2nd batch. Help me tighten up

[Louz]

I brewed for the second time yesterday. Dead Ringer IPA from northern brewer. I feel like I did a much better job than my first time overall. But I made some mistakes and have a few questions and notes.

1. First time using a bayou burner for my boil. Massive improvement over stove top. Much hotter, much faster... can reach a boil very quickly

2. I used a sink ice bath to chill. 16lb bag and some water dropped the temp below 100 fairly quickly. How much stirring is too much stirring during the chill? Seems like stirring helps the temp drop quicker, but it churns all the junk up off the bottom... junk that might be better left in the kettle... which brings me to my next issue

3. I'm sure this idea was a mistake.. I thought it would be a good idea to use a sanitized kitchen wire strainer to strain the beer as I transfered it from the kettle to the fermenter. I'm guessing that is a dumb thing to do. It clogged almost immediatley. I looked at it for a second and decided I probably need all that junk in the fermenter. I put said junk back in the mix and proceeded with the transfer. There was a fair amount of sludge left in the bottom of the kettle, but a lot of junk made it into the fermenter.
Is straining ever a good idea?

4. I used a sanitized air stone with an aquarium pump to aerate. Worked pretty good. Much better than rocking the bucket back and forth like my first attempt. I had thick frothy foam in no time.

5. Used a hydrometer for the first time. Measured my OG at 1061. The target was 1064. Not too bad for a rookie.

6. Pitched dry at 72 degrees. US-50

7. Used the bath tub/swamp cooler trick to keep the temps stable. I will hopefully upgrade to an old freezer/inkbird when space allows. I used a blowoff hose and a mason jar with sanitizer instead of an airlock. Water temp was 66.5 degrees last night, at 65.8 this morning with some nice bubble action every 3 seconds.

Any feedback for a rook would be much appreciated. Cheers

 

[histo320]

2. Get a Wort Chiller or make one yourself. I do not think stirring too much is an issue

3. I've done the same in the past but I never had a problem with the clogging. Now I use a grain bag and I don't is for clarity in the final product. As for the trub/sludge it is not a problem it will sink to bottom of fermenter.

7. Swamp cooler method is good method for keeping stable temps.

 

[balrog]

Agree with @histo320 ; Stirring also helps oxygenate the wort for yeast's requirements.
I used a double strainer (like this from amazon) for the longest time and now everything goes from kettle to fermenter. All of it. Every last filthy sludgy bit. Makes for much trub on fermenter bottom but beer is still clear above that. The strainer would fill up and I'd have to use the (sanitized) spoon to scrape hop debris around to let the strainer drain. PITA.

 

[Sailingeric]

If you are using a bucket to ferment in, I have use one of these with great success if using whole leaf hops. If using pellets then it all goes in bucket.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/st...MIvqvazoSc2gIVkP5kCh3kIgOXEAQYAiABEgKC4PD_BwE

 

[bigtex52]

Great job on the 2nd brew!
2. +1 on the chiller, even if it is just a homemade copper tubing immersion chiller. Much easier. Our ground water temps get pretty warm here in the summertime so I have to use a large cooler with ice and a recirc pump to do my cooling.

3. I have done the same using a sanitized SS sieve and trub plugs it up every time. I have found that if you will whirlpool, let stand for 10 minutes, whirlpool again and let stand for another 10 minutes before racking to the fermenter, you leave most of the trub and hop sludge behind. I have used sanitized cheese cloth and paint strainer bags in the sieve also and that seems to help substantially.

4. Air stone is good but I always worry how clean I can get the aquarium (bonded sand)version afterwards. They make a sintered stainless steel version that can be boiled and that's what I use now with about 90 seconds of oxygen.

Sounds like you are doing all the good. Let us hear how the beer comes out!

 

[stosh]

One of the first things I added to my brewing gear was a wort chiller. It's well worth the money. If you think you'll start brewing larger than 5 gallon batches get a chiller made for 10 gallon batches. I wish I did that when I bought mine since I'm going to all grain here shortly.

I always stir while chilling helps bring down the temp quicker. Once you get close to temp you can take out the chiller, give it one last stir and let it sit for 10-20 minutes then rack it to whatever you ferment in. Helps keep the bulk of the sludge in the kettle. Sounds like you made some good beer. Dead Ringer is on my list to try.

 

[RM-MN]

7. Used the bath tub/swamp cooler trick to keep the temps stable. I will hopefully upgrade to an old freezer/inkbird when space allows. I used a blowoff hose and a mason jar with sanitizer instead of an airlock. Water temp was 66.5 degrees last night, at 65.8 this morning with some nice bubble action every 3 seconds.

You used a blowoff hose and a mason jar as an airlock. It's still an airlock, just bigger so it doesn't clog up and blow the lid off your fermenter, painting the walls and ceiling with beer.

 

[Louz]

thanks for the feedback.

Next time I will let the cooled wort settle for a bit before pouring into the fermenter bucket.

It seems to me its not worth the pita or beneficial to try and strain on the way in... if it all settles in the fermenter anyway then whats the harm?

Bigtex52: I bought a pack of 7 or so fish tank air stones, they were pretty cheap. I think I'll just trash em instead of worrying about cleaning and sterilizing. They have so many little nooks and crannies for bad stuff to hide, I'll feel better if I just use a new one every time.

RM-MN: Ok, understood. I didnt know if I was supposed to refer to that setup as an actual airlock... I thought that term was used only for the little plastic airlocks. I wasnt sure how hard this recipe would go, so I thought I would err on the side of caution just in case.

It's bubbling along pretty good right now. I'd say a little less then 2 bubbles per second. Bath water has dropped slightly to 64.4 and the stick on thermometer reads somewhere close to 65 degrees.

Thanks for the comments. I'm one of those guys that has a forum for everything. Some forums have those ass wipes that go around making themselves feel good by making newbs feel stupid... I get enough of that at home! So far this site has been very helpful, with a lot of great tips. cheers!

 

[beermanpete]

3. Wort transfer - It sounds like you do not have a drain cock on your kettle and therefore are pouring the wort into the fermentor. If this is the case you can rack the chilled wort to the fermentor with a racking cane (same as for bottling). As Stosh said, whirlpool with a spoon after chilling and let it settle for 10 minute or so. The rack gently with the racking cane in the corner of the kettle to avoid the trub which should be mostly in a mound at the center of the kettle if the whirlpool works well.

 

[knotquiteawake]

3. Wort transfer - It sounds like you do not have a drain cock on your kettle and therefore are pouring the wort into the fermentor. If this is the case you can rack the chilled wort to the fermentor with a racking cane (same as for bottling). As Stosh said, whirlpool with a spoon after chilling and let it settle for 10 minute or so. The rack gently with the racking cane in the corner of the kettle to avoid the trub which should be mostly in a mound at the center of the kettle if the whirlpool works well.

I just recently started racking from kettle to carboy with a racking cane and its been MUCH easier to avoid a lot of the trub at the bottom of the kettle. Much easier than trying to pour out 5.5 gallons of wort from a kettle into a funnel too.

 

[Louz]

Thanks Beermanpete and Knotquiteawake for the tips. I'll try that next time.

Is there a concern about clogging the racking cane doing it that way?

 

[whiskeyjack]

Thanks Beermanpete and Knotquiteawake for the tips. I'll try that next time.

Is there a concern about clogging the racking cane doing it that way?

No, you will pick up the really light stuff but the heavy stuff that could clog it will stay at the bottom

 

[GPa Bob]

+1 on the chiller, even if it is just a homemade copper tubing immersion chiller. Much easier. Our ground water temps get pretty warm here in the summertime so I have to use a large cooler with ice and a recirc pump to do my cooling.

I am a newb also. Just restarted (after a 40 year hiatus) in January. On of the first things I did was make a wort chiller... actually two. The first was a 3/8" x 50 foot one, but found out that it was too small for a cheap recirc pump. So, I made a 1/2" x 50 foot one. All sorts of You Tube videos to do this. I also found that recirculating the water makes for much faster cooling as bigtex52 says. It cost about $50 for the 1/2" one. I use a $20 aquarium pump from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XK8X2DJ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 . Put the pump in an ice bucket and recirc this water through the chiller. Best of luck and I think your batch will be good also.

 

[balrog]

I second the recirc, mainly for water savings. I'll use garden hose with 25' 3/8" copper wort chiller at first and capture about 10-12 gallons for cleaning. Then I switch the hose to a pond pump sitting in cooler with a large bag of ice and recirc. It typically takes about 13 min to cool my 5G batches to 65, a couple more minutes to drop to 60. I don't do lagers. Heck, if there's still snow on the ground I'll throw that in the cooler instead of buying ice.

 

[ncbrewer]

2. I chill partial boil batches (cooling 2.5 gallons) in a water and ice bath - it drops to 80F in about 35 minutes. Beer ends up very clear and I get no DMS, so I'm happy with it. Time for cooling down to final temp varies depending on time of year.

I try to stir gently while the wort is hot to prevent possible oxidation, but opinions vary on this.

3. Opinions vary on the straining idea also. I pour all the trub into the fermenter, but I've read that if you use a mesh strainer, the woven mesh can harbor nasties - the strainer basket should be left in the boil for maybe ten minutes to heat sanitize it.

4. Dry yeast doesn't have the same requirement for oxygen as liquid yeast. With dry yeast, I just pour the wort into the fermenter from shoulder high to get aeration, and fermentation seems to go well.

6. You might try pitching a little cooler - say 65F.

Did I mention that opinions vary?

 

[Louz]

Todays Update:

Its been two weeks. Had a gravity reading yesterday of 1.011, and its the same today. The dead ringer recipe doesnt state the targeted FG. Does 1.011 seam about right?

The instructions call for transferring into a secondary fermenter for 1 to 2 weeks with another hop addition. I have read many comments around here advising against transferring. Why not? Is it just unnecessary? I would think getting it off the trub now would result in less sediment when I go to bottle in a week or two.

 

[kh54s10]

1.011 does seem about right.

A secondary is more accurately called a bright tank. It allows the beer to clear and in the olden days they were worried about leaving the wort on the yeast. This may be a problem in a commercial brewery where the yeast is under 100s of gallons of wort pressure.

In a homebrew setting it is becoming considered an unnecessary step at the least and lessens the risk of oxidizing the beer while transferring.

The sediment in primary will settle and compact on the bottom of the fermenter, if you are careful siphoning you should get very little debris in your bottling bucket. What does get in there for the most part settles while bottling. If you have a yeasty beer you might get a layer of yeast sediment in the bottles - just pour carefully and leave a little in the bottom of the bottle.

I would dryhop in primary. For 5-7 days then bottle it. Longer than that and the hop presence will start to fade.

 

[Louz]

Thanks. I will go ahead and dry hop in the primary today.

Generally, how concerned should one be about oxidizing the beer during the process? Is the exposure during test samples and during transfer about all it can handle without oxidizing?

My two samples got me pretty excited... so far it has a real nice tast

 

[kh54s10]

Just avoid splashing in any process as much as you can. When dry hopping the only thing I have heard that some do is to bag the hops and soak them in some of the beer before putting it in the fermenter to get the air out first.

 

[Louz]

Its been dry hoppin for 5 days. Today I'm going to stick it in my fridge to crash it for a few days before I bottle.

I've got some Knox brand unflavored Gelatine. I read somewhere to heat 1 cup of water to 150 degrees, then dissolve 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon, dump and stir.
Does that sound right?
When do I add it? When it first goes in the fridge? Or after its cooled down?

I'm 10 bottles short, so I guess I gotta gets to drinking before I bottle!

 

[brew703]

If you are brewing 5 gal batches, use 1t gelatin to 1/2c water. Make sure to heat in micro in 10 sec bursts and stir with a sanitized spoon in-between bursts or use the tip of a digital term. You don't want the temp to get above 160.

 

[Louz]

If you are brewing 5 gal batches, use 1t gelatin to 1/2c water. Make sure to heat in micro in 10 sec bursts and stir with a sanitized spoon in-between bursts or use the tip of a digital term. You don't want the temp to get above 160.

Do i put the gelatin in before I put it in the fridge, or after the temp stabilizes?

I was going to do this yesterday, but I emptied a lot of bottles and maybe I fell asleep... not sure exactly

 

[TheHopfather]

Get the beer in the carboy nice and cold before adding the gelatin. I usually cool mine down to 2C (35.6F), then add the gelatin. I'll leave it for 24 to 48 hours and then bottle (well, I keg, but you'll bottle).

 

[brew703]

Do i put the gelatin in before I put it in the fridge, or after the temp stabilizes?

I was going to do this yesterday, but I emptied a lot of bottles and maybe I fell asleep... not sure exactly

Cool it down first. I usually get my temps around 40 then add the gelatin.

 

[Louz]

I ended up skipping the cold crash this time because I wasnt set up to prevent suck back.
So I went ahead and bottled today, 7 days after dry hop.

I used the brewers friend priming calculator: 4.9 gallons, 2.4 volumes Co2, 64 degrees= .92 volumes of Co2 in beer and 4.3 oz of corn sugar.

Couple things of note. After all this time, the fermenter was still throwing a bubble out once in awhile. While I was racking into the bottle bucket I could see the occasional bubble surface, and the racking cane was sucking up lots of small bubbles the entire time. And good Lord did it take a long time to rack. There was so much sediment suspended in the beer the racking cane kept getting clogged at the bottom. I will definitely cold crash next time to hopefully prevent that.

 

[Louz]

After a week in the closet and a couple days in the fridge I tried one out.
I'm quite pleased with it. For my first IPA it turned out great. It has perfect carbination, good smell, and a nice classic IPA taste. It reminds me of a stone IPA a little bit.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in on this thread and helped me out along the way.