2nd brew - questions

[fub4r3d]

So my first brew day went pretty well and my Irish Red ale from Midwest is going into bottles tomorrow (14 days in the primary, consistent gravity reading for 4 days), so I figured its about time to get another beer going. I have a few extract kits to choose from in my basement, but I'm thinking of brewing a holiday ale that I picked up last week since its going to need a good amount of primary/bottle conditioning time.

My questions are :
- The recipe has allspice, nutmeg, and a cinnamon stick, but the instructions don't mention when/where to add them. I've searched a bit and found that I can add them near the end of the boil or when I'm bottling. I'm leaning towards the boil, but I'm not sure how much time they need in the boil. If its better to add them at bottling time, I'm game for that too. Just trying to make sure that the final product is the best it can be.

- The instructions with the holiday ale only give it 2 weeks in the primary and 2-3 weeks in the bottle. I'm assuming that's probably pretty quick just to get it drinkable. How long should I be leaving it in the primary and bottles before I start tasting?

- I managed to keep my Irish red ale at ~66F for the entire fermentation by just leaving it in my "brew room" in the basement (ie: unused bathroom) in a swamp cooler full of water. Is that good enough, or should I be pushing it lower with ice?

- Just a general cleaning question. I've read that a large batch of StarSan can be made and stored for future use. Is the same possible with PBW, or is it more of a once-and-done cleaner?

- I'm thinking of brewing a cherry wheat kit next week so that I have something in the pipeline after my Irish Red. I've read that you want to drink a wheat beer pretty quickly once its ready to go. How long does it stay good until the quality starts to drop off? Is there anything special about brewing a wheat beer?

 

[jonnyp1980]

Spices are best at flame out or during a secondary phase. Boiling spices for long periods can give some undesired flavors. I've added mine at flame out or at secondary with very good results. Speaking of which my pumpkin will be ready to bottle in a another 2 weeks.

 

[Pratzie]

My questions are :
- The recipe has allspice, nutmeg, and a cinnamon stick, but the instructions don't mention when/where to add them. I've searched a bit and found that I can add them near the end of the boil or when I'm bottling. I'm leaning towards the boil, but I'm not sure how much time they need in the boil. If its better to add them at bottling time, I'm game for that too. Just trying to make sure that the final product is the best it can be.

- The instructions with the holiday ale only give it 2 weeks in the primary and 2-3 weeks in the bottle. I'm assuming that's probably pretty quick just to get it drinkable. How long should I be leaving it in the primary and bottles before I start tasting?

- I managed to keep my Irish red ale at ~66F for the entire fermentation by just leaving it in my "brew room" in the basement (ie: unused bathroom) in a swamp cooler full of water. Is that good enough, or should I be pushing it lower with ice?

- Just a general cleaning question. I've read that a large batch of StarSan can be made and stored for future use. Is the same possible with PBW, or is it more of a once-and-done cleaner?

- I'm thinking of brewing a cherry wheat kit next week so that I have something in the pipeline after my Irish Red. I've read that you want to drink a wheat beer pretty quickly once its ready to go. How long does it stay good until the quality starts to drop off? Is there anything special about brewing a wheat beer?

Add spices in the last ten to fifteen minutes or so. Or you can soak them in grain or high proof vodka for a few days and then add that mix during bottle to get the desired flavor.

Don't follow the instructions as far as "when its done". take gravity readings after two weeks and once they are stable for three days, then bottle.

For the temp question, i'd invest in a thermo-strip. Its adhesive and will go right on the side of ur carboy/bucket. Keep and eye on that for an idea of what the temps are like inside. Unless u want to invest in a thermowell which will go right into the middle of ur wort and give an even better idea of temps.

Star San can be good for a couple of months. PBW has a much shorter life span. Ur better off using that as needed. Alot of people use oxyclean as well as its a bit cheaper.

And the Cherry Wheat will stay for longer if u use cherry extract instead of racking onto fresh fruit in secondary. There are a few threads here for adding extracts as opposed to racking onto fruit. Do a search and weigh the pros and cons and go with what u think is better for you. If its ur second batch, the extact might be a bit better until u get ur confidence up to handle something like racking onto fruit into secondary. its not VERY hard but there are some steps you need to follow to keep it from getting infected, especially if ur using fresh fruit and not a store bought, canned puree.

 

[fub4r3d]

The cherry wheat brewing went pretty well yesterday. Unfortunately, my OG was a bit low (1.037 when I wanted to be around 1.042-1.046), but it was already down to 72F, so I pitched and let it ride. I was able to bring down the temp from boil to 72F in 46 mins using my 1/4" immersion chiller and the hose coiled into an ice filled cooler.

I checked on it this morning and found something interesting... It looks WAY different than my ale fermenting. Is that normal?

This was the first time that I started the yeast (boiled 1.5 cups of water for 10 mins, cooled it in a sanitized jar (also boiled for 15 mins) down to 103F, added the yeast and let it sit for 20 mins, then cooled to wort temp and pitched) instead of dry pitching. I also used a half whirlfloc tab @ 10 mins left in the boil.