New To Brewing

[Jbone1072]

Hi all,

New to the forum and basically new to home brewing. A little background on my experience, I got started with Mr. Beer, used that a few times and then upgraded to Northern Brewer using the buckets. I’ve only brewed once using the Northern Brewer Kit which was the Amber Ale that came in the starter kit. I messed up and forgot to take a gravity reading to begin with. The beer also has a weird taste to it that I can’t seem to figure out. It almost tastes like flat beer, but it is completely carbonated. I can’t really put my finger on it but it just doesn’t taste all that good. The only thing I can think of would be I fermented in my basement (15 days) during the winter. The ambient temp down there was anywhere from 62-67 so I’m wondering if maybe it was too cold?

Regardless, I’m getting ready to brew the NB Bavarian Hefeweizen extract kit. I’ve got a few noob questions before I start if you all wouldn’t mind helping me out! Also any tips or tricks you would recommend to get the best out of it is appreciated!

1. What temp should the wort be cooled to before adding to water in fermentation bucket?

2. Is there a preferred Ambient room temp for Hefeweizen’s? (I’m aiming for more banana flavor)

3. How long would you ferment a Hefeweizen?

4. I’m considering buying a vinator to help sanitize bottles. Would star san work for this?

 

[apache_brew]

Hi all,

1. What temp should the wort be cooled to before adding to water in fermentation bucket? Sounds like you're doing some sort of partial volume boil here. Assuming your dilution water is sanitary, I wouldn't think it would matter. The name of the game is to cool your wort down. Assuming you have an immersion chiller, add it to the boil for the last 15 minutes to sanitize it, then toss it into your final diluted wort mixture when you flame out.

2. Is there a preferred Ambient room temp for Hefeweizen’s? (I’m aiming for more banana flavor) I haven't brewed Hefe's, but it seems the popular consensus is that higher range temps give off banana and lower range temps give off more clove. Google whatever yeast strain you're using.

3. How long would you ferment a Hefeweizen? As previously mentioned, no Hefe experience, but Google the strain, and as with all beers, check the final gravity until you've reached your desired attenuation.

4. I’m considering buying a vinator to help sanitize bottles. Would star san work for this? No bottling experience, just kegging for me. But I use Star San to sanitize all my cold side equipment after first cleaning it with PBW. Should do just fine.

 

[rwinzing]

The fermentation temp will vary depending on the yeast. Most Heffs are in the low to mid 70's they handle higher temps. Like mentioned above I cannot give you an exact how many days to ferment but with Heffs in the higher temps they normally run quickly through fermentations. I have made a couple that were grain to glass in 10 days to two weeks.

 

[ChiknNutz]

I recently brewed a Hefeweizen extract kit, it is still conditioning in the bottles as of this writing (Hank's Hefeweizen from Midwest Brewing). While yours is likely a bit different, this should be close to yours I'd bet. Mine used Safbrew WB-06 dry yeast.

1. What temp should the wort be cooled to before adding to water in fermentation bucket?
   1. Less than 80 degrees F.
2. Is there a preferred Ambient room temp for Hefeweizen’s? (I’m aiming for more banana flavor)
   1. I fermented in my basement which has been 66 for quite a while. It is also conditioning at that temp. Midwest recommends conditioning at 60-70 for 2-4 weeks. The instructions did not specify fermentation temp.
3. How long would you ferment a Hefeweizen?
   1. 2 weeks
4. I’m considering buying a vinator to help sanitize bottles. Would star san work for this?
   1. The vinator with StarSan is the way to go for bottling.

 

[pc_trott]

The vinator with StarSan is the way to go for bottling

I second that!

 

[VikeMan]

Regarding the Vinator with Star San. Do you guys perhaps mean Saniclean or IO-Star? I once tried Star San with a Vinator and made an insane amount of foam.

 

[ChiknNutz]

I do in fact use StarSan. It does make a lot of foam, but not so much it's unusable.

 

[pc_trott]

Star San makes a fair amount of foam, but if you're only doing a couple of cases of bottles, it isn't unmanageable. And I meant to add in my first message above that when I added the vinator to my setup, I also added a bottle rack, and I also recommend you get one of those. The rack makes sure most of the Star San is drained out of the bottles by the time you get to filling them.

 

[Jbone1072]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I have one more question that may sound dumb... after using my bottling bucket to sanitize everything, can I keep the 5 gallons of star San sanitizer in the bucket until fermentation is done and it’s time to sanitize everything again? I’d hate to throw it out if I don’t have to.

 

[apache_brew]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I have one more question that may sound dumb... after using my bottling bucket to sanitize everything, can I keep the 5 gallons of star San sanitizer in the bucket until fermentation is done and it’s time to sanitize everything again? I’d hate to throw it out if I don’t have to.

I never mix up that much star san at a time, but I’ve also read that if it still foams up when you agitate it, it’s still effective. I’m not sure how true that actually is though.

I normally just mix up enough to shake up and coat the inside of any vessel I’m sanitizing and use a spray bottle to spray down any other odds and ends during handling.

 

[Transamguy77]

Don’t fear the foam!!! I used a Vinator and made a bottling tree from screws and PVC pipe, both of those helped to streamline the process.

Up until recently I would mix up a few gallons in a bucket and keep it for several months sometimes close to a year and would use it to fill up my spray bottle. I never put anything back in to help keep it sanitary.

 

[VikeMan]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I have one more question that may sound dumb... after using my bottling bucket to sanitize everything, can I keep the 5 gallons of star San sanitizer in the bucket until fermentation is done and it’s time to sanitize everything again? I’d hate to throw it out if I don’t have to.

Star San solution made with distilled water will remain effective indefinitely. With other water (like random tap water), it may lose effectiveness over time (depending on the water). The key is that the pH of the solution has to remain below 3.0 to be effective.

 

[raclark69]

Star San makes a fair amount of foam, but if you're only doing a couple of cases of bottles, it isn't unmanageable. And I meant to add in my first message above that when I added the vinator to my setup, I also added a bottle rack, and I also recommend you get one of those. The rack makes sure most of the Star San is drained out of the bottles by the time you get to filling them.

I agree. Star San will create a lot of foam but is easy to manage. A bottle rack and vinator makes a world of difference. Easy to sanitize a full batch of bottles In minutes and keeps them within easy reach.

 

[NeoBrew]

Another sign that StarSan is going bad is when it turns cloudy. But PH is the most reliable way to determine. Another great tip is to buy a spray bottle and only mix up a spray bottle at a time. It is just as effective to spray down your equipment as to soak it. This way you always have it on hand and the spray bottle will keep it clean. I find that about 9 grams (by weight) of StarSan in 32 oz (by volume) of water is about the right ratio.

Fermentation temp is one of the first critical elements to get your arms around. All beers/yeasts will have a temp that they want to be fermented at. It will vary by your personal taste as well. Generally you want to keep the beer within the range recommended for your yeast. If it is not on the packet you can generally find it on the company's website. The higher in that range you go the more ester profile the yeast will express, the lower in the range the more clean the yeast will tend to ferment.

It's also important to note that the temp is ideally the beer temp, not the ambient temp. An active fermentation can raise the temp inside your fermenter 5-8 degrees F above ambient. It sounds like your basement was in a pretty good range for an ale. Your off flavors likely came from something else. Oxidation would be one place to examine. If you opened your bucket a lot during fermentation that could be a cause. Once the yeast is pitched beer is vulnerable to oxidation. Oxidation makes the beer go stale sooner rather than later.

As you progress in your beer brewing getting started on some way to control fermentation temps should be a high priority. Once you get the basic mechanics of the brew day and pitching yeast, fermentation temps is the next most important key to brewing good beer. There are all manner of methods to control temp. Some like a wet towel and a tub of water can be free, others are much more expensive, complicated and responsive. If you stick with this hobby you will likely end up with something somewhere on that spectrum.

The duration of a ferment will vary based on a lot of variables. The best way to tell for sure is to take gravity readings. If you get consistent post ferment gravity readings for two days, it is generally considered fermented. Most beers will be done in a week. Some faster, some slower. I've taken to pretty much letting them sit at least two weeks after pitching. Patience seems to simplify my process and stop me from packaging too early before the yeast has had a chance to finish cleaning up after itself.