Just racked my first batch..

[JMU_Alumn08]

So I just racked my first batch of brew. It's a wheat ale brewed with 1 lb. of honey and chamomile flowers. Looking forward to seeing how it tastes. Couple of questions/comments though. I did a 'full boil' in a 30 qt. stainless steel pot and it took forever to start boiling! Also once I added LME (Muntons Wheat), it took awhile to boil again and never really boiled to the point where massive bubbles were showing...just kind of saw currents and a rolling motion. Hope thats ok? I also noticed the brew is kind of dark for a wheat beer. Is it safe to assume that this while clarify over the next week or two while it is fermenting/conditioning? Other than that, everything went smooth. It was a pain in the ass pouring the wort into my BetterBottle..which led to all the sediment ending up in the carboy but I'm hoping once it comes time to rack to my secondary I can leave most of that crap behind. Any comments or questions would be appreciated!

Ingredients:
6 gallon boil
6.6 lbs. Muntons Wheat LME
1 oz. Hallertau hops
1 lb. honey
20 oz. chamomile flowers

 

[artyusmc]

congrats about to do my first brew too, what did you boil on stove top or burner

 

[RyanT]

I just finished bottling my first beer, so I am inexperienced like you. i will comment that my boil went just like yours: not an aggressive bubbling experience but slight bubbles and more motion of the liquid. I wonder if this is how it is supposed to be?

 

[Mirage]

If you guys are boiling on stove it can be hard to get a full roaring boil with a lot of wort. I generally have to half-cover it for a bit to get it going good then alternate between open and half-covered. The benefit to a roaring boil is that you get a better hot break but I am sure that your beer will turn out fine. Gratz on your first brews!

 

[JMU_Alumn08]

yea mine is stove top but uses open gas flame. I tried using a top which did help but I assumed that natural evaporation had to take place.

 

[JMU_Alumn08]

also I didn't use a starter for my liquid yeast. Used White Labs (which i left out of ingredients...oops). Poured it in, aerated for a minute or so then sealed it. Starters seem to be recommended but I wasn't sure how to do it. Anyone care to give a quick rundown of doing one?

 

[ifishsum]

A starter is basically a mini-batch of beer you make a couple of days ahead of time to increase the yeast cell count. Basically you use some extra extract (1/2 cup of DME maybe?) and a quart or so of water in a jar (everything sanitized, of course) and keep it at room temperature with a loose foil lid or airlock on it. The yeast will multiply and ferment the starter wort, when they're done they will have multiplied by several times. Then you either pour off and discard the top liquid and pitch the yeast slurry that's left on the bottom of the starter, or some people just pitch the whole thing into the fermenter.

Welcome to HBT, and good work on the first batch.

 

[JMU_Alumn08]

thanks a lot. i'll be sure to use it next time.