First 5 Gallon batch today

[pellis007]

I brewed up a California Pale Ale about 6 weeks ago using a Mr. Beer Kit. I was thrilled with how it came out after straying from the recipe by adding some crushed dried orange peel and some finishing hops. So, now I'm hooked and got all the equipment (NB Deluxe) and brewed my 1st 5 gal batch today. I brewed up a batch of NB's Caribou Slobber. Everything went great. Followed the instructions, took some advise from some forum hints, including adding a lb of brown sugar at flame out. I mixed up a yeast starter last night and it incubated about 18 hrs by the time I pitched today. I decantered most of the liquid and pitched mostly yeast. The recipe calls for and OG of 1.052. My results showed and OG of 1.065. My guess is because of the brown sugar I added. Seems to me this will be a bit of a higher alcohol content, and based on the reviews, I'm looking forward to tasting this batch with the brown sugar. I'm guessing 1-2 weeks primary, 2-4 weeks secondary before I bottle Should be ready just before Christmas. Should I be concerned with the higher specific gravity reading? What should I be shooting for FG? I'm guessing if I can get down to between 15-18 I'm doing well. Next up will be and Irish Pale Ale as soon as my primary is free. I think I'm hooked

 

[revco]

Excellent...congratulations! It's going to be beer!

Yes, your OG is higher because of the sugar and there's little reason to be concerned. It's just going to be a bigger beer. Your FG will "finish where it will finish" in my opinion, it depends on your yeast, temps, aeration at pitching and so forth...just let it sit and finish out. If it were me, though, I probably would have gone with more extract rather than sugar to get bigger...but sugar does add a different taste, if you will. (Typically, I'll reserve some extra for the last 15 minutes of the boil.) That's just my preference, though...yours may be different.

I haven't taken a beer to secondary for at least two years, unless it specifically calls for aging...and there's a lot of us that subscribe to that theory. Most of us just ferment for 3-4 weeks and then bottle. Beer is just as clear, tastes just as good or better...and it's a lot less work with less chance of infection. Something to think about.

Glad you're enjoying it! To many more beers!

 

[beerman0001]

Yes the added sugar raised you og. That kit really is great as is. Do what you want with your beer but remember that they have spent allot of $$$ developing their kits and the person that added brown sugar spent $2.00. My advice always do the kits they way they are meant to be done. Next batch make it the way you want it to be based off the first batch.

 

[Beer-lord]

I'm drinking the Slobber as I type this. Brewed up the AG version no extra sugar added. I love this stuff. Goes great with pork and the grain made awesome home made bread too!

 

[pellis007]

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. I'm planning on secondary basically so I can free up my primary for the next batch. And I did the sugar more for taste, rather than creating a bigger beer. Now I'm thinking maybe I should invest in a 2nd primary, rather than a 2nd secondary. I just can't leave well enough alone. I know these recipes have been around for awhile and are pretty much perfected. But when I read about the addition of the brown sugar, I couldn't resist...lol! All the reviews on this beer have been so favorable, I am really looking forward to drinking this one. I'm looking forward some day to moving into AG brewing, but I need a few more extract brews under my belt before I tackle that.

 

[jackson_d]

just my $0.02, i've NEVER used secondary.. ok maybe once or twice i've done HUGE imperial stouts... i'll transfer to secondary like 4 weeks after brewing..

otherwise i leave beer in the primary for 2 weeks, then dry hop if called for and leave it for another week, then keg (or probably bottle in your case).

so, what exactly did you purchase that makes something specifically have to be a 'primary' or a 'secondary' ? i have buckets and better bottles and i use them all the same as primaries (or secondaries when called for).

what i mean is, don't wait for one bucket to be empty when you have two other buckets sitting there empty! just make more beer!

:rockin:

 

[pellis007]

so, what exactly did you purchase that makes something specifically have to be a 'primary' or a 'secondary' ? i have buckets and better bottles and i use them all the same as primaries (or secondaries when called for).

what i mean is, don't wait for one bucket to be empty when you have two other buckets sitting there empty! just make more beer!

:rockin:

In my case, my primary is a 6 gal glass carboy, and my secondary is a 5 gal glass carboy. What I really should do is invest in another 6 gal carboy rather than another 5 gal carboy. That way I can have 2 primarys going and forget the secondaries.

 

[revco]

That secondary will find it's use. There's plenty of beers out there that you'll want to rest for months. And when you get there, you'll be feeling the need for more secondaries! But yes, primaries are far more valuable if you're brewing back to back batches or more than once a month.

FYI, there's no reason NOT to go to secondary if you need to free up your primary. You'll just find it to be a lot of work that can be avoided with more than one primary. As long as your cleaning, sanitation and transfer practices are solid, you'll be fine.

Buckets are fine, cheap fermenters...I used them entirely for my first year+ of brewing. Just make sure you clean/sanitize them well, don't scratch 'em up and you'll still make great beers. Glass or better bottles let you see the beer and glass removes the concern of scratching, which is nice. My buckets still see the occasional use when I get some time off and go on a brewing frenzy.

 

[pellis007]

Just an update to my first ever 5 gal batch. This batch fermented in my primary for 12 days at 66F, then racked to secondary to free up my primary for another 12 days. FG ended up at 1.019. Bottle conditioned for 2 weeks and popped open a test sample. It tasted a bit young and under-carbed as expected. Today was 3 weeks and what a difference. My 2nd sample tasted great! I'm thrilled with the results and put 1/2 a case in the fridge for a week so I can start sampling daily In 4 days or so my Irish red should be ready and a few days later my Cream Ale will be ready. Pipeline filled. Next up is my 1st all grain which will be a Vanilla Oatmeal Stout. Damn I'm having fun!:rockin: