First brew

[STFulton1]

Newbie brewer here…

My first brew is 5 gallons of Midwest Irish Stout. According to the reviews on the Midwest site…they say it comes out close to a Guiness.

I am finding it to be closer to a Newcastle (more of a nut brown color/taste).

Any ideas? I followed the directions precisely.

It spent one week in the primary and has currently been in the secondary for 1 week. (after doing a lot of reading…I probably didn't need to move to a secondary…but too late now).
I plan on leaving in secondary one more week and bottling next Sunday.
OG 1.050
Gravity last Sunday when moving from primary to secondary 1.020
Gravity today 1.018

-Scott

 

[wtfDean]

if your beer isn't as strong or dark as you thought it would be, it might be in the recipe. did you steep any roasted grains for this beer? if you did, how long did you steep them and at what temperature? unextracted caramelized sugars could be the culprit. it certainly has nothing to do with racking it to secondary

edit: alternatively, there could be nothing wrong with your beer and it just needs to spend more time figuring itself out before it begins to taste the way you expect. but if it's just not dark enough that's more likely in the roasted grain department

 

[STFulton1]

I steeped the grains for 30 minutes…as the recipe stated.

I am happy with the taste so far…was just hoping it would be darker as some of the reviews said.

First batch for me…so as long as it comes out tasting like some type of beer….I will be happy!

 

[kh54s10]

A stout will do best with a longer aging. The color won't change much but the taste is likely to change significantly when the beer is done.

I suggest a 3 week secondary then a month of bottle conditioning.

 

[wtfDean]

for a quicker turnaround, do some beers in the lower/middle end of the spectrum (pale, brown, amber) just to get some idea for the flavors you're getting out of particular recipe combinations. brewing something that requires more time in the fermenter is probably better for down the road. you could make another beer soon and put it into your primary and just not worry about racking it to secondary. that would give your stout time to mellow and give you more practical experience cooking beer.

 

[STFulton1]

for a quicker turnaround, do some beers in the lower/middle end of the spectrum (pale, brown, amber) just to get some idea for the flavors you're getting out of particular recipe combinations. brewing something that requires more time in the fermenter is probably better for down the road. you could make another beer soon and put it into your primary and just not worry about racking it to secondary. that would give your stout time to mellow and give you more practical experience cooking beer.

I just ordered the AHS Belgian White Beer that should be here later this week to start in my primary. I will leave the Stout for another 2 weeks in the secondary and then bottle. I am guessing I will leave the Belgian White in the primary for 3-4 weeks.

Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[GibbyGibson]

I have been fermenting a stout myself for three weeks. I'm disappointed that it doesn't have the mouthfeel that I was expecting. I steeped with some specialty grains and rolled oats to add more body.

Long story short, I steeped with too little water and I didn't have any base malts to the steep (helps break down the rolled oats).

Next time try steeping with some specialty grains and one minute oats to add a bit more body to your beer and keep the brown ale-ness to a minimum.

 

[wtfDean]

according to How To Brew, you can leave a beer in primary on its yeast for up to six weeks before you should consider racking it into another fermenter to prevent off flavors from yeast autolysis, which he says "smell like beef bullion"

 

[flars]

Just a quick check. You most likely have done this.
Did you rinse and drain your steeped grains over the wort at the end of the steeping time?
Have you put a measured 5 gallons of water into your fermentor and marked the 5 gallon level?

 

[STFulton1]

Just a quick check. You most likely have done this.
Did you rinse and drain your steeped grains over the wort at the end of the steeping time?
Have you put a measured 5 gallons of water into your fermentor and marked the 5 gallon level?

Yes, I did both.

 

[RM-MN]

according to How To Brew, you can leave a beer in primary on its yeast for up to six weeks before you should consider racking it into another fermenter to prevent off flavors from yeast autolysis, which he says "smell like beef bullion"

According to me you can keep a beer in the primary on the yeast at room temperature for at least 9 weeks and others have claimed several months. Autolysis is quite rare with the small quantities of beer that we brew at home.

 

[wtfDean]

According to me you can keep a beer in the primary on the yeast at room temperature for at least 9 weeks and others have claimed several months. Autolysis is quite rare with the small quantities of beer that we brew at home.

my bad

 

[RM-MN]

my bad

No, not you bad, bad info based on what big breweries have seen. Put several hundred gallons in a conical fermenter and the mass of yeast at the bottom gets stressed by the pressure and since there is so much yeast the mass heats up, yeast die, and then they can autolyze.

 

[beaston]

Yes leave it in the primary for at least 3 weeks. One week is not enough time. And if you choose to secondary only transfer it after fermentation is complete. I think this is going to become my mantra when answering questions but....be patient.