Centennial Blonde Ale Brewing and Notes

[E. coli]

Hey everyone!

I threatened that I would post another thread about my brewing experience from my first brew this past Sunday so here it is. To recap a little bit, I brewed the #1 from BierMuncher. I did a BIAB with the grain bill that was laid out in the aforementioned post for 60 minutes with a temp range of 147-151 °F. The water I used was just my city's (Pittsburgh) tap water, nothing fancy. I sparged to get a preboil volume of ~6.5 gallons and boiled down to ~5.75 gallons. Had a minor overboil with the first hop addition (added the hops and closed the lid), but scraped those goodies back into the pot. I had another issue which involved leaving the lid on and having the bubbling bring the hops around the rim of the pot. Next time I will boil sans a lid since I will get a lower, more manageable volume then with no hops sitting on the rim.

I took an OG of 1.042 adjusted to the temp at 84 °F. I was then impatient and pitched the Nottingham yeast because it was around midnight and I couldn't wait much longer. Next morning I went to check the airlock and lo and behold no bubbles...because the airlock had drained. I assume from the suck back of cooling after some time at ~71 °F ambient temps in my basement. I topped it off with Star San and then it happened again after a few hours. I checked this morning after another topping off and to my surprise it was still full! So I did something right (finally!).

So, all this to ask a few questions. Given the yeast pitching temp of 84 °F, what is my likelihood of generating fusel alcohols with the Nottingham yeast? Also, will I generate the chlorophenols since I used my city's tap water? My dad even commented on some chlorine smells that I didn't notice when filling up my pot for the mashing. It was a bit late in the process and I didn't want to go out and buy a bunch of distilled water. Should I use Campden Tablets next time? Also, which tablets should I get if so, do I get the potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite?

Thanks all, I look forward to discussing soon!

 

[jdubdvdt]

Hey everyone!

I threatened that I would post another thread about my brewing experience from my first brew this past Sunday so here it is. To recap a little bit, I brewed the #1 from BierMuncher. I did a BIAB with the grain bill that was laid out in the aforementioned post for 60 minutes with a temp range of 147-151 °F. The water I used was just my city's (Pittsburgh) tap water, nothing fancy. I sparged to get a preboil volume of ~6.5 gallons and boiled down to ~5.75 gallons. Had a minor overboil with the first hop addition (added the hops and closed the lid), but scraped those goodies back into the pot. I had another issue which involved leaving the lid on and having the bubbling bring the hops around the rim of the pot. Next time I will boil sans a lid since I will get a lower, more manageable volume then with no hops sitting on the rim.

I took an OG of 1.042 adjusted to the temp at 84 °F. I was then impatient and pitched the Nottingham yeast because it was around midnight and I couldn't wait much longer. Next morning I went to check the airlock and lo and behold no bubbles...because the airlock had drained. I assume from the suck back of cooling after some time at ~71 °F ambient temps in my basement. I topped it off with Star San and then it happened again after a few hours. I checked this morning after another topping off and to my surprise it was still full! So I did something right (finally!).

So, all this to ask a few questions. Given the yeast pitching temp of 84 °F, what is my likelihood of generating fusel alcohols with the Nottingham yeast? Also, will I generate the chlorophenols since I used my city's tap water? My dad even commented on some chlorine smells that I didn't notice when filling up my pot for the mashing. It was a bit late in the process and I didn't want to go out and buy a bunch of distilled water. Should I use Campden Tablets next time? Also, which tablets should I get if so, do I get the potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite?

Thanks all, I look forward to discussing soon!

My best water advice for you is to buy RO water or spring water - especially if you are brewing a lighter beer. I know people swear by campden tablets and whatnot, but water is your main ingredient and it doesn't cost much to get it all going. Unfortunately it is another step in the process that consumes time (retrieving water). I can't comment much on water otherwise. I was taught from the start to just buy my water for best results.

Pitching Nottingham at 84 MIGHT create fusels. It depends on how long it takes to get the wort down to proper temps before the yeast takes off.
If you cannot chill to pitching temps just wait overnight. If your sanitation practices are good you should have no issues to wait even up to 48-72 hours (although you're really playing games after 24 hours). As you can imagine - the strongest culture will survive and if you do not inoculate it before something else takes hold then you will be having a battle in the fermenter. I try to keep Nottingham under 72F, but that usually requires 68F ambient.

If you will be fermenting at 71F ambient and above you may need to look into Belgian strains (which have a lot of esters and phenols). Or a Kviek yeast.
My Saison that I ferment with WLP565 I typically let it free rise up to 80F and then at the tail of fermentation I will get it close to 90F (this is wort temp, not room temp). Omega has a couple special strains that might work, but they're expensive. I made a yeast bank for these expensive liquid yeasts. Omega Sundew is a Belgian yeast that has been modified using CRISPR technology and removed the phenol profile and creates a really nice fruity ale.

Not sure if any of this helps or I am just rambling/avoiding work.

 

[IslandLizard]

Welcome to our homebrewing forums!

The water I used was just my city's (Pittsburgh) tap water

You can get a (free) water report from your water utility. They may have it online, or call them, ask for quality control.

Look up which minerals play a role in brewing, we've got many threads on that in the Brew Science forum.
If you want to keep it simple for a while buy RO water from a water machine in grocery stores, Walmart, etc. It used to run around $0.39 a gallon. Bring your own (water) jugs or well rinsed-out milk jugs to get that price.

Should I use Campden Tablets next time? Also, which tablets should I get if so, do I get the potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite?

[EDIT] If you use city water, yes, there will be Chlorine or Chloramine present, it's the law. You should remove that before brewing with it.
Just buy the powder,* it comes in a (small) plastic bag, or jar. If it comes in a bag, keep it dry in a well sealing jar. The Campden tablets are very hard to dissolve, even if you pre-crush them. Hence, using the powder instead.

* Either Sodium or Potassium Meta-Bisulfate is suitable. It's also called Na-Meta or K-Meta resp.

Dosage for removal of Chlorine or Chloramines in tap water: 1/16 of a teaspoon per 5 gallons of water. That's a 1/4 of a 1/4 teaspoon!
That's all it takes. Add the "Meta" powder then stir well. It dissolves quickly.
You can't really overdose it in those small amounts, so if it's a little more, say even double that amount, such as a 1/8 of a teaspoon in 5 gallons, it won't be an issue.

 

[E. coli]

My best water advice for you is to buy RO water or spring water - especially if you are brewing a lighter beer. I know people swear by campden tablets and whatnot, but water is your main ingredient and it doesn't cost much to get it all going. Unfortunately it is another step in the process that consumes time (retrieving water). I can't comment much on water otherwise. I was taught from the start to just buy my water for best results.

Pitching Nottingham at 84 MIGHT create fusels. It depends on how long it takes to get the wort down to proper temps before the yeast takes off.
If you cannot chill to pitching temps just wait overnight. If your sanitation practices are good you should have no issues to wait even up to 48-72 hours (although you're really playing games after 24 hours). As you can imagine - the strongest culture will survive and if you do not inoculate it before something else takes hold then you will be having a battle in the fermenter. I try to keep Nottingham under 72F, but that usually requires 68F ambient.

If you will be fermenting at 71F ambient and above you may need to look into Belgian strains (which have a lot of esters and phenols). Or a Kviek yeast.
My Saison that I ferment with WLP565 I typically let it free rise up to 80F and then at the tail of fermentation I will get it close to 90F (this is wort temp, not room temp). Omega has a couple special strains that might work, but they're expensive. I made a yeast bank for these expensive liquid yeasts. Omega Sundew is a Belgian yeast that has been modified using CRISPR technology and removed the phenol profile and creates a really nice fruity ale.

Not sure if any of this helps or I am just rambling/avoiding work.

Hey I will take the might there! I am hoping I don't end up with them, but we shall see! They can esterify anyways so I am not as worried that just means I will have to brew another batch while they sit in the bottles for a month or so!

I will have to go and grab some big jugs of water then the next time I brew. A little annoying, but not the worst.

I will definitely look into those yeasts, I was just going with what was in the recipe because everyone told me not to deviate no matter how tempting haha. But, it is good to know that I can sub some yeasts in and be okay. That OMEGA Sundew sounds awesome, I cannot wait to dive into yeast strains. I need a few more brews under the belt before that but I am pumped!

I really appreciate the write-up, thanks!

 

[E. coli]

Welcome to our homebrewing forums!


You can get a (free) water report from your water utility. They may have it online, or call them, ask for quality control.

Look up which minerals play a role in brewing, we've got many threads on that in the Brew Science forum.
If you want to keep it simple for a while buy RO water from a water machine in grocery stores, Walmart, etc. It used to run around $0.39 a gallon. Bring your own (water) jugs or well rinsed-out milk jugs to get that price.


If you use city water, yes you should remove the Chlorine or Chloramine.
Just buy the powder,* it comes in a (small) plastic bag. Keep it dry in a well sealing jar. The Campden tablets are very hard to dissolve.

* Either Sodium or Potassium Meta-Bisulfate is suitable. It's also called Na-Meta or K-Meta resp.

Dosage for removal of Chlorine or Chloramines in tap water: 1/16 of a teaspoon per 5 gallons of water. That's a 1/4 of a 1/4 teaspoon!
That's all it takes. Add the "Meta" powder then stir well. It dissolves quickly.
You can't really overdose it in those small amounts, so if it's a little more, say even double that amount, such as a 1/8 of a teaspoon in 5 gallons, it won't be an issue.

Oooh! I knew about the water report, but I didn't think of just calling them. I couldn't find it anywhere published so I will just go to the source. I know that they use chloramines now, I wish that I would have known that prior to brewing, but alas. And okay, I will probably go with the meta powder since I don't particularly want to go out and get water each time. Do you have to let it sit for 24 hours? I was reading that it creates SO2 which is good at killing living things like yeast so I don't want to kill my cultures before I start a batch.

 

[jtratcliff]

The dosage for killing stuff in wine must is a lot higher... 1 tablet / gallon. Whereas for chlorine/chloramine removal, I think according to Palmer's "How to Brew" it's 1 tablet per 20 gallons... The reaction is pretty instantaneous. There's no need to wait.

So treat all brewing water... Strike and sparge.

 

[IslandLizard]

I don't particularly want to go out and get water each time.

I hear ya.
The RO water has no minerals in it, but we don't know what and how much minerals are in your tap water. And if that changes with the seasons, droughts, heavy rain, etc. Hence getting the report. Hopefully it's (very) soft water, then you won't need to buy (or make) RO.

Do you have to let it sit for 24 hours?

No, it's ready immediately after adding the Campden powder (or very finely crushed tablets) and simply stirring it well to make sure it's all dissolved and homogeneously distributed.

I was reading that it creates SO2 which is good at killing living things like yeast

Yeah, important when making wine, cider, mead, etc. at a much higher dosage, to kill wild yeasts that are living on the fruit.

When used in water for brewing beer you only dose at 1/16 teaspoon (a 1/4 of a 1/4 teaspoon!) per 5 gallons of water. That's such a small amount, it won't affect anything, except remove chlorine/chloramines.

 

[E. coli]

I hear ya.
The RO water has no minerals in it, but we don't know what minerals are in your tap water, and if that changes with the seasons, frouyghts, heavy rain, etc. Hence getting the report. Hopefully it's (very) soft water, then you won't need to buy (or make) RO.


No, it's ready immediately after adding the Campden powder (or very finely crushed tablets) and simply stirring it well to make sure it's all dissolved and homogeneously distributed.


Yeah, important when making wine, cider, mead, etc. at a much higher dosage, to kill wild yeasts that are living on the fruit.

When used in water for brewing beer you only dose at 1/16 teaspoon (a 1/4 of a 1/4 teaspoon!) per 5 gallons of water. That's such a small amount, it won't affect anything, except remove chlorine/chloramines.

Aha! Makes sense thanks! As for the water, no Pittsburgh is notorious for having hard water. Oh well I'll suck it up I suppose!

 

[marc1]

Did you have the lid completely on during the boil? When doing all grain you want to let some boil off happen to get rid of DMS. If you are boiling inside you may want a vent fan on to get rid of that humidity or if you do boil with a lid you can use a condenser.

 

[E. coli]

Did you have the lid completely on during the boil? When doing all grain you want to let some boil off happen to get rid of DMS. If you are boiling inside you may want a vent fan on to get rid of that humidity or if you do boil with a lid you can use a condenser.

Nope, I kept it partly on especially after the boil over. I didn't know about the DMS volatilizing here, but that's good info!

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Something to pick up for next time to help avoid boil over is a defoamer, such as fermcap S. A drop or two will eliminate foaming, and as mentioned above, best to boil without the lid.