First Brew done - not the usual one I guess

[Joppo]

10 hours ago I finished my first homebrew

Citra IPA

Coopers Lager Kit
2.2 lb light DME
3.5oz Citra
US-05

60min - .5oz
30min - .5oz
15min - .5oz
5min 1.3oz
dry hop .7oz

4 gallon

OG: 1.058 (measured)
ABV: about 6%
IBU: unknown, but should be enough

Fermenting at 72F

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

awesome!!!

congrats, bro! what do ya have on deck for the next batch?

BTW, i'm watching Finland's junior hockey team destroy Denmark on tv as i type! 7-1 in the third!

 

[mux]

Lager at 72? Is that just to start fermentation? Then drop temp?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Lager at 72? Is that just to start fermentation? Then drop temp?

he used saf 05, not lager yeast. just a coopers lager can as a base for the recipe.

 

[Cimerian]

It is so cool finishing that first homebrew. Then finishing that first bottling. All to get that first sip of your own beer.

 

[Joppo]

Lager at 72? Is that just to start fermentation? Then drop temp?

Coopers Lager kit was just one fermentable component.

 

[Joppo]

awesome!!!

congrats, bro! what do ya have on deck for the next batch?

BTW, i'm watching Finland's junior hockey team destroy Denmark on tv as i type! 7-1 in the third!

Next one is going to be Saison with 3711.

Go Finland!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Next one is going to be Saison with 3711.

Go Finland!

oh nice! that'll be good for the upcoming spring.

and yeah, it's 8-1 now, pretty one sided game. they look really good this year.

 

[Joppo]

It's 5am here, but I'm so stoked about the brew that I can't sleep.
Citra's scent is still in the air

 

[djfriesen]

That was me after my first yeast pitch. I lost sleep thinking about it.

 

[Joppo]

I stared at the airlock for a few minutes thinking "bubble, bubble, BUBBLE" and I saw some bubbling!

 

[Joppo]

Now there's bubbles every 1-2 sec so I guess it's fermenting ok.

 

[Joppo]

Airlock activity stopped today, so I guess the fermentation is about over.
I'll check the gravity on friday.

1. Two weeks in primary and one week in secondary with dry hops?
2. One week primary and two week secondary with last week dry hops added?
3. Three week primary with last week dry hops added?

 

[midlo-brewer]

I'm new here and have only done a few brews, but my vote would be for #3-Three weeks in primary with last week of dry hops added. Either way I am sure the beer will turn out great!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Airlock activity stopped today, so I guess the fermentation is about over.
I'll check the gravity on friday.

1. Two weeks in primary and one week in secondary with dry hops?
2. One week primary and two week secondary with last week dry hops added?
3. Three week primary with last week dry hops added?

either one or three. i personally prefer to primary my beers for three weeks, then dry hop in secondary for a week. but it works just as well to dry hop in primary, just be sure that the FG is stable and the beers starting to drop clear in the fermenter.

 

[Joppo]

I checked the gravity today and it was 1.016.
The sample was quite yeasty so does that matter somehow?
Taste was great despite the yeasty flavor and it smelled nice.

I'll think I go with two weeks in primary and one week in secondary with dry hops.

This is going to be awesome!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

the yeastiness will go away with some time on it. two weeks, as long as FG is stable is plenty of time, and the one weeks on dry hops in secondary is exactly how i do my dry hopped brews; 2 or so week primary, rack to secondary on top of hops, bottle/keg a week later.
it will be awesome!!

 

[ACbrewer]

did you pull your sample from the 'middle' or from the bottom? if from the bottom, you might have picked up a bit more yeast. I sometimes fridge my hydro tube (cause I like beer cold, even flat green beer). Anyhow this will alow any sediment a few mins to drop and will show you clear or not.

As for yeasty, I'm all of the "if it tastes good it doesn't matter"

 

[Joppo]

Sample was from bottom tap.
I know that the end product should not be yeasty, my question was did the yeast alter the gravity measurement somehow?
I'll take new measurements before bottling so it should be a little clearer then.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

not likely that they'd change the gravity reading.

 

[Joppo]

Ok. Thanks.

Sample poured to glass

 

[Joppo]

After racking to secondary over my dry hops should I relocate the FV to cooler place?
My other sauna keeps at 61-63 F in winter because there's heater to keep the basic temp. It's now been 9 days in 68F.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

i dry hop in a secondary vessel and don't bother with the swamp cooler, keep it in a room with an ambient temp between 65-68. i've heard dry hopping around 70 will give the best results.

 

[Joppo]

It's now been 18 days in the primary and I chose to toss the dry hops there too, so no secondary.
So I guess it's time to bottle next week this time!

 

[Joppo]

Citra IPA, bottled