3rd batch in the secondary and the lessons I've learned

[RotgutRedbeard]

Ahoy and avast!

I thought I'd contribute my experiences thus far, still being a "newb" at ye olde brewin'. Take what ye may from this.

Batch #1: Xtra Hoppy Pale Ale & Blueberry Hefeweizen

Result: Non-alcoholic and the lingering smell of banana bread

Lessons: Don't ferment in a closet, in the middle of a heat wave, in your concrete building. Hef yeast is super active! It didn't blow the lid off, but it found its way up through the vapor lock. Like a star, it burned too hot and too fast and killed itself off.

Batch #2: Belgian & Honey Stout

Result: Beer concentrate

Lessons: Drinking while brewing is acceptable and encouraged. Unless you forget to add the 3 gallons of water to your wort. Instant headache in a pint.

Batch #3: Citra Pale Ale & Drake's IPA

Result: 7.6% Pale Ale and IPA sitting in the secondary

Lessons: Wait for the environmental temperature to work with you. The Pale ended up with a little too much sediment, due to letting the siphon sit in the bottom of the corboy. I won't make the same mistake with the IPA.

In closing, stay cool, savor you beers while brewing and overestimate the sediment.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Malty_Dog]

Thanks for the laugh - I got a chuckle out of #2. I'm picturing waking up the next day and looking at my 6.5 gal fermenter with 2 gallons of, umm, beer in it. Wonder what that OG was?

 

[zdbrown1]

Haha...yeah drinking while brewing can create some unintended consequences....I bet you wont do that again. Don't sweat it though...on one brew I was almost finished with my mash before I realized that I forgot to heat up my sparge water.

 

[Hello]

Funny story, though probably a bummer. What do you mean your first was non-alcoholic? Zero fermentation?

 

[RotgutRedbeard]

Funny story, though probably a bummer. What do you mean your first was non-alcoholic? Zero fermentation?

That's right, absolutely nothing. They both tasted excellent, but there was nary an ABV to be found.

The quick and hot burn theory is just that, my theory. I'm not actually sure what happened, but it could've been worse for my first batch.

 

[jCOSbrew]

Good luck on the 3rd batch!

Next to fermentation temps the most important thing is good sanitation.
Also, no need to transfer until you are ready to bottle. Give the new batches 3-4 weeks in the fermentor before packaging. The higher the ABV the longer you need for conditioning.

 

[kiari_dogo]

Thanks for the post. I am like 10 batches in and oh the lessons I've learned. I always get a little down whenever I make a mistake - gotta hate stuck mashes!!! - but your batch #2 story allowed me to put my own blunders in perspective. Had the same stuff happen with my first batch as yours - fermented that IPA at like 88 and it took a good 2 months in the bottle for the off flavors to dissipate. Was great tasting but I did learn a good lesson about the unfermentable sugars that are present in honey.

 

[skud007]

I laughed at the second batch as well. I remembered to add my xtra water to achieve the 5 gallons, but I took a sample from the wort before I added the water and came up with a og of 1.110! I figured something was wasn't right as I was sippin the sample and then it hit me.

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Home Brew mobile app

 

[RotgutRedbeard]

It's been a while, but I figured I'd give an update anyway.

The last two I mentioned turned out great! The pale was crisp and the IPA had a killer hop nose to it. Don't get me wrong, I've had better beers, but I was happy with my third batch.

Since then I've had an Irish Red and a hoppy Blonde Ale. The Red was pretty even keeled and the Blonde was pleasantly light.

Fast forward to this last weekend... Bottled my 6 month (ended up being 10 month) Sour and got a Holiday Ale and Honey Porter into primaries.

No bad experiences since the last mishaps, aside from some excited yeast and the need to switch from vapor lock to the tube-in-water method.

I'm excited to see how these will work out. The next round I'm moving from extract to partial mash. New experiments and hazards abound. Just another day in the sea of home brewing.