First batch ever - questions!!

[xile]

Hi guys,

I have just finished my first brewing experiment, which it has been a great experience however this first batch was brewed using malt extract from a beer kit as I wanted to go through the whole brewing process.
The result was good the beer tastes nice however I have got the feeling that I have not really brewed and I am very excited to start all grain but befor that I have still a couple of questions.

1 - The sanitiser product used, I have read it is safe to use however I feel a little uneasy when I use it, is there any organic way of sanitising the equipment?

2 - When I bottled the beer I could see some rest of yeast going into the bottle some of them got more some less. When I opened the ones with lot of yeast the foam started to come out of the bottle and I could see the bubbles - is that because of the yeast in the bottle and the fermentation?
- How do you "filter" the beer?

3 - I am looking forward to move into all-grain, and I would like to hear from you,
- which one should I start with?
- I will do it at home, do you think I should get a gas burner and a nice pot for the process?

Thanks for your help,
Guillermo

 

[ncbrewer]

I'll try to answer:
1. Star San is probably the most popular - it is an acid sanitizer and is no-rinse. I don't know of any "organic" sanitizer

2. There is plenty of yeast in all the bottles. Any difference in carbonation could be from either uneven distribution of priming sugar or just because some bottles have carb'd up faster than others. If you're getting gushers, you used too much priming sugar, bottled before fermentation was finished, didn't mix priming sugar in thoroughly, or there is an infection.

3. Most electric stoves can't handle a full boil - I think some gas stoves can. You could try yours to see. A gas turkey fryer can be good if you like to brew outdoors. I don't know what BTU burner you would need.

 

[cannman]

1) Not sure what sanitizer you used but if you use the product Starsan by Fivestar and you mix according to the product specification, it is safe as a non-rinse product (MUCH BETTER THAN IODINE). The product is mostly phosphorus and uses PH to disrupt the peptidoglycan layer of beer spoiling bacteria. Yeast will actually use this phosphorus as a nutrient when fermenting so yeah its pretty safe.

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/membersarchive/bs_cleaning11-10-08.mp3 - Great Episode, Facts start about 17:00

2) When you rack into your bottling bucket, you want to leave the trub and the yeast back in your fermentation vessel. When you prime with sugar, you're essentially feeding the yeast again, they reproduce again (make more yeast) and that's how the carbonation happens, so if you're not filtering out the yeast and you're sugar priming, you're going to get a yeast cake at the bottom (store beer bottles on their bottom, not like wine).

I use this filteration system, but unfortunately, all the beer filtration products on the market are used in combination with kegging. Instead, do research on cold crashing, cold conditioning, and work on your racking technique. The hardest part about racking is seeing all that beer left in your bucket LET IT GO!f

Now the bubbles, I hope it's just over carbonation. "Gushers" are often times a sign of infection. keep drinking the beer and see if the flavor changes rapidly, especially if it sours or tastes like vinegar.

3) If I were you I'd stick with kits until you get your sanitation process down, your racking ability dialed in, and upgrade some equipment. How did you control your fermentation temps? What yeast did you use? Do you know how to make a starter? What kind of water did you use and did you treat it? Why or why not? How did you cool your beer? How did you know the beer was ready to bottle? Did you take original gravity and final gravity measures? There are sooo many aspects to improve upon as a beginning that making improvement in your equipment and process FIRST will save you lots of headaches, frustration, and money in the future if you fix it NOW.

If I had to start all over again and tell myself the #1 thing(s) to do: Buy several of the same kit, and try to make the beer taste the same every time. DON'T move on until you can.

You sound like you are on a good path! But buy and read this if you have not already.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0937381888/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[HopHeavy]

...but unfortunately, all the beer filtration products on the market are used in combination with kegging.

Regarding filtering beer... The reason Cannman mentions filtration is used in conjunction with kegging isn't just the system's process. Filtration will typically remove enough (or all) yeast to render bottle conditioning an impossibility.

 

[cannman]

Regarding filtering beer... The reason Cannman mentions filtration is used in conjunction with kegging isn't just the system's process. Filtration will typically remove enough (or all) yeast to render bottle conditioning an impossibility.

Yeah I wasn't even thinking of it this way (although you can still bottle from kegs).
I was more along the lines of you need pressure to push the beer through the membrane without oxidizing the beer.

But...

Here is a filter that does not need a keg.
Overkill for the Homebrewer.


http://www.hopgoblin.com/mobile/pro...3008&gclid=CKTl7ZL67cwCFQKTaQodTXICrg&click=2

 

[HopHeavy]

Lol. I don't know about the filter, but we used to use that pump (I think) at a winery. Moved 2 or 3 barrels an hour. 55 gallon barrels, not 31! Agreed. Definitely overkill for the average homebrewer!

 

[boydster]

1 - The sanitiser product used, I have read it is safe to use however I feel a little uneasy when I use it, is there any organic way of sanitising the equipment?

2 - When I bottled the beer I could see some rest of yeast going into the bottle some of them got more some less. When I opened the ones with lot of yeast the foam started to come out of the bottle and I could see the bubbles - is that because of the yeast in the bottle and the fermentation?
- How do you "filter" the beer?

3 - I am looking forward to move into all-grain, and I would like to hear from you,
- which one should I start with?
- I will do it at home, do you think I should get a gas burner and a nice pot for the process?

1 - Get some StarSan, as was mentioned earlier. Properly diluted, you can use it in a spray bottle or toss a couple gallons into a bucket/carboy and shake it up really well to make sure you've hit all the surfaces. It's safe (and recommended) to use equipment that's still wet with StarSan or covered in the foam it tends to leave behind.

2 - What I like to do is, once the beer is at final gravity, bring the beer down to close to freezing - 35 or so - and leave it there for a few days until it drops clear. You can also use gelatin to help with clarity. Also, the foam you saw was probably just from still have some yeast and small particles in suspension, giving the dissolved CO2 plenty of nucleation sites. Longer cold conditioning in the bottles will reduce that effect.

3 - There's nothing wrong with brewing with extract - it doesn't make you less of a brewer! However, if you really want to try all-grain, I'd say to look into the brew-in-a-bag (BIAB) process. You'll probably need a bigger kettle than you used on your last batch, and yes it certainly helps to have a gas burner. I use a 10-gallon kettle for making 5.5 gallons batches. Those, along with a mesh bag, and you'll be all set for another brew day. There's a member on HBT that makes pretty nice bags: wilserbrewer

Edit: Turns out wilserbrewer is having a sale today, just noticed...

 

[mongoose33]

1 - Get some StarSan, as was mentioned earlier. Properly diluted, you can use it in a spray bottle or toss a couple gallons into a bucket/carboy and shake it up really well to make sure you've hit all the surfaces. It's safe (and recommended) to use equipment that's still wet with StarSan or covered in the foam it tends to leave behind.

That spray bottle of Star San is your friend! I use it all over the place. I have a spigot on my fermenters (BMBs) and before I attach the tubing to rack it into a keg, I spray the opening and the outside of the spigot with Star San. Whenever I switch connections on a keg, the post and the quick connect both get sprayed. Anything that might even remotely come in contact w/ the wort or beer is sanitized, and that spray bottle makes it easy for anything that can't quickly be submerged in Star San.

3 - There's nothing wrong with brewing with extract - it doesn't make you less of a brewer! However, if you really want to try all-grain, I'd say to look into the brew-in-a-bag (BIAB) process. You'll probably need a bigger kettle than you used on your last batch, and yes it certainly helps to have a gas burner. I use a 10-gallon kettle for making 5.5 gallons batches. Those, along with a mesh bag, and you'll be all set for another brew day. There's a member on HBT that makes pretty nice bags: wilserbrewer

I use a mash tun for my all-grain brewing, but if I hadn't lucked into that tun as well as a bunch of other stuff CHEAP, I would have gone BIAB. THe only thing that held me back was my pot isn't right for it (8 gallons with a thermometer that sticks out well into the pot). I really needed a 10-gallon pot w/o the thermometer.

 

[MaryB]

I even grabbed the Star San today when I got beef blood on the floor lol. Becomes a habit!

 

[Kharnynb]

Foaming and some gushing might also be a sign of incomplete conditioning or reabsorption of the co2.

 

[xile]

Wow!! Thanks a lot for your feedback guys.

1 - I will try the Star San sanitiser as it seems to be the most popular one

2 - The beer tastes good, I will try not to go to deep with the syphon next time to avoid all that yeast in the bottles. I also thought one of the reason could be the amount of sugar I used for the priming.

If I were you I'd stick with kits until you get your sanitation process down, your racking ability dialed in, and upgrade some equipment. How did you control your fermentation temps? What yeast did you use? Do you know how to make a starter? What kind of water did you use and did you treat it? Why or why not? How did you cool your beer? How did you know the beer was ready to bottle? Did you take original gravity and final gravity measures? There are sooo many aspects to improve upon as a beginning that making improvement in your equipment and process FIRST will save you lots of headaches, frustration, and money in the future if you fix it NOW.

3 - I will follow @cannman advice and repeat the whole process with another kit. Btw many thanks for the book recommendation I have already ordered it.

I also looked at the brew in a bag process which looks like a good method to start with.

Awesome stuff, getting excited about brewing guys. Thanks

 

[seabrew8]

You want some more feedback? Move to AG. And if you make a kit and you don't like to don't use it again. Repeatability is ok but its not the end all be all, your not selling the stuff.

 

[Kharnynb]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=525556