First time Home Brew... Fail. Need answers to a few quesions

[Zrab11]

So this is the kit I choose to do for my first batch of beer.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/beerkits/WhiteHouseHoneyAle.pdf

Well its been 4 weeks and we tried it yesterday.. it smells like beer but has the slight taste of killians irish red or just flavored water.. So I def. made beer but weak beer IMO..

Here is where i messed up or have questions about.

I activated the yeast 1 1/2 hrs before I even used it. Accidentally was reading John Palmers book as I was reading the kits ingredients and got confused when to do it. So do you think the yeast had enough activity still after activating it and then letting it sit out for over an 1 hr. at room temperature?

We boiled 2 gallons of water in out 15 gal Keg. and used the 2 gallons of water through the whole brew. Should I use 5 gallons of water THE WHOLE TIME? We stepped, added extract and hopped all in 2 gallons of water. We didn't burn the extract but it def. stuck to the bottom alittle bit. Since i have a big enough kettle should i always boil 5 gallons of water. Or always follow the instructions(as instructions said only 2 )

Then we cooled the wort with a 50' Copper wort chiller. IT took 28 min to bring temp down from 150ish to 78. The water level only went up 4 coils so basically the whole wort chiller was useless besides the last 4 coils.. I built a 50' one so i had room to expand. But should i just cut off 25' of it? Or keep it at 50'? Obviously if i add more water in above step more or it would be used but still need advice?

Also How do people with kegs that don't have a ball valve transfer the wort from the keg. B/c you can't dump it out like you would a bucket b/c the rim of the keg gets in the way of the cut out top when pouring.. DO you siphon from keg to a bucket and then into a carboy or just siphon straight from Keg to carboy? (I siphoned from keg to bucket then siphoned to carboy btw.)

After adding yeast we put carboy in a temp controlled fermentation chamber. There was activity for about 2 or 3 days and then all the yeast started to fall to the bottom and then set there the next 2 weeks. Its not normal to only have activity for 2 days is it?

So i know i didn't list the whole brewing process but I did record it all. But these are the area's I feel like went wrong or I had questions about. So please help me out so I can make a better brew next time around. Let me know if I need to provide any other crucial info to help you better determine where I went wrong.

Thanks

 

[Pelican521]

I've only done a handful of brews but have learned something every time. One thing you should do right off the bat is do a full boil (or at least 4-5 gallons) since you have a chiller you shouldn't have a problem. Here's my rule of thumb for fermentation I follow, 2 weeks primary, two weeks secondary and 3 weeks to carb in bottles @70 degrees. I've also started doing late extract additions, which is to add 1/3 (approx) at the start of the 60 min boil and the remaining at the end. I usually do the late addition when there's 10 minutes left.

Oh, and if your beer is watery and not carbed up yet, it will fill in with a lot more body once carbed.

I made a lot of mistakes my first batch but cut my losses and immediately brewed another.

Hope this helps.

 

[s4l]

The yeast was probably okay. Don't cut the 25' off your chiller, just step up to do full boils. The more you can boil, the better it will be. I can't comment on the transfer question as I don't use a keg to boil in. The visible activity is normal, yeast is still working even after the krausen falls or airlock slows/stops.

 

[mathin]

None of what you mentioned sounds terrible. I'm not sure I'd say you did anything 'wrong' per se.

If you can do full boils, I'd recommend it.

Your chiller will work better with the full volume. I have a similar chiller and use it for 5 gal batches in a 15 gal kettle and it does fine even though not all the coils are submerged.

Siphoning directly from the kettle to the fermenter is fine.

Two days of airlock activity is also fine. The true test of whether it is done or not is the specific gravity. I'd recommend measuring that (before and after fermentation).

You are correct, you made beer! My first batch wasn't anything to write home about, but it was beer and I enjoyed every drop.

 

[unionrdr]

Sems to me those smack packs take 3 hours to inflate from proofing the yeast. With a 15G keg,you can do a full boil of 6 gallons or so to account for boil off. And take the BK off the burner when adding LME. It'll go straight to the bottom & burn before you get it all stirred in. Late extract aditions will give loghter color,& little or no extract twang. I add the remainder at flame out. When yo see all the rapid bubbling slow down or stop in a few days or so,it just means initial fermentation is over. It'll then slowly,uneventfully creep down to FG from there. Then I give it 3-7 days to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty.

 

[flars]

What yeast did you use? What was your fermentation temperature? Brewing process seems very sound.

 

[MedicinalMarisOtter]

+1 for going to full volume boils. A thought about doing a full volume boil for NB recipe kits is that hops utilization was calculated for a partial volume boil as per instructions. I am not sure how much of an effect that will really have but I thought it was worth mentioning. It might end up lighter in IBUs, aroma, or flavor

 

[GASoline71]

I've used the Wyeast smack packs and on occasion had little to no inflation of the pack, and still had very good yeast activity.

So just because the bag doesn't inflate doesn't mean it's bad.

Gary

 

[kh54s10]

I suspect that the beer is not ready yet. It needs 3 weeks in the bottles at about 70 degrees to carbonate fully. I have tried some at 2 weeks that had carbonation but after 3 weeks they tasted a lot better.

Did you steep the specialty grains in water less that 170 degrees? If you boiled the grains you will have drastically changed the flavor the recipe intended.

The yeast was fine the way you did it but you really should look into making starters when using liquid yeast.

Again wait another couple of weeks and then taste a beer that is ready. Then let us know if it still is not right.

 

[BigFloyd]

It doesn't sound like you did anything that could be considered a "fail".

+1 on doing full boils since you have a chiller. Leave it at 50' and see how much a full boil covers it up. When chilling, it really helps to gently stir the wort using a sanitized spoon. It will chill much faster.

Adding a 1/2" ball valve to you keggle will help to make life easier, but you can use an auto-siphon directly into the fermenter until you make that upgrade.

Here's a good source for the weldless coupling, 2-piece valve, barb and the 7/8" step bit that you'll need to drill through that tough stainless steel (make sure to lube the bit as you drill and go slow) - http://www.bargainfittings.com/

It's not at all unusual to see a couple days of very active fermentation and then have it settle down quite a bit. Fermentation is still going on. You just can't see bubbles. Let it ride and finish up.

Since you have temp control, pitch and ferment most ales in the 63-64*F range for 7 days, step up to 66-67*F until it's done and you'll be happier with the result.

 

[Zrab11]

What yeast did you use? What was your fermentation temperature? Brewing process seems very sound.

The Yeast I used was Dry Yeast: Danstar windsor Ale

Fementation Temp was 64-68

 

[Zrab11]

I suspect that the beer is not ready yet. It needs 3 weeks in the bottles at about 70 degrees to carbonate fully. I have tried some at 2 weeks that had carbonation but after 3 weeks they tasted a lot better.

Did you steep the specialty grains in water less that 170 degrees? If you boiled the grains you will have drastically changed the flavor the recipe intended.

The yeast was fine the way you did it but you really should look into making starters when using liquid yeast.

Again wait another couple of weeks and then taste a beer that is ready. Then let us know if it still is not right.

I definitely steeped the speciality grains at 150-160 degrees.

I am not well versed in making my own starters.. How is this done?

Also I will wait 2 more weeks and try it out.. My bottles have been sitting in a room with a temperature of 62 degrees. I moved them to a room that is 70 so hopefully that will help some

 

[Zrab11]

Adding a 1/2" ball valve to you keggle will help to make life easier, but you can use an auto-siphon directly into the fermenter until you make that upgrade.

Here's a good source for the weldless coupling, 2-piece valve, barb and the 7/8" step bit that you'll need to drill through that tough stainless steel (make sure to lube the bit as you drill and go slow) - http://www.bargainfittings.com/

Since you have temp control, pitch and ferment most ales in the 63-64*F range for 7 days, step up to 66-67*F until it's done and you'll be happier with the result.

Is this what i need http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=91

Do you do anything(like a screen) to prevent sludge from coming out the value?

Also I will try the 1 temp range for 7 days and step it up to a higher temp next time a brew and see how that does! Thanks for the help so far.

 

[BigFloyd]

I definitely steeped the speciality grains at 150-160 degrees.

I am not well versed in making my own starters.. How is this done?

Starters are for liquid yeast (I have one for an ESB on the stirplate in my kitchen right now). You used dry yeast. Don't make a starter with dry yeast. Instead, rehydrate it in 1/2 cup of tap water boiled, covered (with sanitized foil) then cooled to 100*F. Add yeast, after 15 minutes, stir and recover, 5 more minutes and a stir, then you simply adjust the yeast slurry temp to that of the wort (which is cooler) by adding small amounts of wort to it and letting it sit a few minutes (usually 3-4 times will do the trick).

Also I will wait 2 more weeks and try it out.. My bottles have been sitting in a room with a temperature of 62 degrees. I moved them to a room that is 70 so hopefully that will help some

There probably wasn't a whole lot of carbing/conditioning going on at 62*F. If you can get them up to 70* and keep them there a solid three weeks, that will do the trick. Also, give them 3+ days in the fridge before sampling one.

 

[BigFloyd]

Is this what i need http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=91

Do you do anything(like a screen) to prevent sludge from coming out the value?

Also I will try the 1 temp range for 7 days and step it up to a higher temp next time a brew and see how that does! Thanks for the help so far.

You're welcome. Glad to help. Lots of folks (on HBT and locally) have helped me learn the ropes.

I don't use a screen on the valve. After I remove the wort chiller, I whirlpool the wort a bit with a sanitized spoon, cover, and let it settle for 15 minutes. The whirlfloc that I added during the boil (at 10 min) helps the gunk settle out. Since I use hop sacks, it's mostly break material. It ends up in the bottom of the kettle below the valve coupling. I don't fret about a little bit getting into the bucket since it'll settle out when I cold crash later.