Just did my 1st brew ever - Partial Mash

[airbrett]

Hi everyone. My name is Brett and I live in San Francisco. I've been enjoying craft beer for several years, having come from San Diego and watching my favorite brewers such as Port, Ballast Point, and Hess grow and evolve.

I've had the fortune that a brew supply store and soon to be brewery has opened a block away from my place (Black Sands is the name). I picked up a kit (BSG K6), got some advice, and just finished my first brew about an hour ago.

It's a partial mash pale ale where, because I am doing this on a gas stove in the kitchen, I did the "mash" (if that is the right term) in one pot, added it to the big kettle, added the malt extract, then added hops at the t-minus 60, 10, 5, and at the end of the boil. Aside from having a separate pot for the first part of the process, I followed the "Partial Mash" instructions detailed here very closely: http://www.blacksandsbeer.com/learn/

I'm using a plastic 7.5 gal bucket with a spigot as the primary fermenter and a holder before bottling, and a 6 gallon glass carboy for the secondary fermentation.

As far as where I may have messed up - here goes:

1) I couldn't remember what the guy at the brew store said about how many gallons to use in the second pot for steeping the grain for 40 minutes. The generic recipe sheet said 3 gallons total for the kettle, so I used 1 gallon for that, later adding to 2 gallons in the big kettle. I hope there was enough water to do whatever it was supposed to do to the grain

2) I didn't measure the specific gravity after the chill after transferring the wort and adding yeast to the primary fermenter. I was so paranoid about sanitizing everything and limiting air exposure I forgot about that.

I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm planning to transfer to the secondary in 6 days per the instructions.

 

[dobes]

Looks like your off to a good start. I would say just skip the secondary leave it in your primary til you are ready to bottle or keg.

One thing I will say about the directions you get take them as tips or guidelines. There are many different ways to go about brewing. Some things work better for others and some don't.

Experiment a bit have fun find what works for you.

 

[soccerdad]

Good start !! It sounds like maybe you did an 'extract with specialty grains' as opposed to a partial mash, but it is indeed a GOOD START ! Keep us posted on how it goes along .. a few thousand of your newest bestest friends are wanting to revel in your success.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Don't worry about your OG. Just assume it was what the kit said it would be. You could also buy BeerSmith and enter your ingredients and it will tell you the predicted OG. BeerSmith is a good investment.

Meanwhile, it sounds like you probably should rack to secondary since your fermenter (with the spigot) is your bottling bucket. You will need to clean it very well before you use it for bottling. It would be a good idea to get another fermenter (without a spigot) for future brews. A spigot in your fermenting bucket is just one more potential source of infection. Reserve that bucket for bottling only and dismantel the spigot for cleaning.

Lastly, give it a good 3 weeks or more before bottling. The more time the better. Sounds like you're off and running. Enjoy!

 

[unionrdr]

Water to grain volumes are critical when mashing. But not for steeping. What temp did you chill the wort to? did you top off to recipe volume in the fermenter? What was the temp at the time you pitched the yeast?

 

[dadshomebrewing]

welcome to our nightmare.

 

[airbrett]

Water to grain volumes are critical when mashing. But not for steeping. What temp did you chill the wort to? did you top off to recipe volume in the fermenter? What was the temp at the time you pitched the yeast?

So far so good as the air lock is bubbling as of this morning. I used vodka in the air lock instead of water after reading advice to that effect on this board.

I'm guessing I was just steeping as I just took 2 lbs of Pale Malt grain that they milled for me at the store. I took 1 gallon of water in the smaller pot to 155 degrees, turned the burner off and put the grain enclosed in cheese cloth in the pot, covered, waited 40 minutes, then steeped 10 times before transferring the wort to the other pot with 2 gallons of water already heating. After bringing the wort to 200 degrees added 6 lbs of malt extract and started the boil.

I chilled the wort to 70 degrees in a water and ice bath and I did have 3 gallons of water in the fermenter to bring to a total of about 5 gallons (6 gallons minus whatever evaporated during the boil). I didn't measure the temperature when pitching the yeast but it was within minutes of the 70 degree reading so probably between 65 and 75. I had the fermenter sanitized and ready to go with the 3 gallons of water, added 2/3 of the wort, put in the yeast, then added the rest of the wort.

Interestingly, the yeast they suggested was in a foil bag where you slapped an inner packet to break it and release nutrients to the liquid yeast. I did this 3 hours before pitching per the instructions and the bag definitely swelled as it said it would.

The recipe I used is not anything that came in a kit, but was based on talking to the brew store employees about what I wanted to make and how it was my first time and they put a custom one together and gave me the ingredients:

2 lbs Pale Malt ("mash time" = 40 mins)
6 lbs malt extract
1 oz Falconers hops @ t-minus 60 mins
1 oz Cascade hops @ t-minus 10 mins
1 oz Cascade @ -5 mins
1 oz Cascade @ 0 mins
Yeast: 1056 American Ale

 

[stansoid]

Congrats on your first brew!. Out of curiosity, what kind of beer are you making?

 

[Qhrumphf]

If you were using "pale malt" you were mashing. "Pale malt" is a fairly ambiguous term on its own that can mean a number of different malts, but all of them are starchy, enzymatic base malts.

So yes, you weren't just steeping grains, you actually did a small mash. You skipped the bunny slope and went straight for the intermediate. Well done.

 

[unionrdr]

Looks like a pale ale to me. And pale malt is a base grain & must be mashed. 60 minutes is the preferred time, with 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 quarts of water per pound of grain for mashing. That yeast packet is called a "smack pack". you did good with that. Heating to 155F for the mash would go down to 152-153F after adding the grains. Good there as well. I like to use a nylon bag that can be stretched over the lip of the kettle to allow for stirring out the dough balls & evenly wetting the grains. This raises efficiency. Sparging the grains after draining off the wort will add to efficiency as well.

 

[soccerdad]

You did indeed Partial Mash. Sorry that I misunderstood before.

 

[airbrett]

Day 4 report. There is still some slight bubbling action in the air lock but it has decreased significantly. The temperature of the closet under the stairs where I am fermenting has stayed a consistent 67-68 degrees (in an SF condo without a/c so I don't have an options for manual climate control).

I have had to top off the air lock with vodka twice now to keep it at the proper level. I assume this is because of evaporation but I never read about anyone doing this so hopefully this is normal.

Based on previous comments, I will try just single fermenting in the glass carboy next time but will transfer this batch to a secondary this time as I'm using the plastic bucket/spigot for primary. Here is my plan of action; I would appreciate feedback:

1) After another 10 days or so (for a total of 2 weeks since starting), use the siphon technique to transfer to the 6 gal glass carboy, being careful not to splash/oxygenate. Any rule of thumb on how high above the bottom of the fermenter to pull from to avoid the sediment?
2) After a week of conditioning, skip the bottling bucket and use the siphon and bottling wand to bottle. I bought the sugar pellets that you drop in the bottles - was told to use 2 per 22oz bomber. Do these give good results?
3) Bottle ferment for 10-14 days
4) Refrigerate and enjoy

 

[unionrdr]

Day 4 report. There is still some slight bubbling action in the air lock but it has decreased significantly. The temperature of the closet under the stairs where I am fermenting has stayed a consistent 67-68 degrees (in an SF condo without a/c so I don't have an options for manual climate control).

I have had to top off the air lock with vodka twice now to keep it at the proper level. I assume this is because of evaporation but I never read about anyone doing this so hopefully this is normal.

Based on previous comments, I will try just single fermenting in the glass carboy next time but will transfer this batch to a secondary this time as I'm using the plastic bucket/spigot for primary. Here is my plan of action; I would appreciate feedback:

1) After another 10 days or so (for a total of 2 weeks since starting), use the siphon technique to transfer to the 6 gal glass carboy, being careful not to splash/oxygenate. Any rule of thumb on how high above the bottom of the fermenter to pull from to avoid the sediment?
2) After a week of conditioning, skip the bottling bucket and use the siphon and bottling wand to bottle. I bought the sugar pellets that you drop in the bottles - was told to use 2 per 22oz bomber. Do these give good results?
3) Bottle ferment for 10-14 days
4) Refrigerate and enjoy

1) Don't rack the beer to secondary till it's at a stable FG. Use your hydrometer 2-3 days apart to check if the numbers match. If they match, it's done fermenting. Keep the auto siphon an inch or so above the trub & yeast. You can gently tip the fermenter to get most of the beer out.
2) Or clean & re-sanitize the bottling bucket & use that. Either way will work. Just make sure you use a bottling wand either way. And if you're using the Cooper's style carb drops, then 2 per bomber would be plenty. Cooper's usually recommends using 2 per 740mL (25.16oz) PET bottle. So you should be fine there. Just let them sit 3-4 weeks to carb properly. When I used them, 4 weeks was better.
3) carb & condition more like 3-4 weeks. 10-14 days usually isn't long enough, especially with carb drops.
4) 1 week fridge time should be good.

 

[soccerdad]

67 / 68 is a great temp for ales. Gonna be good !

 

[airbrett]

1) Don't rack the beer to secondary till it's at a stable FG. Use your hydrometer 2-3 days apart to check if the numbers match. If they match, it's done fermenting. Keep the auto siphon an inch or so above the trub & yeast. You can gently tip the fermenter to get most of the beer out.
2) Or clean & re-sanitize the bottling bucket & use that. Either way will work. Just make sure you use a bottling wand either way. And if you're using the Coo0per's style carb drops, then 2 per bomber would be plenty. Coop-er's usually recommends using 2 per 740mL (25.16oz) PET bottle. So you should be fine there. Just let them sit 3-4 weeks to carb properly. When I used them, 4 weeks was better.
3) carb & condition more like 3-4 weeks. 10-14 days usually isn't long enough, especially with carb drops.
4) 1 week fridge time should be good.

Wow, replies are quick on this forum. Thanks for the feedback. I didn't realize those drops could lengthen the time to carbonate. If so I could always use the corn sugar instead (as I mentioned the brew store is one block away). If I do that, it sounds like the bottling bucket would be the way to go so I can mix it in there.

As far as checking FG, I'm a bit nervous about adding steps where I could introduce more oxygen or contamination (a reason I didn't measure OG). A hydrometer came with the kit, but no vessel to put the wort sample in. Can I just sanitize it like hell and float it in the bucket? If not, what is the most foolproof method for a beginner?

 

[unionrdr]

I use the round tube the hydrometer came in for testing with this on the bottom from NB; http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/brewing-equipment/testing-measuring/foam-hydrometer-stand-ring-blue.html You can use the corn sugar (dextrose) dissolved in 2C of water boiled a coule minutes. But you have to weigh the priming sugar, so a cheap digital scale from the kitchen gadgets isle will do nicely. Also good for weighing hops, grains, extracts, etc. Here's a handy priming calculator too; http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/ But even when bulk priming, you still need to let the bottles sit for at least 3 weeks to carbonate & condition.

 

[airbrett]

Update time. Yesterday my friends and I tried the first two bottles while brewing our second batch (a black IPA but that is for another post). The good news is that the flavor, aroma, and hop profile are great, aside from being a little on the sweet side. It also pours very clear, probably thanks to the careful siphoning and secondary fermentation.

The bad news - very, very low carbonation. It has been bottle conditioning for two weeks at 69 - 70 degrees, and I had these two bottles in the fridge for about 2 days ahead of time. We ended up going with the coopers tabs in each bottle (two per bomber) for priming.

I understand that I may just have to wait another couple weeks, but I am worried that I may not have got enough yeast in. When racking from the primary to secondary, I was a bit over conservative on avoiding the trub at the bottom and ended up with plenty of useable beer at the bottom. When siphoning from the secondary to bottles, there was a little bit of yeast cake/trub on the bottom but not very much.

Do you guys think time will cure things? OG: 1.043 (estimated), FG: 1.011, WYEAST 1056 American Ale.

 

[mdbrewer1]

Update time. Yesterday my friends and I tried the first two bottles while brewing our second batch (a black IPA but that is for another post). The good news is that the flavor, aroma, and hop profile are great, aside from being a little on the sweet side. It also pours very clear, probably thanks to the careful siphoning and secondary fermentation.

The bad news - very, very low carbonation. It has been bottle conditioning for two weeks at 69 - 70 degrees, and I had these two bottles in the fridge for about 2 days ahead of time. We ended up going with the coopers tabs in each bottle (two per bomber) for priming.

I understand that I may just have to wait another couple weeks, but I am worried that I may not have got enough yeast in. When racking from the primary to secondary, I was a bit over conservative on avoiding the trub at the bottom and ended up with plenty of useable beer at the bottom. When siphoning from the secondary to bottles, there was a little bit of yeast cake/trub on the bottom but not very much.

Do you guys think time will cure things? OG: 1.043 (estimated), FG: 1.011, WYEAST 1056 American Ale.

Someone already gave you an answer on that very aspect, twice. You even replied to the first response.

 

[unionrdr]

Yup. Two weeks isn't enough time. 3 weeks @ 70F is the norm. Sometimes longer depending on the gravity of the beer or those carb drops in my experiences with them.

 

[airbrett]

Someone already gave you an answer on that very aspect, twice. You even replied to the first response.

Sorry, but that got lost in the wall of text that is my questions. My specific question this time around was related to my concern about possibly not having enough yeast as I hadn't communicated earlier that I had been super conservative on not getting any trub from both the primary or secondary. I.e. super clear beer might equal no yeast. I hadn't though of that until actually pouring the beer yesterday.

 

[airbrett]

Yup. Two weeks isn't enough time. 3 weeks @ 70F is the norm. Sometimes longer depending on the gravity of the beer or those carb drops in my experiences with them.

Cool - thanks for the reassurance. I also moved the bottles upstairs where the temp is a couple degrees warmer. I'm using corn sugar next time just to compare.

 

[unionrdr]

Good. A lil warmer will speed things up a bit. I prefer bulk priming so that the size of the bottles doesn't matter. Plus it works a tad faster than carb drops, which need time to dissolve first.

 

[McKnuckle]

To answer the question about enough residual yeast to carbonate: Yes. You have to do quite a lot to remove yeast such that it will not survive all the racking, settling, clarifying, etc. to the point of being ineffective. You had (have) plenty; not to worry.

 

[airbrett]

At the four week mark and still have the low carbonation problem. No head to the beer at all when pouring.

Patience really is a virtue in this new hobby. I'm glad I have the Black IPA in the fermenter to keep me occupied.

 

[McKnuckle]

Is the carbonation actually low, or is it only the head retention that is the issue? (There's a difference)

3-4 weeks at 70F is enough time for a properly primed bottle to carbonate... unless the cap is not securely fastened OR there wasn't enough sugar OR not enough yeast. Yeast is almost never the problem; it's hard to get those buggers to go away. And carb drops are just sugar in a pre-dosed, crystallized form. It takes a day (maybe?) to dissolve, but after that it's no different from any other basic sugar. How about your caps? Do the bottles go "pfft" when you open them?

 

[airbrett]

Is the carbonation actually low, or is it only the head retention that is the issue? (There's a difference)

3-4 weeks at 70F is enough time for a properly primed bottle to carbonate... unless the cap is not securely fastened OR there wasn't enough sugar OR not enough yeast. Yeast is almost never the problem; it's hard to get those buggers to go away. And carb drops are just sugar in a pre-dosed, crystallized form. It takes a day (maybe?) to dissolve, but after that it's no different from any other basic sugar. How about your caps? Do the bottles go "pfft" when you open them?

The no to low carbonation is the main issue. They do indeed to "pfft" but not nearly as loud as I would expect. Every bottle has had the same issue, and the capping feels like it is pretty straight forward (I felt the cap "lock" into place when capping).

I did have the caps sitting in sanitizer up until the point I used them, and the bottles still had some bubbles from the sanitizer. My understanding though is that small amounts of starsan if mixed in the correct ratio does not hurt the yeast.

I will try adding some Prime Drops the HBS store offered for free to me to a few of the bottles as an experiment while continuing to condition the others for another week or two. They said those contain yeast as well as sugar so it might get things going in them.

 

[unionrdr]

How long to you refrigerate the bottles?

 

[airbrett]

How long to you refrigerate the bottles?

Just saw this reply, sorry.

2-3 days.

I did end up putting prime drops in about half the remaining bottles so I'll try those in a couple weeks while comparing them to the others that will keep conditioning. I'll keep you all updated.

Tonight I'm bottling the Black IPA and am using carefully measured corn sugar in the bottling bucket this time.

 

[unionrdr]

Make sure to make a priming solution of maybe 2C of water boiled a couple minutes, then dissolve the measured amount of sugar into that. Cover & cool a bit while you sanitize bottling bucket, etc. The rack beer into bottling bucket & pour the priming solution into the rising column of beer.

 

[airbrett]

I am happy to report that the beer has finally carbonated and it not only tastes good, it tastes amazing. There is a nice head on it as well. It far exceeded my expectations and a friend in the know has commented on it being better than many craft beers he likes and drinks regularly. Very surprised given the issues and the fact that it was our first brew.

I am not sure why it took so many weeks (6) to finally carb up. These were the ones that I didn't try to save with the prime drops either. Any insight? I have read on here about flavors developing with extended conditioning but the general consensus seemed to be after 5 weeks it should have been carbonated.

Either way I am happy. Thank you all for your help and advice.