bendit
Active Member
Hi Everyone,
I brewed my first batch of beer a few weeks back and I think it's too sweet, and that something went wrong in process. The beer is still drinkable and I will continue to let it bottle condition and move forward with a second batch this weekend.
I'll post the recipe below, but I have some ideas of what I think may have gone wrong. Can anyone help me identify the likely culprit?
-I had a hard time getting 3 gallons to boil vigorously. I am not sure how long I tried to get it to a strong boil, but I eventually clued in and straddled by pot between two burners to achieve a strong boil. Did it simmer/boil for so long that the wort over reduced and I ended up with a more concentrated wort?
-I wasn't well prepared to chill my wort, I didn't have enough ice to chill it fast enough.
-My instructions from the brew store told me that transferring the wort from the pot to the fermented would be enough to sufficiently aerate the wort, as long as I did it vigorously. Other instructions seem to spend quite a bit of time on this step?
My initial reaction was that I over reduced the wort by trying to get it to a rolling boil for too long, and ended up with too much priming sugar in my bottles.
But now I am thinking that the sweetness may be residual malt extract that was never consumed by the yeast due to poor aeration.
What do you guys think?
Ben
Thanks!
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Liberty Style IPA (given to me by the proprietor of San Francisco Brewcraft, Griz)
Liquid Extract + Steeping
6.2%
OG 1.067
FG 1.0.16
Ingredients:
6 lbs of Malt Extract (not specified if it was pale, medium, or dark)
1 1/2 lbs 2-row
1/2 lb [illegible, all the grains were given to me, mixed after being milled together]
1/4 lb flakes
1 oz Centennial hops
1 oz Cascade Hops
1 pkg of Nottingham Yeast
3/4 cup of Dextrose
Process
Steep grains for 45 mins at 155f
60 min - 1/2 oz centennial
30 min - 1/2 oz centennial
30 min - clearing agent
15 min - 1/2 oz Cascade
5 min - 1/2 oz Cascade
I did _not_ activate the yeast, it was pitched dry (as per my instructions)
The beer spent 7 days in the primary, and 15 days in the secondary
It was primed with the dextrose and it has been in bottles for almost 5 weeks. I ended up with about 35 bottles.
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I brewed my first batch of beer a few weeks back and I think it's too sweet, and that something went wrong in process. The beer is still drinkable and I will continue to let it bottle condition and move forward with a second batch this weekend.
I'll post the recipe below, but I have some ideas of what I think may have gone wrong. Can anyone help me identify the likely culprit?
-I had a hard time getting 3 gallons to boil vigorously. I am not sure how long I tried to get it to a strong boil, but I eventually clued in and straddled by pot between two burners to achieve a strong boil. Did it simmer/boil for so long that the wort over reduced and I ended up with a more concentrated wort?
-I wasn't well prepared to chill my wort, I didn't have enough ice to chill it fast enough.
-My instructions from the brew store told me that transferring the wort from the pot to the fermented would be enough to sufficiently aerate the wort, as long as I did it vigorously. Other instructions seem to spend quite a bit of time on this step?
My initial reaction was that I over reduced the wort by trying to get it to a rolling boil for too long, and ended up with too much priming sugar in my bottles.
But now I am thinking that the sweetness may be residual malt extract that was never consumed by the yeast due to poor aeration.
What do you guys think?
Ben
Thanks!
--------------
Liberty Style IPA (given to me by the proprietor of San Francisco Brewcraft, Griz)
Liquid Extract + Steeping
6.2%
OG 1.067
FG 1.0.16
Ingredients:
6 lbs of Malt Extract (not specified if it was pale, medium, or dark)
1 1/2 lbs 2-row
1/2 lb [illegible, all the grains were given to me, mixed after being milled together]
1/4 lb flakes
1 oz Centennial hops
1 oz Cascade Hops
1 pkg of Nottingham Yeast
3/4 cup of Dextrose
Process
Steep grains for 45 mins at 155f
60 min - 1/2 oz centennial
30 min - 1/2 oz centennial
30 min - clearing agent
15 min - 1/2 oz Cascade
5 min - 1/2 oz Cascade
I did _not_ activate the yeast, it was pitched dry (as per my instructions)
The beer spent 7 days in the primary, and 15 days in the secondary
It was primed with the dextrose and it has been in bottles for almost 5 weeks. I ended up with about 35 bottles.
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