About to try and brew my 1st batch, but need some help.

[Tallmanbrewer]

It won't hurt to let it sit another week if you want but I doubt it soaks up any more cherry flavor in that time than it already has. 3 weeks in secondary is long enough to get what you're gonna get. My suggestion is to taste it. If it has the flavor profile you're looking for...bottle it! If it doesn't, give it the extra week and see what happens. You can always get some extract and add to it just before bottling if it doesn't have enough flavor for your taste. That's what I did with the watermelon wheat I brewed a while back.

 

[woody189]

I read through and its nice that you got through the process. I would have brought back the ingredients and bought an extract kit. My first batch I didnt even know they site existed. Good job you are in secondary!

BTW I would just let it sit for a week and bottle when you come back.

Thanks.

I would not have even considered brewing if it weren't for this site. And it's good to know when I have a question or problem, I can get help. I don't know anyone who brews, so this site is the only reason I'm doing it.

 

[woody189]

It won't hurt to let it sit another week if you want but I doubt it soaks up any more cherry flavor in that time than it already has. 3 weeks in secondary is long enough to get what you're gonna get. My suggestion is to taste it. If it has the flavor profile you're looking for...bottle it! If it doesn't, give it the extra week and see what happens. You can always get some extract and add to it just before bottling if it doesn't have enough flavor for your taste. That's what I did with the watermelon wheat I brewed a while back.

Thanks, I'm just gonna let it sit till I get back from Vacay and bottle. It's my first batch so I don't expect it to be perfect. Maybe next I'll add a little more fruit if I'm not happy with the flavor.

I really wouldn't know what to look for when tasting the beer. I don't know the different characteristics of a beer w/ a lot of hops or wheat vs barley, etc. I just know what I like. I tend to like wheat beers best though.

 

[woody189]

Alright. So I got everything ready today to start bottling tomorrow. I opened up my fermenter and realized I had a problem. I didn't fully seal all edges of the fermenter. I'm using a 5 gallon bucket as a 2dary, and the edges weren't all the way clicked down. I'm assuming I just didn't close it properly, but I'm hoping there is a possiblity that the pressure could have popped the seal.

Either way, my beer was fermenting in a fermenter that wasn't fully closed. however, it did APPEAR to still be pretty airtight. Of course I'm still gonna bottle and hope for the best, but what are your opinions?

Also, upon opening the fermenter, it looked like some of the cherries have been decaying. Is this normal? Here are a few pics..

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr1/ravi189/IMG_0178.jpg
http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr1/ravi189/IMG_0179.jpg
http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr1/ravi189/IMG_0177.jpg

 

[rcreveli]

Fermentation creates a layer of Co2 in the bucket, since it's heavier than air, no air can get in. Also the cherries look fine to me, maybe slightly macerated, they've been soaking in a low level Alcohol solution. It's like putting strawberries in wine.

 

[woody189]

Fermentation creates a layer of Co2 in the bucket, since it's heavier than air, no air can get in. Also the cherries look fine to me, maybe slightly macerated, they've been soaking in a low level Alcohol solution. It's like putting strawberries in wine.

Thanks for the comforting news. I'm about to bottle as I speak

 

[woody189]

the bottling was time consuming, but pretty simple. Once i got my flow, it was real quick. next time i'm sure it'll be like 1/2 the time.

it wasn't that smooth though, because i wounded up with only 40 12oz bottles. i know I wasted a decent amount due to different reasons, but i'm wondering if you think that's too low.

Anyway, thanks for all the help. i'LL be sure to let you know how scrumptious or unscrumptious it is.

 

[Tallmanbrewer]

the bottling was time consuming, but pretty simple. Once i got my flow, it was real quick. next time i'm sure it'll be like 1/2 the time.

it wasn't that smooth though, because i wounded up with only 40 12oz bottles. i know I wasted a decent amount due to different reasons, but i'm wondering if you think that's too low.

Anyway, thanks for all the help. i'LL be sure to let you know how scrumptious or unscrumptious it is.

It's a little low but remember, it was your first time! Typically you will loose more by using a secondary fermenter... you left a little in the primary, a little in the secondary when you went to the bottling bucket, a little in the hoses, but the bottom line is you just made your own beer!

Just a word of caution though, in my limited experience, some fruit beers take a while to condition before they taste good. I say that to tell you not to be disappointed if you taste one in two weeks and it isn't what you hoped. Just give them more time!

 

[woody189]

It's a little low but remember, it was your first time! Typically you will loose more by using a secondary fermenter... you left a little in the primary, a little in the secondary when you went to the bottling bucket, a little in the hoses, but the bottom line is you just made your own beer!

Just a word of caution though, in my limited experience, some fruit beers take a while to condition before they taste good. I say that to tell you not to be disappointed if you taste one in two weeks and it isn't what you hoped. Just give them more time!

Yea, you're right. I hardly left any in the secondary though. The primary there was a lot, and I spilled about 1- 1 1/2 bottles when i bottled because my bottling wand kept getting stuck so when I tried to stop the flow it would keep going.

And I'll keep that in mind. I'll taste it in a few weeks just to taste, but i don't expect to start drinking them until 3. even then i will have to taste it to make sure i'm happy.

Time to get started on my next batch...

 

[woody189]

I had about 1/3 of a bottle of beer left so I decided to bottle it and put it in the fridge to see how it was cold. It turns out it tastes a lot more like wine than beer. I kno it needs time to do it's thing, But I doubt it'll taste much different. This sucks. I did a quik search and it appears like the cause may have been high fermentation temperature. BOO!!

 

[japhroaig]

Well, here is how you fix it--start your next batch and forget about this one. Let it aaaaage
most of the time in my experience wininess gets much mellower after time. Also fruit can be a culprit (ducks and runs away )

 

[woody189]

Well, here is how you fix it--start your next batch and forget about this one. Let it aaaaage
most of the time in my experience wininess gets much mellower after time. Also fruit can be a culprit (ducks and runs away )

Yup. Doesn't look like I've got much of a choice. It just sucks because I spent 2 months on this batch and it tastes like buns.

And don't blame the fruit. If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked.

J/k. You were right, but I'm probably still gonna do fruit on my next batch cause I'm an idiot.

 

[japhroaig]

yer far from an idiot, and do fruit if ya want

i guarantee you, brewing is fun and there is no substitute for doing it yourself. frankly, ignoring all the stuff I've already said sometimes the most fun is simple, "what happens when I do this * that."

Don't lose hope. my second batch took four years

 

[woody189]

yer far from an idiot, and do fruit if ya want

i guarantee you, brewing is fun and there is no substitute for doing it yourself. frankly, ignoring all the stuff I've already said sometimes the most fun is simple, "what happens when I do this * that."

Don't lose hope. my second batch took four years

So I've got good news. It's been about a week and I got impatient so last night I threw a bottle in the fridge and popped it open today. It's obviously not ready yet, but it's actually pretty good. The wineyness has mostly subsided and it's pretty good. It even had a little fizz. I was kinda upset about the batch, but now I'm really happy and excited for it to finish.

I'm looking into my next batch (which I should have done about a month ago), so I'm gonna post a new thread. Thanks so much for the help.