My first home brew

[HalfGuy]

Hey guys, this is my first (re)post here [I accidentally posted this in the extract version of the Northern Brewer Bourbon Barrel Porter thread] - and this is my first homebrew ever! :rockin: I brewed this all-grain recipe on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, as this was my first time using my equipment, I didn't take into account for boil-off and trub loss. Instead of the 5 gallons I was shooting for, I think I got only around 3.5 gallons. (The pictures below are of a 6 gallon carboy)

Another small issue I had was I forgot to purchase a hydrometer before pitching the yeast and taking the OG reading.

I cooled the wort down in an ice bath and pitched the Safale S-04 Yeast (dumped it in dry) at 70* F.

This picture is about 14 hours after I pitched the yeast (Monday - 10 AM)

This picture is about 18 hours (Monday - 2 PM)

This picture is about 22 hours (Monday - 6 PM)

Now fast forward to today, Friday @ 1:00PM, the airlock activity has slowed down substantially but there is definitely still bubbling on the surface of the wort.

The krausen has definitely fallen off and the yeast cake has appeared at the bottom.

In my opinion, it smells good through the airlock and it looks like fermentation was quick and vigorous (as expected for the s-04 yeast) Just wanted to make sure this looks normal so far - as I am very cautious as this is my first ever home brew (all-grain or extract).

I was planning on waiting another week, and then racking the beer into 4, 1 gallon carboys. I want to add bourbon for #1, coffee for #2, bourbon + coffee #3, and then keep the base beer for #4. Any comments/suggestions so far?

 

[m1batt1]

Looks perfectly normal to me. Not uncommon for the krausen to fall off at this point but as you said you noticed there's still work going on.

The only thing I would say you might find is that since you ended up with a lower volume you might have had a higher starting gravity than you were shooting for. Hard to say though since you didn't have a hydrometer to start with.

In suggest getting yourself a hydrometer before you rack it anywhere. Check your gravity at week two and then a couple days later. Hard to say where it should be since we don't know the starting point but if it doesn't change after a couple days rack it and move forward with your plan.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[HalfGuy]

Thanks for the feedback, m1batt1. I have purchased a hydrometer already, so I won't be making that mistake again. I was thinking the same thing that I may have a higher SG than expected. If that is the case, would this result in a higher ABV (pre-bourbon?)

 

[MedicMang]

Looks like beer. Good job. A hydrometer is a good idea though. Think of this brew as a nice learning experience. It's going to taste great and you know more for next time. Half of becoming a decent all grain brewer is learning how YOUR system works and figuring out where all of your losses come from.


Sent from Cheese Doodle Land.

 

[m1batt1]

Yes higher starting gravity will result in a higher abv. That is assuming the yeast is capable of tolerating the higher alcohol to get to all the sugars.

But being that you did all grain there's a lot more variables involved in your gravity and abv. So you're kind of flying blind right now unfortunately. I'd be willing to bet though that you'll have a quality beer regardless. Of looks tasty already.

Report back on how it tastes!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Kampenken]

Congrats on your 1st beer, looks great and I really like your idea of the 4 carboys for the different beers, smart! I hope you report back on the taste, looking forward to it. One question, you do have this out of the light?

 

[HalfGuy]

Definitely will update as time goes on on taste and progression.
Yes it is being stored in the corner of a dark closet , only time artificial light has hit it is when I check on it briefly and take pictures!
Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it.

 

[HalfGuy]

I just took a sample - its at 1.019 right now; and it tastes pretty good for warm, flat beer. Chocolate notes are coming through nicely.

Edit: it tastes a little sweet, I'm thinking this might have to do with the potential higher sg and that the 1 packet of dry s-04 may not be suitable to ferment completely?

 

[andy6026]

For the future you might want to use a calculator like this to help you get your water volumes closer to where you want them. I don't find these calculators to be perfect, but once you get a few batches in, you'll know better how to adjust their recommendations.

http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php

 

[Kampenken]

Jumping on Andy's water volume calculator suggestion, here's one for yeast pitching.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

Cheers!

 

[Croyzen]

70 degrees is way too warm for that yeast. If that's 70 ambient then that means that carboy was in the mid 70s or more during peak fermentation. The carboy shouldn't get warmer than low-mid 60s. Expect off flavors due to the smokin hot fermentation. Also, racking a beer off to a bunch of secondaries when it's the first (or any) beer is probably not the best idea. I wouldn't add anything being a first beer but if you can't live without doing it then just add it to the primary carboy. I personally never secondary unless it's a beer that's sitting for months. Most of my beers stay in the carboy between 10 days to 4-6 weeks. The ones that sit longer are either bigger, darker, or dry hopped. Good luck. Keep it simple though and save multi 1 gallon racks for when you get more brews under your belt.

 

[morticaixavier]

I think your plan sounds solid. It's experimental but that's half the fun of homebrewing.

It's gonna taste a bit sweet at 1.019 but give it another week and take another sample. if it's still at 1.019 then it's probably done and it's safe to rack to your 1 gallon jugs.

Porters are malt forwards beers and this is a big porter so it's going to be a bit sweet.

if you post recipe details we can take wild ass guesses at the og if you want.

 

[Croyzen]

Also get a copy of beersmith or use some of the online calculators suggested. I couldn't make a batch of beer without beersmith. Northern Brewer sells some very nice things and good ingredients but their instructions or very poorly written. They write instructions to make beer, not to make good beer. My first kit I did was an NB extract kit. I figured I would be making award winning beer by following the kit instructions. I ended up dumping the batch and looking back on the instructions it's easy to see why. One of these things they completely dismiss is fermentation temps. Even in their videos they say to just cool the wort, pitch the yeast, and put the carboy in a dark "quiet" place. Too bad the yeast prefers temps in the low to mid temp of the yeast stain used which is not in a 70 degree closet which might as well be hell for the yeast because it will act like satan and throw nasty flavors.

 

[HalfGuy]

I was keeping it cool during the first couple days of peak fermentation and the wort hasn't gotten above 71.. From what I've read it should be ok at that temp

 

[Croyzen]

How did you keep it cool? It looks like it's just sitting there from your pics. How are you keeping track of the wort temp? If the room is 70 degrees that means the wort would have jumped anywhere from approx 4-8 degrees during peak fermentation. 70-71 is hot enough to give you unintended flavors. I use s04 for an English bitter recipe I enjoy and never let the carboy get above 65. Those 5 degrees **can** make all the difference. Here is a thread where others have discussed it. You will see most suggest using s04 below 70. Good luck with your batch;

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/safale-s-04-fermentation-temp-346741/

 

[HalfGuy]

Thanks for the advice, I kept it cool with a cold, wet towel that I changed often. I used an IR thermometer to check the wort temperature (not the carboy temperature). Hopefully I don't get much off-flavor, as the Safale website says the max temperature for the yeast is 75*, and I have definitely kept it below that throughout the process. Now its been steady at 71*

 

[morticaixavier]

Thanks for the advice, I kept it cool with a cold, wet towel that I changed often. I used an IR thermometer to check the wort temperature (not the carboy temperature). Hopefully I don't get much off-flavor, as the Safale website says the max temperature for the yeast is 75*, and I have definitely kept it below that throughout the process. Now its been steady at 71*

Nothing to worry about, it might be a little hot but it will mellow with a little age. the yeast manufacturers want you to keep their yeast happy so it ferments quickly and gives you a confident feeling (short lag time, vigorous fermentation) so they tend to encourage you to ferment at a higher temp than might be best for making great beer. next time aim for the low end of the recommended temps. Or, given that you have a taste for experimentation, try seeing how low you can go!

I've seen people ferment ale yeasts as low as 46 with good results although I wouldn't recommend that. my normal procedure is to chill to ~64 or lower pitch and hold around 64 then let it rise to ~70 at the end.

 

[Kampenken]

I've seen people ferment ale yeasts as low as 46 with good results although I wouldn't recommend that. my normal procedure is to chill to ~64 or lower pitch and hold around 64 then let it rise to ~70 at the end.

That's interesting, this is one are I haven't explored fully and it appears that I need to be doing just that! So, anyone have advice (I'll search) on ferment temp ranges and impact on taste (subjective)? I realize yeasts have specific temps, but not that it may have a (significant) effect on the final product. Anything to improve the beer!

 

[morticaixavier]

That's interesting, this is one are I haven't explored fully and it appears that I need to be doing just that! So, anyone have advice (I'll search) on ferment temp ranges and impact on taste (subjective)? I realize yeasts have specific temps, but not that it may have a (significant) effect on the final product. Anything to improve the beer!

You will enjoy some of the results. I find that the biggest and best change I have made in my brewing is improving my ability to control fermentation temps.

That and proper pitching rates make all the difference

 

[Croyzen]

I second the above and would add understanding water as another thing that helped improve my beers.

 

[HalfGuy]

So I got exactly 3.5 gallons when I racked to my secondary gallon jugs… Due to the amount of airspace in the half gallon beer, I decided to bottle it after 15 days in primary (6 12 oz bottles). The other 3 gallons are going to remain in the closet for another 3-4 weeks. I bought some cocao nibs and Nielsen-Massey coffee extract that I'm going to add next week.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how much coffee extract and/or cocao nibs to add to the 1 gallon jugs?