Couple questions related to my second brew..

[StophJS]

Hey all. I'm hoping to get some opinions and information related to a few questions I have about my second brew. I am someone who is somewhat of a perfectionist and who really likes to gather information, so I've done a ton of reading prior to my first extract batch and again before my second. Both times I have still found myself with questions and doubts after I've racked to my fermenter. My first batch was the BB Imperial IPA which I think turned out quite well. It has only been in bottles for two weeks though so of course it is fairly young.

My second batch which I boiled on Sunday was the BB Holiday Ale (probably wouldn't have been my first choice but it seemed suitable for the season and I only had available stock at Siciliano's in MI to choose from). I definitely feel that my boil went much more smoothly the second time than the first, probably just owing to the fact that I was much more comfortable and actually managed to avoid a boil over . I have still found myself with some questions though as my beer is sitting in primary. First off, I've seen a fair amount of disagreement over the proper way to boil.. Following the directions and JP's 1st edition How to Brew I went for the "slow, rolling boil" - whatever that means. I'm wondering for future reference whether it would really be better to just go all out and make it vigorous. Second, I was able to chill my wort to about 78 F before throwing it in with my room temp top off water in about 24 minutes, but I really can't say that I remember a visible cold break at all. One thing I have noticed about my first brew is that it is very hazy, but that may well be because I'm throwing it in the freezer for an hour to make it cold. Third question: when threw my wort into the fermenter I transferred a fair amount of the spices from the kettle but left most on the bottom. I'm unable to find anything on whether or not this is an issue. I do know that I don't want the beer to be super spicy and "fake" tasting. Last question (I promise), and I know this one is a can of worms. The owner of sicilianos talked me into buying a 6 gallon better bottle for primary, and told me vehemently not to believe what I read online about there being no need for secondary. I am kind of leaning toward that I might as well use it since I bought it, and I don't think the guy would be deceptive to get 18 bucks out of me. I figure it might give me an opportunity to get the beer away from the spices too and take the edge of the flavors a little. Probably not though.. haha. Thanks to anyone who read this wall of text. Any thoughts are appreciate.

 

[JonK331]

I don't see a single question mark in your post but I'll give it a shot.

All you need is a good rolling boil. If it is in fact boiling then you are fine, if you are boiling on the stove you probably can't boil too hard anyway.

Don't worry about not seeing a cold break but you should be using whirlfloc tabs or irish moss if you aren't already.

Spices will be fine, if it is not spicy enough you can make a tea with more spices and add later.

The more fermenters the better but I'm am part of the school that says NO! you don't need to secondary. Check out this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/testing-long-primary-206560/

Often times LHBS owners are not as knowledgeable as some of the folks on here and certainly not as much as the group as a whole, unless they are members of course. I find that many of them aren't up on the newest techniques and schools of thought.

 

[solbes]

1) Vigorous boil, espcially in the beginning. Don't cover it completely (to avoid DMS). I slow down my boil after the first 10 minutes so that I don't have to watch it so closely. have a little extra water on hand to control boil overs.

2) Start using Irish Moss or Whirlfloc to help with cold break. Also continue to cool that baby as fast as possible. An immersion chiller may be in your future some day. I'm not sure I'd use a freezer as there are lots of bacteria in there. Conduction is your friend (chiller or sanitized ice), convection takes a long time (freezer).

3) Have no idea on spices, I've never used them

4) Go ahead and secondary if you want. I've done it both ways and have started to switch to priamary only. Just make sure it gets 2 weeks minimum on primary yeast for sub 1.06 beers and 3 weeks minimum for 1.06+. Secondary is useful for racking beer onto fruit, dry hopping, bulk aging really big beers, etc.

 

[StophJS]

Often times LHBS owners are not as knowledgeable as some of the folks on here and certainly not as much as the group as a whole, unless they are members of course. I find that many of them aren't up on the newest techniques and schools of thought.

Of course. Didn't mean to imply that he knows better than the good people on here. He may have had every intention of being honest but just not be totally up to date on home brewing knowledge.

 

[JonK331]

Of course. Didn't mean to imply that he knows better than the good people on here. He may have had every intention of being honest but just not be totally up to date on home brewing knowledge.

Totally, I think they just get wrapped up in the LHBS world sometimes and aren't necessarily up on the latest publications etc. Just something to be aware of.

 

[WhineinAlbany]

Well, it is in their best interest for you to secondary so you buy the 5 gallon carboy. . .

But seriously, I secondary. I'm crazy about making my beer as clear as I can, and it's probably all in my head that it helps with a secondary. I also use whirlfloc in the boil. I probably wouldn't bother with wheat beers (which I haven't made yet) since they are meant to be cloudy. It's a personal preference I think.

 

[mobrewdude]

I also use whirlfloc in the boil. I probably wouldn't bother with wheat beers (which I haven't made yet) since they are meant to be cloudy. It's a personal preference I think.

+1
Also a newbie but learned about Irish Moss as a clarifier after brew#1 having some chill haze. I've used it in several beers since including 2 wheat's more recently. I'm going to skip the clarifiers in the wheats from now on, they look obnoxious and out of character as a clear beer.

 

[unionrdr]

Here's a shot of my Sunset Gold APA that I got very clear with no additives;http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss71/unionrdr/PICT0001.jpg
I poured it with a smaller head to make the color stand out more with my little desk lamp/neon bulb. Just my process & a little patience make all the difference.