New brewer questions about fist brew ever

[typeONEguy]

I just brewed my very first batch last night. It was an "oldcastle brown ale" clone from Midwest. I steeped my grains in the full 6 gallons of water that i would use for my boil. I split the 6 lbs of DME into the batch, half after the inital boil and the other half with 20 min left in the boil. I used tea balls (stainless mesh balls) for my hops additions with hopes of not having to strain them out when i transfered to my carboy.

The pellet hops that came with the kit expanded considerably in the tea balls and became a very dense pasty substance. I dont see how the boiling wort could have circulatede through the tea balls and got the benefit of the hops. Do i need to add hops to my fermentor maybe or something? (when i took my sg reading i tasted the sample and it was very sweet, couldnt really notice a hop like aroma or bitterness.)

The beer is much darker in color than i thought it would be compared to an actual newcastle. Is this due to the way i steeped the grains? Did i steep in too much water? Should i not have stired while steeping?

I know that people on here generally do not recomend a secondary fermentation. I have a large amount of turb/yeast on the bottom of the carboy because i had to dump through a funnel. My kit instructions call for a secondary so would it benefit me in this case to get the beer of the trub?

Also the instructions called for 1/2 oz of kents golding hops for the last ten minutes of the boil. It came in a 1 oz pack and i just added the whole pack. What effect will this have on my brew?

Thanks for all the help in advance

 

[frazier]

Hello, welcome to HBT and to the brewing obsession! First things first: you will have beer, it will be good, so set your mind at ease about that.

Normally I just toss the hops into the pot loose, although if it's just one or two hop additions I'll use a muslin hop sack for it. As you noticed, they do expand, and maybe the tea strainer restricted the flow around the hops, too soon to tell. What's done is done, so don't worry about it. As you have noticed, solid gunk in the wort (trub) settles out in the fermenter, so you can easily avoid it come bottling time.

The extra hops you added at the 10-minute mark will add more hop flavor to the beer. This may make it better, or at least different from the recipe, but all is well. In the future, if you are trying to replicate a beer or follow a recipe, you should probably try to stick to the times and quantities. But, no worries.

As for color, again, no worries. It's pretty hard to judge color when you have 5 gallons of the stuff in a jug, or pail. It will look different later when you pour a beer into a glass.

Personally, I would skip the secondary. Just leave it in the primary for at least three weeks, then bottle. Cheers!

 

[unionrdr]

I just brewed my very first batch last night. It was an "oldcastle brown ale" clone from Midwest. I steeped my grains in the full 6 gallons of water that i would use for my boil. I split the 6 lbs of DME into the batch, half after the inital boil and the other half with 20 min left in the boil. I used tea balls (stainless mesh balls) for my hops additions with hopes of not having to strain them out when i transfered to my carboy.

The pellet hops that came with the kit expanded considerably in the tea balls and became a very dense pasty substance. I dont see how the boiling wort could have circulatede through the tea balls and got the benefit of the hops. Do i need to add hops to my fermentor maybe or something? (when i took my sg reading i tasted the sample and it was very sweet, couldnt really notice a hop like aroma or bitterness.)

The beer is much darker in color than i thought it would be compared to an actual newcastle. Is this due to the way i steeped the grains? Did i steep in too much water? Should i not have stired while steeping?

I know that people on here generally do not recomend a secondary fermentation. I have a large amount of turb/yeast on the bottom of the carboy because i had to dump through a funnel. My kit instructions call for a secondary so would it benefit me in this case to get the beer of the trub?

Also the instructions called for 1/2 oz of kents golding hops for the last ten minutes of the boil. It came in a 1 oz pack and i just added the whole pack. What effect will this have on my brew?

Thanks for all the help in advance

Those tea balls are a hair too small for a whole ounce of pellet hops. I use muslin hop sacks for pellets,muslin grain sacks for whole leaf hops,as they have a lot more volume per the same weight.
I don't bother with secondaries most of the time. It's just another chance for oxidation. Not to mention,fluid loss with each transfer.
When steeping,you don't boil the grains,150f to 160F is the generally prefered range. Just wanted to mention that in case it may be applicable.
& you could've waited till flame out to add the remaining DME,that's what I do & no worries at all. I just like to get the lightest color possible for a given style. And extract malts don't need a wildly rolling boil. Just enough of a boil to keep the water moving in the BK. Works well forme this way.
The addition of the whole ounce at 10 minutes will give more flavor,& some aroma. Ime,late additions don't work very well just for aroma,they seem to add more to the flavor. So I dry hop if I want a good aroma above what's natural for the style.

 

[Love2BrewCrew]

Hey Type One; first off congrats on your first brew!

I am not familiar with tea balls; typically we just throw pellet hops right into the boil. With that said I wouldn't stress it, pellet hops will often break down into a mush called "trub" during your boil so it is to be expected that they broke down in your tea balls. I would not stress it. In addition what you tasted was wort; wort is very sweet as it has a ton of unfermented sugar in it.

The color may lighten over time; it sounds to me like you did everything correctly within your kit instructions with the only thing standing out is that you did a full boil when most extract kits recommend a 2.5 gallon boil. Once again this isn't a problem or anything to worry about it just is different.

Adding hops during fermentation (often done in the secondary and referred to as "dry hopping") will affect the aroma of your beer and from your description your main concern lies with the bitterness. Our advice would be to relax, don't worry, and have a homebrew (or beer since this was your first batch). It will be OK; there is no need to add additional hops. The extra 1/2 oz. you added will add some additional hop aroma to your beer. No harm done.

Follow your kit instructions. If it tells you to rack to a secondary, do it.

I hope this helps; feel free to message us directly if you have any other questions!

 

[djfriesen]

Unfortunately, adding hops now won't do anything to help bitterness. Early additions (60 mins of boil time) are bittering hops, while late additions (20 mins or less) are flavor and aroma additions. If your bittering hops didn't have wort circulate through them well, then you won't get the kind of hops utilization the recipe calls for. In spite of this, I imagine your beer will be fine.

Your OG reading will always be sweet due to the fermentable sugars in the wort. Those sugars will ferment out, leaving behind alcohol and a much less sweet-tasting beer.

Extract beers seem to come out darker than they should be. I think it's due to the fact that the malt extract tends to cook some during the boil, which makes it darker. But, depending on what you steeped, and for how long, that would have contributed to it as well. Steeping specialty grains only give flavor, aroma, and color, as they lack the enzymes to convert all their starch into sugar.

Secondary use is a matter of personal preference. It is commonly held that it is not necessary. Up to 2-3 months in primary will not yield any off flavors. I prefer to not use a secondary, as it requires extra transfers, increasing the chance of exposure to infection or oxidation. It is useful, however, to improve clarity (if you care about that), or to dry-hop or make fruit/flavoring additions.

The hops at the end will just give you a bigger hops taste and aroma for your beer. As these are the first characteristics to fade, even if they are overpowering at first, it will get better. So, other than using twice as many hops and not having any extra for later use, you'll suffer no ill effects.

Welcome to the obsession!

 

[BaldManBrew]

I just brewed my very first batch last night. It was an "oldcastle brown ale" clone from Midwest. I steeped my grains in the full 6 gallons of water that i would use for my boil. I split the 6 lbs of DME into the batch, half after the inital boil and the other half with 20 min left in the boil. I used tea balls (stainless mesh balls) for my hops additions with hopes of not having to strain them out when i transfered to my carboy.

The pellet hops that came with the kit expanded considerably in the tea balls and became a very dense pasty substance. I dont see how the boiling wort could have circulatede through the tea balls and got the benefit of the hops.

it probably did enough to extract the oils from the hops but I'd skip the balls, throw em in there. Everything will fall out of suspension and rest on the bottom. Its simple to syphon your beer and not disturb the trub too much.


Do i need to add hops to my fermentor maybe or something?

It wont do anything but make your beer smell better. It's the duration of the boil in how the oils are released and utilized. Longer the boil, more bittering from the hops (simplified).


The beer is much darker in color than i thought it would be compared to an actual newcastle. Is this due to the way i steeped the grains? Did i steep in too much water? Should i not have stired while steeping?

Most home brews clones will come out darker than the original. There are several ways to lighten the color for example full boil vs partial boil, lighter malt extract, lighter crystal malts, and late extract additions. Each of these things change the characteristics of the beer, and I believe that the clones that are purchased via kits are trying to nail the flavor and come close to the color rather than vice versa

I know that people on here generally do not recomend a secondary fermentation. I have a large amount of turb/yeast on the bottom of the carboy because i had to dump through a funnel. My kit instructions call for a secondary so would it benefit me in this case to get the beer of the trub?

I only use single stage fermentation now. To me its not worth the chemicals ($) to use secondary unless I'm dry hopping or brewing for a competition. The beer sitting on the trub is just fine. I've left in primary for well over a month and the beer was crystal clear

Also the instructions called for 1/2 oz of kents golding hops for the last ten minutes of the boil. It came in a 1 oz pack and i just added the whole pack. What effect will this have on my brew?

no big deal, again the hops that you add at the end of the boil are not going to contribute greatly to the overall hop characteristic of the beer. While yes it will effect it, its very minimal compared to hops you added at the beginning of the boil. Kent Golding is a lower alpha acid hop, you won't see too drastic taste difference. What you will get is more aroma. Hops added late in the boil are the aroma hops. So no worries, you'll be fine.

So your first beer is done, congrats. My replies are in bold above. I'd dare say that will be your hardest brew. Now you've been there and seen the whole process, the next times will be so much simpler.

 

[lgilmore]

What you might want to consider next batch from midwest is taking the grain bag you just used, dump it out, turn it inside out and rinse it off and add your hops to it.

You're doing your primary directly to a carboy? Maybe consider your first transfer from the pot to a bucket where you can use a strainer and collander to catch chunks and airate your batch. Then transfer it to your carboy via siphon or pour into your funnel. Irish moss may also help knock down stuff.

Kinda depends on when you want to clear your beer in the process. I use a fermenting bucket as my primary and screen as much stuff out as possible from the start. That way I am not having to leave beer behind because too much leafy stuff in the batch that I want in a bottle. I am able to bottle almost all the beer I produce, only losing a tiny bit to the trub line, which in my primary is around an inch thick and secondary about 1/4 inch. I find it is easier to clean up my beer early than later in the process. But your mileage may vary.

 

[unionrdr]

That's why we have a BB ale pale,& a cooper's micro brew FV's. getting things in & out is easier with the large opening. I also can use a fine mesh strainer to pour the wort & top off water into the FV,aerating it pretty well in the process. Less gunk/grainy bits in the fermenter means a bit less trub. I generally get no more tham about 1/2" of yeast/trub in the bottom.
If you're going to wash the yeast,it seems to me that's a good thing.

 

[typeONEguy]

Yeah I may have to consider using something other than the tea balls. I used two of them for 1 oz of each of the hops. I had to use a butter knife to scrape the hops out of them after the boil. Reusing the bag I steeped my grains in sounds like a great idea for the hops.

To clarify I steeped my grains at about 155ish for 30 min while storing the wort occasionally. It took 20 min to cool to 78. I then dumped through a large funnel with screen into the carboy. (had to stir inside the funnel towards he end of the dump to empty it into the carboy). This i feel let me aerate the wort pretty well. Do you guys siphon from your kettle or just dump like I did?

I brewed in a 10 gal kettle is why I did a full boil. I figured that would be better. I boiled off about a gallon per hour when I made sure my turkey fryer would be big enough to handle this size pot. Am I supposed to start with less water and just top off? To me it seems like it would be best to not have to top off the carboy.

Last question for now. How important is temp control in fermentation with this ale. I know I don't want it bouncing all over but what range is acceptable. I don't have a spare chest freezer or anything yet to ferment in. Right now it is holding at about 64 according to he thermometer on the carboy. The temp in my house stays cold during the winter. Ranges from about 55-65. In summer it's the opposite about 75-85.

Airlock is currently bubbling away and the aroma is quite pleasant. Can't wait to try some more!

 

[unionrdr]

As long as it's fermenting away at 64F,keep it there. Maybe raising it to 67 or so after initial fermentation is done to help it finish up. Should be a clean tasting ale.

 

[Pie_Man]

Last question for now. How important is temp control in fermentation with this ale. I know I don't want it bouncing all over but what range is acceptable. I don't have a spare chest freezer or anything yet to ferment in. Right now it is holding at about 64 according to he thermometer on the carboy. The temp in my house stays cold during the winter. Ranges from about 55-65. In summer it's the opposite about 75-85.

Airlock is currently bubbling away and the aroma is quite pleasant. Can't wait to try some more!

Congrats on your first beer. It seems like you did a great job.
Fermentation temperature control is very important. As a brewer, your job is to make wort and keep the yeast happy, the yeast make the beer. To keep the yeast happy, they need to be at the proper temperature. 64 is probably fine for your yeast, but you'll need a game plan in the summer. I use an extra fridge in the garage with a temp. controller. Another option is a swamp cooler ( search the forum for details).

 

[BaldManBrew]

To clarify I steeped my grains at about 155ish for 30 min while storing the wort occasionally. It took 20 min to cool to 78. I then dumped through a large funnel with screen into the carboy. (had to stir inside the funnel towards he end of the dump to empty it into the carboy). This i feel let me aerate the wort pretty well. Do you guys siphon from your kettle or just dump like I did?

Nope just dump it right in there, don't bother filtering. You will siphon from primary to secondary carboy if you are planning on doing so

I brewed in a 10 gal kettle is why I did a full boil. I figured that would be better. I boiled off about a gallon per hour when I made sure my turkey fryer would be big enough to handle this size pot. Am I supposed to start with less water and just top off? To me it seems like it would be best to not have to top off the carboy.

either method is fine, there is software out there that will help predict how much water to boil to get down to 5 gallons. I normally boil 6 and just top it off a little, I don't want to have more than 5 gallons

Last question for now. How important is temp control in fermentation with this ale. I know I don't want it bouncing all over but what range is acceptable. I don't have a spare chest freezer or anything yet to ferment in. Right now it is holding at about 64 according to he thermometer on the carboy. The temp in my house stays cold during the winter. Ranges from about 55-65. In summer it's the opposite about 75-85.

you want the temp to be somewhat constant and the temps depend on the yeast that you use. 65 is a great temp for clean tasting ales with us-05. I used to ferment too warm, and got weird flavors from it. In the summer use a simple swamp cooler method