First brew, first question, yeast related

[BugDude]

Hello everyone.

My first brew is going to be a Irish Red Ale
It will be a partial boil

Recipe calls for
7lbs of ultralight malt extract (liquid, in a bag)

Steeping grains
1lb crystal 120L
8ozAbbey
8oz caramunich
2oz black roasted
2oz special b

Hops
1.5 northern brewer 60min
2oz willamette 1min

My yeast is white labs, liquid vile, Irish red ale yeast. WLP004

My question is. The brewstore that sold my wife the kit told her to get 2 yeast viles. The instructions on the viles say "1 "vile per 5 gallons"

Would it be detrimental to use 2 viles or should I only use 1? Can you over yeast?

Hope I gave enough info. If you need any more please let me know

Also if you think I should be asking anything different please let me know

Thank you in advance

~Bug

 

[drhookmec]

The instructions on the viles say "1 "vile per 5 gallons"



~Bug

This depends on what your starting gravity will be.

If your starting gravity is going to be in the 1050 range I'd use 2 viles.

 

[brewkinger]

This depends on what your starting gravity will be.

If your starting gravity is going to be in the 1050 range I'd use 2 viles.

Yes... but at $6-$7 per vial, you may want to look into "How to make a yeast starter"
(The assumption here is that you do not have the ability or know how to make a starter, so if I am wrong Please do correct this assumption)

Essentially a starter is a mini-wort that a single vial of yeast is added to (usually days in advance of the actual brew day) that allows the yeast to wake up and start reproduction.
A single vial of White Labs (?? 100 billion cells) can be upped to as much as you need.

Start HERE

 

[Facinerous]

Since its your first brew. Just do it the way you were instructed to. Pitching two vials of yeast is not going to hurt your brew.

I have done that plenty of times and the beer has always been great unless I mess something else up during the brewing process. I have yet to blame the yeast for a bad batch of beer.

Many people will say you should do a yeast starter, and in many ways its beneficial. Its not an absolute necessity though. So as to keep your brewing simple for the first time I would skip the yeast starter step unless you become greatly interested in it.

 

[Kaz]

The reason for 2 VIALS is to pitch more yeast cells. You can accomplish this by using one vial to grow up more cells in a yeast starter as stated above. Being your first brew, I would also just stick to the path of least resistance and use two vials. Starters are easy but sane the, for a few brews down the road.

 

[BugDude]

Thanks for the responses all. This is my first attempt at brewing. I have read up on starters but they seem complicated. I'm sure it's just that I've been researching every aspect of brewing and my minds turning to mush. Figure the best way to understand is to try it out.


So far it's been eventful. I cleaned all my gear, marked my gallon lines and got everything sorted. However the propane cooker I borrowed from my folks was the same one we used to use when I was 12 and apparently the fittings have changed drastically in the past 20 years. HAHA. should have checked that.

So in short I've got my pot on the electric ceremaic cooktop in the kitchen with my fingers crossed that it will work.

I can tell that this is going to be an adventure


Thanks again
~Bug

 

[brewkinger]

Making a yeast starter is really no more complicated than making beer.
Add some DME to some water.
Boil and cool to yeast pitching temps.
Add yeast, cover with foil an give it a swirl every time you walk by it.

Eventually a stir plate and flask make it a little easier, but the process remains the same.

 

[progmac]

i think you'll get better results if you use both vials. either way will make beer.

 

[brewkinger]

i think you'll get better results if you use both vials. either way will make beer.

Totally agree on this batch.
Keep it simple this time and use both vials since you have them.

Research starters and try one on your next brew.

 

[sudbuster]

Hello everyone.

My first brew is going to be a Irish Red Ale
It will be a partial boil

Recipe calls for
7lbs of ultralight malt extract (liquid, in a bag)

Steeping grains
1lb crystal 120L
8ozAbbey
8oz caramunich
2oz black roasted
2oz special b

Hops
1.5 northern brewer 60min
2oz willamette 1min

My yeast is white labs, liquid vile, Irish red ale yeast. WLP004

My question is. The brewstore that sold my wife the kit told her to get 2 yeast viles. The instructions on the viles say "1 "vile per 5 gallons"

Would it be detrimental to use 2 viles or should I only use 1? Can you over yeast?

Hope I gave enough info. If you need any more please let me know

Also if you think I should be asking anything different please let me know

Thank you in advance

~Bug

Your wife was right and your LHS advice was right, and the guys saying 2 tubes are right. You plainly said this is your first beer. You will want a sucessful, good tastiing brew as a result for you efforts, also to impress your wife. Almost all EXPERIENCED brewers make yeast starters, but yeast starters is a great place to contaminate your brew. As you gain experience and build on past successes, you will have plenty of time to investigate the ins and outs of yeast starters and proper sanitation proceedures.
My only advice is that you use a cover of a small piece of clean aluminum foil as a hood over your fermenter as you pitch your yeast.
Best of luck to you, and may you and your wife enjoy your first chosen homebrew......

 

[sudbuster]

Hello everyone.

My first brew is going to be a Irish Red Ale
It will be a partial boil

Recipe calls for
7lbs of ultralight malt extract (liquid, in a bag)

Steeping grains
1lb crystal 120L
8ozAbbey
8oz caramunich
2oz black roasted
2oz special b

Hops
1.5 northern brewer 60min
2oz willamette 1min

My yeast is white labs, liquid vile, Irish red ale yeast. WLP004

My question is. The brewstore that sold my wife the kit told her to get 2 yeast viles. The instructions on the viles say "1 "vile per 5 gallons"

Would it be detrimental to use 2 viles or should I only use 1? Can you over yeast?

Hope I gave enough info. If you need any more please let me know

Also if you think I should be asking anything different please let me know

Thank you in advance

~Bug

Your wife was right and your LHS advice was right, and the guys saying 2 tubes are right. You plainly said this is your first beer. You will want a sucessful, good tastiing brew as a result for you efforts, also to impress your wife. Almost all EXPERIENCED brewers make yeast starters, but a yeast starter is a great place to contaminate your brew. As you gain experience and build on past successes, you will have plenty of time to investigate the ins and outs of yeast starters and proper sanitation proceedures.
My only advice is that you use a cover of a small piece of clean aluminum foil as a hood over your fermenter as you pitch your yeast.
Best of luck to you, and may you and your wife enjoy your first chosen homebrew......

 

[BugDude]

Thanks again guys. I'm 15 mins from completing my boil. I ended up taking the valves off my BBQ and fitting them to the propane burner because it was taking forever to even steep water on my ceramic cooktop.

Appreciate all the advice. And of course this experience has formed plenty of new questions. Haha

~Bug

 

[BugDude]

So it's all done and the carboy. I have a few more questions now.

First 30 or so minutes into the boil it started acting up like it wanted to boil over. Just like when I first added the extract and turned the heat up.

Does the wort need to boil or does it need to boil vigorously? Maybe I just had the temp up too high.

Second. My og was about 1.058. The estimated og per instructions was 1.049-53. I know I'm over but is it significantly over? What would cause me to be over?

I didn't know that the yeast vile would explode like a shaken soda. Not quite sure how much of the first vile I got in there. Got the majority of the second. If for some reason fermenting doesn't take place can I throw in another vile?

 

[Facinerous]

Your yeast should be fine. Sounds like you got the brewers version of the ol exploding cigorette trick. When the yeast vial warms up to room temp there will be pressure. Can be quite the eruption if your not ready for it. As long as you got at least one complete tube of that yeast in the fermenter then your totally fine. Between the two I'm willing to bet you did.

Did you aerate the wort? That is probably the best thing you can do to help the yeast, aside from that there is really nothing to can do now except let the magic happen. You should pretty much be able to aerate the wort anytime within 4 hours of pitching the yeast.

As far as the boil is concerned, the phrase vigorous boil is used frequently. Yes, the boil should be vigorous. One trick is when the wort is about to hit the boil state, hover over it and wait till it starts to foam up. When it does just blow on it, stir it, and or turn the heat down to knock the foam down. After about a minute the foam will subside and you can turn the heat up. The only other time you will see foam like the first minute is when you add hops, but its not nearly as bad.

Your og being high could be for many reasons, but I'm willing to bet that your total volume may not have been as much as the recipes intent. (which is not a problem at all) Or if you added top up water after the boil it takes a little time for the water to mix in with the wort. So you may have pulled a thicker version of the wort than if it had been completely mixed in. Still not even remotely a problem though.

Sounds like your about 3 to 4 weeks from having a good batch of beer.