DOH !! - First Brew

[DrummerBoySeth]

Update #8

Went ahead and bottled early, as the FG was steady after the cold crash.

Day 1 - 1.020
Day 2 - 1.020
Day 3 - 1.018 <<-- This confused me.. But I THINK I used a different hydrometer on this measure.
Day 4 - 1.020

The "off" reading was probably a different temperature than the other 3 readings. Remember, hydrometer readings vary with temperature. Also, if you think that your hydrometers do not "agree" with each other, then check them in plain water. A hydrometer should read 1.000 in water, at the temperature the hydrometer is calibrated for

 

[CDGoin]

Yep.. surprise surprise.. one reads .02 off from the other.

Went to the LHBS and got me a new one.. that I can trust.

It was also better quality too that the ones that came in the kit I was given.

 

[CDGoin]

Well here we are on week two..

One week after an early bottling just to get the batch out of the way.

Being a GREEN Beer I don't have a lot of expectations, but being I wanted to know whether my impatience killed this batch and if was even going to be drinkable, or potentially explosive I opened one of the more filled bottles. Gives to reason if I have a bottle bomb in the making it would be the one with less airspace.

So my review of the GoinBräu - Pond Water Stout

Opened with a pleasant "Pist" nothing major

Poured well, and had a nice 1/4 head on it..

Well.. it was drinkable. I have had worse.

• Slightly acidic note and flavor
• Slight wateriness to the body
• Not overly sweet
• Could barely note the vanilla (mainly in the aroma)
• Not being a hop head, I can even say there weren't quite enough
• Carbonation was light
• A touch on the sour side
• Overall had the texture and flavor of pond water (Not the bad kind.. like a clean pond you would swim in.. not a scummy one)
• VERY cloudy, almost like coffee with a touch of creamer

That all said.. its two weeks old and it was actually better than expected.

So while I think it will never be great beer, and doubt seriously it will be "good" beer, almost assuredly it will be drinkable beer.

But I think I can make one change to this beer that will make it the best beer in the world to my 21 year old son and his friends.

It will be Free beer.

 

[RM-MN]

This is a stout and you admit to bottling it early and now you are sampling it early too (I do that too) but you are proclaiming it to be drinkable but not good. OK, quit drinking it. Let it sit in the bottles for another 6 weeks and sample it again. I'm betting there will be some major changes in the flavor and body.

 

[CDGoin]

Me too.. but considering the cloudiness, it being my first batch, and the fact I think I screwed up on about 6 major points.

I think drinkable at 2 weeks is good

But yea I expect it to be a lot better in a few weeks. Main thing I was looking for was clarity, and carbonization.

I knew it wouldn't be to terribly great at this point.

The hydrometer sample from the 10th day was awesome.. I hope to get back to that body and flavor.

In the meantime.. I am on day 7 of the 2-3 weeks primary for my Oktoberfest everything with it is going quite well.

Figure when it goes to secondary, I may have to go ahead and make a third batch.. just to keep me occupied and not focused on my Oktoberfest sooner than later I will start getting to drink some of this home brew after its been properly aged.

 

[RM-MN]

Me too.. but considering the cloudiness, it being my first batch, and the fact I think I screwed up on about 6 major points.

I think drinkable at 2 weeks is good

But yea I expect it to be a lot better in a few weeks. Main thing I was looking for was clarity, and carbonization.

I knew it wouldn't be to terribly great at this point.

The hydrometer sample from the 10th day was awesome.. I hope to get back to that body and flavor.

In the meantime.. I am on day 7 of the 2-3 weeks primary for my Oktoberfest everything with it is going quite well.

Figure when it goes to secondary, I may have to go ahead and make a third batch.. just to keep me occupied and not focused on my Oktoberfest sooner than later I will start getting to drink some of this home brew after its been properly aged.

Are you really going to wait that long to start your third batch? You know from sampling early that you can make beer, now get enough going that you have something to do while the beers get good.

 

[CDGoin]

Are you really going to wait that long to start your third batch? You know from sampling early that you can make beer, now get enough going that you have something to do while the beers get good.

While very tempting would require more money in equipment and then there is the kits.. (Until I get my Mash-tun built and try my hand at All -Grain)

Right now I am getting this:

and one of these..

I plan on getting 9 more and just conditioning the brew in these 2L Growlers.

(BTW soon a tech tip on an innovative pump to work with the 2L SS Growler to make turn them into portable mini-mini-kegs )

 

[HopHeadGrady]

There's some excellent advice above.

#1 - Remove your grains, then boil. I'm surprised your bag didn't melt to the bottom of the pot
Im no expert but I think you infused tannins into your beer. You either added something you wont like, or maybe discovered the best beer ever. Let us know either way.

#2 - Your OG is fine

#3 - Buy a bigger pot

#4 - Research the IBU's of beer you like and build off that. You have increased the hop aroma and flavor in your beer by adjusting your hop schedule. I always brew a recipe stock first time to see what it's like. Sometimes I think I wont like something, and want to change it, only for it to come out great. Its hard not to eff with stuff. I got all crazy at the start with adding extract to mashes and hops ontop of a hopped kit etc and came up with some tasty, but overly powered beers. I actually went back to some kits and just did them stock to see what I missed. In some cases stock was better (Muntons Midas Touch Gold Ale) and some were worse (Coopers Draught). I logged 60 batches in the past year. About 75% of them AG.

 

[CDGoin]

Yea.. the grains F up was the biggie..

Already got a new 7 gallon pot, but found it a bit big.. my mom has an older 6 gallon brew pot (She collects kitchen equipment and junk) that I think will work fantastic.. can't wait to try it out.

Thanks for the tips on IBUs, still trying to figure out exactly what they are to my taste buds.. but think I have a good feel for it. I am going to try to hold myself back and do a stock recipe next time. That said, I said that last time..

 

[HopHeadGrady]

Funny. I had a 5 gal and at the time I was like "Holy #$%^ this is huge!". I now have a 15 gal and look at my 5'er and it's a pea shooter!

It's hard not to mess around with recipes. Make one stock and then make one the way you want and do a compare? Just do 2 2.5 gal batches or something.

IMO one of the most satisfying hops to use in my Ales is East Kent Goldings or Fuggles. Especially if you are using Maris Otter malt.

When it comes to ipa's... The "C" hops come out... Citra... Centennial, Chinook, Cascade .... etc (This is just my taste though)

Amarillo is a nice hop too for NA ales.

 

[CDGoin]

The 7 wasnt as big as it was the place to put it was small.. I have a microwave over the stove.. so height is limited.

Once I get more room in my garage, I am sure a burner (and maybe larger pots) will be on order.

 

[HopHeadGrady]

The 7 wasnt as big as it was the place to put it was small.. I have a microwave over the stove.. so height is limited.

Once I get more room in my garage, I am sure a burner (and maybe larger pots) will be on order.

Yeah, thats it. I started off doing everything indoors. Now the only thing I do indoors is pour a pint before heading to the garage to brew. AG Brewing is not something I like to do indoors.

 

[Gartywood]

Yea.. the grains F up was the biggie..

Already got a new 7 gallon pot, but found it a bit big.. my mom has an older 6 gallon brew pot (She collects kitchen equipment and junk) that I think will work fantastic.. can't wait to try it out.

Thanks for the tips on IBUs, still trying to figure out exactly what they are to my taste buds.. but think I have a good feel for it. I am going to try to hold myself back and do a stock recipe next time. That said, I said that last time..

Get a brewers best kit for a style that you like and follow the instructions/recipe with regards to hopping. OR think of a beer that you like and look for clone recipes and follow them. This is going to be the best way to determine how you feel about bitterness in a specific style. Then next time if there was something that you didn't like (too bitter, too much hop flavor, too much hop aroma) you can adjust.

Boil longer for bitterness.
boil 20-5 minutes for flavor (some bitterness contribution).
boil 5 to 0 minutes for aroma (almost no bitterness contribution).

 

[CDGoin]

OK.. first bottle out of the frig.

Its good !!

Good:

1) Subtle smells of Dark Chocolate and Vanilla

2) Very Malty hit to the tongue (Can taste the over cooked grain.. that's for sure.. but in a pumpernickel way.. if this were bread it would definitely be pumpernickel)

3) Nice carbonation.. a bit mild, but gives that nice sharpness to it.

4) Lots of vanilla.. (Wonder why).. but again not in a terribly bad way. I can see doing half the beans in the boil like I did and then the 2 beans or so in the secondary. While a lot of vanilla is there, its also not in your face.. probably due to the strong malty flavor from the grains.

No "Off flavors" that I can tell (Other than what I know where they came from, see above).

Overall very happy with it.. and if a few survive for a few more weeks who knows if it will get even better. Good thing is that its good enough right now I may drink it all before it "gets better".

On negative.. slight burps bring back a very almost hoppy flavor.

Overall compared to Duck-Rabbits Milk Stout, its a bit sharper, more vanilla, a little more malty and a bit less body.

For a beer that's only 22 days old (1 week fermentor, 2 weeks bottles) it could be worse.. and as others have noted, at 21 days its a little early to be drinking it.

To which my reply is : "If its drinkable and tastes good.. why should I wait ??"

No seriously.. any reason ? Other than the beer will probably get better.

 

[RM-MN]

No seriously.. any reason ? Other than the beer will probably get better.

Not just better but much better. It takes much more than 21 days for a stout to ferment out, get properly carbonated and mature into a fine beer. Have your wife hide some of those for another 2 months and then sample those and ask yourself why you drank so many that weren't ready. It really will get much better.

 

[CDGoin]

Not just better but much better. It takes much more than 21 days for a stout to ferment out, get properly carbonated and mature into a fine beer. Have your wife hide some of those for another 2 months and then sample those and ask yourself why you drank so many that weren't ready. It really will get much better.

Well I know WHY..

But think I will leave a few 6 packs in the fridge.. got another 2 weeks till the monthly HB Club meeting..

I am also noticing a bit of inconsistency.. so will let whats left of the batch age a bit. Guess I will just have to go to the local beer store and get something to tide me over.

AT least now if I need to RDWHAHB I CAN

 

[CDGoin]

Well.. the 1st batch was a success !! Consistency over the 3 six packs I drank wasn't too bad.. lots of what I am sure others will describe as "Off-flavors". But it is beer and it is drinkable.. and good enough one could argue it tastes just like I wanted it too.. All I know I would rather drink this Home Brew than any BMC..

Doing my 3rd (and probably last Extract) batch.. ( 2nd is an Oktoberfest I Infused with an extra 2 lbs of honey and have it lagering in the fridge now.. )

This one is a Russian Imperial Stout.. and day 2 the Krausen is just beautiful.. nice brown tips of yeast on top of a 1-1/2" tall head.. and its only at about the 18 hour mark..

 

[CDGoin]

Well.. may have spoke too soon.. Possible Infection (Doubtful).

I think although I was told aging will make it get better.

Have to say.. apparently not always the case..

The grainy flavor from overcooking the grains, is starting to come a LOT more forward, and even a touch more sourness has started to appear.

Opens random ones from the stash, and 95% the same across the board.

Oh well..

 

[RM-MN]

If I read prior post correctly, you are about 4 weeks from brewing this, correct? It still isn't ready. Some of my stouts and porters changed drastically from week 4 to week 10. Try hiding the rest of this batch (if you have any left) and give it the time it needs.

 

[CDGoin]

OH after the first night I was getting 2-3 a night.. but noticed all of a sudden they went bad.. Not sure if it was teh extended time in the fridge or what.

So I have taken them out of the fridge and back into storage. I have a local brew group meeting next Wed I wanted to take some too..

I'll leave them be for now, and let them age.. hopefully they will get better.

Would it be a bad idea to shake them all, to maybe get the yeast active again.. if there is anything for them to do that is.

I'm wondering if the "good" ones weren't the first part of the bottling when things were going well.. and the were later in the bottling. Because later in the bottling it got messy and I can see them possibly getting infected then (Dogs got let in, wand and hose started to leak..) it wasn't fun. Letting them age definitely isn't going to hurt, so for the time being I forget them in the garage somewhere while my better batches brew..