My first brew is this weekend - anyone have suggestions for me?

[kanddr]

I just cannot fathom not liking the smell of a batch boiling. It gets me all giddy inside.

 

[tonyc318]

Maybe I missed it, but did anyone mention the importance of a hydrometer and taking readings?

 

[ianhoopes]

I have one and I already took a reading before sealing it all up. OG was 1.057.

 

[Andrew5329]

The only "flaw" in your plan that I see is that I'm a fan of the .5 gallon and 1 gallon Growler jugs. They just look cool and it's convenient to just carry one over to a friend's party instead of a case of bottles. (that and you dont have to buy a new set of bottles when they inevitably disappear in someone's hands.)

 

[tonyc318]

I have one and I already took a reading before sealing it all up. OG was 1.057.

That's great then just plan to bottle after FG is stable over a period of a few days. You have probably read that by now. Don't try to plan to bottle by a certain number of days, but stable gravity, then even wait a few days longer. It really helps the beer turn out great. Best of luck!

 

[jbsg02]

Tip 1: don't use chlorinated water

 

[ianhoopes]

One week in and I timed it, still getting about 5 burps per minute from the fermenter. In another week I will start taking samples, but anyone have an idea on how much longer I might have to wait until dry hopping? I can't drink this beer soon enough, but I will wait as long as it takes.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

You can dry hop as soon as primary fermentation is done and the beer stops or slows gassing off. Even though the airlock is bubbling the gravity may be stable but there is still CO2 being gassed off, bubbling your airlock. If you dry-hop too soon, the escaping CO2 will drive off the aroma you are trying to add with the hops. I generally wait for 2-3 weeks to make sure primary fermentation is over, then dry-hop for one more week. To make sure all the hops settle out, on day 5 of dry hop I "cold crash" in my spare fridge until bottling day.

 

[barneygumble]

You can dry hop as soon as primary fermentation is done and the beer stops or slows gassing off. Even though the airlock is bubbling the gravity may be stable but there is still CO2 being gassed off, bubbling your airlock. If you dry-hop too soon, the escaping CO2 will drive off the aroma you are trying to add with the hops. I generally wait for 2-3 weeks to make sure primary fermentation is over, then dry-hop for one more week. To make sure all the hops settle out, on day 5 of dry hop I "cold crash" in my spare fridge until bottling day.

All good advice.

 

[Bierliebhaber]

It may be a little late coming and someone may have already covered this, but DON'T use your pee as a sanitizer.

 

[ahaley]

It may be a little late coming and someone may have already covered this, but DON'T use your pee as a sanitizer.

Are you quoting a personal experience? Lol

 

[Jcoz]

Late as well but my advice would be to have a bowl of sanitized water for you hands and odds and ends and a spray bottle with sanitized water all set up for the end of the boil.

 

[ianhoopes]

My batch is bottled! I tasted it during bottling and the flavor profile is more like an IPA than an APA, so we'll see what it's like after 2 weeks of carbing. Everything went very well! I was afraid the kraeusen would stay on the top of the beer, but when I went to rack into my bottling bucket all was well. I'll hopefully be posting with a picture of the finished goods in a couple weeks!

 

[tre9er]

I may have missed it but you DID dissolve priming sugar into boiling water, cool, then rack the beer onto that prior to bottling, right? Otherwise I assume maybe you used carb drops?

 

[JohnnyO]

@JohnnyO

So you mean, boil the .5oz Centennial for 60 and do the other .5oz of Simcoe for 15 instead? May I ask why?

@Margos

My reasoning for steeping the Crystal 40L is to give a bit of freshness to the beer - from what I understand pure extract beers are never really great, just good. I thought it would be nice to have some actual grain used in the mix to make the beer fuller, although I understand it should be adding little to no gravity to the wort. Also I love the smell of fresh cracked malt.

Sorry for the extremely late response to this as you've already brewed, fermented and bottled your batch. Congrats on what sounds like a great first brew!

The reason why I suggested switching the Simcoe from bittering to flavor/aroma addition is because you would have a more complex beer then. The Centennial and Cascade flavors are quite similar IMO. Simcoe would add a different, more complex note as a flavor/aroma addition.

 

[kanddr]

My batch is bottled! I tasted it during bottling and the flavor profile is more like an IPA than an APA, so we'll see what it's like after 2 weeks of carbing. Everything went very well! I was afraid the kraeusen would stay on the top of the beer, but when I went to rack into my bottling bucket all was well. I'll hopefully be posting with a picture of the finished goods in a couple weeks!

Dont judge the flavor based on what you tasted on bottling day. The hop profile will mellow and decrease with time, cold temps, and carbonation. Congrats!

 

[ianhoopes]

Good to hear. And I totally did dissolve 3/4 cup of corn sugar in 1 cup of water. It was a 5 gallon batch. One other thing if anyone has any input - the beer tasted somewhat...watery than what I'm used to when I tried it. Will this change with time? I assume carbonation is going to perk up the flavor of the beer somewhat. Still tasted great, just a bit thinner than what I'm used to from commercially brewed stuff.

I already have my second batch fermenting, it's a cream ale made with raw honey (I put it in the boil of course), and I'm planning to bottle prime with pasteurized honey as well. Will be ready to bottle in 1.5 weeks time. Of course I will keep everyone updated with pictures of the finished brew!

 

[ianhoopes]

Well, it's 1.5 weeks after bottling and I cannot believe I've made something this delicious. Can't wait for it to get even better! Here's to brewing!

 

[gcdowd]

Best feeling in the world. And it gets better as you perfect your technique!

 

[Getzinator]

Great looking brew!

Question about your second batch, though. When did you add your honey in to the boil?

 

[brewvac]

Congrats on a great looking beer!

 

[ianhoopes]

@getzinator: I put the homey in during the last 15 minutes. It's raw honey, so long enough to sterilize without ruining flavor.

 

[Getzinator]

@getzinator: I put the homey in during the last 15 minutes. It's raw honey, so long enough to sterilize without ruining flavor.

Good deal. Did you have any issues with burning sugars or anything like that?

 

[ianhoopes]

Nope. Turned out just fine.