dmboiler
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- Jan 30, 2013
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Hey All,
There seem to be a lot of us newbies brewing the Irish Red extract kit from Midwest at the moment, so I thought I would post the status of my brew.
To begin, this is my first attempt at homebrew. I mostly followed the directions provided with the kit, but did add/modify based on lots of reading done here. Below are some highlights of my process mods:
1.) Used bottled spring water from Wal-Mart
2.) Started with 2.5 gallons in a 4.5 gallon SS kettle
2.) Rinsed grains after steep with .5 gallons of water
3.) Late extract addition - 3 lbs. @ 30 min, 3 lbs. @ 10 min
4.) Tossed in a whirfloc tab @ 10 min
5.) Used ice bath and about 8 lbs. of ice (boiled water for ice & froze in sanitized tupperware)
6.) Topped off with more spring water go get just over 5 gallons in fermenting bucket.
7.) Strained wort through fine mesh bag, aerated by pouring between 2 buckets 6 times
8.) Pitched re-hydrated yeast @ 70 degrees, about 15 min after removing from heat
I brewed on Sunday, February 10. The OG was 1.044 (vs. 1.043 on the Midwest box). I was patient and didn't open the fermenting bucket until today, March 2 (20 days). It has been fermenting @ 61-65 degrees, per the sticky thermometer on the side of the bucket.
I'm happy to report that everything seems to be going well at this point. I took a sample today and it tested at 1.014 (~3.94% ABV). The sample had a color that I expected and didn't have any off flavors. I assume the floaties are yeast and/or hops, correct me if I'm wrong.
The expected ABV on the package (4.3%) suggests that I still may have a little way to go to reach final gravity. Does anyone have any experience on how closely the Midwest ABV comes to real life?
Attached are some pictures from today's test. Feel free to ask any questions or make any comments/suggestions.
Thanks for looking!
-dmboiler
There seem to be a lot of us newbies brewing the Irish Red extract kit from Midwest at the moment, so I thought I would post the status of my brew.
To begin, this is my first attempt at homebrew. I mostly followed the directions provided with the kit, but did add/modify based on lots of reading done here. Below are some highlights of my process mods:
1.) Used bottled spring water from Wal-Mart
2.) Started with 2.5 gallons in a 4.5 gallon SS kettle
2.) Rinsed grains after steep with .5 gallons of water
3.) Late extract addition - 3 lbs. @ 30 min, 3 lbs. @ 10 min
4.) Tossed in a whirfloc tab @ 10 min
5.) Used ice bath and about 8 lbs. of ice (boiled water for ice & froze in sanitized tupperware)
6.) Topped off with more spring water go get just over 5 gallons in fermenting bucket.
7.) Strained wort through fine mesh bag, aerated by pouring between 2 buckets 6 times
8.) Pitched re-hydrated yeast @ 70 degrees, about 15 min after removing from heat
I brewed on Sunday, February 10. The OG was 1.044 (vs. 1.043 on the Midwest box). I was patient and didn't open the fermenting bucket until today, March 2 (20 days). It has been fermenting @ 61-65 degrees, per the sticky thermometer on the side of the bucket.
I'm happy to report that everything seems to be going well at this point. I took a sample today and it tested at 1.014 (~3.94% ABV). The sample had a color that I expected and didn't have any off flavors. I assume the floaties are yeast and/or hops, correct me if I'm wrong.
The expected ABV on the package (4.3%) suggests that I still may have a little way to go to reach final gravity. Does anyone have any experience on how closely the Midwest ABV comes to real life?
Attached are some pictures from today's test. Feel free to ask any questions or make any comments/suggestions.
Thanks for looking!
-dmboiler
