First brew underway

[KookyBrewsky]

First two batches bottled! Both spent roughly 3 weeks in primary. They were done two days apart. The second one was my "disaster" brew, so I decided to bottle the second batch first, as a sort of test-run.

I cold crashed both last night in a makeshift 40-gallon tub freezer using a $20 storage bin from Home Depot. I cut holes in the lid, filled it with ice, and popped the lid nicely over the two fermenters with their tops sticking out, sealing the shoddy cutting with a wet towel. Both beers were nearly crystal-clean.

First batch I brewed was a chocolate stout which I could NOT have done better (beginner's luck). My FG was either on or 0.001 off. It tastes so good. The second batch, chipotle porter has an extreme zip to it from the peppers Perfect for the cold nights we don't have in Florida. FG of the chipotle porter was about 0.004 off though, in the direction of extra alcohol...

Cheers everyone and thank you all for the help. This was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done. Now we just see if I get any bottle bombs or not and enjoy a sweet beverage in three weeks. Two more batches sitting in the tub now. I probably won't brew for a month or two. These two batches made 47 (chipotle) and 49 (chocolate stout) respectively. I'm going to drink that 49th chocolate stout after one week so I can experience how green beer changes over time.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Yet another SOS...

So my most recent two batches, 3 and 4, are still fermenting away in primary. I will bottle one on March 21 and one on March 27. The problem is, I just noticed one of the air locks was under filled and I have absolutely no idea how long it has been under filled. I use sanitizer in the air locks. I have no idea why this one must’ve experienced more evaporation than my first two batches which had no problems regarding this. I’m worried some air borne disease has now made contact with the batch. Is that a likely scenario?

Sigh.

 

[Jag75]

Yet another SOS...

So my most recent two batches, 3 and 4, are still fermenting away in primary. I will bottle one on March 21 and one on March 27. The problem is, I just noticed one of the air locks was under filled and I have absolutely no idea how long it has been under filled. I use sanitizer in the air locks. I have no idea why this one must’ve experienced more evaporation than my first two batches which had no problems regarding this. I’m worried some air borne disease has now made contact with the batch. Is that a likely scenario?

Sigh.

Your probably alright . You still had liquid in there . I've had my airlock under the line before and everything turned out just fine.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Your probably alright . You still had liquid in there . I've had my airlock under the line before and everything turned out just fine.

Well the thing is sometimes I’d test it by “forcing a bubble”. I’d just press slightly on the lid and it’d make the air lock bubble. This time it didn’t bubble meaning it had no lock there’s a huge possibility some air debris/bacteria got in there.

 

[lowtones84]

If anything oxidation could be an issue, but I still doubt it. Fill it back up and bottle when you're ready.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

If anything oxidation could be an issue, but I still doubt it. Fill it back up and bottle when you're ready.

Thanks for the reply! I am tasting it as we speak. I had to use an alternative yeast so the flavor profile is already different than the original kit, however it’s not bad! It’s quite refreshing actually, my first pale ale. Color seems a bit off but oh well. FG was 0.0005 or so off target. All in all, not bad! She’ll be ready to bottle on Saturday.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

I just finished up my fifth batch and it went flawlessly, the OG was slightly under but that's fine. I dropped my magnetic stir bar in from my Erlenmeyer flask into the fermenter, minor goof, will try to remember in the future...


One last bit of info I'd like to ask, where should I head from here? Or better yet, where did all of you head from here (5 gallon extract brewing)?

Should I look into 5 gallon all-grain brewing? 10 gallon brewing? A combination of the two? Brew in a bag? I think I'm quite set on purchases for 5 gallon extract brewing, the only immediate thing I can think of is a slightly more robust brew pot, however if I get off my stove the slightly concave bottom won't matter as much. So I think it'll be a propane burner which is future proofed anyway.

Let me know! Cheers.

 

[McKnuckle]

All grain brewing (or just brewing, for short ) is a must IMHO. In terms of batch size, how much beer do you need to have around? The mantra for nearly all brewers reading books and forums, and buying kits, is 5 gallons. I started with that because it was what everyone talked about. Later, I discovered that having hundreds of bottles of beer laying around - good, bad, and indifferent - was not what I wanted.

So I brew 2.5 gallon batches and package them in 2.5 gallon kegs. Like, the same thing as 5 gallons but half as much! And I enjoy brewing 1 gallon trial batches which I put into 500 mL flip-top bottles. I'm the only drinker in my house and I am a fit guy, so I'm not keen on excess in the alcohol department.

In terms of a system, sky's the limit but you should really fully explore electric brewing, particularly 240V options if you're going to stay with 5 gallons and above. For smaller batches, the 120V mash pipe systems are hard to beat for convenience and price. Propane is loud and hot and needs to be outside.

Then again, simple BIAB rocks, too. I'm a believer in learning technique and honing process vs. accumulating shiny gear. Yes, I have a Speidel Braumeister, which is considered a premium $ all-in-one system, but I also brew on DIY components that I have cobbled together over the years. I'm not impressed with a mountain of stainless steel like some folks seem to be. It's the product, not the tools, that matters.

On another front, from some of your posts, it seems your fermentation procedure and facilities are a bit haphazard. You might consider working on that first. It's really the most important part of making consistently high quality beer, even though it's boring to watch compared to "brew day."

 

[lowtones84]

I do "two vessel" BIAB and love it. Look up "partial mash" as well, that's how I made the bridge and it was perfect. I tend to do 2.5-3 gallon batches as well just so I can brew more often/try different styles or modifications to recipes that I like.

I don't agree that the fermentation necessarily looks haphazard, you have the right idea. However, knowing the temperature of the fermenting beer/worst accurately is important. Swamp coolers are great, but if you don't know what the temp truly is, it's not that effective. There are plenty of temperature probes that can go inside the fermenting vessel with a display outside so you know how to judge if you need to add ice bottles to your swamp cooler, etc. Ideally we want a fermentation chamber, but I've been brewing for a decade and only recently got that going. Keep it up!

 

[KookyBrewsky]

T

All grain brewing (or just brewing, for short ) is a must IMHO. In terms of batch size, how much beer do you need to have around? The mantra for nearly all brewers reading books and forums, and buying kits, is 5 gallons. I started with that because it was what everyone talked about. Later, I discovered that having hundreds of bottles of beer laying around - good, bad, and indifferent - was not what I wanted.

So I brew 2.5 gallon batches and package them in 2.5 gallon kegs. Like, the same thing as 5 gallons but half as much! And I enjoy brewing 1 gallon trial batches which I put into 500 mL flip-top bottles. I'm the only drinker in my house and I am a fit guy, so I'm not keen on excess in the alcohol department.

In terms of a system, sky's the limit but you should really fully explore electric brewing, particularly 240V options if you're going to stay with 5 gallons and above. For smaller batches, the 120V mash pipe systems are hard to beat for convenience and price. Propane is loud and hot and needs to be outside.

Then again, simple BIAB rocks, too. I'm a believer in learning technique and honing process vs. accumulating shiny gear. Yes, I have a Speidel Braumeister, which is considered a premium $ all-in-one system, but I also brew on DIY components that I have cobbled together over the years. I'm not impressed with a mountain of stainless steel like some folks seem to be. It's the product, not the tools, that matters.

On another front, from some of your posts, it seems your fermentation procedure and facilities are a bit haphazard. You might consider working on that first. It's really the most important part of making consistently high quality beer, even though it's boring to watch compared to "brew day."

That’s true! Right now I have two circles cut out of a 40 gallon storage tub sealed with wet towels. I have a 4 inch layer of cool water on the bottom, ice interchanged as necessary and today’s brew covered in a wet towel. Haphazard doesn’t do that botched job justice! I will let my beers condition, taste them and enjoy the fruits of my labor for now as I assess the future of my brewing. I do plan to give a lot of it away. I’m the only one at my house but my family has many friends that would love free homebrew. I could use impartial feedback as well.

I’d need to look into a fermentation chamber, that has to be my next move. Right now I can cool two batches haphazardly but I’d rather cool one with precision.

It looks like I’m sticking with 5 gallon. If I were to continue on it also looks like BIAB, partial or all-grain. I could care less about the equipment overall, the part I find most enjoyable is the scientific process behind it all. I just got books on yeast and hops. Maybe if I if finish those they’ll take me in directions I hadn’t even planned! Because for right now, the beer seems to be turning out fine (based on gravity readings and tasting right before bottling). I love processes as well as any type of fermentation recipe, hot sauce, kombucha, etc. I love the tastes they provide.

I am in no rush but the feedback has given me enough to think on.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Glad to see you are enjoying your new hobby! Im new as well to home brewing as my first brew was only a couple months ago but I'm obsessive about processes and have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of all aspects of brewing from brew day to fermentation to kegging. If you are interested in fermentation chambers and/or more precise control during fermentation, a lot of peeps on here use fermonsters (cheap) with ferm-wrap for heat and a mini fridge for cooling with some sort of temp probe on the outside. Thats what I did. Obviously you can make this as cheap or expensive as you want. I posted a Dual Fermentation Systems Build thread a little while ago that has a parts list if you are interested in seeing what might be required to build one yourself. Really none of those ideas were mine, but I put together lots of what others were doing to fit my needs. I bought everything new but you could certainly go cheaper if you sourced some of the parts, especially the mini fridge, off of craigslist. Welcome to the hobby though and glad you are having fun which is most important.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Well, bottling my fourth brew which I was most excited for.

this one utilized something homebrewing.org calls “steep to convert”. Not sure if there’s another name. It’s sort of like BIAB but smaller and I still use LME.

Today I mixed up my priming sugar and guava flavoring having confidence and then tested the FG and it was way too high for a Guava Haze IPA.

OG = 1.060
FG = 1.026

the taste is absolutely amazing but it’s lacking a bit of the alcohol sting. This one is supposed to land at the highest ABV of all my brews, 6.5-6.75%.

I need help ASAP, should I go ahead and bottle? It’s already mixed with the priming sugar and flavoring I only had one of. Don’t want two entire cases of bottle bombs. It’s been in primary for 3 weeks. Barely 55% attenuation? Verified with hydrometer...

Toss or bottle?

 

[dwhite60]

Well, bottling my fourth brew which I was most excited for.

this one utilized something homebrewing.org calls “steep to convert”. Not sure if there’s another name. It’s sort of like BIAB but smaller and I still use LME.

Today I mixed up my priming sugar and guava flavoring having confidence and then tested the FG and it was way too high for a Guava Haze IPA.

OG = 1.060
FG = 1.026

the taste is absolutely amazing but it’s lacking a bit of the alcohol sting. This one is supposed to land at the highest ABV of all my brews, 6.5-6.75%.

I need help ASAP, should I go ahead and bottle? It’s already mixed with the priming sugar and flavoring I only had one of. Don’t want two entire cases of bottle bombs. It’s been in primary for 3 weeks. Barely 55% attenuation? Verified with hydrometer...

Toss or bottle?

Really pays to check your gravity over a couple days to make sure it's done fermenting. What temp has it been kept at? It didn't get too cold somehow which would have put the, yeast to sleep?

If it's been three weeks you're probably good. Still, keep them in something like a tub with a lid. Start checking them after a week.

Tough call at this point.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Really pays to check your gravity over a couple days to make sure it's done fermenting. How long has it been in the fermenter?

All the Best,
D. White

So far I had been of the camp not to check it so I didn’t mess anything up some how with oxygen or contamination.

It’s been in the primary fermenter 3 weeks. I just transferred it to bottling bucket with 2/3 cup of dextrose and guava flavoring. It looks like my only options are to toss it, or maybe put an airlock on the bottling bucket and leave it for another two weeks and add 2/3 cup more dextrose...

I think I’m stuck here though, that high a FG they’re sure to explode.

 

[Jag75]

With those numbers your beer is a 4.4 abv
What yeast did you use? That 1.026 seems high for an IPA. Did you check with a hydrometer or refractometer?

Seems like your past the point because you already added the priming sugar for bottling. Did the kit have a projected fg?

 

[dwhite60]

Airlock it and let it sit if you can.

DO NOT JUST DUMP IT! It'll be fine but will take a little massaging.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[KookyBrewsky]

With those numbers your beer is a 4.4 abv
What yeast did you use? That 1.026 seems high for an IPA. Did you check with a hydrometer or refractometer?

It was a kit. I unfortunately didn’t write down the yeast as I thought it was on the recipe sheet but it just says “1 sachet”. I can’t remember.

It looks like I’m going to have to toss it. As it’s been sitting in the bottling bucket for a while now.

I don’t have an FG offhand but the projected ABV was 6.5-6.75%, using the equation to find FG.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Airlock it and let it sit if you can.

DO NOT JUST DUMP IT! It'll be fine but will take a little massaging.

All the Best,
D. White

Should I pitch anymore yeast? Or even the yeast at the bottom? This was right before I started using a starter.

 

[Jag75]

What temp did you have it at? You might be able to swirl the yeast and bump the temp a bit

 

[KookyBrewsky]

What temp did you have it at? You might be able to swirl the yeast and bump the temp a bit

After the first 5 days it was sitting at 73-74*F for the remainder of the 3 weeks.

it’s sitting in the bottling bucket now. The dextrose was already put in. I transferred 3 spoonfuls of the yeast cake inTo the batch and carefully stirred. Will see if any activity arises. I do not have any regrets, it’s all a learning experience. No skunked batches yet but this ones fermentation looked active at the time and the yeast cake looked proper, yet seemed to stall. No idea where it went wrong. Tastes great but too sweet and too little alcohol.

 

[lowtones84]

Today I mixed up my priming sugar and guava flavoring having confidence and then tested the FG and it was way too high for a Guava Haze IPA.

Did you check FG before or after adding the priming sugar and guava flavoring?

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Did you check FG before or after adding the priming sugar and guava flavoring?

before.

 

[lowtones84]

Just checking! Yeah, that's not finished.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Just checking! Yeah, that's not finished.

well then what do you suggest? Dump it? I doubt after 3 weeks it’ll be doing much else.

 

[dwhite60]

well then what do you suggest? Dump it? I doubt after 3 weeks it’ll be doing much else.

PATIENCE is the brewers best friend. Sometimes adding a little straight sugar to a stuck brew will get it going again.

Don't dump it.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[lowtones84]

I wouldn't dump it either. I would just pop an airlock on that and let it go. Transferring like that kicked the yeast up again too. Probably won't be your best, but it will be beer.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

The airlock seems to be bubbling again! However I don't plan on keeping it at anything other than 74F unless you suggest otherwise? I did not add any sugar besides 2/3 cup or so of dextrose, transferred the beer, and added three small scoops of the yeast cake to the beer. This is an interesting experiment! Surely the yeast will want to multiply, the beer, although ~4% ABV, was very sweet. There has to be sugar in there for them to eat other than the dextrose.

The only concern I have if it kicks up again is how their eating of the guava flavoring sugars will impact the overall beer. This is going to be very interesting.

You know things have taken a turn for the worst when you're fermenting in your bottling bucket....

 

[dwhite60]

Very happy accidents happen. Bet this is better than you think. Probably little sugar in the guava flavoring. You may lose some flavor but not all of it.

Patience.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Very happy accidents happen. Bet this is better than you think. Probably little sugar in the guava flavoring. You may lose some flavor but not all of it.

Patience.

All the Best,
D. White

Even before the guava it was quite sweet... I checked FG again and it was still high. I created a starter with the yeast last night.

As an update I found out it was the Windsor British yeast, which after further research is apparently so flocculent some suggest stirring it daily, that may have been my issue more than anything... Ignorance. Which I then used to potentially sabotage and contaminate the batch with all sorts of attempts to save it. Let's hope the starter is healthy, should solve everything.

 

[Nubiwan]

If I was starting over I would pick a style category like American Ales or whatever you like and work with one yeast, one base malt, one hop, one specialty malt. I would have made progress much quicker.

I kept hopping around, and I still feel I haven't mastered that many ingredients.

I liked the "hopping around" bit.