Help with first brew!!!

[Will_Brewforfood]

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend and I are beginners in the brewing world and new to these forums.

Actually, I came specifically here to seek some advice. I recently purchased some rye nuts to brew (now I kinda wish I had done extract). The boiling and mashing processes were very messy and I had to strain it several times to get the boiled solution separated from the rye grains.

Anyways, I added enough water to make 1.5 gallons, added an entire packet of SAF-05 yeast to lukewarm wort (decided not to rehydrate and did an entire packet, figuring losses didn't matter if i used the entire packet). The fermenting mixture has been stored in a cooler in my closet and it's been relatively cool in the house since it's winter (60-70ish degF in the cooler).

Two weeks in so I'm about to dry hop and I check on the beer and see this moderately white cloudy mixture that is semi-translucent. The bottom is a cloudier white skim milk/water mixture that settles eventually but the whole thing never clears up. It smells like a fruity yogurt. There are no growths on the surface.

The bottom of the mixture probably looks like the picture I attached.

So my big question is..... Has something gone awfully wrong? Should I keep going with the hop addition and then bottling? Is there something else I need to do?

THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVICE!

 

[bacgabe]

Oh my. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I would save your hops. You may want to purchase some extract and try again. Where did you get the rye? Was it malted? Was it crushed. Did you boil the grain? Any of these cod be your problem. If you boiled the grain you destroyed any enzymes, leading you to a fermenter full of starchy water instead of sugary wort. I suspect that is your problem.

 

[jekeane]

I am not sure what you have in that glass I am thinking it is not likely beer.

Did you use 100% rye malt? If so then you probably made something awful. The most rye malt in a beer is 50-60% and that is a specific style, usually rye is maxed at about 20%.

Did you mill the grain?

Did you use an actual recipe if so posting it may help.

It sounds to me like you just tossed grain into water then tried to strain it out with a colander or something. You need either a mashtun or a grain bag to do all grain.

I would suggest checking out How To Brew by Palmer http://www.30draugi.lv/meslaine/How_To_Brew_-_By_John_Palmer.pdf

Or reading about how to do biab https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=233289

Start with a proven recipe and good technique.

 

[Moose_MI]

What are rye nuts? I'd suggest Google "Palmer How to Brew". An hour of reading or YouTube videos will blow your mind. . Good luck!

 

[bransona]

Looks like a loss to me. Sorry, mate. +1 on extract, especially a recipe kit for your first brew. I did one extract kit then jumped straight to biab all grain. I would highly recommend it. That liquid looks like a nightmare in a glass, though.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

how's it taste?

 

[Aristotelian]

Where did you get the "rye nuts" and who told you that you could make beer out of them? You need to get a standard beer base malt - that means grain that has been through the malting process. I don't think it's necessary to start with extract but you should definitely go to a home brew shop and get a kit and some advice from someone who knows what they are doing. I don't know what you made but it isn't beer!

 

[Will_Brewforfood]

Thanks for all of the quick replies!

Sorry, it wasn't rye nuts, it was "rye berries". It was purchased from a local farmer. We got a coffee grinder and ground up about 2.5 pounds. Then added it to water and boiled for about 45 minutes.

The grain was then filtered out and the remaining liquid placed into the jug for fermenting. To be honest, we used an extract once before so we figured this was probably the same process except it wouldn't be "just add water". It would be more of grinding, boiling and straining.


After reading a little bit more from the website below, it looks like we used the whole grain form instead of the malted grain.

 

[bransona]

Thanks for all of the quick replies!

Sorry, it wasn't rye nuts, it was "rye berries". It was purchased from a local farmer. We got a coffee grinder and ground up about 2.5 pounds. Then added it to water and boiled for about 45 minutes.

The grain was then filtered out and the remaining liquid placed into the jug for fermenting. To be honest, we used an extract once before so we figured this was probably the same process except it wouldn't be "just add water". It would be more of grinding, boiling and straining.


After reading a little bit more from the website below, it looks like we used the whole grain form instead of the malted grain.

Not sure if this makes it any better, but boiling the grains would have resulted in something just as useless as unmalted grains. Just keep your chin up and keep doing your research. Try ordering real malt online or going to a brew store.

 

[Will_Brewforfood]

Thanks! We are idiots apparently.

I'll have to read up more about the malting process and why it's necessary.

 

[bransona]

Hey, don't beat yourself up! We've all done silly things. If you're wanting to make beer from grains though, it needs to be malted. Definitely Google John palmers "how to brew." it's available in a great, streamlined flash site for free. It should clear up your confusion. Also, +1 on not making 100% rye beer. Go with barley or malted wheat.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

Thanks! We are idiots apparently.

I'll have to read up more about the malting process and why it's necessary.

naw, bruva! you're just learning. don't be afraid to ask anything here. everyone starts from somewhere.