Most impatient brewer ever

[YeastGardener]

155 degrees for 1 hour

Hmm. Sounds OK (although I always give at least 90mins mashing, more normally 2-3hrs, but that is probably OTT). Also, check your sparging, did you 'over-water'?

My wort usually tastes 'sweetish' because I like IPAs with little or no adjunct; but with your recipe you'll need to get to know the 'flavour' expected - sweetness could be masked by other things.

In any case, ferment it, take an SG and find out!

YeastGardener.

 

[Gildog]

sg is 1.035, supposed to be 1.050 but it has started fermenting.... some. guess ill have to rack it to secondary and maybe add some corn sugar to get my abv where i want it, man this beer is gonna have protein haze like no ones buisiness

 

[YeastGardener]

oh well, it'll be a light beer ... but that's O.K. isn't it?

Personally, I don't recommend adding even more sugar - it'll dry it, and 'thin' it even more.

If it were mine, I'd accept it as it is, or mix it with a stronger (2nd) brew. Sugar as a main ingredient is to alter taste rather than to recover alcohol levels (or to cheapen the grain bill).

Hope it helps, and enjoy your brew anyway!

YeastGardener.

BTW. Since you came in at 35 instead of 50, it does indeed indicate an inefficiency somewhere. Something to discover!

 

[YeastGardener]

Just had a thought, what's the maximum ratio for pale malt to adjunct for enzymic purposes? (Is LME diastatic?)

Sorry, but I hardly use adjuncts or extract, so cannot comment on your recipe. Other experienced forum-ers will, undoubtedly.

Just had the thought, that's all.

YeastGardener.

 

[944play]

Grits must be cereal mashed - that is, boiled to gelatinize the starch.

 

[78kombi]

That's why you drink your hydrometer samples.

actually i always do that !...

 

[Gildog]

didnt use grits, used rice instead, i boiled it till it was porridge.

to increase gravity, i have 1 lb of pilsner malt left, can i mash that seperately (and if so how? really dumb it down for me, i feel kinda stupid about mashing now with this fiasco) then add it to the bucket?

im getting some good action now so i think its gonna be something drinkable

 

[maztec]

I would say the rice didn't lend as much sugar as the grits would have. However, I have no actual idea what the difference in natural sugars are between the two... Except the side-handed thought that well, we make corn syrup, but I've never seen rice syrup ...

 

[Gildog]

I would say the rice didn't lend as much sugar as the grits would have. However, I have no actual idea what the difference in natural sugars are between the two... Except the side-handed thought that well, we make corn syrup, but I've never seen rice syrup ...

rice syrup is a main ingredient in many japanese beers, hard to find in the US.

MAJOR UPDATE!!!!

thick krausen around top with ACTIVE fermentaion, i think the grain i left in did do some conversion.

But because of the fact i left the grain with its hulls in there, im looking at some major tannin so im gonna have to age this a while

looks like i just made my first barleywine, now what to do with it in the secondary? any tips? This thing is entirely not what I set out to do so im open to just about anything

my short list includes:
chipotle pepper
hickory/beechwood chips
strawberries
cilantro
applesauce
Garam Masala(indian spice mix. yummy)
black pepper
what do you guys think?

 

[maztec]

rice syrup is a main ingredient in many japanese beers, hard to find in the US.

Oooh, good point! Actually, that reminds me, Budweiser is made with rice, isn't it. Hmm.

And, you asked for it, you brought it up, so I am going to vote - Garam Masala! Oh goodness, what will that do to it?

 

[Gildog]

Oooh, good point! Actually, that reminds me, Budweiser is made with rice, isn't it. Hmm.

And, you asked for it, you brought it up, so I am going to vote - Garam Masala! Oh goodness, what will that do to it?

actually i think bud coors and miller all use rice

ooo i was hoping to do that... FYI garam masala is a basic indian spice mix containing cinnamon nutmeg cardamom cloves and star anise(your drooling arent you?) but this beer may not be light enough for it i had wanted to do a high alpha IPA with it (they have to work together right? indian and indian?)

i have no idea what it tastes like yet becuase it fermenting like a champ, i got a thick brown krausen built up on the top and im getting 2 bubbles every 5 seconds.

It sure smells like nice beer tho, i must have lucked out with the bacteria (knock on wood),

When is the earliest i can rack this out of primary i need to get it off that grain bed before i get some really nasty stuff out of those barley husks shoudl i wait till fermentation almost stops?

 

[Gildog]

Oh and in an update for my first brew, which was bottled and carbed in 12 days.

YES YOU CAN MAKE BEER IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS!!

Ive done it and im enjoying it now

its smoothed its edges alot already, near crystal clear, great legs, nice mellow body with just enough hops to give it a clean finish... i wish i had made this a belgian white it just screams for a bit of orange.... i need to buy some oranges.

so for you first time brewers out there, i recomend an extract wheat beer.. it was simple and most of all FAST FAST FAST

 

[maztec]

i wish i had made this a belgian white it just screams for a bit of orange.... i need to buy some oranges.

Be glad you did not make a Belgian White . . . made mine almost two months ago. I racked it after 8 days [I know, not necessary]. Its FG was high, but it had been steady for three days. I was very careful to do it slowly and not add any air, and it started fermenting again, I ended up using a blowoff from my 5 gallon carboy. It actively fermented for a full four days after that. Still not entirely sure why. Then, I let it go in the secondary for three weeks. By the end the FG was perfect. I bottled it up, and it tastes great [little watery due to lack of carbonation and being green], but it is taking forever to get enough carbonation. Every week there is a little bit more than the week before, but it still isn't quite right and even if fridged for four or five days it still goes flat within 20 minutes of being opened. On the other hand, I can guarantee if I had taken it straight to bottles instead of racking it, I would have had some serious bottle bombs.

So, yah, while I like my Belgian White, I'm still waiting on it. Definitely not a two week beer.

-----

As for Garam Masala - I actually cook with it fairly often, even make my own, I love the stuff. Hmm, Indian Indian, could be a good idea. After you mentioned it, I was actually thinking of using Garam Masala as a gruit. That is, do an IPA style without the hops and use a ton of Garam Masala instead. I think that could turn out really good.

I think with something high hopped plus Garama Masala it might be fine, but you could end up with a mess of flavors. You would probably just want a hint of it, rather than having it be a dominating flavor.

-------

For racking, wait at least 7 days total if not 2 weeks. Best way to know for sure is to take a wine thief, pull some out, and test it with a hydrometer. Do that once per day for three days in a row. You can, of course, taste each time . If the SG is the same three days in a row, it is ready to rack. If it is still changing, then you need to leave it alone.

I find if I test the first two days and it is still changing, I leave it for two to three days before testing again. Then two days, if it doesn't change test the third day, still no change it is ready to go, if it changes again I give it another couple days. Then again, some people do it sooner from what I've read, so your mileage may vary.

Plus, y'know, I've only done two beers :fro:, so my advice is worth about as much as you paid for it!

 

[Gildog]

if you use the right hops you can get a nice grapefruit flavor, that could work well, citrus is a good compliment to garam masala

 

[maztec]

What hops give grapefruit? Quick look around indicated Maharaja hops? That somehow seems fitting.

 

[khiddy]

Cascade is really heavy on the citrus/grapefruit, and so are fresh Nugget hops (I just seal-a-mealed 3.5oz of fresh Nuggets from a friend, and they were FRAY-GRUNT!).

 

[Gildog]

yeah cascade gives a great grapefruit nose and flavor when added in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil, along with an additional dry hopping.

UPDATE

my beer is a fighter i tells ya! sg is down to the bottom of what the recipe says it should go to, and its still bubbling every 30 seconds, i must have gotten extra conversion in the bucket by adding the grain back in

the beer is AWSOME, its got well defined malt characteristics with just the right amount of backhops. Taste like a premium american lager, which is weird cuz its an ale, but the strange thing is its DARK like brown ale dark.

ill keep you updated

 

[Spludge]

You my friend are a crazy a**hole, in a good way!
In your brewing future I see both disasters and awesome originals...

 

[Gildog]

Hey its no fun if theres no chance to f**k it up right?

 

[TechyDork]

Hey its no fun if theres no chance to f**k it up right?

Agreed, where is the fun in playing it safe all the time. Can't wait to hear how this one turns out.

 

[Gildog]

ill post some pics when the time comes

 

[Weezknight]

Hey its no fun if theres no chance to f**k it up right?

Only someone who doesn't have to fear the SWMBO would say some thing like that!