go out and build what is referred to as a "swamp cooler", which is simply a big tub or container that you can put your whole fermenting vessel into and then fill up the rest of the space with water. You can freeze bottles of water and add them to the cooler around the vessel to bring the temperature down a few degrees. Rotate bottles as they unfreeze.

5.) I don't think you're worrying, you're just taking this very seriously, which is good. I like to be as involved as I can in the process and it sounds like you're the same way. Overthinking and overplanning isn't a bad thing when making beer, IMO. It just means you want to make sure things go as smoothly as possible while gaining the best understanding of it as you can. Eventually you will get it down enough so you don't have to worry as much.

Sorry for the novel lol.. Sounds like you did fine for the most part. RDWHAHB!

 

[falkaveli]

I am analytically functioning individual with obsessive traits. Nothing diagnosed of course.

Brother!?

Jokes aside, I'm sure you'll be fine. Let the yeast do their work and relax.

If after carbonating, it tastes like crap....let 'em sit for a few months.

Bad beer, in many cases, is like a bad haircut....a month away from fixing itself.

I've had experimental beers that went from undrinkable to fantastic in 4 months.

 

[Clarke]

First, it is a hobby, are you in it for the hobby or just this one beer? Grow with the hobby and don't worry, learn from each experience. Your beer will get better each time and also when you think you know what you are doing, you are still sure to screw up a batch of beer. Once your done, all you can do is learn from what you think you did wrong.

I started a brew late last night around 6:30pm, I just moved so nothing was organized or clean, I cleaned as I went, spent most of the time looking for stuff and where to set things up while in progress for each step. I know how to brew (so I think) but I was not prepared for my unorganized mess. Long story short, I took shortcuts, I pitched at 78F, missed all my numbers and this beer probably won't be the best but I am confidant it will be drinkable. At the end of it all, I love the hobby and I am now thinking about what to do to improve my next brew day.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Brother!?


If after carbonating, it tastes like crap....let 'em sit for a few months.

Bad beer, in many cases, is like a bad haircut....a month away from fixing itself.

This is a great quote.

 

[HB_in_Subic]

All good stuff proffered. I would also add to take good notes and make a brew log. Capture your processes, times, temperatures, gravities, etc. This will help you identify where to tweak your brew day and identify weak areas for improvement. As a new brewer, there are a lot of little things to remember. Until you have a few brews under your belt and get comfortable, the notes will help you. Also, remember the yeast drives your fermenting temperature. You want to ferment in the middle of the yeast's temperature range as the yeast will heat up the wort at least 5 degrees above ambient, so factor that in your calculation for a fermenting temperature. After 5 or 6 days, you can bump up the temperature a couple of degrees to give the yeast incentive to finish off the last bits.

Take a gravity reading at day 18 and 21. If both are the same and around 1.012ish you are probably good to go for bottling. Storing your bottles in a dark spot in your 70F basement will be fine for bottle conditioning (wish I had a basement)...

 

[Clarke]

All good stuff proffered. I would also add to take good notes and make a brew log. Capture your processes, times, temperatures, gravities, etc. This will help you identify where to tweak your brew day and identify weak areas for improvement. As a new brewer, there are a lot of little things to remember. Until you have a few brews under your belt and get comfortable, the notes will help you. Also, remember the yeast drives your fermenting temperature. You want to ferment in the middle of the yeast's temperature range as the yeast will heat up the wort at least 5 degrees above ambient, so factor that in your calculation for a fermenting temperature. After 5 or 6 days, you can bump up the temperature a couple of degrees to give the yeast incentive to finish off the last bits.

Take a gravity reading at day 18 and 21. If both are the same and around 1.012ish you are probably good to go for bottling. Storing your bottles in a dark spot in your 70F basement will be fine for bottle conditioning (wish I had a basement)...

+1^^^

Notes, Notes, Notes

Even when you are experienced, Take Notes, Notes, Notes

I am constantly reading my notes, it brings back memories that where not even logged. I think notes are the most important thing, writing stuff down commits it to memory and if you forget, you can go back and check your notes.

 

[brentkruger1989]

Thanks guys. It still only been a few days but fermenting is cgoing. I took some of the advice on this forum and built a swamp cooler. Tempature seems to be ok. Now I just need to be ready for, not worried about, checking my gravity and then bottling. You're all a great help and I thank you for your advice.

 

[Synap6]

I kind of have the same problem as you Brent, in that temperature is on the high-side (wife is cold and temp is controlled by the building not by me). I've therefore been brewing with Safale S-05 yeast, which is a more lenient on temperature ranges than most. So far so good! But that's because I started brewing ales and not lagers.

I know very little with regards to lagers, but do look into more "lenient" temp range yeasts if possible. Safale S-05 works for me (18-25 deg Celsius, whatever that converts to in Fahrenheit)

 

[AndyNorman]

Northernbrewer's priming calculator, is that in US or imperial gallons

 

[jason1973]

and i over sanitized everything Most likely.

no such thing, you can under sanatize, but you can never sanitize anough, you can sanatize the hell out of stuff, and can alwa6ys do more.

 

[brentkruger1989]

I think it gives both but I'm going by US.

 

[riderkb]

Resist the urge to play with your beer! Opening up the fermenter to check on things or measure SG will do nothing to improve the final product.

For your first beer it is best if you keep the fermenter cool and try to forget about it until there is no airlock activity.

 

[AndyNorman]

I think it gives both but I'm going by US.

Thanks, Brent

 

[brentkruger1989]

I took a fg reading today and it was perfect. I got a 1.013 on the money. I'm beginning to believe I'm over thinking everything too much. Bottling tomorrow or Saturday. I can already smell the esters. Pretty noticeable banana scent. But after doing some research isnt that ok for a Oktoberfest? Or is that just as a lager? Either way I'm right on track ill give it taste while bottling! Photos to come!

 

[1977Brewer]

I took a fg reading today and it was perfect. I got a 1.013 on the money. I'm beginning to believe I'm over thinking everything too much. Bottling tomorrow or Saturday. I can already smell the esters. Pretty noticeable banana scent. But after doing some research isnt that ok for a Oktoberfest? Or is that just as a lager? Either way I'm right on track ill give it taste while bottling! Photos to come!

It's weird, but once you figure out that the yeast is in control, and it's your job to keep them happy, this just gets easier. The hard part is keeping them happy.

 

[brentkruger1989]

http://m.imgur.com/a/Qo5es

Here is a small album. My OG and me FG ratings were solid and the beer tastes like a Oktoberfest but there is a concern of esters. Either way all the hard stuff is over so all I have left is is to wait two weeks and enjoy.

 

[falkaveli]

Never forget that only you know what you were intending to brew. Just hand it to your friends and say, "I hope you enjoy the Belgian Dubbel." ;-)

 

[Terek]

I've had experimental beers that went from undrinkable to fantastic in 4 months.

I have had this happen many times. Never dump a beer until you give it at least 4 months in the bottle. I made a cider that got infected very bad. It was undrinkable, and almost made me puke. I decided to keep it. I cracked one a couple weeks ago (it has been in the bottle 11 months) and it was AMAZING!!! And I hate sour anything. Never dump anything. Bottles are cheap, and you could be sending your greatest creation down the drain.