Help a First timer using Brooklyn brew kit

[jessie2sexy]

Hello fellow beer drinkers! I was lucky enough to be gifted a Brooklyn Brew Chestnut Brown Ale for Christmas and just got around to brewing it last night. I must say that I definitely feel as if I need more practice but am looking forward to taste testing it in a month!

I had a few questions for the helpful people here that I'm hoping will help me to smooth things over in the future.

I had what I thought to be around 5 quarts of wort when starting the boil but after the boil, I poured everything in my carboy and it was only around 0.5 gallon of beer? I expected to lose some to evaporation but not this much, is this normal or was I boiling it too hot? Nevertheless i filled the rest of the carboy up to one gallon mark with water then pitched the yeast in.

Also, the instruction say to add around 3 tablespoons of honey when bottling but after seeing a few other posts on here there was a few users who said that the Brooklyn instructions usually call for too much sugar/honey which leads to over carbonation. How much honey do I need to put in when bottling to avoid over carbonating?

I will certainly appreciate any help I can get and look forward to maturing my brewing with you all.

 

[wyccad915]

the boil off from the wort seems natural. Did you take a reading? As long as it's in the ballpark I'd say you are fine. Even if you didn't, still you should be fine. I cannot comment on the honey, as I don't use it for carbonation. I've only used table sugar and corn sugar.

 

[TheCrackpot]

Getting a feel for how much wort you'll lose during your boil is just one of the many aspects that you'll start to grasp with time and experience. How hard you boil, what is the ambient humidity, how breezy is it (if you boil out side) are all factors that have an effect. I still find that I miscalculate my boil off every once in a while.

As far as carbonation goes, this calculator is very handy: http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html

It even has honey as an option.

Hope this helps and welcome to the hobby (lifestyle)!

 

[jessie2sexy]

I didn't take a reading but perhaps I should next time. I did however turn the heat a little cooler after about 30 minutes because I thought it was evaporating too much.

 

[jessie2sexy]

Getting a feel for how much wort you'll lose during your boil is just one of the many aspects that you'll start to grasp with time and experience. How hard you boil, what is the ambient humidity, how breezy is it (if you boil out side) are all factors that have an effect. I still find that I miscalculate my boil off every once in a while.

As far as carbonation goes, this calculator is very handy: http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html

It even has honey as an option.

Hope this helps and welcome to the hobby (lifestyle)!

Thanks for the advice on the calculator. On the site it tells me to enter a desired volume of CO2, what would be a good desired volume for this?

 

[Pantherjon]

I guess I must have been pretty efficient when I did my Brooklyn Brew Chocolate Maple Porter..Because when I poured the wort into the little jug it was only like an inch below the gallon mark, maybe 3 cups took it up there..1/2 gallon seems like a lot to lose during the boil..What size pot did you use?

 

[jessie2sexy]

I used a 3 gallon stock pot

 

[ballsy]

Don't be scared to top off to final volume if your boiloff is excessive. Nothing wrong with that at all. I always do partial boils and top off to volume.

 

[Pantherjon]

I used a 3 gallon stock pot

I used a 4 gallon stock pot...mystery how you boiled off .5 gallon..and I sparged my wort through the grain bed(strainer) twice as well...Like I said, 'tis a mystery..LOL..Hope your brew comes out tasty!

 

[jessie2sexy]

I used a 4 gallon stock pot...mystery how you boiled off .5 gallon..and I sparged my wort through the grain bed(strainer) twice as well...Like I said, 'tis a mystery..LOL..Hope your brew comes out tasty!

I strained mine twice too, i'm thinking that i brought it to a rolling boil which was too hot and left it at that temp for too long before turning heat cooler. Everyone else says it should still turn out fine though so just good learning experience for next time. Did you happen to get a temp reading during your boil?

 

[TasunkaWitko]

One thing to keep in mind is that the boil is not meant to be a rolling, hard boil for an hour - back the intensity off, and this will help. Also, if you do the boil in a smaller, narrower pot/kettle, it will help with evaporation as there isn't as much surface area, or something. In any case, topping it off with the same water that you brewed with should be just fine.

As for bottling, I've had best results with 2 tablespoons of honey/maple syrup/agave nectar etc., rather than 3. Sometimes even 2 seems to result in slight over-carbonation. I think that the temperature of the beer at the time of bottling plays a factor in this - maybe someone with more experience can chime in.

The main thing, and I really mean this, is to have fun with it, and don't get too bent out of shape over the nitty-gritties. This is brewing beer, not building the Space Shuttle. You'll make good beer and enjoy it as long as you follow instructions and pick up a few refinements along the way. Two huge things that will make your life easier are the mini auto siphon (available from BBS) and a spring-tip filler for bottling (I got mine at EC Kraus).

Enjoy ~

 

[Pantherjon]

I strained mine twice too, i'm thinking that i brought it to a rolling boil which was too hot and left it at that temp for too long before turning heat cooler.

That might have been the culprit.Also, your kettle could be wider then mine exposing more surface area during the boil which equals to higher boil off volume.My kettle is 12" wide...I turned my heat down right after the hot break and maintained a 'rolling' boil..Where you can see the troughs come up and go back down fairly slow.

Everyone else says it should still turn out fine though so just good learning experience for next time.

Totally agree with that assessment.

Did you happen to get a temp reading during your boil?

Nope just kept it in the 'rolling' state..Did take it off the element on both hops additions as the introduction of oxygen from the hops was causing a lot of foaming..

I am sure your brew will come out tasting grand! Let us know how it turns out.

 

[TaylorT]

Oops, double post...

 

[TaylorT]

I started out with a Brooklyn Brewshop kit as well, and from that I'd recommend measuring your pre-boil volume if possible. I found the sparge water volumes in the recipe to be low.

You may also want to look at making something like a cheap double bucket lauter tun. That has saved me tons of frustration over trying to sparge with just a strainer.

 

[jessie2sexy]

I came home from work today and find that my blow off tubing has fell out of my sanitation bowl! I imagine this is from too much yeast activity? Anyways, i decided to go ahead and put the airlock on since its been about 2 days already. I just have one question though, I'm assuming all the trub at the very top off the carboy is yeast? Is this normal after only 48 hours, it seems like a lot of it. Do I need to give it another shake maybe? I've attached a few pictures from day 1 to day 3

 

[TaylorT]

That is krausen, and its actually a good sign. No need to shake it, or try to mix it back in.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Looking good so far - stick with it!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Looks fine, and yes that gray stuff up in the neck looks like yeast.

 

[TheCrackpot]

Thanks for the advice on the calculator. On the site it tells me to enter a desired volume of CO2, what would be a good desired volume for this?

Sorry I lost track of this thread for a few days but I didn't want let this question go unanswered.

Right above the line that asks you to enter your desired volume of CO2, there is a drop down menu of nearly every style of beer you can think of and the "appropriate" levels of CO2 for that style. (I presume that these parameters are based on BJCP competition style guidelines, but I'm not positive.)

Anyway, you'll notice that American Brown is the second style from the top; right under American Amber. It recommends 1.5-2.5 volume CO2 for the style. You can then use this do decide if you want your CO2 at the higer end, lower end, or in the middle. In other words, do you want it more or less carbonated?

Long story short, any volume between 1.5 and 2.5 is probably good for brown ale.

 

[flyfishnevada]

I started out with a Brooklyn Brewshop kit as well, and from that I'd recommend measuring your pre-boil volume if possible. I found the sparge water volumes in the recipe to be low.

You may also want to look at making something like a cheap double bucket lauter tun. That has saved me tons of frustration over trying to sparge with just a strainer.

I'm doing a batch of Peanut Butter Stout from BB. I'll keep this in mind.

I'm doing the strainer but I have a nice fine mesh one. BIAB seems easier but I want to do it full grain style per recipe at least once.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

FFN - I use the strainer, and recirculate the water twice. It seems to work very well.

BIAB has been suggested a few times, but I just don't see any need to do it. One thng I will say is that having three pots/kettles for the brewing seems to work most efficiently. Two will work, but three is better. Use your heaviest (such as an enameled cast iron Dutch oven) for the mash, to help keep temps stable, and use your smallest (that will be big enough to hold the wort) for the boil, in order to keep evaporation to a minimum as discussed above.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out! I bought the same Peanut Butter Porter mix, and am eager to give it a try!

 

[flyfishnevada]

FFN - I use the strainer, and recirculate the water twice. It seems to work very well.

BIAB has been suggested a few times, but I just don't see any need to do it. One thng I will say is that having three pots/kettles for the brewing seems to work most efficiently. Two will work, but three is better. Use your heaviest (such as an enameled cast iron Dutch oven) for the mash, to help keep temps stable, and use your smallest (that will be big enough to hold the wort) for the boil, in order to keep evaporation to a minimum as discussed above.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out! I bought the same Peanut Butter Porter mix, and am eager to give it a try!

Will do! It is Porter too, not stout. I assume the third pot is for the sparge water?

 

[TasunkaWitko]

The short answer is yes, but the three pots really come in handy during the sparging step. Here's what I do, and it works well. It sounds more complicated than it actually is, mostly because it is something you need to visualize and tweak to your preference.

I do the mash in my enameled cast iron Dutch oven (A). As the mash gets close to finishing, I also heat up the sparge water to temperature in another pot/kettle (B). I have a third pot/kettle (C) sitting on the kitchen counter, with the fine-mesh strainer in it and waiting for the mash.

Once the mash is done, I dump it through the strainer into C, and set the Dutch oven (A) to the right. Next, I pour the sparge water through the strainer into C, and set that pot (B) to the left. When the sparge water has strained through the mash, I set the strainer (with the mash in it, of course), on/in A, to catch any drips.

I then switch/move the empty pot (B) into place where C was, and put B where C was. I put the strainer onto B, then dump any drips from the strainer that are in A into B, then dump the wort that was originally collected from C into B.

Repeat as necessary, Boil in the pot that has the least "extra room" in it so that evaporation is kept under control.

Like I said, it sounds complicated, but it is actually very easy and works very well. B anc C are changing places with each circulation, and A is catching drips while the positions of B and C are being reversed.

If my kitchen wasn't such a bloody mess all the time, I'd make a YouTube video to illustrate; however, if you have any questions, please ask. It works, and it is not complicated.

 

[flyfishnevada]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Three pots keeps the juggling to a minimum. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Great minds think alike, they say...

 

[jessie2sexy]

The short answer is yes, but the three pots really come in handy during the sparging step. Here's what I do, and it works well. It sounds more complicated than it actually is, mostly because it is something you need to visualize and tweak to your preference.

I do the mash in my enameled cast iron Dutch oven (A). As the mash gets close to finishing, I also heat up the sparge water to temperature in another pot/kettle (B). I have a third pot/kettle (C) sitting on the kitchen counter, with the fine-mesh strainer in it and waiting for the mash.

Once the mash is done, I dump it through the strainer into C, and set the Dutch oven (A) to the right. Next, I pour the sparge water through the strainer into C, and set that pot (B) to the left. When the sparge water has strained through the mash, I set the strainer (with the mash in it, of course), on/in A, to catch any drips.

I then switch/move the empty pot (B) into place where C was, and put B where C was. I put the strainer onto B, then dump any drips from the strainer that are in A into B, then dump the wort that was originally collected from C into B.

Repeat as necessary, Boil in the pot that has the least "extra room" in it so that evaporation is kept under control.

Like I said, it sounds complicated, but it is actually very easy and works very well. B anc C are changing places with each circulation, and A is catching drips while the positions of B and C are being reversed.

If my kitchen wasn't such a bloody mess all the time, I'd make a YouTube video to illustrate; however, if you have any questions, please ask. It works, and it is not complicated.

That's about the same process I followed as well. Just kinda making a note to myself here but it could be worth it for me to get a smaller pot to boil in as i boiled in a 12 quart stock pot but it was only like 5 or so quarts of wort.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Hi, J2S -

I boil in an 8-quart stainless stock pot that I got at Wal-Mart for...like, almost nothing. You've got to keep an eye on it when it reaches the hot break, but it's no big deal. In my opinion it is definitely money well spent, versus having all of that surface area evaporating your wort as it boils.

 

[flyfishnevada]

I've got a 12 qt. stock pot from Walmart like that. I have smaller ones but they are all have non-stick coatings. Maybe I'll pick up an 8 qt. in stainless. I'm sure the non-stick coating on my more expensive pot is fine (it's flawless and I've had it for over fifteen years) but I KNOW stainless is good to go.

 

[flyfishnevada]

Brew day today. As stated above, I think the amounts of water listed in the recipe are light. I mashed with the recommended 2 quarts. Grain soaked up most of that. I sparged with the recommended 4 qts and wound up with just over a gallon of sort. I heated up another 2 qts of water quickly and sparged with that. That got my a bout 1.6 or 1.7 gallons. After the boil, I was left with about 1.2. With trub loss and all that, I'll be right at a gallon of beer.

But the peanut butter porter kit comes with 3 pounds of grain. IIRC, the grapefruit honey ale kit only has 1.5 or two pounds but the directions call for the same amount of mash and sparge water. I'd go with two total gallons next time for the PB porter. Maybe 3 qts in the mash and 5 for sparging. YMMV.

And the three pot thing...I couldn't tell you. I was trying to figure out what to do about the sparge, I was just pouring into whatever was in front of me

 

[TasunkaWitko]

BBS's video recommends 1 quart per pound of grain, if that helps....