First batch ever

[jeepinxj]

Started my first batch of wheat beer. I read a lot and made sure I got the cleanliness part down first.

So this is what I did tell me your thoughts..... 5 gallon batch

Brought water to 150 removed from heat.
Added Muntons plain wheat dry malt 6.5lbs brought to boil
Added 2/3 of my Cascade leaf hops - total 2oz
Added .5 oz of lemon peel
Let that boil for 50 minutes
Took off heat and added remainder of hops and lemon peel and covered for 10 minutes.
I then set it outside in the snow to cool to under 100degrees
Strained the hops and put into fermenting bucket.
I then added 11.5g of Safale US-05 dry ale yeast

I started this on Saturday and it is seems to be well going well. Lots of bubbles coming through the air-lock. It does smell rather "hoppy" but I am hoping it will be drinkable. Any suggestions for future? Or current?

 

[Trox]

One thing I would look into doing in the future if you are going to stay with extract for a bit is split your extract up to 1/3rd at boil and 2/3 at either last 10 minutes or flame-out.

Also remember that the airlock is not an indication of whether it is fermenting or if it is done, make sure you take FG readings a few days apart after about 14-21 days and if they are stable then it is done; might still want it to sit for a bit to let the yeast finish cleaning up after themselves.

The "hoppy" smell will fade over time so should be good by the time you bottle and let it condition for a bit.

 

[jeepinxj]

Am I supposed to take a reading now then take one 14-20 days after that?

 

[CRoth36]

Also putting the beer in snow takes a long time to cool. It insulates the pot and helps keep the heat in. I'd recommend either investing in a wort chiller or of you have a large sink or container that your pot will fit in the let it sit in ice water.

 

[jeepinxj]

Good to know! Thank you both, I will be sure to try your suggestions.

 

[Trox]

You should have taken a reading before pitching the yeast, this would give you your OG (Original Gravity) which could then be used to give you a very close estimate to what your ABV will be. Then after 14-21 days you will take a reading, wait 2-3 days and then take another reading; if they are stable then fermentation is done and that will be your FG (Final gravity). At that point you are ready to bottle and shouldn't have to worry about bottle bombs. Quite a few people would recommend leaving the beer in the primary for about 21-28 days to give the yeast a chance to finish cleaning up after themselves.

If the 2 readings are different (I would say more than .004 points apart) then the yeast hasn't quite finished up and will need some more time. Wait about 5-7 days and then take another 2 readings (2-3 days apart again), rinse and repeat until you get a stable FG.

I'm guessing you used an extract kit to start with so if you didn't take an OG no worries because those kits are really good at being dead on as long as you followed their instructions, but make sure you do take your FG readings.

 

[jeepinxj]

This was not a kit so could get interesting. What would you suggest I do at this point? I did go off of a post on byo.com if that means anything?

 

[jmitchell3]

Congrats on the first batch! My first batch just got bottled last week, so I'm anxious to try it! Happy brewing!

 

[Trox]

If you got it from another post then there posted OG should be good enough. I also just plugged the DME into Beersmith2 and looks like you'll have an OG of ~1.052. While that won't be exact I would place you with in +-.004 (I've always been within .002 of what Beersmith2 says I would be).

From now on you should always try to get an OG, its just good practice. Also if you are doing partial boils before taking the reading make sure you mix the wort and top off water well, but even then don't be too worry if your reading seems off. Wort is thicker than water; especially when it is cooled, so they might not mix together completely. Because of that your reading can be high or low depending on where you take your sample from. Don't worry if you don't get it mixed together completely though the yeast will do a great job of combining the 2 for you.

 

[andy6026]

Welcome to the hobby/obsession. It sounds like your first brew day went successfully.

Be very careful about how much priming sugar you add when it comes bottling time. I mistook ounces for cups and added waaaaay too much sugar. I then did the same again for the second batch, thinking I was already a pro. Lucky I realized my mistake and uncapped them before they exploded.

 

[SEABrewer]

Welcome!

You mention that you cooled your wort to "below 100", but you don't say how far below. Ideally you'd like your wort to be around 70 degrees F before pitching your yeast.

Another thing you'll want to mindful of as you move forward (and something you'll see discussed a lot here) is fermentation temperature control. It's probably the biggest thing you can do to go from making "pretty good beer" to "damn nice beer". :fro:

 

[jeepinxj]

Thank you everyone. I will be coming back to this when my next batch is started that's for sure! I cooled it to 85degrees then adde cold water to top off bucket. My temp fermenting temp is 67-70 degrees and in a dark place.

 

[jeepinxj]

So had my first try after bottling and it is excellent. I was pleasantly surprised and can't wait for the next batch. It's like a wheat style Sierra Nevada

 

[Trox]

That's great to hear; it is always encouraging when your first batch turns out to actually be beer, even more so if it is good beer.