1st Homebrew Experience

[Faraz]

First off, what a helpful website, I have gained a ton of knowledge and put it into practice with my first home-brew.

My brewday was 7/22/18. I brewed a Listermanns American IPA. It was an LME recipe with 3oz of cascade hops 1.5oz nugget (bittering hops) with a US 5 Ale yeast. There was a 1/2lbs of crystal malt. During brewday I used 2oz of the hops.

Pretty sure I made a mistake in the beginning, the recipe indicated to not let the temp go over 160F before letting the crystal malt simmer for 30 minutes. Well, it slipped my mind and the temp reached to about 185F before I could get back to it. I let crystal malt simmer for 30 minutes before I started the boil. I removed the crystal malt before the boil. I boiled for 30 minutes when adding the LME and the bittering hops. Then added a round of cascade hops for 30 minutes. A total of 60 minute boil time.

I added the second 1 oz bag of hops 10 minutes after boil. I used a wort chiller, which did not work as I was hoping for. I think I was impatient, I pitched the yeast when the wort was 77F. OG before pitching yeast was at 1.060 - recipe called for 1.065. Placed it in plastic fermenter in the basement with the temp between 70-73F.

On 8/3, I sanitized the last bag of hops and threw it in the fermenter (dry hopping stage). On 8/10, I checked FG at 1.011. On 8/12, I checked FG again and it was the same. Bottling day occurred on 8/12. I tried a small glass of the fermented beer, it was quite flat, had the hop aroma, and tasted malty.

Unfortunately, I yielded 4 gallons of beer, the other 1 gallon was split between the fermenter and bottling vessel of trub (wow, that stuff is absolutely gross). I used the 5oz packet of priming sugar, I should have adjusted the sugar level to the output of 4gal of fermented beer. Realized this was an issue afterwards...

Another mistake I made was when I cleaned the bottles, I ran it in the dishwasher under the sanitizing setting with a soluble detergent dishpack. I realized this was a mistake after I bottled the beer... (ugh).

Since this is my first brew, I have been quite impatient, I placed a 6 pack in the fridge on 8/21. On 8/24, I tried the first bottle - it was quite sour and very hazy, the nasty part was going into the glass from the bottle. I was under the impression something during the bottling was infected. I tired it the next day and it was less sour. When I tried it on Monday 8/26, I was quite surprised, the sourness was very minor and the beer poured clear. It almost seemed like the sourness turned into hops. Not sure if that description is accurate. The beer was finally fitting the flavor profile I was going for and there was more head space in the glass. Cool to actually taste the science behind carbonation.

In conclusion, what an interesting experiment. I think the bottles need to be conditioned for another week or two. Each beer has tasted better than the one before. Looking forward to trying it in the next following weeks. I am assuming it needs a longer time carbonating because of the excessive priming sugar and lack of time given to condition.

Thank you to this forum for persuading me not to add the beer into a secondary cause auto-siphoning the beer from the fermenter to the bottling vessel was quite a pain and I know I aerated the hell out of it. Can't imagine what it would have done if I decided to take on secondary fermentation.

Cheers,
Raz

 

[grampamark]

Congrats on your first brew!

You made some mistakes, but you recognize what you did wrong and added to your knowledge base. Now you have a list of things not to do again (that list will get longer as you continue to brew, just so you know ).

You also learned how forgiving beer is. Despite your newbie errors, you still made drinkable beer.

Again, congrats, welcome to this great hobby, and good luck as you continue brewing and enjoying beer.

 

[Saunassa]

Congratulations on your first brew! The satisfaction of kicking back and drinking something you brewed is amazing is it not?

 

[RM-MN]

Pretty sure I made a mistake in the beginning, the recipe indicated to not let the temp go over 160F before letting the crystal malt simmer for 30 minutes. Well, it slipped my mind and the temp reached to about 185F before I could get back to it. I let crystal malt simmer for 30 minutes before I started the boil.

Not a big concern, some kits will have you put the specialty grains in first, then heat to boil.

I added the second 1 oz bag of hops 10 minutes after boil. I used a wort chiller, which did not work as I was hoping for. I think I was impatient, I pitched the yeast when the wort was 77F. OG before pitching yeast was at 1.060 - recipe called for 1.065. Placed it in plastic fermenter in the basement with the temp between 70-73F.

Patience is hard to come by but important for brewing. With the basement temperature in the 70's, your beer probably reached temps in the 80's during peak of fermentation due to the heat given off by the yeast. This will negatively impact the flavor of your beer and drinking too much at one time may lead to a vicious hangover. Next time try to cool the wort more before pitching the yeast and control the temperature better. Setting the fermenter in a tub of cool water will help. Adding ice to chill the water will help more. This will only be important for the first 3 days normally. After that the warmer temperature may be of some benefit.

Another mistake I made was when I cleaned the bottles, I ran it in the dishwasher under the sanitizing setting with a soluble detergent dishpack. I realized this was a mistake after I bottled the beer... (ugh).

If you pour a beer and the head disappears immediately, blame the detergent residue. I made a couple batches of headless beer before I realized that I needed extra rinsing to get the detergent residue out of the bottles.

Since this is my first brew, I have been quite impatient, I placed a 6 pack in the fridge on 8/21. On 8/24, I tried the first bottle - it was quite sour and very hazy, the nasty part was going into the glass from the bottle. I was under the impression something during the bottling was infected. I tired it the next day and it was less sour. When I tried it on Monday 8/26, I was quite surprised, the sourness was very minor and the beer poured clear. It almost seemed like the sourness turned into hops. Not sure if that description is accurate. The beer was finally fitting the flavor profile I was going for and there was more head space in the glass. Cool to actually taste the science behind carbonation.

The sour could have been a couple things. Acetaldehyde is a natural byproduct of fermentation and the yeast will normally break this down. It is often described as "green apple" flavor. You may have perceived this as sour. The other "sour" may have been caused by the suspended yeast. Time in the fermenter can help this as it allows the yeast to settle out more and compact in the bottom of the fermenter making it easier to rack the beer to the bottling bucket without getting so much yeast transferred.

 

[ncbrewer]

My stomach knotted up when I read about the sour taste. I'm glad it wasn't a bacterial infection.

Welcome to brewing.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Congrats. If you try to incorporate one new process/technique/bit of knowledge into each brew, it'll improve very quickly and before you know it you'll be messing with water profile and adding salts. Have fun

 

[Faraz]

My stomach knotted up when I read about the sour taste. I'm glad it wasn't a bacterial infection.

Welcome to brewing.

Yeah, I was quite bummed after the first taste. I was just convincing myself to like it. I tried another bottle yesterday, the sour taste is incredibly mild and only hits you at the first sip. Totally subsides afterwards, I am assuming carbonation has a lot to do with this.

It's a very drinkable beer and I am definitely satisfied of drinking the beer I brewed.

Thank you to everyone who responded. I appreciate the kind words and the educational comments provided my RM-MN. I will keep them in mind when I have my next brew day a week from now with a Listermanns Honey Brown kit. Cheers!

 

[ncbrewer]

I tried another bottle yesterday, the sour taste is incredibly mild and only hits you at the first sip. Totally subsides afterwards, I am assuming carbonation has a lot to do with this.

I've heard of pouring a glass and letting it sit in the fridge for a little while to let it degas. Haven't tried it, but it seems like it would work. I don't think it would take long.

Since it's over carb'd, there's a possibility of bottle bombs. Be careful storing and handling these bottles.

 

[RM-MN]

My stomach knotted up when I read about the sour taste. I'm glad it wasn't a bacterial infection.

Welcome to brewing.

It's incredibly difficult to get a bacterial infection in a primary only fermentation. Those typically occur in secondary. The primary has beer that is too acidic for most bacteria to survive. Unless the top is opened and left that way for some time, there is a carbon dioxide atmosphere above the beer that restricts the bacteria's ability to reproduce. Some people also put in antiseptic pieces which also help protect the beer. We call those pieces, hops.

When you transfer your beer to secondary the CO2 above the beer is lost and that can let a few select bacteria types to thrive. Those bacteria won't cause you an infection but will turn the beer sour. Some people like them, I don't, so I restrict my beers to a primary only fermentation.

 

[Saunassa]

RM-MN,
With the basement temperature in the 70's, your beer probably reached temps in the 80's during peak of fermentation due to the heat given off by the yeast. This will negatively impact the flavor of your beer and drinking too much at one time may lead to a vicious hangover.

I myself am learning from this thread. Why would you get a vicious hangover from higher temps?

 

[RM-MN]

I myself am learning from this thread. Why would you get a vicious hangover from higher temps?

When beer ferments at a higher temperature the yeast go crazy with the products of fermentation and often give off fusel alcohol. This is suspected to be the cause of the hangovers.

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

If you continue to brew, consider switching to a fermenter like the Fermonster. Something with a spout to avoid racking. It's a lot easier and cuts down on any kind of aeration you may encounter at bottling time. Using a bottling bucket with a spout will also help.

 

[Saunassa]

When beer ferments at a higher temperature the yeast go crazy with the products of fermentation and often give off fusel alcohol. This is suspected to be the cause of the hangovers.

This explains a lot. Drank a bunch of beer with some of it being my pale ale that fermented at higher temps and I had a nasty hangover the next day.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Yeah, I was quite bummed after the first taste. I was just convincing myself to like it. I tried another bottle yesterday, the sour taste is incredibly mild and only hits you at the first sip. Totally subsides afterwards, I am assuming carbonation has a lot to do with this.

It's a very drinkable beer and I am definitely satisfied of drinking the beer I brewed.

Thank you to everyone who responded. I appreciate the kind words and the educational comments provided my RM-MN. I will keep them in mind when I have my next brew day a week from now with a Listermanns Honey Brown kit. Cheers!

Don't be discouraged . I've never met anyone ** in person ** that made a good beer there first few times myself included. Making beer is easy but making stuff that you want to drink takes some practice. Just like everything else. Cheers

 

[Lefou]

This explains a lot. Drank a bunch of beer with some of it being my pale ale that fermented at higher temps and I had a nasty hangover the next day.

Temperature stabilized fermenting is important. The beechwood aged BMC was especially vicious, even after two cans.
Better beers will not do that. As I got along further in the hobby I understood why a lot of people appreciate lagers and temperature controlled fermentation. If I do ales I tend to ferment on the cool side, bottle carb at ambient room temps, then cold-age the beer.
It's not the same as a true lager but worth doing to avoid headaches.

 

[Hopalong]

Patients is something all of us lack in the beginning, it's natural. Don't worry about it.
When numbers don't line up and chances are they won't. Don't worry about it.
You will produce some swill, don't worry about it. Besides, as homebrewers, we have carte blanche. When ale sours, but not pukey sour, it can be called Belgian beer.
Fight off "ugly baby syndrome," if you produce crap, it's crap.
Fight off wanting to create beer with eight types of malt and 13 hop varieties thrown in.
Fight off believing that a recipe that looks impressive makes impressive beer.
Be careful with crystal malt it shares a bench with rancid malt. Instead of doing what it's supposed to do it leads to poor head retention and lack of foam when the malt is rancid. To duplicate the occurrence smear a piece of bacon around the inside of a glass and pour in beer.
Skim off hot break as it rises and when it stops forming or drastically reduces add bittering hops and skim off second break. Hop character will stick better because the wort will be a little cleaner. Less hops are needed.

There are two types of bacteria. Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative. Gram-Positive sets in during primary. Gram-Negative hits during secondary fermentation. Gram-Positive cause milder types of infection, I believe, lacto falls under Gram-P. Gram-N are aceto, butyric types. The reason why bacteria establishes itself at different stages ties in with the nutrients it lives on. No nutrients, no issues.
When a white ring develops around the neck of a bottle, or a whitish film or oil slick floats on top of beer, it's usually from an infection of some kind that set in, somewhere.

As RM mentioned, high fermentation temperature produces fusel alcohol. High fermentation temperature also causes some of the off flavors associated with homebrew.
Alcohol depletes B-12 in our body and that's a big reason why we feel burned out, lethargic, after pounding down a bunch of beer. Actually, The Great Magnet doesn't want us to feel like shizz after getting lit up on beer.

When you learn to produce ale and lager with grain there's a step during the process that forms myoinositol, pure B-12, Mother Natures speed. When the beer is pounded down B-12 offsets the hangover. Yeast loves the stuff, too.​

The temperatures recommended to use during fermentation are a little too high. The idea behind it has to do with rushing the beer through fermentation, cranking up ABV, to get the beer into the bottle quick which reduces the risk of infection and oxidation and it's easier to find a room around 65, 70F than at 50, 55F. High temperature fermentation works great with making whiskey, moonshine, because fermentation is quick and fusel alcohol is dealt with during distillation.

"Cool to actually taste the science behind carbonation."
As you learn more, you'll discover that priming sugar and CO2 injection aren't required for carbonation and that Mother Nature does a much finer job.
A Beta rest is omitted in many all grain recipes, and complex types of sugar required in ale and lager aren't formed, which eliminates the need for secondary fermentation and two extra weeks. When a Beta rest is skipped, conversion doesn't take place, and for that reason all grain homebrew is primed with sugar for carbonation. Same with syrup. Syrup ends up as syrup because the malt that it came from lacked Beta. Otherwise, the malt would be going to a brewery. When malt fails the test at 145F, it isn't considered brewers grade.
When a recipe recommends high modified malt, single infusion, only primary fermentation, and adding sugar or CO2 for carbonation, the malt is missing Beta. Otherwise, complex sugar, maltose and maltotriose, which Beta are responsible for would cause over carbonation, gushing and bottle bombs after yeast rips through the priming sugar.

Alpha is responsible for liquefaction, saccharification and dextrinization, all having to do with starch and sugar wrapped up in it.
Beta is responsible for converting simple sugar into complex sugar. Glucose, released by Alpha during saccharification is converted into maltose and maltotriose during conversion when mash is resting at 140, 145F. ​