Beginners 1st batch questions

[p40whk]

Brewed my first batch yesterday and made a couple of mistakes and after searching through the threads I'm thinking I might be ok but still worry.

I brewed an American wheat from a kit and here's what I did wrong:

1) Threw the whole packet of hops pellets into the boil rather than divide it as the recipe called for. I used a mesh bag for the hops so once I realized my mistake (5 min in), I took some out and re-added it at the specified time, is this going to be an issue?

2) I was instructed to use bag ice to cool my wort from a local brew shop. He said the ice in the bag is sanitary and pure so you carefully cut the bag, dump the contents in your clean and sanitized fermenter and pour the hot wort over the ice to cool it. I'd did this adding more ice than I should and the temp dropped to 63 degrees, I pitched the yeast at this temp., too cold?

3) Forgot to take an OG reading, not worried to much about that from what I've read here.

4) I brought the wort up to 5 gallons using tap water and I realized after that I use a water softener. I only added about 1/2 gallon so will this cause a problem?

I hate being the newb and asking all these questions but I want my first batch to turn out right. Thank for all your help!

 

[Rhumbline]

Welcome to the hobby.

1-don't sweat it, at worst you'll make a beer that will taste a bit different than what you were expecting.

2-no problem.

3-no worries

4-no problem.

Enjoy.

 

[unionrdr]

Seems odd to me that they have you divide the hops rather than package them seperately. So you might get some good out of them after being in the boil 5 minutes already. But not as good as if they'd been divided. And I don't trust ice in the hot wort. Most ice isn't as sanitary as you'd think. I prefer an ice bath & strain into the fermenter & top off with cold water from the fridge.
Water from a softener contains salt,but using only 1/2 gallon might not be too bad. It depends on what yeast you used as to whether 63F will be ok or not. but generally ok,on the low side though. The recipe instruction sheet should give an OG/FG range to go by.

 

[p40whk]

Great, thanks for the welcome and advise. I used White labs liquid Heferweissen (sp) yeast and the label was damaged where the temp info was. I used bottled water for the bulk of my batch but I can get un-softened water from an outside hose, if I filtered this would it be ok? Or does it even need to be filtered?

I thought it odd that they wanted you to divide the hops but it came in a single packet and the directions called for adding 3/4 at the initial boil and the remaining 1/4 in the last 15 minutes. I just dumped the pack in because everything else was divided & I assumed this would be too

 

[logan3825]

1) Threw the whole packet of hops pellets into the boil rather than divide it as the recipe called for. I used a mesh bag for the hops so once I realized my mistake (5 min in), I took some out and re-added it at the specified time, is this going to be an issue? Not a huge deal. It will be a bit different but not to far off.

2) I was instructed to use bag ice to cool my wort from a local brew shop. He said the ice in the bag is sanitary and pure so you carefully cut the bag, dump the contents in your clean and sanitized fermenter and pour the hot wort over the ice to cool it. I'd did this adding more ice than I should and the temp dropped to 63 degrees, I pitched the yeast at this temp., too cold? Temp shouldn't be an issue. Fermentation is endothermic so it will warm up. I would never use bag ice to cool wort. I always boil all water that goes in my fermenter. It probably will not be an issue but is definitely not best practice. Also, I wouldn't pour hot wort into a fermenter.

3) Forgot to take an OG reading, not worried to much about that from what I've read here. I don't take OG readings on extract. As long as you hit your volumes you should be able to calculate it.

4) I brought the wort up to 5 gallons using tap water and I realized after that I use a water softener. I only added about 1/2 gallon so will this cause a problem? It shouldn't. I have used tap water from a house with a water softener. No problems. I wouldn't put water directly from a tap into a fermenter though. Chance for infection. I know some people have done it all the time with no issues but again is not a good practice.[/QUOTE]

 

[Zubius]

I used bottled water for the bulk of my batch but I can get un-softened water from an outside hose, if I filtered this would it be ok? Or does it even need to be filtered?

I would not use water directly from the hose. Disconnect the hose and get it from the spigot.. If you're wondering why, drink some water through the hose then from the spigot and you'll know why.

 

[p40whk]

Temp shouldn't be an issue. Fermentation is endothermic so it will warm up. I would never use bag ice to cool wort. I always boil all water that goes in my fermenter. It probably will not be an issue but is definitely not best practice. Also, I wouldn't pour hot wort into a fermenter.

I thought it odd that the guy at the brew shop recommended this based on what I've read. I should have just used the wort chiller I bought.

It's still a good learning experience

 

[unionrdr]

Temp shouldn't be an issue??! It's always an issue in brewing too cold or too warm isn't good. To cold,& the yeast settles out dormant. Too warm,& it produces off flavors,fusels,etc. But a couple degrees lower than ideal temp isn't too bad. It'll take until it warms up into ideal range to go through the reproductive phase & start visible fermentation.

 

[p40whk]

Is it worth it to add a Fermenator to my fermenter? The room it's in (basement) stays at a constant 71 degrees

 

[logan3825]

Temp shouldn't be an issue??!

@63°F no.

 

[boydster]

Fermentation is exothermic, fwiw. Not endothermic.

Pitching one vial of WL yeast may have been underpitching, which can lead to off flavors, but you will still probably make good beer. I think for a normal 5 gallon batch with White Labs yeast you want to either make a starter our pitch 2 vials. Check mrmalty.com for pitch rates.

 

[unionrdr]

@63°F no.

The point I tried to make is that temperature is very important to yeast health. Not all yeasts are comfortable or do a good job at 63F. Like Cooper's ale yeast,for example. My experiments showed that it's very sluggish & ready to go dormant at 63F. A lager yeast won't taste as good at 63F as 53F or so.
Every yeast has an ideal temp range where it does it's best. So 63F isn't always in there.

 

[NewWestBrewer]

Is it worth it to add a Fermenator to my fermenter? The room it's in (basement) stays at a constant 71 degrees

71 degress is too warm for ambient air temp. Inside the bucket will be up to 5 degrees warmer while fermentation takes place. Look up swamp cooler on here to help get your temps down to the mid 60's.

 

[p40whk]

I sent a note to White Labs just in case and their response was this:

"Normally we recommend pitching the yeast around 68 degrees so if you can warm up your beer it should help. Lag times can certainly vary even with the best conditions so be patient and let the yeast do its job"

I checked out mrmalty.com yeast calculator and it pretty much recommends 2 vials no matter what ale you're brewing. I'll either need to make a starter or get into the habit of buying 2.

 

[stevo4361]

Starters are easy and inexpensive, and worth it. Or of course use dry yeast for your normal beers and save liquid for specialty beers (i.e. Belgians).

 

[p40whk]

When I got home from work yesterday there still was no activity after 30 hours. The instructions said that if this was the case to open the lid and stir vigorously for about 45 seconds to oxygenate the wort.

I did this last night and this morning, my air lock is showing about one bubble per second. So, I'm guessing it's fermenting.

There was no foam on top when I took the lid off but it did start to foam as I stirred it.

 

[unionrdr]

I'd say Mr Malty needs tweaking if it recommends 2 vials of yeast no matter what ale you brew up. I've pitched one vial straight into a OG1.060 beer & it started visible fermentation in about 12 hours. The fastest one I ever got was my Cougar Country IPA last Sunday. A partial mash biab ale,I pitched US-05 that I rehydrated in 400mL of tap water that was @ 68.4F after 30-45 minutes. It pegged the airlock centerpiece against the cap in 15 minutes flat.
Interesting,as I'd done this 5G batch in my Cooper's Microbrew FV. @ 5 gallons (19L),that's a huge head space in a something like 27L fermenter. The maori IPA I pitched on the following Wednesday in the ale pail took 12 hours nearly to the minute to start visible fermentation. Same deal with rehydration,smaller head space in the ale pail. Same wort temp @ pitch.

 

[boydster]

Of course one vial will work, you've got a 100-billion-strong yeast army going to battle for you, but it is still underpitching for most beers. If you are brewing something that features yeast esters, a low pitch rate can make that happen. For a beer that features the hops as the star of the show, you probably want to pitch higher to limit the production of esters. This is from yeastcalc.com, but the pitching rate formula is pretty much the same anywhere I look:

There are two main types of beer, lagers and ales, and each requires a different pitching rate. For ales, one commonly used formula is 0.75 million yeast cells per Degree Plato per milliliter of wort. For lagers it's doubled to 1.5 million yeast cells per Degree Plato per milliliter of wort. (Degrees Plato is roughly equal to specific gravity divided by four.) Using this calculation on a variety of wort sizes and gravities, the recommended pitching rate for a 5 gallon batch will vary from anywhere between 150 and 600 billion yeast cells. The vials and smackpacks we use in our homebrews contain ~100 billion cells; using the pitching rates stated above, this is barely enough yeast for 5 gallons of wort at a specific gravity of 1.030. Yes, you can ferment 5 gallons of wort with 1 vial of yeast, and produce an adequate beer, but using the proper pitching rate can make the difference between an adequate beer and an award winning beer.

 

[p40whk]

Great info guys, I do appreciate it. I'm already contemplating my second batch so this is a huge learning experience and help for me.

I'll be building a prep sink in the garage this weekend just for cleaning and sanitizing so I'm not running back and forth from sink to my equipment.

 

[unionrdr]

I take those quotes with a grain of salt. I mean,what the hell,they're running a business & want to sell as much yeast as possible on one hand. But a 5 gallon batch needing 600B cells?! I don't think so...not a 1.060 batch. And producing an adequate beer vs award winner is subjective. They make it sound like you're brewing puke beer if you don't by 3 or 4 vials/activators every time. My beers are pretty darn good because of my process as well as what I use to produce them.

 

[boydster]

They are implying that 600 billion is the high end for a lager, not an ale (the quotation references both ale and lager pitching rates if you reread it, the higher pitching rates are for lagers). Also, neither Yeastcalc.com nor MrMalty.com are trying to sell yeast, so I don't think they are trying to separate you from your money. I'm not suggesting your beer isn't great, I'm just trying to help a new brewer get the information. Once he/she has all the info, it is up to them whether they want to pitch once vial, 2 vials, make a starter, use dry yeast, or leave it setting open and shoot for spontaneous fermentation.

To pitch at the appropriate rate into 5 gallons of 1.050 wort (not 5.5, which is what I normally brew when I intend on bottling 5 gallons of beer at the end), you need to pitch 175 billion yeast cells. How you get there doesn't matter. A lower pitch rate will get the job done, yes, but it will also lessen your chances of making the best possible beer. Are you likely to notice the difference between pitching 150 billion and 175 billion? Probably not, the beer will probably not suffer much. Are you more likely to notice the difference between pitching 100 billion and 175 billion? Yes, necessarily, because the yeast are forced to reproduce more, placing them under additional stress. Note, that still doesn't mean you'll make bad beer, it just means you are adding more to the likelihood that the taste will be effected. Those vials are going to get you around 100 billion cells each unless you make a starter.

 

[p40whk]

So is there a good thread on making a starter?

 

[boydster]

Try this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/how-make-yeast-starter-pictorial-76101/

 

[p40whk]

Thanks Boyd, I appreciate the link.

On anther note; I was looking at a recipe and there was a line that read: Saccharification rest temp: 152, time: 60

Is this the temp and time the grains should steep at that temp? If so, should you try to maintain that temp for the entire 60 min.?

Reason I ask is my recipe required the water to 155 degrees, turn off the heat and steep for 30 minutes. Wouldn't the temps drop if no heat is available to maintain the 155?

 

[boydster]

...should you try to maintain that temp for the entire 60 min.?

Yes. Lots of folks wrap the covered brew kettle in a blanket or an insulating winter jacket to maintain temp, works very well. Not while the flame is on, of course.

 

[p40whk]

Yes. Lots of folks wrap the covered brew kettle in a blanket or an insulating winter jacket to maintain temp, works very well. Not while the flame is on, of course.

So, add that to my list of 1st time mistakes. The guy told me to just bring it to temp, shut the heat of and tea bag the grain for 30 minutes. Then bring it back to a boil. I'm sure the temp dropped significantly in those 30 minutes so I didn't get the full starch conversion out of it.

This batch will probably be a bit light.

 

[p40whk]

And since this is the first time I've been on this site on a real computer (I've been using the App on my phone), I just found all the sticky threads that I should have read before posting!