hola

[cowperc]

hey guys...just finished bottling my first batch. i did a two-bucket kit from American Brewmaster (http://www.americanbrewmaster.com/) here in Raleigh. i went with the Irish Red Ale...

anyway, i feel pretty good about everything except this: the batch only produced 34 bottles. that seems WAY low to me. am i paranoid, or is that pretty far off? i didn't see a thread dedicated to this type of question in the FAQ...sorry if it's repetative.

thanks! can't wait to start round two.

 

[Chudz]

Howdy,

That does seem low to me as well for 12oz bottles, which I'm assuming you're using. I'm not familiar with the AB kits, but if they're for 5 gallon batches then something happened along the way. if you'd care to share more of the process you used for brewing then maybe we can pinpoint it.

 

[cowperc]

yep...12 oz bottles.

i steeped 2.5 gallons, then boiled with the malt extract and hops for an hour...let it cool and added to 2.5 gallons of cold water. it fermented a week (airlock bubbled for about 2.5 days), then i moved to the bottling bucket. let it sit there for four days and bottled tonight...

the hydrometer was reading 1.06 when i started fermenting, and stayed steady at 1.01 for three days when i went to bottle.

 

[Chudz]

Hmm, several things pop into mind.

1) Did the 2.5 gallons of cold water bring it up to the 5 gallon mark on your fermenter?

2) I'm sure you'd notice it, but I'm only asking because it happened to me, does your bottling bucket have any leaks from the spigot area?

3) I don't suppose you used a pint glass full each time you took a hydrometer reading?

Other than that, I don't have a clue unless you have a dog or cat that figured out how to drink out of your fermenter by feeding a straw through the airlock hole.

 

[cowperc]

1. i never bothered to look at what level it went up to...i just presumed that 2.5 + 2.5 = 5 lol

2. no leaks. it was up on my kitchen counter the whole time, and i would definitely have noticed.

3. no pint pulls lol...i kept that to the bare minimum; just enough to fill the tube that the hydrometer came in

 

[Chudz]

For number one I guess it would depend on how much you had boil-off during the time it was brewing. If it was significant, that may explain why you're at a low bottle count. Something to keep an eye on for batch number two.

 

[chrryghst]

When I bottled my first batch a few weeks ago, I only came out with 37 bottles, and I attribute that to some siphoning issues. When I transferred to secondary, I left at least a 6 pack behind in the primary. I have since then got my technique down and got every bit of goodness out of my last batch.

 

[cowperc]

hmm...good point chrryghst. i definitely left a little in the fermenting bucket...and there was a TON of sludge that i didn't want to affect the bottling process. sure as hell wasn't 14 bottles worth, though.

 

[wyzazz]

You didn't account for Boil off, your initial 2.5 gallons probably ended up being more like 1.5-2 gallons in the end. Always top up to the 5 gallon mark on your fermenter.

 

[cowperc]

You didn't account for Boil off, your initial 2.5 gallons probably ended up being more like 1.5-2 gallons in the end. Always top up to the 5 gallon mark on your fermenter.

that's just as much water as needed that i'm adding? cool.

what does that mean for this batch? is it going to taste too strong to be very good??

 

[bigdug]

+1 to wyazz's post. I have used American Brewmasters kits for some time and they are great with better instructions than most kits. If you transfered to your bottling bucket 4 days prior to bottling how did you add your priming sugar?

 

[wawawrx]

correct me if i'm wrong, and this is my first post; so i'm sure i am wrong,

but in a 5 gallon batch, wouldn't you boil between 5.5 and 6 gallons of water initially to account for evaporation?

 

[wyzazz]

It's going to be a little stronger, more mouthfeel. It'll most likely be fine, just a bigger beer then that recipe was designed to make.

 

[cowperc]

+1 to wyazz's post. I have used American Brewmasters kits for some time and they are great with better instructions than most kits. If you transfered to your bottling bucket 4 days prior to bottling how did you add your priming sugar?

i poured in the priming sugar mix, stirred it around, and let it settle for about 10 minutes (when i first poured the wort into the fermenting bucket, i had it go through a sterilitzed strainer, so most of my sediment was already out of the equation)

thanks for all the input, guys.

 

[bigdug]

okay, I thought you might have added the priming sugar when you moved to the bottling bucket.

 

[Hang Glider]

is it going to taste too strong to be very good??

not likely. It might be a little stronger, but I bet it will still be just fine.

Evaporation during the boil can be significant-- a gallon in an hour (if not more!) is very common.

 

[Hang Glider]

correct me if i'm wrong, and this is my first post; so i'm sure i am wrong,

but in a 5 gallon batch, wouldn't you boil between 5.5 and 6 gallons of water initially to account for evaporation?

Welcome to HBT, wawawrx -
yes, evaporation has to be accounted for, but with a rolling boil, it's more likely to be at least a gallon, even a gallon and a half over an hour. I boil 6.5 to 6.75 for a 5 gallon batch.

 

[wawawrx]

Welcome to HBT, wawawrx -
yes, evaporation has to be accounted for, but with a rolling boil, it's more likely to be at least a gallon, even a gallon and a half over an hour. I boil 6.5 to 6.75 for a 5 gallon batch.

ah. i read (somewhere) that for a partial, 2 3 gallon boils would do fine... i'm doing my first batch this weekend, (digression: sorry for the thread jack) would you recommend doing two 3.25 partials instead?

 

[Hang Glider]

Boil as much as you can, for hop utilization, but then top off to the 5 gallon mark - If you measure, you'll know what your evaporation losses are.

hop utilization - gets complicated, but in simple terms - the more water you boil, the more hops. If you boil one gallon and top off with four, then you're "diluting!!" the hops. Conversely, if you boil four and top off with one, less dilution, stronger hop presence. Someone may weigh in regarding hop utilization and wort gravity, or you can search a little if you want to go deeper.

 

[cowperc]

well...i know it's early, but i wanted to test the batch and see what's what, this being my first attempt.

to recap: brewed 1/30; racked to secondary on 2/5; bottled on 2/9, exactly one week ago tonight. i put a single bottle in the fridge last night, and just cracked it open. frankly i'm a little surprised at some of the results.

first off -- nice amber color. psyched to see my work come to fruition. not too much sediment in the bottle, and while it's somewhat cloudy, i'm not worried.

secondly -- there's hardly any head. i know it needs to age longer for the carbonation to really take effect, though.

thirdly, and what has me a bit confused -- it just doesn't taste as BIG as i thought it would. extremely weak aroma, decent taste in the mouth (certainly nothing to write home about, though), and hardly ANY aftertaste.

for something that dished out just 34 bottles, it really just tastes kinda watery...i know time will help, and i'm not losing hope -- i'm just a bit surprised (and admittedly disappointed) at where things stand momentarily. i thought this thing would already mave more of a kick to it.

edit to add: i know i rushed everything...just followed the directions that came with my kit. for my second batch, i'm planning on letting it ferment a solid 3 weeks. patience is a virtue, i guess lol

 

[Hang Glider]

Two more weeks in the bottle will make a difference, 4 will be better.
Mouthfeel, taste, head will all improve.

Yes, Cowperc, the patience part is the hardest to learn.

 

[pattycakes]

perc-

I agree w/Hang Glider that more patience along the way during the waiting periods (fermentation & bottles) will do a good deal in increasing the overall beeriness of the brew.
I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised in a couple of weeks

 

[cowperc]

you're just saying that 'cause you like his avatar, patrick

kidding, of course. glad to see you show up here.

 

[cowperc]

so....cracked open a couple bottles tonight with a friend. i know i should wait until Tuesday officially, but i figured it wouldn't be too different.

finally carbonated...almost too much. it seems too bubbly, and actually tastes almost soapy. don't know what's up with that. it tasted way better towards the end of the beer. thoughts?

 

[phatuna]

Drink 4 in a row, then on the 5th one, judge it
Just kidding, give it another week or 2, the soapy taste will subside. Also, put a few in the fridge for a couple of days before consumption, that will do a lot for your carb problem

 

[cowperc]

sampled again with my dad last night -- still a little too carbonated, but the soapy taste is gone.

i brewed myself a damn good beer! woo hoo!!

bottled my second batch tonight (Pale Ale) and have numero tres ready to brew this weekend (Brown Ale)

 

[cowperc]

it still seems to be a little over-carbonated -- and i think i've figured out why.

i brewed a 5-gallon batch that only produced 34 bottles...however, i used the same amount of priming sugar that i'd use for a 48-bottle batch normally. so a little too much sugar = a little too much carbonation?

it's not a huge deal, i just let it "breath" for a few minutes after i first pour, and i'm good to go. just curious if i'm right in my hypothesis?

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

I'm a complete noob, but that sounds right to me. More sugar in the bottle = more CO2 = more bubbles.

 

[bigdug]

yep more sugar = more carbonation According to brewsmith you have about 3.1 volumes of CO2. The kit was probably set up for 2.5 to 2.8 volumes.