Hello down there!

[Chadwell]

Hey, its me! Chadwell! Up here on this ledge! So, today was the day...I bought brewing equipment soon after Christmas after over a year of procrastination. It came with an Amber Ale kit. Since the day the kit arrived, it has sat in my house unused while I read How to Brew by Palmer and poured over post after post on this forum. I figured I was as ready as I'd ever be and went for it today. While I still got enjoyment out of it, I can't say it went all that smoothly! So, here I am, prepared to be hit with some "relax, it will be ok" posts...hopefully anyway; which should set me at ease. Here were my ingredients:

Two 3.3 lb. LME (Amber) cans
1 lb. crushed crystal grain
1.5 oz hop pellets (Fuggles)
2 packets Munton's dry yeast

Here were my steps -

2 gal. spring water with grain bag (1 lb crystal) brought to boil, removed from heat, steeped for 5 additional minutes. Removed grains, added 2 cans of LME and 1.5 oz Fuggles (into my now clean nylon grain bag), brought back up to boil. At this point things were going well but my boil took FOREVER. Damn electric stove is killing me. I never felt like it was a great boil either...I was afraid of scorch though so I would stir here and there. I then reduced heat to medium and boiled gently for 30 minutes.

While this was happening, I took previously boiled water (cooling) and measured 1.5 cups of it, took the temp, and mixed in my yeast packets (then covering with plastic wrap). Problem is, I noticed after the yeast was added that the temp in my glass was uneven and actually 111 F instead of my target of 95-105 F. Hope my yeast didn't die?

So, I then cooled my wort in my ice bath (40 lbs of ice in my bathtub). Took 20 minutes when I was shooting for 10-15 and this was WITH my adding 1 gallon of spring water to try and cool it. Is it ok to add water during the cool down? Maybe that was a mistake but I was flustered that it was taking too long. I got the wort down to 71 F when I pitched the yeast (yeast was at 77 F). Took a hydrometer reading at this point and was at 1.045 (target was 1.035-1.040). I assume this is fine... At any rate, the fermenter has the airlock on and it is sitting alone where I promise not to touch it. I do hope I have bubbles tomorrow. I swear I will run around crazy like that fish in Finding Nemo yelling "bubbles!"

 

[chefmike]

2 gal. spring water with grain bag (1 lb crystal) brought to boil, removed from heat, steeped for 5 additional minutes.

This is the only red flag I saw... most people would say to steep the grains below 170 degrees and NEVER boil... chapter 13 in palmer reads "The extraction of tannins is especially prevalent if the water is too hot - above 170°F. Previous practices regarding the use of specialty grains had the brewer putting the grain in the pot and bringing it to a boil before removal. That method often resulted in tannin extraction."

So you might check into that.

I bet you see bubbles tomorrow!

 

[chefmike]

So, I then cooled my wort in my ice bath (40 lbs of ice in my bathtub). Took 20 minutes when I was shooting for 10-15 and this was WITH my adding 1 gallon of spring water to try and cool it. Is it ok to add water during the cool down?

I always did a rough calculation based on the temp of my water and wort... if wort is 2.5 gallons at 100 degrees and I mix it with 2.5 gallons of 50 degree water... I should have 5 gallons at 75 degrees.

The problem people will point out with adding your top off water before your wort is cool is the possibility of oxidation. Palmer talks about it in Chapter 6:

"Other beginning-brewing books advocate pouring the hot wort after the boil into cold water in the fermenter to cool it and add oxygen for the yeast. Unfortunately the wort may still be hot enough to oxidize when it picks up oxygen from the splashing. Pouring it down the side of the bucket to minimize splashing doesn't really help either since this increases the surface area of the wort exposed to the air. Thus it is important to cool the wort rapidly to below 80°F to prevent oxidation, and then aerate it to provide the dissolved oxygen that the yeast need. "

I bet you still made beer though... probably the best beer you have ever made!

Will you post video of you running around screaming "Bubbles!"?

 

[chefmike]

You may also want to read this about improving your boil on the stove:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/improved-boiling-stovetop-53683

 

[chefmike]

2 packets Munton's dry yeast

While this was happening, I took previously boiled water (cooling) and measured 1.5 cups of it, took the temp, and mixed in my yeast packets (then covering with plastic wrap). Problem is, I noticed after the yeast was added that the temp in my glass was uneven and actually 111 F instead of my target of 95-105 F. Hope my yeast didn't die?

Muntons says the gold yeast can just be sprinkled dry onto the wort in the fermenter, no need to rehydrate. I do that with Nottingham when I use a fresh pouch. The standard yeast may be different though.

And I would not worry about having killed them... no, 111 degrees is not ideal, but those buggers WANT to make beer. Feed them sugar, the survivors will be hardy buggers ready to eat, reproduce and make you happy!

 

[EvilTOJ]

The problem people will point out with adding your top off water before your wort is cool is the possibility of oxidation.

What you're talking about is Hot Side Aeration, and frankly it's nothing homebrewers ever have to worry about.

Here's the process both me and my step-dad have done when making extract batches.

1)Finish doing the boil, leaving two gallons left in the boiler

2)crack open a homebrew

3)Top off with 2 gallons cold tap water in the boiler

4)Dump willy nilly into fermenter, top up to 5 gallons.

I've never had a problem with oxidation with this process. Now that I do all grain, I dump the hot runnings into the boiler from a bucket which aerates the crap out of it, still have seen no problems.


Now Chadwell, get down off that ledge this instant, your process is fine!

 

[Chadwell]

Thanks everyone! I woke up this morning and had great bubbling action! So, looks like my yeast is doing it's thing. I am feeling pretty good now and off the ledge. I am going to siphon to my carboy secondary next Saturday and give it two more weeks in there before bottling (1-2-3 method). Wish me luck (regarding taste of the beer)!

Great idea on the insulating wrap for the pot. I am going to try that for next time!

 

[Chadwell]

Took a hydrometer reading at this point and was at 1.045 (target was 1.035-1.040).

Siphoned to my secondary (5 gal. glass carboy) yesterday afternoon (7 days after brew day) and the hydrometer reading was 1.020. My target FG is 1.008-1.012. I am going to have it in the secondary for two weeks before bottling. Question: I know the hydrometer is the true measure of fermentation but should I expect to see some airlock activity in the next two weeks? During primary fermentation I had about 36 hours of intense bubbling.

I keep my house at 65-67 during the winter. I know this is more on the low end for ale fermentation. I am somewhat worried that the beer itself is cooler than this. Unfortunately even though I had the digital thermometer out and ready yesterday, I forgot to take the temp of my sample. Should I get a sticky thermometer for the side of my fermenters?

 

[snailsongs]

Siphoned to my secondary (5 gal. glass carboy) yesterday afternoon (7 days after brew day) and the hydrometer reading was 1.020. My target FG is 1.008-1.012. I am going to have it in the secondary for two weeks before bottling. Question: I know the hydrometer is the true measure of fermentation but should I expect to see some airlock activity in the next two weeks? During primary fermentation I had about 36 hours of intense bubbling.

I keep my house at 65-67 during the winter. I know this is more on the low end for ale fermentation. I am somewhat worried that the beer itself is cooler than this. Unfortunately even though I had the digital thermometer out and ready yesterday, I forgot to take the temp of my sample. Should I get a sticky thermometer for the side of my fermenters?

65-67 is the midrange for ale yeasts....many people swear by low-60's, and fermentation, as they will all point out, is exothermic, meaning that inside the bucket may be a few degrees hotter than your ambient temp. Also, they will tell you not to worry too much about bubbles in the airlock, and they are right, you shouldn't. I've only had bubbles pick up in the secondary a couple of times, but it doesn't mean nothing is happening. Conditioning and settling are important, too!

The most important thing to learn is zen-like patience. Be the Beer, Danny, Be the Beer......sha-na-na-na-na-na