First brew

[bklando]

Just finished with my first brew, went with the BB Whiskey Barrel Stout. Went into the primary good with an OG of 1.061. Very excited to try this, any tips or advice for the newbie?

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Just finished with my first brew, went with the BB Whiskey Barrel Stout. Went into the primary good with an OG of 1.061. Very excited to try this, any tips or advice for the newbie?

TIP#1 Forget about this beer and brew another one in a day or two...then forget about that one lol.. Seriously BE PATIENT. everything is fine...it is not infected...your yeast aren't dead...setting on the yeast for longer than 5 days will not cause autolysis etc etc etc lol...HA HA just let it set for 2-3 weeks THEN decide what the next step is ( secondary or just leave it a couple more weeks)

 

[Jtd6628]

How are you controlling your fermentation temps making sure you are in the range suggested for your yeast. one of the easiest ways to improve the quality of your brew.

Sent from my iPad2 using HB Talk

 

[unionrdr]

Did they give you oak chips with that kit?

 

[bklando]

Have it setting at 66 degrees in the basement, temp stays consistent.

 

[bklando]

Came with the oak chips, they recommend aging 3-4 weeks on them.

 

[bottlebomber]

In all seriousness brew a pale ale or something right now. This beer will be best sitting in the carboy for at least 6 weeks, and then in the bottles for 3 months. A pale ale, IPA, or ESB can be done and into your glass in 3 weeks.

 

[bklando]

Did they give you oak chips with that kit?

In all seriousness brew a pale ale or something right now. This beer will be best sitting in the carboy for at least 6 weeks, and then in the bottles for 3 months. A pale ale, IPA, or ESB can be done and into your glass in 3 weeks.

Sounds good, is that 6 weeks on oak? I will probably brew another batch this week.

 

[Revlus]

My mistake after brewing my first one was to put additional items I wanted for my next brew onto a birthday wishlist. Now I'm just waiting and waiting.... lol.

Going to Corrado's in NJ today... I've heard the place is pretty weak sauce at times, but I'm just looking for another extract kit... taking the advice here and brewing something else, quickly!

 

[unionrdr]

You can either soak them in bourbon or straight whiskey. Or even boil them in a small amount of water,maybe a cup or so. Then add that & the beer to secondary if you just want the oak flavor. & put the chips in a hop sack so they don't get into the bottles. That's what I did.

 

[MmmmBeer]

Good choice for a first brew, I will be doing one of these in the near future!

+1 for OHIOSTEVE's suggestions, patience has saved a few of my batches so far, on the Primary fermentation and bottle conditioning sides.

 

[unionrdr]

6 weeks on the oak might be too much,you'll have to judge that. If you soak them in liquor during fermentation,than 6-8 days will be plenty.
Plain oak may be some 2 weeks,imo. You just have to take 1oz samples to judge for yourself how much oaking is enough.

 

[bottlebomber]

Sounds good, is that 6 weeks on oak? I will probably brew another batch this week.

Oaking beers is kind of a black art, since the oak tannins can vary significantly from one to the next, toast makes a big difference etc. I wouldn't think 6 weeks though, probably transfer to your secondary, let it sit a month, then as was mentioned put the cubes in a hop sack and let them sit in there for 2 weeks. Take a sample, and let them sit longer if you like. If you do this it will probably become a beer you are quite proud of. The stouts and porters really shine after 3 months or so.

 

[unionrdr]

It also depends on whether you have chips or cubes. Cubes take longer,chips work quicker. My example was with the chips I used.

 

[bklando]

It also depends on whether you have chips or cubes. Cubes take longer,chips work quicker. My example was with the chips I used.

I have chips. I think I'm going to soak them in bourbon and do it that way.

 

[unionrdr]

I soaked 4oz of oak chips in 5 jiggers (7.5oz) of Beam's Black in a sealed container in the fridge for the whole time my dark ale fermented. In that time,2/3's of the bourbon had been absorbed. But the bourbon also soaked oak flavor out of the wood. So I poured all through a hop sack into secondary. Tied off the sack of chips & dropped it in. Then racked the ale on top of that. 8 days was plenty in my case.

 

[bklando]

At 2 weeks I am stuck at 1.022, been there 3 days. The recipe says FG should be 1.016-1.019. Should I rack it to the oak now or wait? Not sure how to get it down. Any advice

 

[unionrdr]

If you want to knock off a couple points,gently swirl the FV to stir up some yeast. Then cover the FV with an old coat or blanket to warm it up a little. It doesn't take much. My Burton ale stopped at 1.020 from a 1.065OG. I did this & got it down to FG1.018. It's in bottles now. Cleared in 3 days flat. So this should do it it you want it dried a tiny bit more.

 

[bklando]

Racked to the oak, the sample was awesome already, can't wait to taste it after about 8 days.

 

[bklando]

Just bottled while sipping some hopslam, first time and wow its good.

Sample pulled was excellent, added 6oz makers, and boiled the sugar 5 min with some expresso roast coffee, thought it would make it better, we will see. Need recommendations for the next batch. I want to do a 2ipa or a big stout.