MattyWeiss
Active Member
So I just finished my 2nd brew day, a Dunkelweizen. My first brew (an Amber Ale) has been in bottles for about a week and decided I wanted to get going with my next batch.
Definitely learned a lot from my first time and the problems I had:
-Tried to boil on my electric stove and couldn't get a real boil. Split into 2 pots and still barely got an acceptable boil. The "boil" ended up lasting a lot longer than recommended/expected.
-Followed the package directions exactly and added all of my LME at start of boil.
-Had problems using my wort chiller.
-Pitched dry not quality yeast.
Took my experience from that and was able to do tons better this time.
- Bought and used a DarkStar propane burner for the boil. Holy crap this was 1000% easier and better. I never used a propane burner before and was close to boil over 3 times and managed to stir/flame down to prevent it.
- Only added about 2.5-3lbs of my LME at the beginning of the boil. Added the rest at the last 10 min. I expect I'll have better results this time thanks to that tip I picked up here.
- I was better prepared with the wort chiller this time and was able to cool quickly and efficiently.
- Used Wyeast smack pack for this batch which should be a step up from the cheapy stuff I used last time. Next time I plan on moving to a yeast starter.
The only thing I would say I messed up with this time was forgetting to take my OG before pitching the yeast. I was too excited and surprised by how smooth this brew day went lol Not a big deal, but it gives me piece of mind. Plus I wanted to take a taste of the wort before it fermented lol
I've been reading like crazy on here since that first brew day and learned a lot which I think will improve my beer more each time now. Did today without even using the instructions for the recipe.
Definitely learned a lot from my first time and the problems I had:
-Tried to boil on my electric stove and couldn't get a real boil. Split into 2 pots and still barely got an acceptable boil. The "boil" ended up lasting a lot longer than recommended/expected.
-Followed the package directions exactly and added all of my LME at start of boil.
-Had problems using my wort chiller.
-Pitched dry not quality yeast.
Took my experience from that and was able to do tons better this time.
- Bought and used a DarkStar propane burner for the boil. Holy crap this was 1000% easier and better. I never used a propane burner before and was close to boil over 3 times and managed to stir/flame down to prevent it.
- Only added about 2.5-3lbs of my LME at the beginning of the boil. Added the rest at the last 10 min. I expect I'll have better results this time thanks to that tip I picked up here.
- I was better prepared with the wort chiller this time and was able to cool quickly and efficiently.
- Used Wyeast smack pack for this batch which should be a step up from the cheapy stuff I used last time. Next time I plan on moving to a yeast starter.
The only thing I would say I messed up with this time was forgetting to take my OG before pitching the yeast. I was too excited and surprised by how smooth this brew day went lol Not a big deal, but it gives me piece of mind. Plus I wanted to take a taste of the wort before it fermented lol
I've been reading like crazy on here since that first brew day and learned a lot which I think will improve my beer more each time now. Did today without even using the instructions for the recipe.
