singlemaltwhisky
Member
So this our first brew and wanted to check in. My brother in law gave us a recipe kit and we borrowed the equipment. My wife and I are really hoping this turns out.....it may even turn into another hobby. We do have a few questions which can be found below in bold.
About the beer
Cleaned all my equipment and sanitized using iodophor. Followed the directions for the boiling adding hops at 3 different time points. What is the point of adding hops at 3 times points and not all 2oz at once?. We placed the kettle in an ice bath to speed the cooling alongand after 15-20min the wort was at 70F. How quick should the cooling be done? How does this effect the final product, that being fast chill vs slow chill?. After letting the cooled wort sit for 60 minutes we siphoned it to a bucket. We left 99% of the junk on the bottom of the kettle. Is this called trub?
Once in the bucket we tossed it back and forth into the kettle until we had a good 6-8 in of foam. Hopefully this was enough aeration as it took 8-10 min to transfer it back and forth maybe 12-20 times.
During this time the yeast was soaking in warm water (90F) for 15-20 mins. Is this pitching?
This has been a very fun experience. We have tasted just about every ingredient and the wort at different time points. Just before adding it to the Fermenter we tasted the soon to be beer. Very sweet but wonderful flavors. I can't wait to taste it after the sweetness is gone
The house is at 70-72F but someone told us to place a wet T-shirt on the fermenter because the wort will be 5-10F warmer than ambient air. I'm afraid this might be to cold so I took off the shirt. What do you think?
I wish I had a hydrometer to measure the starting Gravity. I'll try to buy one later this week.
Should I buy the oxygen bottle caps or just regular caps?
If this turns out I might be buying a few books and leaning more about brewing. What books do you recommend?
Pictures:
My dog loved the wort. She licking up some of the boil over.
The dogs also loved the foam that was made during aeration.
0 hours. only time the house was 68F
0 hours with the T- shirt
34 Hours in the fermenter. T- shirt taken off.
About the beer
Beer is Steamer Lane (California Common Style Beer)
Named for a famous Santa Cruz Surf Break this is a strong moderately hopped hybrid beer. It consists of a ale style ingredients, but uses bottom fermenting yeast for a crisp dry flavor with a hint of fruitiness. Northern Brewer hops provide an authentic profile for the San Francisco style brew.
5 gallons of beer
- 7 lbs light malt extract syrup
- 1 lb Crystal Malt
- 2 oz Northern brewer hops
- lager yeast
- 1 Whirlfloc Tablet
- 1 cup Corn Sugar
Cleaned all my equipment and sanitized using iodophor. Followed the directions for the boiling adding hops at 3 different time points. What is the point of adding hops at 3 times points and not all 2oz at once?. We placed the kettle in an ice bath to speed the cooling alongand after 15-20min the wort was at 70F. How quick should the cooling be done? How does this effect the final product, that being fast chill vs slow chill?. After letting the cooled wort sit for 60 minutes we siphoned it to a bucket. We left 99% of the junk on the bottom of the kettle. Is this called trub?
Once in the bucket we tossed it back and forth into the kettle until we had a good 6-8 in of foam. Hopefully this was enough aeration as it took 8-10 min to transfer it back and forth maybe 12-20 times.
During this time the yeast was soaking in warm water (90F) for 15-20 mins. Is this pitching?
This has been a very fun experience. We have tasted just about every ingredient and the wort at different time points. Just before adding it to the Fermenter we tasted the soon to be beer. Very sweet but wonderful flavors. I can't wait to taste it after the sweetness is gone
The house is at 70-72F but someone told us to place a wet T-shirt on the fermenter because the wort will be 5-10F warmer than ambient air. I'm afraid this might be to cold so I took off the shirt. What do you think?
I wish I had a hydrometer to measure the starting Gravity. I'll try to buy one later this week.
Should I buy the oxygen bottle caps or just regular caps?
If this turns out I might be buying a few books and leaning more about brewing. What books do you recommend?
Pictures:
My dog loved the wort. She licking up some of the boil over.
The dogs also loved the foam that was made during aeration.
0 hours. only time the house was 68F
0 hours with the T- shirt
34 Hours in the fermenter. T- shirt taken off.