Great advice! Thanks
I don't think much happens during weekends at these sites, so hopefully they se my email tomorrow before shipping it. Otherwise I will have to make a smaller batch, like you said. Nothing wrong with that either 
Looking to brew my first IPA using malt extract. Tips on good extracts and priming tips?
- Thread starter Matheos
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
I don't think much happens during weekends at these sites, so hopefully they se my email tomorrow before shipping it. Otherwise I will have to make a smaller batch, like you said. Nothing wrong with that either 
Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.
A phrase coined by Charlie Papazian in The Complete Joy of Homebrewing.
It neatly sums up how to approach home brewing as a beginner. Home brewing texts, web pages, kit instructions should all be taken with a grain of salt. Beer is tougher than you think and it's much better for you (and your beer) to relax and see what happens rather than go crazy trying to solve a problem that may not exist.
If you don't have The Complete Joy of Homebrewing I recommend you get it.
A phrase coined by Charlie Papazian in The Complete Joy of Homebrewing.
It neatly sums up how to approach home brewing as a beginner. Home brewing texts, web pages, kit instructions should all be taken with a grain of salt. Beer is tougher than you think and it's much better for you (and your beer) to relax and see what happens rather than go crazy trying to solve a problem that may not exist.
If you don't have The Complete Joy of Homebrewing I recommend you get it.
Thanks for the tip! I will check it out
Craiginthecorn
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2020
- Messages
- 274
- Reaction score
- 167
That's a lot of advice. Please share your experience and your impressions of the resulting beer.
My little bit of advice is have thick skin when you share your beer. If you like your beer, that's what really matters. The thing is, a beer can be well made and others may not like it. That said, eliciting honest feedback from experienced homebrewers can be valuable, so I would encourage you to join a homebrew club.
My little bit of advice is have thick skin when you share your beer. If you like your beer, that's what really matters. The thing is, a beer can be well made and others may not like it. That said, eliciting honest feedback from experienced homebrewers can be valuable, so I would encourage you to join a homebrew club.
I think a club in our current pandemic situation, and my own situation being a student is a bit excessive still.
If you meant a physical club.I will of course share my experience and results after the brewing here
I never ever met a single fellow home brewer physically in my whole life (at least not being aware of it).I think a club in our current pandemic situation, and my own situation being a student is a bit excessive still.
I will of course share my experience and results after the brewing here
Craiginthecorn
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2020
- Messages
- 274
- Reaction score
- 167
Yes, I did mean a physical club. This too shall eventually pass. My club has wisely suspended in-person meetings.
I had years in the Lawrence Brewers Guild, some of the best times of my life. There were some extraordinary brewers in the Guild. Make sure you are not vitamin D deficient, keep zinc supplements on hand, and if you feel sick at all, act immediately.
Last edited:
.
Last edited:
Delete.
Thanks again for the book tip. I am not much for books myself these days but I started reading the fourth edition yesterday and boy was I hooked quickly!
It contains so much useful and interersting information. A lot of things are almost word for word identical to some tips I have got on here, which is nice to see Soon finished with the beginners section. Interesting stuff 
There might be some outdated knowledge inside, have not read it myself but read here about it. If there's something positive written about a mandatory secondary, then it's outdated.Thanks again for the book tip. I am not much for books myself these days but I started reading the fourth edition yesterday and boy was I hooked quickly!
Mandatory secondary? This edition is revised and edited in 2014, so not super old.
Ah, OK. Then it should be fine.
D.B.Moody
Well-Known Member
My copy of Papazian's book is The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing from 1991. It's what I learned to brew from. It did have secondary fermentation in it. I have no idea if the 2014 edition has been made PC by expunging this, but I will say something positive about secondary: it worked just fine for me for 291 ales brewed since 1994. Since December I've been trying not doing the secondary. So far, I'm not sold, and I say this knowing that fear of oxygen intrusion is now a big thing. BTW: I never moved to all grain and kegging. Let's just say I have a relaxeded attitude to brewing.
Last edited:
Yes I hear that often. Basically "I don't want to change". That's fine, no problem with that. It's just that if somebody starts fresh, it is probably best to start with current best practice as everything has to be learned from scratch anyway.My copy of Papazian's book is The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing from 1991. It's what I learned to brew from. It did have secondary fermentation in it. I have no idea if the 2014 edition has been made PC by expunging this, but I will say something positive about secondary: it worked just fine for me for 291 ales brewed since 1994. Since December I've been trying not doing the secondary. So far, I' not sold, and I say this knowing that fear of oxygen intrusion is now a big thing. BTW: I never moved to all grain and kegging. Let's just say I have a relaxeded attitude to brewing.
Just picked up my order of ingredients Now only the pot is missing which I may go pick up tomorrow from IKEA
Threw the vacuumed package hops into the freezer and the safeale US-05 yeast into the fridge. I hope this was correct? I will take out 1x100g chinook hops in time for brew day to not have it ice cold when making the hop tea
Also, as a surprise I guess, they sent me 36g of Enigma 18,6AA hops :O Very cool. Also the chinook hops did actually end up being 12,5AA.
Now only the pot is missing which I may go pick up tomorrow from IKEA Threw the vacuumed package hops into the freezer and the safeale US-05 yeast into the fridge. I hope this was correct? I will take out 1x100g chinook hops in time for brew day to not have it ice cold when making the hop tea
Also, as a surprise I guess, they sent me 36g of Enigma 18,6AA hops :O Very cool. Also the chinook hops did actually end up being 12,5AA.
Hop temperature does not matter, just leave them in the freezer till you need them, everything else sounds good!Just picked up my order of ingredients
Threw the vacuumed package hops into the freezer and the safeale US-05 yeast into the fridge. I hope this was correct? I will take out 1x100g chinook hops in time for brew day to not have it ice cold when making the hop tea
Also, as a surprise I guess, they sent me 36g of Enigma 18,6AA hops :O Very cool. Also the chinook hops did actually end up being 12,5AA.
Thanks for confirming
Every step makes me a bit paranoid so far that I will screw something up haha. But really, can't wait to get the pot and get brewing now.Would anyone care to critique my procedure before brew day?
This is a straight copy from my recipe page Matheos' Partial Boil Chinook SMaSH IPA | English IPA Extract Beer Recipe at Brewer's Friend
I tailored the numbers to my hops.
Worth mentioning that I have been researching yeast pitching techniques and yadi yadi yada. I don't want to fire up that never ending debate but I am going to go with dry pitch sprinkle and no aeritation. I noticed fermentis have even removed the rehydration instructions from their yeast packages nowdays and actually recommend dry pitching.
I also have some remaining coopers carbonation drops which I figured I could use up (2 drops per 750ml bottle), but for the remaining bottles I will do as my instructions say.
Sounds good! But don't sweat the dissolving part too much... time will dissolve it anyway. Just throw the DME in, mix it with water, don't mind clumps, they will form, throw in the tea, check temperature and add yeast. If the water, for whatever reason, is colder then anticipated, does not mater, throw the yeast in. If it is warmer, wait till it is cool (you do not want to get above 21 c). If you can, keep the fermenter in a cooler part of the bulding/flat. If not, don't!Thanks for confirming
Would anyone care to critique my procedure before brew day?
This is a straight copy from my recipe page Matheos' Partial Boil Chinook SMaSH IPA | English IPA Extract Beer Recipe at Brewer's Friend
I tailored the numbers to my hops.
Worth mentioning that I have been researching yeast pitching techniques and yadi yadi yada. I don't want to fire up that never ending debate but I am going to go with dry pitch sprinkle and no aeritation. I noticed fermentis have even removed the rehydration instructions from their yeast packages nowdays and actually recommend dry pitching.
I also have some remaining coopers carbonation drops which I figured I could use up (2 drops per 750ml bottle), but for the remaining bottles I will do as my instructions say.
Thanks for the feedback!
When you say 21C, I assume that is ideally? The package says 12-25C, ideally 15-22C. I believe our ambient temp overall in the apartment is pretty stable around 20-22C, I have tested this out with a thermometer leaving it in different places.
Yes that is fine. Us05 is very forgiving anyway. Best "normal" yeast for a first brew imho. Maybe later you want to check out Voss Kveik. That yeast can be pitched into 40C warm wort and is best kept at that temperature by wrapping the fermenter in a blanket. Usually done within 2-3 days... but other storry! Stuff to try out in the future!Thanks for the feedback!
Hi again lads. A bit torn between two minds again regarding the pot. My two options are: Get a 10L one from IKEA for 25€ tomorrow (in person, no shipping) vs order a 20L one from Helsinki for 35€ + shipping. I was thinking of brewing on Saturday maybe either way, so it is not super rush. My question is mostly, do you guys think the extra 10 + shipping (can't be many euro) is worth the extra 10L? For the purpose of this brew it won't matter, size wise, but I was thinking if I want to do almost a full boil, at some point in the future. I can always boil less in a big one, but I can't boil more than the capacity of a small one Opinions?
EDIT: Noted now that the 20L potis 30cm in diameter and my stove's biggest "burner" is only 22cm...
EDIT2: Noted that the IKEA 10L pot has the same diameter... UGH. It is so hard to find a decently large pot with 22cm diameter. Let alone a large pot at all here in Finland
Opinions?EDIT: Noted now that the 20L potis 30cm in diameter and my stove's biggest "burner" is only 22cm...
EDIT2: Noted that the IKEA 10L pot has the same diameter... UGH. It is so hard to find a decently large pot with 22cm diameter. Let alone a large pot at all here in Finland
Last edited:
I would go for the bigger one. Don't you have a single pot in your house? You just need to squeeze in 3-5 litres...Hi again lads. A bit torn between two minds again regarding the pot. My two options are: Get a 10L one from IKEA for 25€ tomorrow (in person, no shipping) vs order a 20L one from Helsinki for 35€ + shipping. I was thinking of brewing on Saturday maybe either way, so it is not super rush. My question is mostly, do you guys think the extra 10 + shipping (can't be many euro) is worth the extra 10L? For the purpose of this brew it won't matter, size wise, but I was thinking if I want to do almost a full boil, at some point in the future. I can always boil less in a big one, but I can't boil more than the capacity of a small one
EDIT: Noted now that the 20L potis 30cm in diameter and my stove's biggest "burner" is only 22cm...
EDIT2: Noted that the IKEA 10L pot has the same diameter... UGH. It is so hard to find a decently large pot with 22cm diameter. Let alone a large pot at all here in Finland
My biggest ones are 2L and 2.5L as of now. I am really struggling to find a pot larger than 5L which would have a bottom diameter of 22cm. It is ridiculous... I found a 7L one from our version of "Wall mart" which has a 20cm bottom. It is quite a lot more than I was looking to spend though at about 55€...
I was thinking maybe a 24cm bottom will still be fine, but trying to use a 30cm bottom on a 22cm area, I don't think is wise. How large of a pot would you suggest is minimum? I assume 5L is on the smaller side...
EDIT: After hours and hours of searching, I have found a 10L pot with a 22cm bottom diameter. This is my front running canidate at the moment. 51€ with shipping. It really bothers me that so many stores don't mention how big the contact area of a pot is, but only report the diameter which I have read is by standard given as the inner upper diameter...
EDIT2: After asking customer support and physically measuring pots in stores (xD), I now realise that a lot of pots default to 22cm bottom width, even though the pot itself may be very much wider... So still might have a shot at the 20L one.
Last edited:
@Miraculix Hello man. I just wanted to quickly ask: I was planning on brewing tomorrow, though I don't have a pot of my own yet, so I borrowed one from a friend. He claimed it should be 10L but when I now measured how much I could fit in it, it was only 5L (barely). Is there any point in trying to make this work with a 5L pot? I mean I would probably be limited to an initial boil volume of max 4.3L (according to estimation when removing some water from the full pot).
What is your opinion? Others are of course welcome to ship in with their says too.
What is your opinion? Others are of course welcome to ship in with their says too.
No problem. You will be able to get the ibus necessary within this amount of water, if you don't add extract to the boil. 3-4l is enough.
That sounds great. In that case I will aim to start the boil with 4L in the pot. Does it matter a lot if I keep the lid on when not stiring or no? I understand that at least if you cook malt you should not have a lid, I have not heard what the recommendation for hop tea only is?
Man, you are really the king of overthinking. No, it doesn't matter in this case.
Haha yeah, sorry. I figured it would not make too much difference but you can never be too sure. Like I was thinking if the water volume somehow is not enough to contain all the stuff that comes out of the hops? XD I dunno. But you are right, I do overthink things. But thanks for confirming stuff for me anyway. I'm sure it's not easy keeping calm when I ask so much and so frequently
Thanks againEDIT: The water volume part was aimed at 5L vs 4L. I got confused as to what part I was overthinking lol
Haha yeah, sorry. I figured it would not make too much difference but you can never be too sure. Like I was thinking if the water volume somehow is not enough to contain all the stuff that comes out of the hops? XD I dunno. But you are right, I do overthink things. But thanks for confirming stuff for me anyway. I'm sure it's not easy keeping calm when I ask so much and so frequently
EDIT: The water volume part was aimed at 5L vs 4L. I got confused as to what part I was overthinking lol
The basic idea is not so wrong, there is a certain limit how much of the isomerized alpha acids (aka the ibus) can be dissolved in a defined volume of water. There are factors that lower these maximum ibus per amount of water and the biggest factor is what else is solved in the water besides the stuff that comes out of the hops. The more proteins and sugars are already in the water, the less ibus it can keep. This is why a hop tea in water only, without any extract or malt in it, is so good. Wort (water with extract) can solve something around 100 ibus max. This would not be enough, if you have to dilute this by the factor 4..... but water without anything can solve muuuuch more ibus. I tried this myself multiple times, it really makes a huge difference.
Brew day Was wondering why CraigTube on youtube has this to say about Hop Tea though:
Is this still regarded as valid? Video is from 2011. It feels to be contradictory to what you guys are telling me. I am not of course saying you are wrong by any means, but I was just wondering if someone has an explanation to this statement?
Was wondering why CraigTube on youtube has this to say about Hop Tea though:Source: at 2:30
Is this still regarded as valid? Video is from 2011. It feels to be contradictory to what you guys are telling me. I am not of course saying you are wrong by any means, but I was just wondering if someone has an explanation to this statement?
Last edited:
Brew day
Source: at 2:30
Is this still regarded as valid? Video is from 2011. It feels to be contradictory to what you guys are telling me. I am not of course saying you are wrong by any means, but I was just wondering if someone has an explanation to this statement?
Because this utterly complete bollocks, nonsense, BS, I cannot believe someone is posting crap like this on youtube and even has followers.
As I said, I did this myself many times... so no worries.
Haha thanks. Yea not worried, just wanted to know if anyone could defend this statement in any way. I've been watching a few of his older videos (before I joined this forum), and people in the comments are only saying good things. So it's a bit odd. But doesn't matter. You have experience with almost 1:1 from what I am doing today, so it's goin to be fine
I will relax, and a have a homebrew 
(Love that book)
BrewnWKopperKat
ʘ‿ʘ
Over time, you may find that it's both "good" and "bad".
Some tips and book information, especially those tips that involve active dry yeast and DME/LME, don't "age well". Knowing the original source for the tip is often critical to understanding if the approach is appropriate, situation specific, or past it's "use by" date.
I understand what you mean. Not every "life hack" "in the book" is mentioned in this book, not even the latest edition. Those I get from here and elsewhere and with experience I learn to understand what thing are interchangeable and what stuff to question. So far the tips I've gotten have been pretty on par with the stuff mention in this book, with the exception of it advising against NOT boiling DME. But yes I completely get your point
BREW DAY UPDATE
Hello everyone. I understand if some of you have not followed along this mile long thread all the way, but here is a "major" update, at least since the thread started
Brewing went well 19L of beer currently fermenting
First batch and second batch in the same picture
My expected OG was 1046 and my measured OG was 1047, which I think is really good
Now I have to wait impatiently to dry hop. I think in total the brew took about 1.5h after the boil started. Very easy
I did use a whisk to mix the DME, as I wanted to dissolve the clumps even though I know it would not matter too much in the end Maybe at least I got a more accurate OG this way?
Anyway, thanks again so far to you all, with a special mention to @Miraculix who have basically held my hand all the way. I will post more updates as the fermentation finishes and I dry hop and so on
Hello everyone. I understand if some of you have not followed along this mile long thread all the way, but here is a "major" update, at least since the thread started
Brewing went well
19L of beer currently fermenting
First batch and second batch in the same picture
My expected OG was 1046 and my measured OG was 1047, which I think is really good
Now I have to wait impatiently to dry hop. I think in total the brew took about 1.5h after the boil started. Very easy
I did use a whisk to mix the DME, as I wanted to dissolve the clumps even though I know it would not matter too much in the end
Maybe at least I got a more accurate OG this way? Anyway, thanks again so far to you all, with a special mention to @Miraculix who have basically held my hand all the way. I will post more updates as the fermentation finishes and I dry hop and so on
Looks great, congrats!
BrewnWKopperKat
ʘ‿ʘ
Many of the "no boil" DME recipes pasteurize the wort - as the recipes will do a "hop stand" / "hop steep" at 180F-ish for 20 to 30 minutes.
The other thing to keep in mind when reading forums is that different brands of the same style of DME will have different flavors and different characteristics. A while back, I brewed the same recipe with two different brands of "light" DME - and I saw both sides of the discussion on "hot break or not' with "extract".
