My first attempt to make beer

[grbr]

OK, I bottled the beer after three weeks of primary fermentation. I may have made a mistake with the priming sugar. I was expecting at least 30 litters of beer, so I splitted the sugar dosage for 15 liters. But, I was wrong and in the second bucket I got only 8.5L. So, it got double sugar dosage. By the time I realized the problem I have bottled already 7.5L. So, in hope to lessen the sugar level, I mixed the remaining 7.5L from the first bucket with the 8.5L of the second.

Anyway, I have now 23.5L of "wanna be beer". I also moved the bottles from the basement to the first floor where the temperature is a bit warmer, I placed them on a piece of styrofoam and covered them with a blanket. So, again waiting time!

 

[NGD]

Just a suggestion. Since you have double the desired priming sugar in some bottles I would start sampling those over-primed bottles by the end of the first week and open them over the sink. Those bottles sound like they would be prime for over carbonation and possibly bottle bombs. It appears you may have some bottles with twist off caps. If any of the over primed batch went in there you may be able to bleed off a bit of CO2 after the first week.

Side note: Once first fermentation is done...its beer! So congratulations on your first batch.

 

[grbr]

Just a suggestion. Since you have double the desired priming sugar in some bottles I would start sampling those over-primed bottles by the end of the first week and open them over the sink. Those bottles sound like they would be prime for over carbonation and possibly bottle bombs. It appears you may have some bottles with twist off caps. If any of the over primed batch went in there you may be able to bleed off a bit of CO2 after the first week.

Side note: Once first fermentation is done...its beer! So congratulations on your first batch.

Do you suggest I should open and then close again those bottles after the first week?

 

[NGD]

Simple answer: yes if you marked which ones were over primed. It might even be better to do this on day 2 or 3. The idea is to release pressure early on then recap while bottle fermentation is still going so you end up with carbonated beer, but not a gusher or worse. Do a for search on bottle bombs.

In the future you can purchase a few PET bottles and get an idea of the pressure by squeezing. When they become very firm then its likely your close to desired carbonation. If it feels like a rock, your overcarbonated. Carbonation calculators are highly suggested if you dont use one already.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[grbr]

Simple answer: yes if you marked which ones were over primed. It might even be better to do this on day 2 or 3. The idea is to release pressure early on then recap while bottle fermentation is still going so you end up with carbonated beer, but not a gusher or worse. Do a for search on bottle bombs.

In the future you can purchase a few PET bottles and get an idea of the pressure by squeezing. When they become very firm then its likely your close to desired carbonation. If it feels like a rock, your overcarbonated. Carbonation calculators are highly suggested if you dont use one already.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Yes, I know which ones. Thank you.

 

[grbr]

I couldn't stand still and cracked one bottle after only couple of days. It is definitely a beer!
Although not my dream beer and more haze that I wanted it to be, I drinked this first bottle to the last drop!

 

[MikeCo]

With time it will clear in the bottles. You can cold crash and/or use gelatin to accelerate the clearing before bottling if you want.

 

[grbr]

Ten days after bottling, I love this beer! I am already planning my next batch. I believe I identified some mistakes I've made with my first batch, as:

- I haven't get rid of the barley dust after grinding it, it ended up in the wort and then the beer. And I am sure there was lots of it and I suspect it is the the main cause for the haziness

- keeping the beer in the fermentor for too long on high temperature (23C for three weeks). I am 99% sure the small bit of off flavor wouldn't got into the beer had I bottled only couple of days earlier. It isn't something bad, you may notiice it on the first couple of sips and you wonder: was it really there...? but still.

But, this adventure turned really well, I wasn't expecting to get a real beer at the end.

What is most interesting is I haven't noticed any allergic reaction even after drinking 4 in a row. Since couple of years after 2-3 bottles of any commercial beer next morning I'd got this runny nose and often sneezing. At least so far I haven't noticed any of these with this beer, so that alone is a win for me.

 

[jvbrewer]

Just - Wow...

Brewing your first batch "all-grain", using the "equipment" you used, etc., etc., just amazing.

It's kind of too bad that John Palmer's (excellent!) book has become the beginner's norm. Back when I started (early 1990's) is was Charlie Papazian's book. His motto, repeated throughout the book, was "Don't Worry - Have a Homebrew".

Looks like you're going to make a very good beer. We all tend to be surprised with just how good that first batch is. As someone earlier mentioned, we all have "bad" brews, but there are very, very few that go down the drain. Bad is a matter of degree (and usually means we tried something weird).

Good luck - keep at it. Work on the science a little - OG, FG, alpha acids, mash temperatures all play into the end result and (to a lot of us) the learning is what makes the hobby so interesting.

 

[doug293cz]

Ten days after bottling, I love this beer! I am already planning my next batch. I believe I identified some mistakes I've made with my first batch, as:

- I haven't get rid of the barley dust after grinding it, it ended up in the wort and then the beer. And I am sure there was lots of it and I suspect it is the the main cause for the haziness

- keeping the beer in the fermentor for too long on high temperature (23C for three weeks). I am 99% sure the small bit of off flavor wouldn't got into the beer had I bottled only couple of days earlier. It isn't something bad, you may notiice it on the first couple of sips and you wonder: was it really there...? but still.

But, this adventure turned really well, I wasn't expecting to get a real beer at the end.

What is most interesting is I haven't noticed any allergic reaction even after drinking 4 in a row. Since couple of years after 2-3 bottles of any commercial beer next morning I'd got this runny nose and often sneezing. At least so far I haven't noticed any of these with this beer, so that alone is a win for me.

View attachment 691359

Congrats on your brewing success.

It's unlikely that the haze is due to suspended barley flour. More likely starch haze, or chill haze (which IIRC comes from proteins.) If you put the bottles in the fridge for a couple of weeks, a lot of that will settle out.

Brew on

 

[Brulian]

I couldn't stand still and cracked one bottle after only couple of days. It is definitely a beer!
Although not my dream beer and more haze that I wanted it to be, I drinked this first bottle to the last drop!

View attachment 690398

Congrats Man!
Hopefully i will be able to say the same about my 1st brew!