Matt from Austin, Texas

[lispnik]

Hi, Just started home brewing.

Did my first brew about two months ago -- an Amber Ale from a Bewer's Best recipe kit (DME). That turned out Ok, but it tasted slightly corny maybe to me which didn't surprise me since I had trouble getting the wort temperature down for pitching. I read something called DMS develops if you don't cool it quickly enough.

Last weekend I did another extract kit for a HopNog 2018 American IPA (LME) -- this time with a 25' copper immersion chiller. That brought it down to 70F in about 15 minutes, but I screwed it up in the boil when I dumped ALL the hops in at the start (bitterring starting hops and the other stuff).

Maybe it'll taste... interestingly.

This time though, fermentation is a lot less vigorous. Looks like this when I took a peek, and there are bubbles forming like volcanic mud. Smells great though!

Last time, the fermentation escaped through the airlock!

 

[Snuffy]

Looks like beer to me! Tossing all the hops in together means they will all be bittering hops - so it could be a little piney. You definitely need to stick to the timing schedule in the recipe. Some of that was meant for aroma. I'm sure you realize this now anyway.

You can put your hops in a mesh bag or a hop spider if you want to avoid the sludge. if you dry hop during fermentation, you'll want bags for sure. That should mostly sink once the fermentation subsides and then you can siphon around it.

 

[Cyclman]

Welcome to the hobby, and the group, from Colorado

Your beer may be more bitter than intended, but it will still be beer. The most important thing of your first so many batches is to learn, and it sounds like you’re already improving. I would recommend that you add some hops in as dry hops, because some of the later additions that you would have added will result in a less flavorful beer. When I dry hop, I like to use whole leaf Hops.

 

[lispnik]

Thanks for the welcome!

I'm heading out to the local brew shop this afternoon to find something for dry hopping. I'm guessing I'll need to part the crust that's formed in the fermentation bucket and drop pellets or leaves through it. I was going to try dumping a peach puree in there too, but maybe I've got a few too many unknown variables going on at the moment to try that as well!