My first bad batch.

[Pitbull-brewer]

Well from what I have been reading a true homebrewer must have a bad batch almost as a rite of passage. Well I believe my first all grain attempt was a bad batch record. I may have screwed up in almost all the categories known to homebrewing. my OG was so off that my finished product was so thick it was almost a syrup. My bittering hops turned sour somehow and i didn't put enough priming sugar to get any fizz what so ever. I believe i royally screwed up my fermentation by attempting to use 2 liter bottles and a make shift cooler, so i think my temp yo-yoed and screwed up my fermentation. So I am planing my next attempts at all grain, golden strong ale, and a christmas brew. So I open myself to any advice on how to get the right mouthfeel and the how to hit the right final OG, also how to ensure a steady fermentation. The will of the forum as never lead me wrong before.

 

[billl]

I would suggest taking a step back in order to take multiple steps forward.

Step1 - Use an extract kit to brew a good beer. Don't worry about anything except getting a great fermentation process. Learn how to make a starter and control fermentation steps. Find a carbonation calculator and follow those directions.

Step2 - restart the all-grain plan with an all-grain kit. Figure out you mash temps, volumes etc.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Or...

Step 3, first attempt at AG should IMHO be a session type beer and not a strong or christmas anything.

 

[tre9er]

Agree. Make a SMaSH beer. Maris Otter/<pick a hop> (your favorite hop, if you have one...otherwise say, East Kent Goldings)

10lbs. of malt, about 1.5 ounces of hops (if you use EKG as mentioned, otherwise based on alpha acid of hops), mash at 153 for 60 minutes, 1oz at 60, 0.5 at 15, voila. Ferment at 62-64 with US-05 or US-04, no need to make a starter. Keep it in a bathtub/rubbermaid of water and keep the water around 60 after the first day via frozen water bottles.

That's as simple as I can make it, but if you do all of that, and do it right, you'll have a good, easy beer and can apply those techniques to more complex stuff down the road. One can get much more detailed and complicated than I explained it, but it's a start for new AG brewers.

 

[Pitbull-brewer]

I like step three. I also did something similar to what Tre9er said as a partial mash and it turned out fine. I guess I got overconfident in my skills and over stepped a bit. The golden recipe is not complicated it is one malt one hop, 8 lbs pilsner and 1 oz Saaz. I will be using wlp570 as my yeast the temp range for that yeast should be good with my house I dont want to yo-yo the temp like I did before. I want to take the advice of trying something simple first but my wife has already bought the ingredients for the christmas ale. I am hoping to try and get it brewed and let it mature until I head to my parents house to visit at christmas. After that I am going to listen to the wisdom of the forum and practice the simple things first. thanks again you guys never let me down.

 

[tre9er]

At the very least put the fermenter in a swamp cooler/bathtub and use frozen water bottles on days 2-4 or so to help keep the temp in check and buffer any changes. The belgian yeasts can quite good even up into the 70's though...although it's always best to be in the lower range if you can.

 

[Pitbull-brewer]

Ok, what would be a good way to practice? I can fill up a bath tub and throw in some frozen 2 liters? I have never tried that so i dont know how cold the water would get. would the heat of the fermentation keep the temp in the right range?

 

[bell0347]

Go buy a rope handle tub at Wal Mart or Home Depot. They are less than $10. Put your fermenter in and fill it with enough water that your fermenter almost wants to float. I use the little blue ice things that keep your lunch cool in a lunch box. I put 2 in the morn then swap out with 2 frozen ones in the evening. I have a floating thermometer in the tub. It usually sits around 60 degrees give or take a degree or 2. After 5 days or so, when the bulk of fermentation is done, I usually take it out and let it sit in a cool closet for a week or two so the yeast can finish cleaning up. This process has worked pretty well and its super cheap. When done with the water I make it into a batch of sanitizer or use it to water the flower bed.

 

[tre9er]

Yeah, try to keep the water around 60 degrees for a good 3-5 days by swapping out frozen water bottles/ice packs, etc. You're just trying to buffer the temp changes that will occur during active fermentation and also maintain a cooler temp than the ambient air is. After the ferm has settled down it's quite fine to let the beer free rise back to room temp.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yeah, try to keep the water around 60 degrees for a good 3-5 days by swapping out frozen water bottles/ice packs, etc.

Be careful, 60 degrees is near the bottom end for some ale yeasts, I would shoot for 65 degrees. If you overchill to say 55 degrees, some yeast may get sleepy on you.

 

[sculpin]

KISS. Try Yooper's "yellow" fizzy beer.

 

[Rideandbrew]

I like step three. I also did something similar to what Tre9er said as a partial mash and it turned out fine. I guess I got overconfident in my skills and over stepped a bit. The golden recipe is not complicated it is one malt one hop, 8 lbs pilsner and 1 oz Saaz. I will be using wlp570 as my yeast the temp range for that yeast should be good with my house I dont want to yo-yo the temp like I did before. I want to take the advice of trying something simple first but my wife has already bought the ingredients for the christmas ale. I am hoping to try and get it brewed and let it mature until I head to my parents house to visit at christmas. After that I am going to listen to the wisdom of the forum and practice the simple things first. thanks again you guys never let me down.

Session beers are a safe bet to learn your system,and achieve correct gravity.
P.S. If your first offering to your parents is a sketchy holiday ale,don't expect
your brew to be welcomed in the future.I love almost every style,but choke down a holiday.

 

[FATC1TY]

I like step three. I also did something similar to what Tre9er said as a partial mash and it turned out fine. I guess I got overconfident in my skills and over stepped a bit. The golden recipe is not complicated it is one malt one hop, 8 lbs pilsner and 1 oz Saaz. I will be using wlp570 as my yeast the temp range for that yeast should be good with my house I dont want to yo-yo the temp like I did before. I want to take the advice of trying something simple first but my wife has already bought the ingredients for the christmas ale. I am hoping to try and get it brewed and let it mature until I head to my parents house to visit at christmas. After that I am going to listen to the wisdom of the forum and practice the simple things first. thanks again you guys never let me down.

Make sure you do a 90 min boil on that belgian, due to the pilsner malt in there.

 

[tre9er]

Be careful, 60 degrees is near the bottom end for some ale yeasts, I would shoot for 65 degrees. If you overchill to say 55 degrees, some yeast may get sleepy on you.

I used that figure because the core temp of the beer will be higher for that time frame due to the exothermic hoopla going on.

 

[Pitbull-brewer]

I did a 90 min rest for the mash and a 90 min boil. My OG was a bit low but I think it is going to turn out ok. As for my fist offering to my parents they have tried 3 or 4 of my batches and have been bugging me to try a christmas ale clone since i started brewing. Thanks for the advice I will keep you updated on how it goes. I have my brew in the tub chilling at 64 degrees.

 

[crazyirishman34]

With the Belgian strains you aren't going to get much yeast character out of them in the mid 60s. I normally ferment them in the mid 70s.

 

[tre9er]

With the Belgian strains you aren't going to get much yeast character out of them in the mid 60s. I normally ferment them in the mid 70s.

I've had great luck with WLP500 in a swamp cooler at around 68.

 

[JordanThomas]

Be careful, 60 degrees is near the bottom end for some ale yeasts, I would shoot for 65 degrees. If you overchill to say 55 degrees, some yeast may get sleepy on you.

60 degree water in your swamp cooler is good. The ferm temps will remain about 5-10 degrees higher than ambient (in this case, the water bath).

 

[crazyirishman34]

WLP500 Trappist Ale Yeast
From one of the few remaining Trappist breweries remaining in the world, this yeast produces the distinctive fruitiness and plum characteristics. Excellent yeast for high gravity beers, Belgian ales, dubbels and trippels.
Attenuation: 75-80%
Flocculation: Medium to low
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-72°F
Lower temperatures (under 65) will result in less fruity and more earthy beers.
Alcohol Tolerance: High

 

[tre9er]

WLP500 Trappist Ale Yeast
From one of the few remaining Trappist breweries remaining in the world, this yeast produces the distinctive fruitiness and plum characteristics. Excellent yeast for high gravity beers, Belgian ales, dubbels and trippels.
Attenuation: 75-80%
Flocculation: Medium to low
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-72°F
Lower temperatures (under 65) will result in less fruity and more earthy beers.
Alcohol Tolerance: High

Right, but the internal temp will be 5 degrees higher than the swamp cooler once it kicks off. Yes, 60 is probably too low, 64ish is what I shoot for in swamp cooler but the beer stays at 68 through the bulk of fermentation.