Guidance Needed on Recipe

[lumberjackgreg]

So I found a recipe on this site that I'm pretty interesting in making. Problem is, I'm still very new at this and am worried about missing the steps. Could a more experienced brewer fill in the assumed steps for me so I don't ruin Christmas with a nasty beer?

Here's the recipe: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f78/vanilla-bourbon-winter-ale-35863/

 

[Brew_4iT]

what kind of equipment do you have?

 

[lumberjackgreg]

I have a two step system (bucket and glass carboy). A couple cooling coils. Everything fairly basic.

 

[Brew_4iT]

Alright, well this will probably be the easiest way for you... in a nutshell

Start with one large stock pot (atleast 4 gallon). With a nylon or muslin bag fill with all your grains, pre milled. Bring a seperate pot medium size just under a boil. Fill your primary pot just about half way, maybe a little more. Add your bag of grains when the water is around 165 deg f. Stir the water around and through the bag for a few minutes you want to maintain around 155 degrees. Although anywhere between 145-160 will be fine starting out.

If all of the bag of grains are not submerged add a little water from your side pot, stir around cover wrap with some towels or a blanket and let steep for 60 min around 155. Check every 15 min if it goes below 145 add a little of the water from your side pot (should try to maintain 160-170 in your side pot).

Keep adding more warm water to your side pot if you end up using a lot of it.

After 60 minutes (mashing). Lift and drain out the wort from the bag of grains, Then steep it into the side pot (should be between 165-170) moving the bag around a little bit. Lift and drain out all of the sparged wort. Discard and add the contents from the side pot into your primary.

Bring up to a boil, once a rolling boil is accomplished set your timer for 60 min. AT 60 min, add hops as stated. Than again once the timer gets to 45 (not 45 minutes later) add the EKG.

Retain your side pot and put some water in it set on low. Put the cans of extract in face down. Once you get to 15 minutes left on the timer add the extracts WILL BE HOT use a towel. Will be thick and sticky, add as much you can then swish around some of the hot wort into the cans to break up the rest of the thick syrup if needed.

Add the rest of the adjuncts as stated, malto-dextrine etc. within the last 15 minutes. Follow other directions as stated in the recipe.

After 60 min are up cool the pot in an ice batch of water in the sink. You may add water to cool it down. *Some people don't like this method as it may bring unwanted microbes into your wort. I've never had a problem but you can use bottled water instead.

Once down to 130 degrees add to your primary bucket for fermentation. Then add cold tap water (or bottled water*) to cool it down under 80 degrees and bring up your batch volume to 5 gallons. Pitch your yeast when under 80 degrees move to your fermentation area....

Phew.. these methods aren't considered by some to be the best. But for starting out with basic equipment this will get you some might fine brew.

Any other information you need just search this site.

 

[Brew_4iT]

Oh good your wort chiller will help out a lot better than the ice bath.

Just to make sure you know the oak and extract in his recipe are added to your fermentor for 21 days not into the wort while boiling. I'm not sure if he means to add right before you pitch the yeast or a week after fermentation. I would think after, you can secondary after 10 days into your carboy on top of the oak cubes, vanilla, etc.

 

[lumberjackgreg]

The recipe doesn't discuss adding sugar prior to bottling but this seems like a necessary step for carbonation. Am I missing something?

 

[Brew_4iT]

Yes, he probably kegs and force carbs so he doesn't use priming sugar. If you are bottling you will need to use priming sugar, you can use cane or dextrose.

 

[lumberjackgreg]

I brewed this yesterday morning and in OG came in right at 1.065, so it's a tad lower than the projected 1.077, but think it should still be good.

I can say that the wort was a great golden brown and the smell during mashing was incredible... So if that's any indication, it should be excellent.

 

[lumberjackgreg]

I have some LME lying around. Would it be worth my while to take another OG reading and add some to my batch since I just went to primary yesterday afternoon?

 

[Brew_4iT]

Oh yeah I love the smell of wort!

I would leave this batch alone for now just focus on fermenting and conditioning. Still a lot of steps left to get this brew finished.

 

[djfriesen]

Don't put anything in if you are already fermenting. LME is by no means sanitary, and you run the risk of infecting this beer. Your OG was off by 12 points, which is weird, unless you didn't account for temperature variations or didn't properly mix in your topoff water. Regardless, you will get beer. It's early in your brewing career, so see how this one finishes, and then you can adjust your technique or try this recipe again to make some improvements.

 

[lumberjackgreg]

You know, I think the beer was still a little warmer than it should have been when I took my reading. Is there a calculator I can plug some numbers in to check the variations?

 

[djfriesen]

Should have been a paper along with your hydrometer. Also, I believe most recipe calculators can adjust for temps. Found this with a search the other day:

http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv.php

Should get you where you need to be, assuming you know the temp you took your reading at. Temperature won't make a ton of difference, I wouldn't think, but could be good for a few points.