2nd Batch Beginners Questions

[daveylin]

Ok, I made my first batch of german octoberfest which is carbonating in the bottles now and will make a second batch this weekend... just double checking if I am doing things right...

So if you could let me know if my plan is right, im just listing parts im not sure of...

sanitize, make wort.

do i filter the wort before pouring it into the primary? and its in the primary till bubbling is approx 1 min per bubble? do i need to filter again before seconday? im planning on using a plastic bucket for primary and carboy for secondary. is in the secondary for two weeks? and the bottles for two?

yeast, do i need to make a starter? im using wyeast smack pack... if so, how many days before i boil do i need to make it? and do i just use some of the DME from the recipe? or do I use seperate DME?

fruit? im planning on adding a fruit flavor, two methods ive seen are seeping after boil with frozen fruit and the second is adding puree during secondary.... and one which is better then the other?

thanks so much... my girlfriend is starting to regret buying me a beer starter kit.... hahahhaha

 

[SwAMi75]

Howdy, and welcome to the forum!

It's a pretty good idea to leave some of the junk behind when transferring your wort to primary. You can just pour really easily, and stop before you dump all that sludge. I've tried filtering, and it's a pain. The filter screen gets plugged very easily....it's definitely a two person job. Pouring easily is my best soultion. You're not doing any real harm by fermenting all of it.

Using a starter is a very good thing. It's not entirely necessary, but it will help you make better beer.

There are different methods for using fruit, but personally I'd use them in secondary, unless you're wanting a really dry beer.

 

[daveylin]

For the starter... can I use a sugar solution? or can I use the malt the is for the brew? I dont have any seperate malt. Also the brew malt is already hopped, is that a problem?

 

[homebrewer_99]

No, it won't be a problem using hopped malt.

You should really have several pounds of dry malt extract on hand for making starters.

I HIGHLY recommend you purchase an "AUTO-SYPHON" around $15. You'll be glad you did.

As for adding fruit...well, I prefer adding it to the secondary because you want to insure your malt is fermenting, not your fruit, and IMHO it brings out more fruit flavor.

Another benefit to NOT putting fruit into your primary is you can reuse your yeast from the primary.

Putting dark colored fruit (blueberries and such) will stain your bucket to whatever color the fruit is. This won't happen in glass, of course, that's not totally true, but glass is easier to clean.

 

[daveylin]

ok, i went to the local brew shop and got a syphon as recommended, a gallon jug and some dme. now i broke the smack pack of wyeast last night at 2 am, adn it was fully swollen this morning... is it find to leave it at room temp till tonight around 1 - 2 am again before i make the starter???

 

[SwAMi75]

Yeah, there's no real problem with that. You didn't need to smack it that early. Actually, IMO, you don't need to smack it at all for a starter. Just dump the yeast into the starter, and it'll go. The nutrient in the inner pack is nice to have, butnot entirely necessary.

 

[Driftwood]

Actually, IMO, you don't need to smack it at all for a starter. Just dump the yeast into the starter, and it'll go. The nutrient in the inner pack is nice to have, butnot entirely necessary.

I tried that the last time I used a smack pack yeast and it never really took off in the starter, it had me worried. Put it into primary and finally got a pretty feeble krausen after 30 hours.

I would recommend smacking it first, let it swell a little at least, then make your starter...