A few beginner questions about my first 5 gallon batch

[off7spring]

Hey everyone,

I just brewed my first 5 gallon batch a little over a week ago and I had a few questions.

First off, here is the recipe:
http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Citra-Pale-Ale.pdf

Everything went great during the actual preparation of everything. My OG was 1.052, which is slightly higher than the recipe.

When I put the lid on the bucket I'm using to ferment, I pushed the airlock in and the rubber gasket fell down into the fermenter. I read on here that as long as it was sterilized (which it was), it would be best to just let it go, so I did.

I took a gravity reading tonight and got 1.012, which is lower than what the FG of the recipe should be. (All of my readings were adjusted for temperature).

I figured "What the hell...I may as well taste it and see what I have to look forward to.". I was really surprised...there was no hoppiness at all. Which seems to go against the whole summary of the beer at the top of the recipe.

So I guess my questions are:

1) Did I make the right call not trying to fish out the rubber gasket that fell down into my beer?

2) As far as gravity readings go, is not hitting either of my marks going to drastically affect my beer?

3) Is there something that would cause the hops to diminish during the fermentation process? (My beer smelled like hops at first (days 1-3). Then from around 5-7 it smelled slightly like bananas).

 

[beergolf]

No problem if the grommet was sanitized. The OG is probably right on since it was an extract brew. The extra water and your wort was probably not fully mixed. It is near impossible to miss OG with extract if your water volumes were good. In the scope of things .002 is not missing by much. FG is OK too, don't worry about it.

 

[duboman]

Hey everyone,



I just brewed my first 5 gallon batch a little over a week ago and I had a few questions.



First off, here is the recipe:

http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Citra-Pale-Ale.pdf



Everything went great during the actual preparation of everything. My OG was 1.052, which is slightly higher than the recipe.



When I put the lid on the bucket I'm using to ferment, I pushed the airlock in and the rubber gasket fell down into the fermenter. I read on here that as long as it was sterilized (which it was), it would be best to just let it go, so I did.



I took a gravity reading tonight and got 1.012, which is lower than what the FG of the recipe should be. (All of my readings were adjusted for temperature).



I figured "What the hell...I may as well taste it and see what I have to look forward to.". I was really surprised...there was no hoppiness at all. Which seems to go against the whole summary of the beer at the top of the recipe.



So I guess my questions are:



1) Did I make the right call not trying to fish out the rubber gasket that fell down into my beer?



2) As far as gravity readings go, is not hitting either of my marks going to drastically affect my beer?



3) Is there something that would cause the hops to diminish during the fermentation process? (My beer smelled like hops at first (days 1-3). Then from around 5-7 it smelled slightly like bananas).

1. Yes, good call no problems
2.you probably missed OG due to a poor mix of water and wort during the top off, typical and not a problem. For FG, they are always an estimate at best so don't worry
3. Once the beer is carbonated it should be better as co2 helps flavor and mouthfeel of the beer.. The banana smell tells me your fermentation temp may be higher than desired but it should condition out. Be sure to leave the beer on the yeast until you have verified the final gravity and then add a week to let it clean up and condition
1.

 

[Gitmoe]

First off, thanks for buying a kit at Keystone. I actually work there and randomly stumbled on this thread. I don't jump on HBT that often (I talk brewing all day at work, Im sure you get it) but when I do jump on I like to read the beginner forum and see what the new brewers are up to.

The Keystone kits are in general not overly hoppy. I've had the Citra Pale kit more times than I can count between us brewing it at the store or customers bringing it in for a critique. Also keep in mind that kit is a Pale Ale and not an IPA. As far as you saying it doesn't have any hop character at all seems weirds to me. My initial question without tasting the beer myself would be, did you add all the hops and did you follow the hop schedule exactly? If yes to both questions I would ask if you used the suggested boil volume of 2-3 gallons, or did you maybe use less boil volume? Missing the hop schedule or reducing the boil volume can drastically change the hop character in a beer.

The gasket has absolutely nothing to do with hop character. As long as the beer didn't get infected don't worry about that grommet.

The gravity readings are really close to what the instruction sheet lists. As long as your within a few points of the suggested or "target" gravities on a recipe then you're fine. Feel free to call the store and talk to anybody there about the kit or bottle the batch and bring one by the store. Tasting a beer is the easiest way for us to diagnose an issue. If you're just a hophead I wouldn't suggest that kit to you. I wouldn't be surprised if you made the kit perfectly and it's just not the beer you were expecting. I can suggest a few recipes we sell that you might like better if you want more hops...

 

[off7spring]

Oh man...small world! I've only been to Keystone a few times, but I plan on many more visits as I get more into home brewing. Everyone there is really nice and knowledgable.

As far as the recipe...I followed everything exactly as the directions said. I'm definitely into hoppier beers, but my gf isn't so I thought this might be a good middle ground.

I'm going to let it ferment another week like the instructions say, but I'll have to bring one in when it's ready to go and you can let me know your thoughts on it. I'd also love to hear about some of the kit recommendations you have next time I'm in.

First off, thanks for buying a kit at Keystone. I actually work there and randomly stumbled on this thread. I don't jump on HBT that often (I talk brewing all day at work, Im sure you get it) but when I do jump on I like to read the beginner forum and see what the new brewers are up to.

The Keystone kits are in general not overly hoppy. I've had the Citra Pale kit more times than I can count between us brewing it at the store or customers bringing it in for a critique. Also keep in mind that kit is a Pale Ale and not an IPA. As far as you saying it doesn't have any hop character at all seems weirds to me. My initial question without tasting the beer myself would be, did you add all the hops and did you follow the hop schedule exactly? If yes to both questions I would ask if you used the suggested boil volume of 2-3 gallons, or did you maybe use less boil volume? Missing the hop schedule or reducing the boil volume can drastically change the hop character in a beer.

The gasket has absolutely nothing to do with hop character. As long as the beer didn't get infected don't worry about that grommet.

The gravity readings are really close to what the instruction sheet lists. As long as your within a few points of the suggested or "target" gravities on a recipe then you're fine. Feel free to call the store and talk to anybody there about the kit or bottle the batch and bring one by the store. Tasting a beer is the easiest way for us to diagnose an issue. If you're just a hophead I wouldn't suggest that kit to you. I wouldn't be surprised if you made the kit perfectly and it's just not the beer you were expecting. I can suggest a few recipes we sell that you might like better if you want more hops...

 

[off7spring]

Thanks everyone for the advice. It's much appreciated!

 

[Gitmoe]

Thanks man, Keystone is a pretty amazing place. I love working there. Sounds like your beer will be fine. Definitely bring one by. We love trying beers. If you like hoppy beers I'd suggest trying the Single Hop kit with Cascade or Apollo hops. I love it with the Apollo.

 

[off7spring]

Sounds good I'll have to look them up on your site. I actually had a recipe online I found that I was gonna run by you guys and get your thoughts on. I'll probably be in sometime in the next week or so

 

[tooblue02]

Can always dry hop the beer before you bottle, 5-7 days with some more citra hops, it might help with the aroma. I am sure their recipe is great but the best part about this hobby is changing things ever so slightly to give it your own unique character!

 

[off7spring]

Thanks I was actually kicking that idea around. You basically just drop the hops in and let them go for a few days after the primary fermentation is complete, right?

 

[tooblue02]

I use a muslin bag with some marbles in it (all sanitized of course) don't sanitize the hops though. I try not to go past 7 days of dry hopping, I am sure others have had more experience than I but that's what I have been doing.

 

[off7spring]

I will definitely have to try that. I want my next brew to be over the top hoppy, so that will work out nicely