Variation on Palmer's Cincinnati Pale Ale... (Pic included)

[stblindtiger]

For my very first batch ever, I used the Cincinnati Pale Ale recipe as oulined by John Palmer but I modified it by adding some Crystal Malt specialty grains to it at the start as the LHBS guy suggested. My brew day was last Wednesday.

For the rest of my ingredients, I used sparkling amber dried malt extract, golden light pure malt extract syrup (both after steeping the specialty grains at 160 degrees and then bringing it to a boil and taking it off the heat to add the extracts), simcoe bittering hops (at 60), cascade finishing hops (at 5), and nottingham yeast.

I had a little trouble for the first 24 hours getting it to stay at a stable temperature. It was either too high (highest was 72 degrees) or too low (lowest was 59 degrees), but I rigged together a swamp cooler as was discussed on another thread in here (thanks!) and it has been holding pretty steady between 68 and 70 degrees since then. Any noticable bubbling stopped three days ago, and the guy at the LHBS suggested I sample it after 5 days or so and take a reading.

Well, I gave it the "full" week (I know it should probably be a full two weeks to let it condition, but this is my first beer and I am just anxious to drink a finished product!) and took a sample today. I took the sample by putting a measuring cup in the baby bottle sanitizer for 2 minutes in the microwave. (I hope that isn't going to be a problem????) I was being lazy(and cheap), and didn't want to mix up a gallon of sterilizer for just taking a sample. Do you think that will be a problem?

Hopefully not, but anyway, my real question is this.... I took a hydrometer reading and tried standardizing it as suggested.... At 70 degrees, the beer level was below the meniscus line and looked to be about halfway between the first and second line below the "10 mark" on the hydrometer.

So... I think that means the hydrometer reading was 1.013. Then standardizing that as suggested by the chart in Palmer's book says to add 0.001 bringing the reading up to 1.014? Does that reading sound right? I mean is that about where it should be before bottling? I'm going to take another reading tomorrow, and if it is the same, I'm going to bottle it.

I forgot to take an original gravity reading after making the wort on brew day, so I am at a loss there. I was trying to get the wort cooled off, and the yeast pitched as quickly as possible so I could seal it and I just forgot to take a reading! ....Live and learn I guess.

Well, here is a picture of the beer right now..

It's a little cloudy and flat, but that is to be expected before bottling I guess. The smell and taste was AMAZING! It was a little yeasty yet, but again, as expected! ....I'm so pumped!!!!

So thanks for reading all this!!!! (I know it's long!) But here are my three questions:

1) Do you think I'll be alright sanitizing the measuring cup in the baby bottle sanitizer to take a sample?

2) Does a gravity reading of 1.014 sound about right before bottling?

3) What do you think the alchohol content will be? (I understand not knowing the OG is hurting me here, but anyone know what it should have been?) ...Palmer says it should have been 1.045, but his recipe didn't say to steep specialty grains at the start???? Anyone have a guess at what it will be?

Thanks again!

 

[nanofreak]

1) Do you think I'll be alright sanitizing the measuring cup in the baby bottle sanitizer to take a sample?

2) Does a gravity reading of 1.014 sound about right before bottling?

3) What do you think the alchohol content will be? (I understand not knowing the OG is hurting me here, but anyone know what it should have been?) ...Palmer says it should have been 1.045, but his recipe didn't say to steep specialty grains at the start???? Anyone have a guess at what it will be?

Thanks again!

1) Not sure, I will leave that to someone else.

2) His recipe should have an FG in it. Also, only taking readings can tell you if it is ready for bottling. When you get the same reading 2-3 days in a row, it is done.

3) You aren't really increasing the amount of fermentables when you use specialty grains, in fact you are having minimal impact on the OG with how little of the grains you use. You can use somewhere like hoppville.com or the brewbuilder over at brewmasterswarehouse.com to input all you used and get an approximate OG. You should be pretty acurate as long as you are acurate with your final volume after the boil.

 

[stblindtiger]

Thanks nano... what about the color? Should it be so cloudy? Will bottle conditioning clear it up?

 

[peanasky]

The biggest thing that'll help clear it up is leaving it in the primary for a bit longer. If you bottle now your beer wont hit its peak for at least another 4 weeks. The most common figure I've seen is 5-6 weeks total from brewday. Read this if you haven't: Revvy's Blog, Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning

 

[hereforbeer]

what about the color? Should it be so cloudy? Will bottle conditioning clear it up?

Yeast is still floating.After bottling chill it for 2 days,and you'll get clear beer.As long as you don't pour the yeast,of course.

 

[BeerJorge]

1) I'm not too familiar with baby bottle sanitizers, but if you used something that uses ozone or some no-rinse sanitizer I'd be willing to say you'll be safe, but can not tell you for sure since I've never used any of those sanitizers and am not too familiar with them.

2) Your final gravity in the original recipe should be about 1.011 - 1.012, and since you said you added specialty grains then you should be pretty close to final gravity if not already there.

3) ABV 4 - 4.2%

Sounds like you need to stop listening to your LHBS... let the beer sit and condition before you bottle specially since you had the beer ferment a little warm at first... it will really clean up any off flavors and help your beer fall clear...

 

[stblindtiger]

Thanks for the link to that thread Peanasky! (I've been reading it for the last few hours!!!! LOL!) That video on Page 1 was great, and I am making that dip tube as we speak! (Actually have it made already.... took me all of 2 minutes to make, and the next time I go to Home Depot, I'm going to pick up a 3/4" 90 Degree PVC elbow to just screw on the end...)

I am definitely going to taste it every few days or so as they go through the bottle conditioning process though, just to learn as much as I can as the beer conditions and carbs up...

After looking at the beer in the video though, (A beer that was in the primary for three weeks, and then bottle conditioned for five days) it doesn't look a heck of a lot different than mine does right now (As far as how cloudy it is anyway, the color is different, but that is because it is a different type of beer).... There is a HUGE difference in clarity after 11 days though!

I am leanint towards hereforbeer's advice though.... only because this is my first beer, and I want to learn as much as I can about what is going on with the beer. In the future, I will most likely let it condition in the primary a little longer to let everything mellow out a bit more but for right now, I just want to see whats going on with it and drink it!!!!

 

[stblindtiger]

1) I'm not too familiar with baby bottle sanitizers, but if you used something that uses ozone or some no-rinse sanitizer I'd be willing to say you'll be safe, but can not tell you for sure since I've never used any of those sanitizers and am not too familiar with them.

2) Your final gravity in the original recipe should be about 1.011 - 1.012, and since you said you added specialty grains then you should be pretty close to final gravity if not already there.

3) ABV 4 - 4.2%

Sounds like you need to stop listening to your LHBS... let the beer sit and condition before you bottle specially since you had the beer ferment a little warm at first... it will really clean up any off flavors and help your beer fall clear...

Thanks Jorge.... the baby bottle sanitizer works by boiling water in the microwave... it's like a mini autoclave or pressure cooker. Basically the same principle as a dishwasher... we'll see how it works out... It was just one dip of the measuring cup to get enough beer to test the hydrometer. I will sterilize the next test measure using the No Rinse Sanitizer with all the other bottling equipment so hopefully one dip after being sterilized using the baby bottle sanitizer won't ruin the whole batch...

This is what I used to sterilize the measuring cup...

 

[stblindtiger]

After all my talk, when I checked it with the hydrometer today it was 1.012.... so it went down .002 in one day!

So bummed it's not finished.... on the brightside though, I'll have a higher alchohol content than if it was finished today! I'm going to give it another week just to be safe...

 

[Justibone]

The sanitizer looks good. It might not kill spores, but it should have been sufficient in this case.

 

[stblindtiger]

I have no patience!!!! LOL... I checked it today and it was the same as yesterday, so I bottled it.

I know it won't be the best that it could be, but honestly, it's tasting pretty good as is right now!!!!

I never thought warm flat beer could taste so good!

 

[Diver165]

I have no patience!!!!

LOL you better pick another hobby!

Seriously though, quit fooling with it. Let the yeast do their job. In the mean time brew another batch, watch a car rust or count sheep, whatever...but leave the beer alone.

I have been giving my beer 2 wks in the primary. So far that's worked out great for me.

 

[stblindtiger]

LOL.... you read my mind. As soon as I emptied the fermentor, all I could think of was brewing my next beer!

I'll post a pic of the finished beer in a few weeks.... Thanks for the help guys!

 

[Justibone]

I have no patience!!!! LOL...

A pipeline helps with patience.

So does a second fermenter!

SWMBO doesn't know it yet, but another fermentor is going to get included on my next order.

 

[stblindtiger]

LOL...SWMBO doesn't know it yet, but a temperature control for the fridge is going onto my next order. The smelly swamp cooler rig just isn't cutting it!

 

[Diver165]

SWMBO realized when she saw the 3rd BB and 3rd bucket arrive that something was fishy... She's great though, she just put in her request for something for herself. So I have Cranberry wine on deck and whatever else she wants.

She is after all...the SWMBO.

 

[Justibone]

She is after all...the SWMBO.

SWMBO she is, and SWMBO she must remain.

"Yes, dear, no more bottling days until after the wedding... except for the wedding favors, of course... Thanks for putting up with my dumb *&^%."

 

[stblindtiger]

LOL....

I just cracked open a bottle.... it's starting to carb up nice. It has a lit bit of a head, and even laces a little bit already!

I'm just trying to figure out some things out about the flavor....

This one is VERY HOPPY right now! Not bad at all, just has a nice strong hop bite all the way through the pint. It didn't have that before (meaning any of the hydrometer tastes I've had).... is that something it develops as it bottle conditions???

The cascade hops that I added with 5 minutes left gives it that hop bite right?

Now would it have given more of a hop bite if I added the hops with less time left or with more time left? Let's say I added the hops at 10 minutes instead of 5 minutes, would that have given it less of a bite?

I'm amazed at how different it tastes even after just 4 days in the bottle!

I know patience is what you need to have a great beer, but it sure is fun tasting it as it goes along too!

 

[Justibone]

Hmm... hop "bite"? Do you mean aroma, or bitterness?

Aroma is more smelled than tasted, IMO. That's the end-of-the-boil hops. The hop bitterness is from start-of-the-boil.

Aroma will be more intense in carbed beers, I believe. It will also fade after a few months. Bitterness is pretty much forever.

 

[stblindtiger]

True.... I forgot the second addition was more for aroma, rather than bittering. I guess I'm tasting the simcoe hops I used for bittering then... they taste pretty strong. Don't mind them at all, just trying to be able to recognize the tastes I'm tasting. Each hop should have it's own flavor or aroma correct?

 

[Justibone]

Yes, but the longer you boil them the less they have of a unique flavor and the more they contribute only bitterness.

Look up "SMaSH" beers, based on this thread I think you might be interested in those kinds of experiments.

 

[robertbartsch]

I never taste my beer before conditioning since it ususally is pretty green. The conditioning changes the beer a bunch. I leave mine in the primary for at least 3 weeks.

 

[Justibone]

I've found that sometimes it loses the "green" in the fermenter, but when you bottle it then the green can come back. I assume this is due to the fact that we've re-started fermentation when carbing bottles.

It happened with my latest beer, even -- the Brown Sugar Stout.

 

[stblindtiger]

Thanks Justibone! I'm definitely going to check out some SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) beer recipes! That sounds like an awesome way to get to know the different flavors and aromas specific ingredients have on beer!

 

[jderm]

thumbs up for the Ugly Mug of Cape May, NJ (see pic)

 

[stblindtiger]

thumbs up for the Ugly Mug of Cape May, NJ (see pic)

LOL.... I go to the Ugly Mug in Cape May quite often... well I used to anyway. The people who own Jackson Street took it over a few years ago and the place just hasn't been the same since. My In-Laws have a Condo in Cape May and we go down there a few times every year though, and we often stop in there at some point!

I also have a Mug hanging up in there! I haven't been able to find it for a while though.... I hope they didn't send it out to sea!