.... but I want to drink my beer now!!!

[mtbiker278]

The thermometer next to the fermenter read 65F. It's sitting in a shotglass with water to get a better idea of the ambient temp. As for the temp of the fermenter itself I would assume somewhere around there. I didn't get one of those stick on thermometers for the new primary. I left it in the same conditions as my first batch, but used a different yeast. The first batch used the Danstan Nottingham, second batch was Safale S-04. If you look through the forums it seems common place to see S-04 to take off like that.

 

[DubbinFive1Eight]

Seeing pictures like that makes me wonder if I am doing something wrong. I ferment 5 gallons (give or take) in a 6.5 gallon carboy and my krausen has never even come close to blowing out the airlock. What temperature was that fermenting at, mtbiker?

Well I think different beers have a tendency to go more wild than others... Wheat, for example, tend to go nuts like that... My dunkelweizen had a straight stream of co2/krausen flowing out of it for 2 days straight.. But my blond ale, oktoberfest, and german altbier had just a mere foam on top...

Yeast strains and conditions play a role too, I'm sure.

As long as you reach proper final gravity and the beer tastes like liquid pride... You're doin' it right =)

 

[akthor]

Is your carboy 5 gallons? Cuz I know I have had blowoffs in 6.5 gallon bucket with 5 gallons of wort in it.

 

[sensibull]

Is your carboy 5 gallons? Cuz I know I have had blowoffs in 6.5 gallon bucket with 5 gallons of wort in it.

Not sure if that was directed at me or mtbiker (didn't mean to threadjack). My carboy is 6.5 gallons and I've never had a blowoff, though I'm only 5 batches into this incredibly addictive hobby so perhaps my experience sample isn't high enough (though I have used 5 didn't kinds of yeast, but not s-04).

 

[Cdreid]

Can i make a suggestion for those of you who cant wait and need something to do with brewing.

I make wine for fun. Its' pickier but much less complicated. There are a Lot of other things you can do. First of all why the insistance on 5 gallon runs? 5 Gallons is a LOT of beer especially if you make something you dont like or that goes bad. Do you really drink gallons of beer a week? Try one or two gallon brews. You get to experiment a lot more and tell what things do.. theres a whole lot more to beer/wine than just what grain/fruit/veg/yeast you put in. Why not ferment 5 1 gallon containers with different combinations? And... you can document it and find out what does what. Just starting a new 1 gallon(ish...) brew a day could keep you very busy especially documenting it. And its more fun. Plus when a run goes bad you dont really care.. its not like youre out of drink.

Secondly there are a lot of other things you can do. Like learn to grow yeast. Even better to breed your own. Everyone has all these theories about the "BMC" beers. You think they as a rule let some random company provide them with random yeast? You think they "toss out and replace" yeast because its "old"? Yeast isnt a chemical. Its an organism and you can bet Heineken, Fosters, VB etc etc etc guard their yeast as closely as they can.

btw lastly a note: Using that propane burner will heat water FAST. But you might not want to use it for more than just boiling pure water. I have a metalcasting furnace i use propane with and it will literally turn the walls of my furnace glassy (thats 2100ish degrees....)

If you guys really want something like that you should consider looking into "wood gas stoves". Im thinking with twigs (yes, not kidding) and a stove the size of a paint can you could heat the water nearly as fast as the propane burner but without the noise and with less chance of bad bad things happening.

 

[Homercidal]

Can i make a suggestion for those of you who cant wait and need something to do with brewing.

I make wine for fun. Its' pickier but much less complicated. There are a Lot of other things you can do. First of all why the insistance on 5 gallon runs? 5 Gallons is a LOT of beer especially if you make something you dont like or that goes bad. Do you really drink gallons of beer a week? Try one or two gallon brews. You get to experiment a lot more and tell what things do.. theres a whole lot more to beer/wine than just what grain/fruit/veg/yeast you put in. Why not ferment 5 1 gallon containers with different combinations? And... you can document it and find out what does what. Just starting a new 1 gallon(ish...) brew a day could keep you very busy especially documenting it. And its more fun. Plus when a run goes bad you dont really care.. its not like youre out of drink.

Only thing wrong with this is it takes just as much time to brew up a small batch as it does to brew up 5 gallons, and then you will run out faster with a small batch anyway. Unless you want to experiment, a smaller batch is not going to help you wait for your beer to mature. The only cure is experience and getting a full pipe.

But there are many other aspects of brewing that one could turn their attention too, like more research, yeast ranching, etc. Lots of little projects for the crafty.

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

I would only recommend 6.5gal fermenters. I started picking up a new fermenter almost every time I get another kit. I am now up to 4 primaries and 4 corney kegs! Yay!

It is super common to want beer FAST! Pick a simple light or amber ale and keg after two weeks fermentation. You can be drinking beer the next day. A bit green, but still damn good.

 

[mtbiker278]

For clarification that's a 6gal better bottle in the photo. I've been doing more research about brewing techniques to tide myself over. I agree that I doubt I'll drink 5 gal of beer in a week, but I plan on doling it out to my friends, and stashing some away for more conditioning.

I don't think I'm going to start yeast farming anytime soon. I work in a biotech lab and have had enough exposure to yeast and bacteria to know my girlfriend (I suppose you could consider her SWMBO-ish) would not like that at all. Maybe if I had a man cave I could start working on stuff like that.

As far as other projects, I'm thinking about making something to filter out the hot and cold break when I go to dump everything into the bucket. The first two batches I've just pour everything into the fermenter (not the best I know). After this third I'll try to have some kind of strainer/filter bag to pour into. I even had thoughts of using some of the biotech-grade filters from work, but that would probably not be the best idea for a variety of reasons.

For now it's back to the local beer store.

 

[akthor]

5 gallons in a week? We go thru 5 gallons in a few hours. This Sunday we will go thru 15 gallons of beer and probably another 2 or 3 gallons of Apfelwein and Skeeter Pee.

If you have friends and they like to drink 1 gallon batches won't cut it

Only thing wrong with this is it takes just as much time to brew up a small batch as it does to brew up 5 gallons, and then you will run out faster with a small batch anyway. Unless you want to experiment, a smaller batch is not going to help you wait for your beer to mature. The only cure is experience and getting a full pipe.

But there are many other aspects of brewing that one could turn their attention too, like more research, yeast ranching, etc. Lots of little projects for the crafty.

 

[Hannable1975]

MTbiker278, I know your pain.

I too wanted my first beer to be ready just minutes after I finished the boil. I sadly rushed it, and after finding a few bottles months later realized I had cheated myself out of some good beer by drinking it too early.

Since then I have managed , thanks largely to the good advice here on HBT, and from brewing friends to learn a little patience and set my pipe line up. I do not use better bottles, though would like to get a few, but currently have 3 fermenting buckets. Hey, they are cheap.And it lest me brew every week.

Typically I can brew a batch on a weekend, rack a batch to a secondary with geletine to settle for a week, and bottle a batch. Alot of work? Nah. I look at it as relaxing time with a new FOUR new beers - the one in the fermentor whose wort I can sample , the one going to secondary I can taste and decide if I want to dry hop it or just let it settle, the one I want to bottle, and now that the pipe line is running right I usually have a newly carbed up beer to dig out of the closet and try. Then there is last week's carbed beer that has had a week of cold conditioning, and two weeks ago with 2 weeks of chill time.. well, you get the point.

Now, you may wonder, how did I get to this point? 1) Like I said, I kept reading "Have Patience" and finally did. 2) I used the first few weeks of "pipeline building" by going out and buying singles and sixers of every conceivable beer I could find to taste and decide if I like them - PLUS that is an awesome bottle source - and if your gonna brew every week, you need 48 bottles every week.

Good luck MtBiker, it's a hella good and fun hobby - and take it from someone who has been there - it's worth it. Especially if you wait.

 

[mtbiker278]

Well I bought two cases of new bottles, and I've been stock piling others from my beer purchases. With two(soon to be three) fermenters going at once I think I'm going to look into getting some of those 1L flip-top bottles. I think I saw them listed at the LHBS for like $35 for a case of 12.

On a side note, I'm already having plans on what I should be doing differently for the next batch. Since I only have a 20Qt pot, I'm planning on a late addition of the last half of the LME for my Dunkle. The Amber Ale I pour everything in at once and it seemed to have darkened a fair amount. Although I can't really say I've seen 5gal of amber beer in a carboy to compare the color to. The next step is to figure out a simple method of straining out the hot and cold break when I pour it into the fermentor. I know they have filter bags that are used for pre-filters in water purification. I'm thinking I can mock something up to straddle the bucket for when I pour everything in. I've also read some great things about this S-04 yeast in terms of settling out for clearer beer. The kit I got for the Dunkel came with Nottingham, so I think I'm going to switch that out for the WB-06. I'll be ready this time with a blow-off tube.

Thanks again for the replies. I tend to really get into my hobbies when I start, but I can see myself really doing this continuously. Now I just need to get back on the bike (or since winter is coming the snowboard) so I can keep the beer belly at bay.

 

[Cdreid]

Only thing wrong with this is it takes just as much time to brew up a small batch as it does to brew up 5 gallons, and then you will run out faster with a small batch anyway. Unless you want to experiment, a smaller batch is not going to help you wait for your beer to mature. The only cure is experience and getting a full pipe.

But there are many other aspects of brewing that one could turn their attention too, like more research, yeast ranching, etc. Lots of little projects for the crafty.

You're absolutely right and for those of you who basically have a "beer party" every week. Sounds awesome. I have a LOT of friends and hopefully i can get good enough one day to start doing that. Per the 1 gallon batches though if youre not one of the whole/grain 3 hours to set up each brew it still seems like a good idea (and is what i do with wine, and now beer). Of course.. i also have gallon jugs, small containers of yeast etc etc etc all over the house and you married guys probably dont wanna try that

 

[mtbiker278]

Well I just bottled up this beer last night. Of course I sampled it along the way, and I'm pretty pleased with the result. It's certainl got it's flaws, but for a rushed first run I don't think it came out half bad, and will hopefully be better after carbonation and some bottle conditioning. The kit instructed me to dump all the LME in and boil for 60min. I'm thinking this is the reason it came out looking more like a brown ale than an amber. The clarity could be improved as well, but I was using the ice bath meathod which probably took too long. Things to improve upon....

My IPA is going along pretty well. Everything has settled down and the yeast is starting to crash out. I plan on dry hopping this one in the secondary just so I can free up my primary again some something else. I figure I'll get some more bottles (flip-tops hopefully) and bottle up this second batch. Of course this will be after several week in the primary. From there I'll just have to wait until enough bottles are empty to bottle up the next batch after the second one. Hopefully this will prevent me from getting impatient. Unless I decide to start kegging.....

 

[BigJerk]

Quoted Cdreid: But there are many other aspects of brewing that one could turn their attention too, like more research, yeast ranching, etc. Lots of little projects for the crafty.
Ha ha, "yeast ranching" git along little yeasties! this will keep me laughing all day long!