1st Boil Complete - Cincinnati Pale Ale

[Groo]

Waiting sucks. They should have an instant brew for the in between times.

Here's a pic of my beer in the clear bottle. I probably just skunked it but that's ok there's 45 more!

 

[Indyking]

Waiting sucks. They should have an instant brew for the in between times.

Here's a pic of my beer in the clear bottle. I probably just skunked it but that's ok there's 45 more!

The color looks good, have you popped one open and taste it? Mine is just turning 2 weeks in the bottle now, so, some are ready to go to the fridge for a while for cold conditioning (5-7 days) and some will rest on room temp for prolonged periods (2 months) so I can check for differences. I know… I'm very patient...

 

[elproducto]

I drank my first after a week in the bottle, and 24 hours in the fridge. I want to sample it every 7 days to learn how it progresses.

Was very tasty but had minimal cabonation which I wasn't surprised. My only concern is the mouthfeel seemed a little thin. Not sure if that gets better with further carbonation or not. The hops were great and I had to force myself not to have a second! Going to try another one this weekend... I'll update.

 

[Indyking]

I drank my first after a week in the bottle, and 24 hours in the fridge. I want to sample it every 7 days to learn how it progresses.

Was very tasty but had minimal cabonation which I wasn't surprised. My only concern is the mouthfeel seemed a little thin. Not sure if that gets better with further carbonation or not. The hops were great and I had to force myself not to have a second! Going to try another one this weekend... I'll update.

I intend to do a minimum of 2 weeks in the bottle, which is up today , plus 5-7 days in the fridge for cold conditioning because I learned with my previous brews that it makes a lot of difference. There are significant improvements in the clarity and taste. This was my first extract brew. Before that, it was just non-boil coopers kit beers. Seriously, the noncarbonated pre-bottled wort tasted better than any of my previous non-boil kit beers.

 

[Groo]

I'm going to pop one in the fridge for a day or two since it's been bottled for a week. Like elproducto, I'd like to see how it changes over time. I'll probably end up using 6 as test bottles and conditioning the rest for 2 months.

We'll see how that goes. I think getting the pipeline started probably allows you make better brew since you don't always have the itch to pop one open.

 

[Indyking]

I popped one open yesterday, after 2 weeks carbonating at 68-70F. I was skeptical when I heard from a friend that the Palmer's CPA is almost an extract clone for Sierra Nevada pale ale but now after tasting mine I completely agree! It tasted somewhat similar, but less fruity and perhaps a bit lighter, though not thin at all. Hops predominate the flavor and the malt sweetness turned out just right for my taste.

Bellow is a picture of it.

Anyway, compared to all my previous brews (all from canned and pre-hoped kits), this looks way better, I mean, waaaaaaaaaay!

2 things: Palmer's recommended amount of corn sugar for carbonation weighted 3.8 gr, but I decided to use 4 gr because I like it a little more carbonated. Worked great! When I was bottling, the whole piece of plastic wrap I was using to cover the sanitized bottling bucket felt inside the wort and stayed there almost the entire process because I didn't notice until the end. I was just a bit afraid that would have contaminated it, but apparently not. :rockin:

 

[Groo]

Wow, Indyking that's a nice big head!

I popped open one that I had put in the fridge for two days.

First off, it got really hazy once it was popped in the fridge. I think this was because it took me a bit to chill it down. Once I figured it out it dropped to 70 real quick.

Upon opening the bottle, the aroma was nice and strong of pure hops. I poured it in the cop and only got about a 1/4" of head, sort of funny how puny it was. Even funnier was how the tiny foam disintegrated after I took a photo.

On the first sip it was Cascades right away, followed by some bitterness and then I got a bit of malt. The aftertaste was like a green apple jolly rancher, (now I know what a "green" beer tastes like). The mouthfeel was very sharp, I think some extra carb time will help with this. Overall it tasted really good and I think it will taste great in a couple more weeks. What a relief that it turn it out like crap!

Does carbing longer make the bubbles bigger or just the overall head?

Also picked up a free mini-fridge at work. Going to work on a fermentation chamber when I get some time and cash!

 

[elproducto]

OK, I drank one after 2 weeks in the bottle. Still not much carbonation, had about half an inch which dissapated quickly.

My big concern is it tastes watery for some reason. It has nice flavor and bitterness, I practically chugged the thing it was so smooth.. but it just tasted watery.

What are the causes for watery beer? Too much water in the boil?

 

[Yooper]

OK, I drank one after 2 weeks in the bottle. Still not much carbonation, had about half an inch which dissapated quickly.

My big concern is it tastes watery for some reason. It has nice flavor and bitterness, I practically chugged the thing it was so smooth.. but it just tasted watery.

What are the causes for watery beer? Too much water in the boil?

Watery beer has several causes- from not enough malt in the recipe to lack of carbonation.

I'm betting in this case the watery mouthfeel is because of the lack of carbonation.

 

[elproducto]

Watery beer has several causes- from not enough malt in the recipe to lack of carbonation.

I'm betting in this case the watery mouthfeel is because of the lack of carbonation.

Thanks Yooper, can I expect better carbonation with time?

 

[Yooper]

Thanks Yooper, can I expect better carbonation with time?

Probably! Keep it at room temperature for a couple more weeks, then put one in the fridge for 48 hours before drinking. That should help quite a bit.

 

[Indyking]

Wow, Indyking that's a nice big head!

OK, I drank one after 2 weeks in the bottle. Still not much carbonation, had about half an inch which dissapated quickly.

My big concern is it tastes watery for some reason. It has nice flavor and bitterness, I practically chugged the thing it was so smooth.. but it just tasted watery.

What are the causes for watery beer? Too much water in the boil?

I think I got nice carbonation and head after just 2 weeks because I opted to use more corn sugar than recommended by Palmer and I'm glad I did. This weekend I'll be bottling my stout, which is sort of a big question mark because I changed a lot of things in the recipe I got... but a preliminary tasting of the wort when checking the gravity was very promissing.

elproducto, As far as your beer feeling watery, I agree it's probably the carbonation because I don't recall you changed anything in the recipe, right?

 

[elproducto]

Double post.

 

[elproducto]

I think I got nice carbonation and head after just 2 weeks because I opted to use more corn sugar than recommended by Palmer and I'm glad I did. This weekend I'll be bottling my stout, which is sort of a big question mark because I changed a lot of things in the recipe I got... but a preliminary tasting of the wort when checking the gravity was very promissing.

elproducto, As far as your beer feeling watery, I agree it's probably the carbonation because I don't recall you changed anything in the recipe, right?

Nope didn't change anything, although I didn't adjust my boil for the extra volume taken up by the extract, so I came out with about 5.5 gallons of wort.

Interesting note. I had put 2 in the fridge on Friday and popped the second one today. Had significantly more carbonation, and tasted much less watery! There is hope for my beer yet!

 

[Indyking]

Nope didn't change anything, although I didn't adjust my boil for the extra volume taken up by the extract, so I came out with about 5.5 gallons of wort.

Interesting note. I had put 2 in the fridge on Friday and popped the second one today. Had significantly more carbonation, and tasted much less watery! There is hope for my beer yet!

Glad to hear it! :rockin:

It is amazing what proper carbonation can do to a beer. In fact, I found particularly interesting what time in general can do. I improved my beers from drinkable to very good (to my taste since I'm not a judge) in just a few batches by just being more patient and allowing them to conditioning in the fermenter longer, allowing them to carbonate longer, and allowing them to be refrigerated for some time before drinking.

 

[Dozzi]

This was my second batch.
- poured water to top 6 gallons (23 liter) instead of 5
- decided to add only 1 kg of Amber DME (recipe calls for 1,1,kg)
- OG at 64F (18C) 1032 or at best 1034 (forgot to take sample before pitching yeast)
- it took me 45 minutes to cool down the wort when added water and yeast it had 18C (64F).
- used Safale S-04 (rehydrated)

Other things was pretty much according to Palmer's instructions.

Since I brewed only yesterday and will have to wait 1 month to see the result I would like to know what effect will mentioned things have on beer?

What does adding 1 gallon more than recipe calls mean? Will my beer be watery or just low in alcohol? Does adding more DME affect the taste or just alcohol volume? What about slow cooling down.