Need Recipe Suggestions for my first homebrew - a 5L IPA

[Kunal Vanjare]

Hey guys, long time lurker but first time poster here.

I recently had my first ever brewday, where I brewed a 5L IPA using Cascade & Citra but somewhere the whole process went horribly awry and I ended up with an OG waaaay above what was required. So, now I am ready to go at it again but felt I should get the recipe verified by you good folks first. So here goes :-

Batch Size - 5L
Strike Water Vol - 6 Litres @75 degree C

Grains:
1.5 KG Pale 2-Row
0.3 KG German Munich Light

Hop Bill
4g Cascade Pellet @60minutes
6.5g Cascade @30minutes
8g Citra @1minute
17g Citra @5-days dry hop
Boil Time - 60 minutes
I use Irish Moss 15 minutes before end of boil.

Mash
Mash - Single step at 66 degree C for 60 minutes
Sparge @71 degrees C

Process - BIAB

Fermentation
2g of re-hydrated dry IPA Yeast for fermentation.
Ferm temp - 18-19 degree C.

Will this recipe work? Please feel free to suggest changes or improvements.

Thanks,
KV

 

[RM-MN]

Sure that recipe will work. You'll get nearly exactly the same results if you use slightly less water and boil for 30 minutes, combining the two additons of Cascade for the 30 minutes. That simplifies the recipe. A 30 minute addition of hops tends to get you more bitterness and not much flavor addition. If you want more flavor from the Cascade do the 60 minute boil with the first amount but wait until the 15 or even 10 minute mark for the second addition.

What happened to the first brewday? Was it also BIAB? If so and you used your own mill you got better mash efficiency than the recipe called for and you will henceforth need to adjust your base malt to account for that.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

What happened was I kept waiting for a rolling boil on my kitchen stove. Ended up boiling for nearly 2 hours and forgot to check the OG before pitching yeast

I will follow the 60 minute boil with late hop additions for flavor. I'm just not sure how good a boil I will get on my kitchen stove tbh. I have been told to split the wort in two separate pots but that seems a bit difficult right now.

I have some queries though :-

1. Since I dont expect a vigorous rolling boil, should I start adding the hops the moment the wort starts boiling (bubbles start appearing) and the temp reaches 98-100 degree C?

2. Also, should the Lid be ON or OFF during the boil?

3. I use Iodophor for sanitation of all equipment. Will that affect the taste of my beer?

4. Should I increase the temperature of my sparge water? A brewer friend of mine recommends sparge temperatures of approx 78 degree C.

Thanks.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

I used a Food Processor to mill the grains and got a pretty decent mill. Not sure about the efficiency though since I was anyway going to BIAB.

Maybe I'll reduce the grain bill by a few hundred grams each and see how that works out.

 

[RM-MN]

1. Since I dont expect a vigorous rolling boil, should I start adding the hops the moment the wort starts boiling (bubbles start appearing) and the temp reaches 98-100 degree C?

You don't need a vigorous boil. I bring the temperature up until I see the boil start, then reduce it until it is not much more than a simmer. Your bittering hops should go in when the boil starts. I find that if I put them in too soon, I get too much foam and it spills over the side of the pot so no I let the foam subside first. Exact timing is not needed.

2. Also, should the Lid be ON or OFF during the boil?

The old info says you can put a lid on to help the wort get to a boil, then open it at least half to allow DMS to escape. New info suggest that it doesn't matter. I still would open the lid partially.

3. I use Iodophor for sanitation of all equipment. Will that affect the taste of my beer?

I believe you need to rinse out the equipment if you use Idophor. When your current supply is gone you might want to switch to Starsan as it is a no rinse sanitizer.

4. Should I increase the temperature of my sparge water? A brewer friend of mine recommends sparge temperatures of approx 78 degree C.

I sparge with the water directly from my tap. The hot, wet grains will heat the water quite a bit. You are merely rinsing the sugars from the grains at this point and cool water does that as well as hot and is simpler to do.

I used a Food Processor to mill the grains and got a pretty decent mill. Not sure about the efficiency though since I was anyway going to BIAB.

Maybe I'll reduce the grain bill by a few hundred grams each and see how that works out.

Many recipes are designed for a 65 to 70% efficiency. Milling your grains with a food processor will get them milled finer than what a conventional mash tun can deal with and will increase your mash efficiency. With a good sparge I would expect your efficiency to be in the 80 to 0ver 90% so you will probably need to reduce the amount of grains....but until you know what efficiency you get, you might just do the recipe as written and accept the higher OG if it turns out you get great efficiency. You won't know until you have done 2 or 3 recipes just where your efficiency will fall.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

You don't need a vigorous boil. I bring the temperature up until I see the boil start, then reduce it until it is not much more than a simmer. Your bittering hops should go in when the boil starts. I find that if I put them in too soon, I get too much foam and it spills over the side of the pot so no I let the foam subside first. Exact timing is not needed.



The old info says you can put a lid on to help the wort get to a boil, then open it at least half to allow DMS to escape. New info suggest that it doesn't matter. I still would open the lid partially.



I believe you need to rinse out the equipment if you use Idophor. When your current supply is gone you might want to switch to Starsan as it is a no rinse sanitizer.



I sparge with the water directly from my tap. The hot, wet grains will heat the water quite a bit. You are merely rinsing the sugars from the grains at this point and cool water does that as well as hot and is simpler to do.



Many recipes are designed for a 65 to 70% efficiency. Milling your grains with a food processor will get them milled finer than what a conventional mash tun can deal with and will increase your mash efficiency. With a good sparge I would expect your efficiency to be in the 80 to 0ver 90% so you will probably need to reduce the amount of grains....but until you know what efficiency you get, you might just do the recipe as written and accept the higher OG if it turns out you get great efficiency. You won't know until you have done 2 or 3 recipes just where your efficiency will fall.

I used short 1-second pulses on the food processor to ensure the grains did not turn into flour. But yes, the size of the milled grain wasn't consistent by any means.

So after an Iodophor dip, wouldn't rinsing with ordinary water re-introduce some unwanted juju into your stuff? I will switch to Star-San as soon as my Iodophor runs out for sure! Thanks

 

[IslandLizard]

I believe you need to rinse out the equipment if you use Iodophor. When your current supply is gone you might want to switch to Starsan as it is a no rinse sanitizer.

So after an Iodophor dip, wouldn't rinsing with ordinary water re-introduce some unwanted juju into your stuff? I will switch to Star-San as soon as my Iodophor runs out for sure! Thanks

Iodophor (or any other povidone base sanitizer, such as IOStar) at the recommended working solution strength of 12.5 ppm is no-rinse:
http://www.kotmf.com/articles/iodophor.php

But I agree, Starsan is generally easier to work with, a working solution will last several weeks, or longer. Just only dunk cleaned equipment into it, to keep it, well, clean. Periodically check the pH (1/4" snip of cheap multirange strips/rolls), it should be 3.0 or under.

Here's a link to a Iodophor taste experiment:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/do-you-guys-rinse-your-iodophor.102024/#post-1117560

 

[IslandLizard]

but somewhere the whole process went horribly awry and I ended up with an OG waaaay above what was required.

I really hope you didn't dump that high gravity, triple/quadruple IPA wort...

Especially with smaller volume batches, like yours, keep a close eye on evaporation. Even if you don't have a rolling boil, once the wort is around 210F (or lower when at higher elevations), it's evaporating. On a kitchen stove with the hood on, you may never see steam, but your liquid level is dropping steadily. Even with the lid on, or partially on, you're evaporating.
Either start with a somewhat larger volume (set "boil off" in your recipe calculator to a higher amount) or keep topping up (add boiling or hot water) as you go, and/or turn that heat down a bit to match 20% boil off per hour.

You may be surprised with a given equipment setup that boil off is almost a constant. whether you boil 1 gallon or 3 gallons, boil off may be almost the same, but in the 1 gallon case you may end up with thick syrup in the bottom of the pot after an hour.

I've been using this small handy mash/boil calculator: Brew365

Shorter boil times, under 60' can be used, (boil wort from Pilsner malts 45-60').
Actually keeping the lid on for the first 15 minutes of the boil, then removing it for the next 15 minutes, seems to get rid of more DMS than boiling for 30' with the lid off.

 

[RM-MN]

So after an Iodophor dip, wouldn't rinsing with ordinary water re-introduce some unwanted juju into your stuff?

As long as you aren't using water from the puddle in your front yard the risk is pretty small.

 

[RM-MN]

I used short 1-second pulses on the food processor to ensure the grains did not turn into flour. But yes, the size of the milled grain wasn't consistent by any means.

Now that you know that the consistency isn't quite what you want, one of these mills work well for BIAB.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Professi...Ks94C4WthIti79kqjtkmrk9o-naHLS_MaAh97EALw_wcB

 

[IslandLizard]

I used a Food Processor to mill the grains and got a pretty decent mill. Not sure about the efficiency though since I was anyway going to BIAB.

Maybe I'll reduce the grain bill by a few hundred grams each and see how that works out.

With BIAB, the bag is your filter, you may grind your grain to near powder. But... if possible, it's better to keep the husks a bit more intact, not pulverizing them as much. If your milled grist has no grain bits larger than ~1 mm, you should get good and fast conversion.

For small batches, I often place my mash pot in a prewarmed (~160F), but turned-off oven. It keeps temps much better than anything else.

 

[Jag75]

Shorter boil times, under 60' can be used, (boil wort from Pilsner malts 45-60').
Actually keeping the lid on for the first 15 minutes of the boil, then removing it for the next 15 minutes, seems to get rid of more DMS than boiling for 30' with the lid off.



Huh , I didnt know that ^^^^^^ this is what I love about this forum. You can learn something new everyday !

 

[IslandLizard]

Huh , I didnt know that ^^^^^^ this is what I love about this forum. You can learn something new everyday !

It took me a while to find the write up on that. I knew it was by Martin Brungard, but where... Searching... Searching... Ah, I found it:

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=32426.msg417631#msg417631

 

[IslandLizard]

Will this recipe work?

Your recipe is fine but you didn't talk about your water source.

First, if your water contains Chlorine or Chloramines (disinfectants often used in potable municipal water), usually apparent by smell or taste, treat all your brewing water with 1/4 crushed Campden tablet (Sodium Metabisulfite) per 5 gallons (~20 liters) of water, to remove them.

Instead of "Campden" you can use a "pinch" of K-meta or Na-meta powder (Potassium or Sodium Metabisulfite). More accurately, it only takes ~ 1/16 of a teaspoon (that's 1/4 of 1/4 tsp) per 20 liters. Using a little more for all security, even as much as double that amount, won't harm a thing, just to be sure that all chlorine/chloramines are removed. It reacts almost instantly (a minute or so) after dissolving/stirring well.

Second is water composition, minerals it contains and minerals you may want to add. But that's a more advanced topic to look into at a later point.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Your recipe is fine but you didn't talk about your water source.

First, if your water contains Chlorine or Chloramines (disinfectants often used in potable municipal water), usually apparent by smell or taste, treat all your brewing water with 1/4 crushed Campden tablet (Sodium Metabisulfite) per 5 gallons (~20 liters) of water, to remove them.

Instead of "Campden" you can use a "pinch" of K-meta or Na-meta powder (Potassium or Sodium Metabisulfite). More accurately, it only takes ~ 1/16 of a teaspoon (that's 1/4 of 1/4 tsp) per 20 liters. Using a little more for all security, even as much as double that amount, won't harm a thing, just to be sure that all chlorine/chloramines are removed. It reacts almost instantly (a minute or so) after dissolving/stirring well.

Second is water composition, minerals it contains and minerals you may want to add. But that's a more advanced topic to look into at a later point.

The water I used was from branded locally available UV & RO treated Cans. I will look into adding Campden tablets for my next brew. Thanks.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

It took me a while to find the write up on that. I knew it was by Martin Brungard, but where... Searching... Searching... Ah, I found it:

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=32426.msg417631#msg417631

That helped immensely! Thank you so much.

So I live basically at mean sea level (or a few feet above since this being a coastal city). I will try 30 minutes of covered simmer followed by 30 mins of open boil. The off-centering of the Pot is something I would never have come up with .. definitely going to do that the next time around.

One thing I'd like to know is that the 30 minutes + 30 minutes timer has to be started immediately when I turn ON the heat after mashing, or when the heat is on and the wort just starts boiling?

After the first few comments on here, I was going to start the 60 minute timer as soon as the wort reached about 208 F or when the first bubbles start appearing. Could you clear that one for me?

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

With BIAB, the bag is your filter, you may grind your grain to near powder. But... if possible, it's better to keep the husks a bit more intact, not pulverizing them as much. If your milled grist has no grain bits larger than ~1 mm, you should get good and fast conversion.

For small batches, I often place my mash pot in a prewarmed (~160F), but turned-off oven. It keeps temps much better than anything else.

Yessir! I made sure not to pulverize the grains. I'll try with smaller amount of grains per batch in the Food Processor. That might increase the time spent in Milling, but atleast i'll get better efficiency. I hope :/

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

I really hope you didn't dump that high gravity, triple/quadruple IPA wort...

Especially with smaller volume batches, like yours, keep a close eye on evaporation. Even if you don't have a rolling boil, once the wort is around 210F (or lower when at higher elevations), it's evaporating. On a kitchen stove with the hood on, you may never see steam, but your liquid level is dropping steadily. Even with the lid on, or partially on, you're evaporating.
Either start with a somewhat larger volume (set "boil off" in your recipe calculator to a higher amount) or keep topping up (add boiling or hot water) as you go, and/or turn that heat down a bit to match 20% boil off per hour.

You may be surprised with a given equipment setup that boil off is almost a constant. whether you boil 1 gallon or 3 gallons, boil off may be almost the same, but in the 1 gallon case you may end up with thick syrup in the bottom of the pot after an hour.

I've been using this small handy mash/boil calculator: Brew365

Shorter boil times, under 60' can be used, (boil wort from Pilsner malts 45-60').
Actually keeping the lid on for the first 15 minutes of the boil, then removing it for the next 15 minutes, seems to get rid of more DMS than boiling for 30' with the lid off.

I did dump the entire batch

I guess intermittent top-up of hot/boiling water is the way to go for me

 

[IslandLizard]

One thing I'd like to know is that the 30 minutes + 30 minutes timer has to be started immediately when I turn ON the heat after mashing, or when the heat is on and the wort just starts boiling?

After the first few comments on here, I was going to start the 60 minute timer as soon as the wort reached about 208 F or when the first bubbles start appearing. Could you clear that one for me?

You'd start your brew timer (boil timer) when you see bubbling/rippling on the surface or when the entire wort reaches 208-212F. A few minutes more or less is nothing to worry about. Now water boils at 212F/100C at sea level, wort may be one or a few degrees higher due to sugar content. Maybe check the accuracy or calibration of your thermometer? Or make a (mental) note.

Bittering (hop utilization) will be a tad less with shorter or lower temp boils, but the bulk of bittering (isomerization of alpha acids in the hop oils) takes place in the first 30-40 minutes of the boil. Diminishing returns after 40 minutes, even more so after an hour. Boil gravity also plays a large role in hop utilization, the higher the gravity, the lower the utilization (bittering).

 

[IslandLizard]

I did dump the entire batch

I guess intermittent top-up of hot/boiling water is the way to go for me

So sad!

Once you know your boil off (liters/hour), it's best to start with a larger volume, so after your intended 30, 40, or 60 minutes boiling you end up with the correct volume of wort and of the correct gravity. Especially with all grain brewing, we sparge to increase (mash) efficiency knowing that we will boil off, say, a gallon an hour, so we end up with the correct volume and gravity in the end.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Thanks for all the advice, guys!

So I'm almost ready to go at it again within a couple of days. The grain bill I had used initially made for a really dull dark copper brown-ish color. Which malt can I use with the Pale Ale to maybe get a bright yellow color? And in what proportion for a 5L IPA...

TIA.

 

[IslandLizard]

So I'm almost ready to go at it again within a couple of days. The grain bill I had used initially made for a really dull dark copper brown-ish color. Which malt can I use with the Pale Ale to maybe get a bright yellow color? And in what proportion for a 5L IPA...

TIA.

Glad to hear you're not giving up!

Grains:
1.5 KG Pale 2-Row
0.3 KG German Munich Light

This should yield a light brown wort which becomes a yellow beer after fermentation.

A lot of good advice and pointers were given already, please review them.

Don't boil too hard/vigorously, it causes caramelization/browning of the sugars. A thin bottomed pot on a high heat source can be a cause of scorching, usually visible by a sticky gray/brown/black deposit or even a burn patch when cleaning. Keep an eye on your volume during the boil/simmer. For example, use a bare (unpainted) wooden stick or so to measure the depth of your wort a few times during the boil. Pre-mark your initial and target volume levels for ease.

Can you describe your heat source? Is there a strong vent/hood or other means of vapor suction/draft involved?
What kind of pot/kettle are you using?

Here's an excellent source for everything involved in homebrewing: howtobrew.com
The particulars of all grain brewing are in Section 3, but I encourage you to read the whole book, as knowledge of basic brewing techniques and terminology is indispensable. A more recent 4th edition in book form is also available.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Glad to hear you're not giving up!

This should yield a light brown wort which becomes a yellow beer after fermentation.

A lot of good advice and pointers were given already, please review them.

Don't boil too hard/vigorously, it causes caramelization/browning of the sugars. A thin bottomed pot on a high heat source can be a cause of scorching, usually visible by a sticky gray/brown/black deposit or even a burn patch when cleaning. Keep an eye on your volume during the boil/simmer. For example, use a bare (unpainted) wooden stick or so to measure the depth of your wort a few times during the boil. Pre-mark your initial and target volume levels for ease.

Can you describe your heat source? Is there a strong vent/hood or other means of vapor suction/draft involved?
What kind of pot/kettle are you using?

Here's an excellent source for everything involved in homebrewing: howtobrew.com
The particulars of all grain brewing are in Section 3, but I encourage you to read the whole book, as knowledge of basic brewing techniques and terminology is indispensable. A more recent 4th edition in book form is also available.

That makes a lot of sense to me. Once it starts boiling, I will lower the heat just about to maintain a consistent boil all the while keeping an eye on the evaporation rate.

My heat source is a house-hold gas stove. There is no vent or vapor suction. But there is an exhaust fan, which I keep OFF during the boil. My pot is a basic Stainless Steel stock pot that you get in any kitchen markets over here. Guys I am not based in the US, I'm actually based out of India. So i gotta make do with what we have over here haha.

I have the book! Just haven't gotten aroudn to reading it yet. But I will, for sure.

Last question, could I add some wheat malt in the bill so as to give it more of a lighter color? If yes, how do I tune my recipe to include Pale Ale, Munich & Wheat malts?

 

[IslandLizard]

That makes a lot of sense to me. Once it starts boiling, I will lower the heat just about to maintain a consistent boil all the while keeping an eye on the evaporation rate.

My heat source is a house-hold gas stove. There is no vent or vapor suction. But there is an exhaust fan, which I keep OFF during the boil. My pot is a basic Stainless Steel stock pot that you get in any kitchen markets over here. Guys I am not based in the US, I'm actually based out of India. So i gotta make do with what we have over here haha.

I have the book! Just haven't gotten aroudn to reading it yet. But I will, for sure.

Last question, could I add some wheat malt in the bill so as to give it more of a lighter color? If yes, how do I tune my recipe to include Pale Ale, Munich & Wheat malts?

Sounds like a plan. The thicker the wort becomes due to evaporation, the more caramelization (browning) it incurs. So start with 7 (or 8) liters of wort and if you notice over the hour you're boiling off more than 2 (or 3) liters, top up as it goes.

Stainless is good, low maintenance, easy to clean! Thin single ply bottoms are more prone to scorching, so make sure the flame is well spread.

Good to hear you got the book.

If you want the beer to be very pale, there's no need to use Munich, you can use some wheat instead, helps with foam and head retention too. Now it will taste different than using Munich, 17% of the malt bill makes a well tasteable difference. You can use malted wheat or flaked wheat, whatever is easier to get. If you get unmalted whole wheat berries or cracked wheat (e.g., bulgur) you need to do a cereal mash with them first.

Use BrewersFriend.com recipe calculator. It's free.
Or look around here and elsewhere for IPA recipes you'd be interested in. You can substitute the hops with the ones you have. You can scale pretty much all ingredients linearly, such as grain, hops, yeast, etc. Water at lower volumes (smaller batches) needs to be adjusted a bit as you have noticed.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Sounds like a plan. The thicker the wort becomes due to evaporation, the more caramelization (browning) it incurs. So start with 7 (or 8) liters of wort and if you notice over the hour you're boiling off more than 2 (or 3) liters, top up as it goes.

Stainless is good, low maintenance, easy to clean! Thin single ply bottoms are more prone to scorching, so make sure the flame is well spread.

Good to hear you got the book.

If you want the beer to be very pale, there's no need to use Munich, you can use some wheat instead, helps with foam and head retention too. Now it will taste different than using Munich, 17% of the malt bill makes a well tasteable difference. You can use malted wheat or flaked wheat, whatever is easier to get. If you get unmalted whole wheat berries or cracked wheat (e.g., bulgur) you need to do a cereal mash with them first.

Use BrewersFriend.com recipe calculator. It's free.
Or look around here and elsewhere for IPA recipes you'd be interested in. You can substitute the hops with the ones you have. You can scale pretty much all ingredients linearly, such as grain, hops, yeast, etc. Water at lower volumes (smaller batches) needs to be adjusted a bit as you have noticed.

I am using Brewers Friend

I'm gonna look for some Malted Wheat in my nearest brewpub. Thank you so much.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Okay so I'm trying to play around with the Grain Bill for my 5 Litre (1.32 Gal) IPA and this is what I've come up with :-

Pale Ale 2-Row - 1 KG (2.2lb) - 64.52%
Wheat Malt - 0.4 KG (0.88lb) - 25.81%
Rolled Oats - 0.15 KG (0.33lb) - 9.68%

I decided to keep the oats under 10% after reading this - https://www.love2brew.com/Articles.asp?ID=496

I've also looked around to see if I could just simply use the Quaker Whole Oats that you get in a grocery store, but I've seen contrasting opinions about that. Could someone simplify this for me? Or should I just try to find Rolled Oats (couldn't find Flaked Oats anywhere around here )

 

[IslandLizard]

I've also looked around to see if I could just simply use the Quaker Whole Oats that you get in a grocery store, but I've seen contrasting opinions about that. Could someone simplify this for me? Or should I just try to find Rolled Oats (couldn't find Flaked Oats anywhere around here )

[EDITS]
Rolled and flaked oats are the same thing.

Quaker rolled "Old Fashioned" or "Instant" oats are fine for use in brewing, as they are. So are their generic equivalents. The rolling/steaming process involves hot rollers, which pre-gelatinizes the starches, so they can be added to a diastatic mash directly.

What are those "whole oats?" If they're rolled/flaked, they're pre-gelatinized, see above.

If they're "steel cut" looking like little chunks, or broken/milled into little chunky pieces, but NOT rolled (flaked), chances are they are NOT pre-gelatinized, and CANNOT be used in the mash as is. They would need to be either cooked (boiled) thoroughly or better yet, "cereal mashed" prior to adding to the mash. If they are the instant kind, 1 minute oats, I'd say they were pre-steamed/cooked and chances are they're pre-gelatinized.

The whole "raw," unmalted adjuncts treatise, pregelatinization temps of various adjunct, and cereal mash procedure are in Palmer's book.

Make sure the oats you use smell and taste fresh, grainy, not stale or dank.

You can get flaked wheat from homebrew sources, but also from bakeries and bakery suppliers. Probably also a good source for flaked barley and flaked rye and other grain and flaked products, if you ever want those.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

[EDITS]
Rolled and flaked oats are the same thing.

Quaker rolled "Old Fashioned" or "Instant" oats are fine for use in brewing, as they are. So are their generic equivalents. The rolling/steaming process involves hot rollers, which pre-gelatinizes the starches, so they can be added to a diastatic mash directly.

What are those "whole oats?" If they're rolled/flaked, they're pre-gelatinized, see above.

If they're "steel cut" looking like little chunks, or broken/milled into little chunky pieces, but NOT rolled (flaked), chances are they are NOT pre-gelatinized, and CANNOT be used in the mash as is. They would need to be either cooked (boiled) thoroughly or better yet, "cereal mashed" prior to adding to the mash. If they are the instant kind, 1 minute oats, I'd say they were pre-steamed/cooked and chances are they're pre-gelatinized.

The whole "raw," unmalted adjuncts treatise, pregelatinization temps of various adjunct, and cereal mash procedure are in Palmer's book.

Make sure the oats you use smell and taste fresh, grainy, not stale or dank.

You can get flaked wheat from homebrew sources, but also from bakeries and bakery suppliers. Probably also a good source for flaked barley and flaked rye and other grain and flaked products, if you ever want those.

This is the Quaker pack i was talking about - https://www.amazon.in/Quaker-Oats-P...d_r=WGVGHF2V4A7SWG286Z0A&psc=1&qid=1574389480

I won't use Steel-Cut oats. Rolled oats are available but they're quite expensive compared to these which are available easily.

 

[IslandLizard]

This is the Quaker pack i was talking about - https://www.amazon.in/Quaker-Oats-Pouch-1kg/dp/B00QPS8BAW/ref=sxin_4_ac_d_rm?ac_md=2-2-b2F0cw==-ac_d_rm&keywords=rolled+oats&pd_rd_i=B00QPS8BAW&pd_rd_r=9cef81e1-176f-457c-a346-3dc53cb8c3cc&pd_rd_w=D0axI&pd_rd_wg=kpYrE&pf_rd_p=aefb8402-5202-48b1-a69a-2fbb0aa2f3c0&pf_rd_r=WGVGHF2V4A7SWG286Z0A&psc=1&qid=1574389480

I won't use Steel-Cut oats. Rolled oats are available but they're quite expensive compared to these which are available easily.

From what I can see it looks like they will work fine. It's really not that critical as long as they have the (flat) rolled or flaked shape, not little chunky bits. Those are "3 minute oats" possibly a little bit more processed (perhaps rolled thinner) than "old-fashioned" oats and a bit less processed than 1 minute quick/instant oats.
Go for it! Once it's in the mash $1 oats won't be any different than expensive (overpriced) $10 oats.

I pay around $1 a pound here, either from the supermarket (the store's generic brand), warehouse type stores (Sam's, Costco) in 10# boxes or in 50# sacks from a grain distributor. Brewshops charge about double that.

Using oats at 10% of the grist is very nominal, I've used 15-20% with no real lauter problems. I use some oats in most beers.

As with all grain products, make sure to reclose that bag well for next time, and store in a place where no insects or rodents can get in there.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

From what I can see it looks like they will work fine. It's really not that critical as long as they have the (flat) rolled or flaked shape, not little chunky bits. Those are "3 minute oats" possibly a little bit more processed (perhaps rolled thinner) than "old-fashioned" oats and a bit less processed than 1 minute quick/instant oats.
Go for it! Once it's in the mash $1 oats won't be any different than expensive (overpriced) $10 oats.

I pay around $1 a pound here, either from the supermarket (the store's generic brand), warehouse type stores (Sam's, Costco) in 10# boxes or in 50# sacks from a grain distributor. Brewshops charge about double that.

Using oats at 10% of the grist is very nominal, I've used 15-20% with no real lauter problems. I use some oats in most beers.

As with all grain products, make sure to reclose that bag well for next time, and store in a place where no insects or rodents can get in there.

Great then, i'll get a 1 KG bag of this. Should last me for 2 brews atleast.

I'll probably play safe and limit the oats to 10% this time. I'll try to increase the quantity seeing how this one plays out

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Been almost 36 hours since I pitched the yeast, and there is no activity in the airlock.

So I opened the lid of the Fermenter to see this. Is it infected? I had checked once yesterday and there was a green layer on top which has disappeared now.

 

[Jag75]

I'm not sure I'd even chance that if there was a green layer . But then again it may be fine . I would wait for some of the science guys on here who really know what to look for and what's safe or what's not .

 

[IslandLizard]

Been almost 36 hours since I pitched the yeast, and there is no activity in the airlock.

So I opened the lid of the Fermenter to see this. Is it infected? I had checked once yesterday and there was a green layer on top which has disappeared now.

36 hours is a little short for a verdict.

Don't judge fermentation by (lack of) airlock activity. Chances are that bucket doesn't seal well enough and fermentation gas escapes around the rim, going unnoticed.
Use a hydrometer sample to test your gravity, that will tell you exactly where she stands. But it's a little early, IMO.

What kind of yeast did you exactly pitch and how much? The 2 grams of dry yeast in your recipe may well be enough. How is that yeast stored, especially after it has been opened?
What temp is that at?

Few observations:
That looks like a huge headspace and not much beer. Or is it mere perspective? (Super) large headspaces can be problematic.
I hope you re-sanitized both the lid, paying special attention to the groove and the rim area of the bucket before snapping the lid back on.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

36 hours is a little short for a verdict.

Don't judge fermentation by (lack of) airlock activity. Chances are that bucket doesn't seal well enough and fermentation gas escapes around the rim, going unnoticed.
Use a hydrometer sample to test your gravity, that will tell you exactly where she stands. But it's a little early, IMO.

What kind of yeast did you exactly pitch and how much? The 2 grams of dry yeast in your recipe may well be enough. How is that yeast stored, especially after it has been opened?
What temp is that at?

Few observations:
That looks like a huge headspace and not much beer. Or is it mere perspective? (Super) large headspaces can be problematic.
I hope you re-sanitized both the lid, paying special attention to the groove and the rim area of the bucket before snapping the lid back on.

So i've been told that it is not infected. And there are yeast rafts floating on top of the beer. I'm gonna wait for a week and then check the gravity again.

Also you're probably right about air escaping from the sides of the bucket. Should I stick some tape all over the sides of the lid to ensure some amount of sealing?

It is a 10 Litre bucket with about 5.5 Litres of wort. I pitched about 3 grams of yeast which was branded as 'American IPA Yeast'. I got my yeast from a local homebrew shop here. Not professional, but I guess he rebrands the yeast. I will keep some US-05 with me though.

The yeast is stored in an airtight pouch inside another airtight pouch and in the fridge. I leave it out at around 25 degree C before pitching. This time I did not re-hydrate it, just dumped it straight from the packet. And yes i sanitized the packet before opening.

 

[IslandLizard]

Also you're probably right about air escaping from the sides of the bucket. Should I stick some tape all over the sides of the lid to ensure some amount of sealing?

Nah, tape won't make an airtight seal on something like that, might just goo things up.

So i've been told that it is not infected. And there are yeast rafts floating on top of the beer. I'm gonna wait for a week and then check the gravity again.

A slight foaminess is an indication the yeast is working, lag phase.
Don't keep pulling that lid, peak through the airlock hole if you must. An keep good sanitation, you don't want spoilers dropping in.

It is a 10 Litre bucket with about 5.5 Litres of wort. I pitched about 3 grams of yeast which was branded as 'American IPA Yeast'. I got my yeast from a local homebrew shop here. Not professional, but I guess he rebrands the yeast. I will keep some US-05 with me though.

Yeah, I thought it might be perspective. 5-6 liters of headspace isn't all that much.

That yeast may very well be US-05, U.S. West Coast (IPA) yeast, allegedly sourced from the Sierra Nevada brewery.
Perhaps he buys them in 500 gram bricks and repackages them. There could be some issues doing that... Moisture from the atmosphere being picked up by the yeast granules may wake them up prematurely, before they get pitched, possibly depleting their sterol reserves.

Fermentis does not recommend repackaging or storing opened then resealed packages of yeast for over 2 weeks, even in a fridge/freezer. A opened 500 gram brick should thus be used up within those 2 weeks. Of course they also prefer to sell little 11 gram pouches over 500 gram bulk bricks... But, dry yeast is pretty high tech, actually, so there maybe some truth there, or somewhere between the extremes.

All that could explain experiencing longer lag times as the yeast's viability may be reduced due to the repackaging efforts.

They also don't endorse re-hydration before pitching anymore. Sprinkling the dry granules onto the wort surface is now recommended, so that may work in your favor here.

I doubt acclimatizing the dry yeast before sprinkling makes a lot of difference, but it won't hurt. It also reduces condensation on and in the package.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Nah, tape won't make an airtight seal on something like that, might just goo things up.

A slight foaminess is an indication the yeast is working, lag phase.
Don't keep pulling that lid, peak through the airlock hole if you must. An keep good sanitation, you don't want spoilers dropping in.

Yeah, I thought it might be perspective. 5-6 liters of headspace isn't all that much.

That yeast may very well be US-05, U.S. West Coast (IPA) yeast, allegedly sourced from the Sierra Nevada brewery.
Perhaps he buys them in 500 gram bricks and repackages them. There could be some issues doing that... Moisture from the atmosphere being picked up by the yeast granules may wake them up prematurely, before they get pitched, possibly depleting their sterol reserves.

Fermentis does not recommend repackaging or storing opened then resealed packages of yeast for over 2 weeks, even in a fridge/freezer. A opened 500 gram brick should thus be used up within those 2 weeks. Of course they also prefer to sell little 11 gram pouches over 500 gram bulk bricks... But, dry yeast is pretty high tech, actually, so there maybe some truth there, or somewhere between the extremes.

All that could explain experiencing longer lag times as the yeast's viability may be reduced due to the repackaging efforts.

They also don't endorse re-hydration before pitching anymore. Sprinkling the dry granules onto the wort surface is now recommended, so that may work in your favor here.

I doubt acclimatizing the dry yeast before sprinkling makes a lot of difference, but it won't hurt. It also reduces condensation on and in the package.

Yeah I'm not opening the lid for another week. I don't know what yeast I've got honestly. Just glad that it's working.

Okay now the recipe requires dry hop after 5 days. How do I do it? Should I just dump the pellets in the bucket or use a bag or something?

Also are there any sanitation precautions to be followed for dry hop? I've heard hops don't need to be sanitized. But just wan't to make sure before I do it.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

A little off-topic but I was wondering if I could use this as a Fermenter? How do I fit an airlock on this? Does anybody have any experience with similar jars being used as fermenters?

https://f1af951e8abcbc4c70b9-9997fa...dn.com/1000007296438-1000007296437_06-710.jpg

It is really difficult to get transparent glass fermenters over here, and I am not keen on using 20L carboys at the moment. I found these and they seem perfect, if only I could find out a way to attach an airlock to the Lid.

Silicone bungs with holes for an airlock are available.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

also, how do you know fermentation is complete? and is it necessary to cold crash once you've determined that you're done fermenting? How do you cold-crash in that case...