First brew - solo

[tanktop]

It's sitting at 68 and I used 1 #5 packet of yeast. The Pliney kit was missing the yeast so I grabbed the packet from the kit that came with my equipment.

FYI pretty much everything I have gotten from Morebeer has been a catastrophe

 

[joshesmusica]

By #5 do you mean us-05? How many days since you pitched the yeast? If it's only one day I would pitch another pack.

If beersmith isn't accurate with extract it has to do with the setup probably. I've always hit exact numbers when using extract with beersmith.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Not to make this anymore confusing, but...

1) I'd highly recommend adding another packet of yeast. That's a very high OG for one packet to conquer.

2) I dry hop by just adding the hops to the fermenter and letting them sit for 7 days (I try to time it so I add them a week before my bottling date). FWIW.

Keep us updated on how this goes!

 

[tanktop]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1427121531.305289.jpg

I pitched the yeast around 7 last night. I won't have a chance until after 9 tonight. Should I use another packet of the same yeast?

 

[joshesmusica]

Yeah if you can rehydrate another packet of that yeast and pitch it tonight I think it will really help.

 

[brewkinger]

Here are some additional thoughts now that I have reread all the posts.

If you like your beer cold, then put it in the fridge for a while before you drink it. Those that have posted about frosty mugs are ABSOLUTELY right.
Putting a homebrewed craft beer in a frosty glass is possibly a crime.

Big beer manufacturers want you to believe it because that is the only way that their beer tastes good at all. Super cold to hide the tasteless fizzy urine.

I think that your OG is nowhere near as high as your hydrometer is reading.
Looks to me like it is stuck to the side of the cylinder and possibly being suspended by bubbles.
Wait until the bubbles settle and spin the hydrometer so that it is not touching the sides and no bubbles on it. You will get a more accurate reading.
I realize that it is pointless now that fermentation has begun to get an accurate OG, but at the very least you can learn how to get an accurate reading.

That is all I have for now.

 

[TheCondor]

Maybe I should look at my setup on beer smith since I have only used it for 2 brews.

Just to defend morebeer I love them. Living in sacramento they ship super fast and have very competitive prices. Also if you look at there website, it clearly says there kits don't include yeast or grain bags. Just saying.

One last question, is all extract the same as far as what gravity you will get from them? I thought different company's have different extract.

 

[TheCondor]

.

 

[Peruvian802]

Have you considered joining a brewing club?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=356772

 

[TheCondor]

Not really. With a 6 month old, I'm lucky to brew. [emoji1]

 

[turkeyjerky214]

+1 more for adding more yeast. If the gravity is really that high, even two packets is not enough, especially if you didn't rehydrate it. It might be beer, but it most likely won't be good. When you don't have enough yeast, they get severely stressed and produce a lot of off flavors.

 

[joshesmusica]

Maybe I should look at my setup on beer smith since I have only used it for 2 brews.

Just to defend morebeer I love them. Living in sacramento they ship super fast and have very competitive prices. Also if you look at there website, it clearly says there kits don't include yeast or grain bags. Just saying.

One last question, is all extract the same as far as what gravity you will get from them? I thought different company's have different extract.

are you selecting the right size kettle, and any top up? or if you're just dumping the trub into the fermenter, it's already accounting for trub loss. there are some little things that need to be tweaked to fit your system and processes, and that's why a lot of people don't like it. but i find if you can figure it out, it's way more accurate and has many more tools available in it than any of the internet calculators or other software.

+1 more for adding more yeast. If the gravity is really that high, even two packets is not enough, especially if you didn't rehydrate it. It might be beer, but it most likely won't be good. When you don't have enough yeast, they get severely stressed and produce a lot of off flavors.

yeah actually you're right, i realized that his production date of his yeast is november 2013, which puts his viability (according to mr. malty) at 60%. so in that case he needs 2.4 packages.

 

[TheCondor]

Yea like I said I only have a few brews with beersmith so I will definitely need to tinker around with it.

 

[TheCondor]

Do you use mobile or desktop?

 

[joshesmusica]

desktop on a mac

 

[tanktop]

So I had only asked my wife to pickup one yeast packet. I'm going to pitch that tonight and cross my fingers that my OG measurement was wrong. I'm assuming opening my primary too much could be just as bad as not enough yeast. Using #5 packet of dry yeast, what's best method to rehydrate?

 

[joshesmusica]

So I had only asked my wife to pickup one yeast packet. I'm going to pitch that tonight and cross my fingers that my OG measurement was wrong. I'm assuming opening my primary too much could be just as bad as not enough yeast. Using #5 packet of dry yeast, what's best method to rehydrate?

just for future references, people usually refer to that one as us-05. not #5.

http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_US05.pdf

the good news is that you're at least getting closer to where your pitching rate should be.

for future brews, use this calculator to figure out how much yeast to use:
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

 

[TheCondor]

For rehydrating, my method is to boil water, about 4 ounces. Once the water cools to about 80 degrees, sprinkle the yeast in but don't stir. Let sit
For about 30 minutes then stir to combine for a few minutes. Again, my method. I have seen many others.

 

[TheCondor]

During the first few days of fermentation it's ok to open as a lot of gasses are coming out and not much is going in. Just don't make a habit of it. By the way, are you seeing signs of fermentation?

 

[tanktop]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1427165825.845163.jpg

It's alive!!!

 

[tanktop]

And now I have added 2nd packet of yeast...

I should have taken a picture, the top was covered in a very thick looking film.

And damn, less than 2 minutes and it's bubbling again. I just might end up with beer!

 

[TheCondor]

End up with beer and an addictive hobby. Enjoy!! The film is called krausen by the way

 

[tanktop]

End up with beer and an addictive hobby. Enjoy!! The film is called krausen by the way

I'm so special... I read that an hour ago and thought, what film is he talking about, didn't know someone was talking about movies. Sometimes I need to slow down, most times I'm doing three things at once while planning two other projects in my head, please tell me I'm not the only one.

 

[joshesmusica]

so going back to the temperature, is it 65F ambient temp? if so i would try to lower it a bit if possible.

 

[tanktop]

I've got it at 66. I have a basement with a concrete storage room but that doubles as the cats toilet. Kids are supposed to clean it daily but that doesn't always happen. So 66 will have to do... Everything I've read and heard said 68-72, why are people here recommending colder? Does it have to do with this particular brew or is it my high gravity?

 

[brewkinger]

I've got it at 66. I have a basement with a concrete storage room but that doubles as the cats toilet. Kids are supposed to clean it daily but that doesn't always happen. So 66 will have to do... Everything I've read and heard said 68-72, why are people here recommending colder? Does it have to do with this particular brew or is it my high gravity?

We mention it because the process of fermentation is exothermic, meaning that i gives off heat.
What that means is that an ambient air temp of 66 degrees in your basement could mean that the internal temp of the beer is 5-10 degrees hotter.

Higher temps stress some yeasts and cause off flavors to be created. Too late now since it is most important to keep it cool during the first 24-48 hours when active ferment really takes off.

 

[joshesmusica]

and to further that, the more sugars there are to ferment, the more activity there will be, the more heat is created. so you're aiming for 68-72 as the beer temp, not the ambient air temp. one way you can easily help lower this if it's not possible to lower the ambient temp is by putting it in some kind of tub filled with water. if even the water is 66, that will be better than ambient air at 66. and then you could even add a bit of ice, or point a fan at the water with a wet towel draped over the top of the fermenter, and that will significantly help keep those temps low. after the main activity has stopped (anywhere between 4-7 days), then you can start to allow the temp to rise up into the 70s.

 

[brewkinger]

and to further that.... like said above with that OG (whatever it may be) there are A LOT of sugars to be processed.

If you do not already, I would make sure to have a blowoff tube instead of airlock in that bucket. If things really take off, you could have a huge mess on your hands.:cross:

 

[turkeyjerky214]

and to further that, the more sugars there are to ferment, the more activity there will be, the more heat is created. so you're aiming for 68-72 as the beer temp, not the ambient air temp. one way you can easily help lower this if it's not possible to lower the ambient temp is by putting it in some kind of tub filled with water. if even the water is 66, that will be better than ambient air at 66. and then you could even add a bit of ice, or point a fan at the water with a wet towel draped over the top of the fermenter, and that will significantly help keep those temps low. after the main activity has stopped (anywhere between 4-7 days), then you can start to allow the temp to rise up into the 70s.

I learned that lesson the hard way my first time doing a barleywine. It was around 1.100, and I had it in my basement which was around 64º. I'm not sure how hot it actually got, but it was a fusel alcohol bomb. Now that beer, I could've drank in a frosty mug. Drinking it near freezing was the only way I could handle the bite, and I was too stubborn to dump it.

 

[joshesmusica]

I learned that lesson the hard way my first time doing a barleywine. It was around 1.100, and I had it in my basement which was around 64º. I'm not sure how hot it actually got, but it was a fusel alcohol bomb. Now that beer, I could've drank in a frosty mug. Drinking it near freezing was the only way I could handle the bite, and I was too stubborn to dump it.

hahaha sounds like a very similar experience to my first christmas beer experiment. i had never really heard of a christmas beer, but it is very popular in europe. i thought that it should be high alcohol content and a lot of roastiness and some "christmas" types of spices. it turned into a very fuselish bomb (luckily, i think, i caught the temps on like the second day and made sure to chill it and kept it about ambient 60F for the rest of fermentation, but still way too many fusels for my liking). a lot of people liked the beer (but to be honest their palettes had not known fusels until i pointed them out), but it was nowhere near what i had planned. it turns out that over here a christmas beer is basically a brown ale of some sorts. in the end i drank every last one of those beers, because they weren't bad enough to dump. oddly enough some of that fusel taste wore off a bit after some time.