My First Recipe and Home brew

[carter840]

Hi Everyone,

I just joined this great forum, and am about to start my first home brew. I have helped brew with friends and clubs on several occasions and decided that I wanted to undertake my own home brew recipe and setup. I have always used kits in the past and would like to have the first beer I brew in my apartment be my own recipe. Obviously this is more challenging than a kit, but using my own recipes and learning from my mistakes is why I am home brewing in the first place.

I am looking for a little bit of help on my recipe and was wondering if someone could look it over and let me know what you think. I think I have everything down except I don't have a clue about fermentation times. I also am unsure about primary vs. secondary fermentation times. Also I should note that this beer will eventually be kegged.

Could someone give me some advice on how long to ferment primary and secondary? I have a 5 gallon plastic bucket for primary and 2 glass carboys for 2nd or even 3rd fermentation (if needed).


My recipe can be found at:

Hopville . "Slutty Sherpa Ale" American Amber Ale Recipe

Any other comments on the recipe are appreciated although, the supplies have already been obtained at this point.

Thank you

 

[baldben]

Dry hopping is usually done in a secondary fermenter or in the keg itself. Something like 2 weeks in the primary and 1 in the secondary with the dry hopping might work. Some people feel that 14 days is the longest dry hopping should be done. If you're going to dry hop in the keg, be sure to use a very find mesh bag if you're going to use pellets.

 

[RM-MN]

I'd ferment that just about the same as I do any recipes of my own of that gravity. 3 weeks in the primary with the first week kept in the mid-60's and then brought to room temperature. At the end of the second week, open the fermenter and if the beer is beginning to clear, drop in the hops for dry hopping. If the beer is still showing signs of fermentation, put the lid back on for another week. Put the hops in a fine mesh bag so they don't make a mess and then close the fermenter and leave it for another week or 2, then bottle.

Did you notice any reference to secondary? It's not there because you really don't need one. Your beer will clear in the primary just as in the secondary and by not moving it you reduce the chance of contamination or oxidation.

 

[JLem]

I'd ferment that just about the same as I do any recipes of my own of that gravity. 3 weeks in the primary with the first week kept in the mid-60's and then brought to room temperature. At the end of the second week, open the fermenter and if the beer is beginning to clear, drop in the hops for dry hopping. If the beer is still showing signs of fermentation, put the lid back on for another week. Put the hops in a fine mesh bag so they don't make a mess and then close the fermenter and leave it for another week or 2, then bottle.

Did you notice any reference to secondary? It's not there because you really don't need one. Your beer will clear in the primary just as in the secondary and by not moving it you reduce the chance of contamination or oxidation.

What he said ^

(except I don't think you should use a mesh bag for the hops - just toss them right in)

 

[JLem]

A few things about your recipe:

1) I would use the lightest extract you can get and use the specialty grains to get you the proper color and flavor. Darker extracts (like amber extract) are made with unknown quantities of unknown malts. If you are developing your own recipe, you should have complete control of the ingredients

2) why the candi sugar? Seems out of place

3) the Burton ale yeast is a very flavorful British yeast. Not really the right thing for an American amber ale.

 

[baldben]

I should mention that my opinions are based more on literature than experience. The prevailing wisdom among the experienced users here is that a secondary isn't really necessary. However, it would seem to me that getting the beer off of the trub and yeast cake would be beneficial. Also, if you're going to pop the lid on the fermenter, the CO2 in the headspace will be replaced with more oxygen-rich air which would seem to present an oxidization risk of its own.

 

[carter840]

I will address a few of the comments:

I fully agree that I should have used Extra Light DME, but I already ordered the stuff and will give this a shot. Next time I will use all extra light DME and get more color from my grains.

I would like to use a secondary fermentation because I believe that letting the beer sit off of the yeast cake for at least a few days should do something somewhat beneficial. I guess the yeast cake always kind of grosses me out so why not let the beer spend a little time off of it before I drink it. I still intend to do a 3 week primary, but since I have two glass carboys why not let them sit in one and dry hop for a few extra days?

As for using Burton Yeast, I am looking for some unique properties to my beer. I don't think it is fair to say something isn't "American Ale" imho I think American style beers are all about mixing and matching and doing unique things.

As for the candi sugar it is indeed out of place. I wanted to try and bring a little extra sweetness to the beer, and am going for a much milder delirium tremens type sweetness. It's a really small quantity and I don't think it will even be that pronounced.

Basically I am going off the wall with the recipe. It's my first attempt at my own recipe so if it comes out with an ABV of at least 4.5% and taste half decent I will be happy.

The next beer I make will be more of a pale ale and I will decide if I like the Burton yeast, I might even make a starter by top cropping the yeast from this batch.

Keep the comments coming this is all very helpful.

 

[JLem]

I will address a few of the comments:

I fully agree that I should have used Extra Light DME, but I already ordered the stuff and will give this a shot. Next time I will use all extra light DME and get more color from my grains.

I would like to use a secondary fermentation because I believe that letting the beer sit off of the yeast cake for at least a few days should do something somewhat beneficial. I guess the yeast cake always kind of grosses me out so why not let the beer spend a little time off of it before I drink it. I still intend to do a 3 week primary, but since I have two glass carboys why not let them sit in one and dry hop for a few extra days?

As for using Burton Yeast, I am looking for some unique properties to my beer. I don't think it is fair to say something isn't "American Ale" imho I think American style beers are all about mixing and matching and doing unique things.

As for the candi sugar it is indeed out of place. I wanted to try and bring a little extra sweetness to the beer, and am going for a much milder delirium tremens type sweetness. It's a really small quantity and I don't think it will even be that pronounced.

Basically I am going off the wall with the recipe. It's my first attempt at my own recipe so if it comes out with an ABV of at least 4.5% and taste half decent I will be happy.

The next beer I make will be more of a pale ale and I will decide if I like the Burton yeast, I might even make a starter by top cropping the yeast from this batch.

Keep the comments coming this is all very helpful.

I think it is great to design your own recipe. This is my favorite part of the process and it looks like you have thought through everything, which is really what I was getting at in my comments. I do, however, think it was appropriate of me to point out that your yeast is out of place in an American Amber style beer because it is given the style guidelines. This doesn't mean I think you shouldn't use it - by all means, I see no reason to brew to style, and I think you have the makings of a very nice beer - just maybe not quite an "American Amber".

I will also question again the use of candi sugar - I am speaking from no experience since I have never used it, but I do not think the candi sugar will leave you any sweetness. It is 100% fermentable. Again, it is not going to be a detriment to this beer. I just do not know that it will add anything either.

There is no reason to get the beer off the trub/yeast. There was, at one point, the idea that letting your beer sit on the primary yeast cake for too long would result in off-flavors from the dying and decaying yeast. This lead people to advocate for moving the beer into a secondary vessel as soon as possible after fermentation was done. I suppose this may have been a real problem with old not-so-great yeast, but with the yeast we have today this is not a problem and your beer can sit in the primary for many weeks with no problems.

I no longer use a secondary unless I am adding fruit or oak or Brettanomyces or if I am bulk aging for many months. Otherwise I just keep the beer in the primary for 2-4 weeks and then bottle. You can dry hop perfectly fine in the primary.

In addition to there not being any problem with leaving the beer on the yeast, it actually has a huge benefit. Even though fermentation may be done, the yeast continue to metabolize many of the by products they produced during fermentation, which can result in a cleaner, better-tasting beer. Moving the beer away from the bulk of the yeast can limit this "clean-up". Also, the yeast will settle out just fine whether in primary or secondary - it just takes time. Besides, every time you transfer your beer you increase the risk of infection and/or oxidation.

 

[carter840]

I think it is great to design your own recipe. This is my favorite part of the process and it looks like you have thought through everything, which is really what I was getting at in my comments. I do, however, think it was appropriate of me to point out that your yeast is out of place in an American Amber style beer because it is given the style guidelines. This doesn't mean I think you shouldn't use it - by all means, I see no reason to brew to style, and I think you have the makings of a very nice beer - just maybe not quite an "American Amber".

I will also question again the use of candi sugar - I am speaking from no experience since I have never used it, but I do not think the candi sugar will leave you any sweetness. It is 100% fermentable. Again, it is not going to be a detriment to this beer. I just do not know that it will add anything either.

There is no reason to get the beer off the trub/yeast. There was, at one point, the idea that letting your beer sit on the primary yeast cake for too long would result in off-flavors from the dying and decaying yeast. This lead people to advocate for moving the beer into a secondary vessel as soon as possible after fermentation was done. I suppose this may have been a real problem with old not-so-great yeast, but with the yeast we have today this is not a problem and your beer can sit in the primary for many weeks with no problems.

I no longer use a secondary unless I am adding fruit or oak or Brettanomyces or if I am bulk aging for many months. Otherwise I just keep the beer in the primary for 2-4 weeks and then bottle. You can dry hop perfectly fine in the primary.

In addition to there not being any problem with leaving the beer on the yeast, it actually has a huge benefit. Even though fermentation may be done, the yeast continue to metabolize many of the by products they produced during fermentation, which can result in a cleaner, better-tasting beer. Moving the beer away from the bulk of the yeast can limit this "clean-up". Also, the yeast will settle out just fine whether in primary or secondary - it just takes time. Besides, every time you transfer your beer you increase the risk of infection and/or oxidation.

Thanks for you continued advice.
I understand what you are saying about leaving it in primary. I do plan on a 3 week primary which I think is plenty to get the benefits I am looking for. I think a single transfer would work well for me though since it would free up my container a week early and give me a good opportunity to dry hop for a few days.

I also hear what your saying about "American Ale", and appreciate the input.

Could you help me understand what the candi sugar will do since it is fermentable? Would this just increase my ABV?

Thanks again

 

[carter840]

Thanks for you continued advice.
I understand what you are saying about leaving it in primary. I do plan on a 3 week primary which I think is plenty to get the benefits I am looking for. I think a single transfer would work well for me though since it would free up my container a week early and give me a good opportunity to dry hop for a few days.

I also hear what your saying about "American Ale", and appreciate the input.

Could you help me understand what the candi sugar will do since it is fermentable? Would this just increase my ABV?

Thanks again

Can anyone give me some insight into Candi Sugar? I am planning on brewing tonight and am wondering what this addition will do. (link to recipe on first page of this thread).

Also should I boil water in my 5 Gallon Aluminum Kettle before I brew? I have read that it provides a layer of oxidation that prevents off flavors.

Thanks again

 

[JLem]

Can anyone give me some insight into Candi Sugar? I am planning on brewing tonight and am wondering what this addition will do. (link to recipe on first page of this thread).

Also should I boil water in my 5 Gallon Aluminum Kettle before I brew? I have read that it provides a layer of oxidation that prevents off flavors.

Thanks again

From everything I've heard/read, plain table sugar can be subbed for candi sugar, particularly the light variety. Flavor impact from the candi sugar, particularly in an amber ale with plenty of crystal malts, will be minimal. Because it is 100% fermentable, it will not leave any sweetness behind. It will increase your ABV and will thin out the beer (as will any simple sugar). Generally, I reserve the use of simple sugars for higher alcohol beers or for styles that are supposed to be thinner in body (e.g. tripels, farmhouse ales). However, using it in your beer isn't necessarily a bad thing given the amount of crystal malt (and amber extract) you're using. And at 4% it probably isn't going to make much of a difference anyway.

RE: aluminum kettle - I just heard John Palmer on the latest Beer Smith podcast mention that you want an oxidized layer in the kettle to avoid a potential metallic off-flavor.

Good luck with the brew!

 

[carter840]

Well friends last night I made brew (at least I think I did).

Everything went according to plan although I did make a few errors in my hops schedule, too many beers before hand. I updated the recipe on hopville (see first page for link) and all in all it's basically the same as I planned.

I did however get a lower specific gravity than I was expecting. I used a 6 gallon carboy and didn't have a 5 gallon marking on it so I might have added a little too much water. Certainly no more than an extra 1/2 gallon, but likely closer to 1/4 if anything. My reading was 1.046 (expected was 1.056).

Since I used Candi sugar is it fair to assume a higher ABV then the hopville calculator is showing. I am worried that with my lower original gravity that I will not break 5% ABV. Hopville says I can expect a final gravity of 1.015, I am hoping that it goes lower than this because of the addition of candi, does that make any sense?

All in all it was a great deal of fun and my one-piece airlock indicated a positive pressure in the carboy this morning and a few surface bubbles on the exit side make me believe it had already burped a few times.

 

[JLem]

Well friends last night I made brew (at least I think I did).

Everything went according to plan although I did make a few errors in my hops schedule, too many beers before hand. I updated the recipe on hopville (see first page for link) and all in all it's basically the same as I planned.

I did however get a lower specific gravity than I was expecting. I used a 6 gallon carboy and didn't have a 5 gallon marking on it so I might have added a little too much water. Certainly no more than an extra 1/2 gallon, but likely closer to 1/4 if anything. My reading was 1.046 (expected was 1.056).

Since I used Candi sugar is it fair to assume a higher ABV then the hopville calculator is showing. I am worried that with my lower original gravity that I will not break 5% ABV. Hopville says I can expect a final gravity of 1.015, I am hoping that it goes lower than this because of the addition of candi, does that make any sense?

All in all it was a great deal of fun and my one-piece airlock indicated a positive pressure in the carboy this morning and a few surface bubbles on the exit side make me believe it had already burped a few times.

Congrats! As for the expected FG - hard to say because the extracts and crystal malts tend to finish high. Try removing the candi sugar from the recipe and see what hopvile gives for an expected FG - since it is 100% fermentable only the malts and extracts should be taken into account in determining the FG and I am not sure how sophisticated the hopville calculator is (I believe that the latest Beer Smith version accounts for the fermentability of the ingredients, but I think something like hopville might just use a basic "average attenuation" calculation)

 

[hbtstu]

My understanding is that the sugar will raise the OG, lower the FG, raising the ABV, and making a drier beer.

 

[carter840]

Just removed it from hopville and it only lowered expected OG to 1.055. Perhaps the fact that I didn't use the last cup or two of wort is to blame. I didn't use a filter for my hops so there was a lot of particulate matter and although I strained through a stainless double weave mesh filter I didn't add the last cup of wort because it just seemed a little to grimy.

Any chance that my FG will be lower than show in the hopville software? Maybe the candi will help it out? I am really hoping for at least 5% ABV on this.

 

[JLem]

Just removed it from hopville and it only lowered expected OG to 1.055. Perhaps the fact that I didn't use the last cup or two of wort is to blame. I didn't use a filter for my hops so there was a lot of particulate matter and although I strained through a stainless double weave mesh filter I didn't add the last cup of wort because it just seemed a little to grimy.

Any chance that my FG will be lower than show in the hopville software? Maybe the candi will help it out? I am really hoping for at least 5% ABV on this.

If you aerated well and have a healthy fermentation, you might get lower. However, you are going to be constrained by the fermentability of the extract you used (which is a big unknown, though there is some data out there on the fermentability of different extract brands - some are more fermentable than others), plus the amount of crystal malt.

 

[carter840]

My process for aeration was shaking before pitching for about 1 minute. Should I have done more?

I also used some yeast nutrients so I am hoping for a good fermentation.

 

[BrewingReport]

Welcome! Good luck with the first one, and don't stress. Tons of helpful info here and check BrewingReport.com as well.

 

[kerant]

What he said ^

(except I don't think you should use a mesh bag for the hops - just toss them right in)

Even if their pellets? I ask because I will be dry hopping a Pilsner in a week. Also I'd rather not secondary; will I end up with a hop film on top or will they settle out also. It will be sitting another 3 weeks after dry hopping.
PS: and can I do it straight without the bag because I'm adding it to the carboy?

 

[JLem]

Even if their pellets? I ask because I will be dry hopping a Pilsner in a week. Also I'd rather not secondary; will I end up with a hop film on top or will they settle out also. It will be sitting another 3 weeks after dry hopping.
PS: and can I do it straight without the bag because I'm adding it to the carboy?

You certainly don't need to use a hop bag. IMHO I feel that the hop bag restricts the dry hop "utilization". Dropping them right in will put more beer in direct contact with more hops and I think this is a good thing. I've never had a problem with hop particles in my finished beer. Even with pellets.

 

[carter840]

Alright here is my update:

After three weeks in primary I moved to secondary with 1oz of cascade leaf. I also purged the head space with CO2.

OG 1.046
Current SG 1.018

Recipe predicted:
OG 1.051
FG: 1.015

After transfer there was a pickup in airlock activity, so I am hoping that perhaps the SG will continue to drop. Do you folks think it will? I will dry hop for 3 days at room temp then cold crash it for 2 days (still with hops) and then rack to my keg.

I did taste it though and no joke it was amazing. I was thrilled with the taste. I am wondering if it's because I've never had beer so fresh, that I made it myself, or if the beer was actually as amazing as it tasted. Regardless I am thrilled. I just hope between now and my pour out of the tap there are no issues.

 

[RM-MN]

With 3 weeks in the primary you are probably at the FG. It's only .003 from what was predicted so I think you are as far as it will get.

I suspect that your beer does taste amazing. It's fresh, it had sufficient time in the fermenter which some commercial beers are lacking, and you have a mix of hops that should taste darn good. Congratulations.

What's your next beer?

 

[carter840]

With 3 weeks in the primary you are probably at the FG. It's only .003 from what was predicted so I think you are as far as it will get.

I suspect that your beer does taste amazing. It's fresh, it had sufficient time in the fermenter which some commercial beers are lacking, and you have a mix of hops that should taste darn good. Congratulations.

What's your next beer?

I have a American/Belgium wheat fermenting now, but my next beer will likely be a modification to this one. I used amber DME the first round and would like to try again will all extra light DME and then use steeping grains to get that amber color back.

Since it's my first beer I figured before I continue brewing it would be worth waiting a week to critique my work and make any necessary adjustments.

I do want to do a lager, but need to build a temp controlled fermentor first.