New brewer. Recipe questions - tell me where i went wrong.

[bbenesh]

Hello everyone. For years and years and years I always wanted to brew my own beer and this year was the year I finally decided to go for it. I have a birthday coming up at the ass end of July, so I decided to start brewing up mid June.

Naturally - I started with a Mr. Beer kit, I also purchased the ever popular How To Brew by Palmer. It's a great read, if not a bit overly meaty for a newbie like myself.

Anyway, I "did" my first batch of Mr Beer - Blonde Ale... That was fun, but it wasn't 20 pages into the book that I had the urge to actually "brew" something. So, a couple of days went by and I decided to go out and buy a small $40 Brooklyn Brewshop kit. Even being just a one gallon kit, the process seemed much more rewarding and fulfilling then just pouring a can of slop into hot water and adding yeast. I also picked up some assorted items - stock pots, hydrometer, grolsch style bottles, more sanitizer, etc, etc.


...meanwhile, I also forgot to mention that after brewing the Mr Beer kit, I quickly ordered up some more Mr Beer ingredients... Yes, at times I can get a bit overly enthusiastic about the prospects of something - but, it's beer; can you blame me?

So, that takes me here to this question I have here:

I'm not entirely sure I did this wrong, but I'm not entirely confident I did it correct at all.


Beer Batch #3 - Blueberry Oatmeal Stout.

1 - can UME Creamy Brown
1 - can HME Oatmeal Stout
1 - can Oregon Blueberries
1 - Liquid London ESB yeast
1/2oz - Columbus hops
1 - cup brown sugar


This is where things get tricky for me. I'm going to explain the process as I understand it, and I would be delighted to hear feedback of any kind of where I went wrong - because I'm pretty sure things are heading for the danger zone.

Originally in the MR Beer kit, you. Get water up to a boil with booster, remove it from heat, add HME. Being that i didn't have booster, just sugar and extracts, I added the sugar first. Got up to a boil, removed from heat and added the two cans of extract. Of course, since I didn't have much of a boil process at all, I didn't really have much of a "boil" for my hop additions. So, I just chucked them in after the cans. Pretty sure that was a mistake. (Do i even need to add hops, if I have one can of HME in there?)

Meanwhile, I'm blending my blueberries in a sanitized blender. I've read adding fruits to wort that is too hot will release some baddies into the wort and it's better to add the blueberries to the fermenter, though the flavor is more subtle... Thats what I want though. So, I chuck my wort into the fermenter, add the blueberries and take a reading.

In theory,the ABV should be around 6.7% if I've done my math - but, I'll point out that math wasn't my subject of choice in school.
The wort was about 100F degrees , so after adjustments, the OG reading was 1.046. My yeast, I should mention, had been smacked the day before hand, left in the fridge overnight to activate or whatever they do in that foil bag. Once my wort got down to about 80 degrees(pretty quick in an ice bath), I pitched the yeast, shook it up a bit and set it in a cooler that I've managed to find a way to keep at 68 degrees.

...that was just over 40 hours ago.

After my first batch of MR Beer turned a bit sour-y and with an alcoholic bite, I figured it was because I was not monitoring the temperature of the fermenter as vigorously as I should. So, I've checked this batch every 12 hours - by checking, I mean, monitoring the ambient temp in the cooler, not the fermenter. I've not broken the cardinal rule of opening the lid.

Where was I...oh, yes, 40 hours ago. There has been zero signs of fermentation in the Beer jug. Temperature has not risen above 70, nor below 62. The bottom of the fermenter looks like a cake of what I imagine is sugar, yeast and blueberry scum. It was then and there that I decided I do not like Mr. Beers fermentation jug. At least the Brooklyn kit has an airlock AND I can see inside the bottle, which I find incredibly exciting - especially for a new brewer.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to my Brooklyn Everyday IPA, which should be bottled sometime next week. As for Mr Beers Oatmeal Stout concoction - I'm eager for any thoughts.

I do have a few questions As well:

In the future, what is the process for UME? Do I boil it for an hour if I want to add hops? I think I totally screwed up my thought process for this by jumping from Brooklyn's all grain style to mr beers "Just Add Water!" style. Not to put down Mr Beer - just pointing out I may have jumped the gun a bit.

I have these remaining ingredients:

1oz Glacier pellets
1/2oz Columbus pellets
3 packages dry yeast(Mr Beer style)
1 can Black Porter HME
1 can oatmeal stout HME
1 can Creamy Brown UME
Various sugars, honeys, etc...

I would appreciate if anyone would care to outline a process of something I could make with those ingredients. I understand that is asking a lot - I'm just trying to learn is all.

Also, I want to point out that though not stated, I would like to think I operated with medical grade sanitation. I tried at least. Also, i typed this on an iPad so I apologize for autocorrected tenses and words... Thanks everybody!

 

[bbenesh]

I also want to point out that my entire process was using bottle spring water as I have no faith in LA's water system. Also, a lot of confusion comes from the slightly differing informations available out there. Sometimes, Mr Beer says to add tap water, sometImes spring water. Sometimes warm water sometimes it's cold water - depending on if you are reading documentation or reading online. Not blaming Mr Beer, but seeking advice. You guys do this stuff successfully, so obviously you know how to go from A to B, or at least point out where im veering off course.

Thanks again!

 

[jsv1204]

How much extract is in one can?

(Oh... And I nominate this as the "longest post ever"!)

 

[logan3825]

I wouldn't use tap water to make beer unless you live in the country and have your own well. Maybe not even then if your water is bad. I would never use city water.

 

[tre9er]

You're doing extract brewing. UME is unhopped malt extract and HME is hopped malt extract, which it seems you grasp. The general process for extract brewing is to boil water, add hops per a schedule (if only one hop addition, that's usually added at 60m (meaning with 60m of boil time remaining), but recipe/kit would specify). Then you would add the extract(s) near the end of the boil so as not to carmelize it much. The yeast, if using a Wyeast smack-pack, should be smacked before starting the brew and left at room temperature. Dry yeast would be rehydrated in 90* (sanitary) water (I microwave it usually) at the start of the boil and left out at room temp. You would cool the wort via setting the pot in an ice bath or with a chiller (sanitized). Once wort temp reaches 70 or below (low 60's are better usually), you'd drain it into the fermenter and pitch yeast, cover with sanitized airlock, wait.

 

[krenshaw]

my city water has been fine to use.. though no where near as big of a city as most.. just looked on Wikipedia and we are 8th largest in PA.. woohoo!

 

[jsv1204]

Water science - now there's a deep subject. As was pointed out, safest bet is something out of a bottle - but don't assume they are all the same. I won't use bottled water that does not post a complete water profile on their website. A while back, I got sick of buying (and carrying) big jug of water around and I made myself an inline filter that will pull the chlorine out of our tap water - cost maybe $40. Saves quite a bit of cash.

 

[bbenesh]

@Tre9er

Thanks for the reply. I think that's where I am getting confused. Like you mentioned, with the exact brewing...in my particular instance, since they are both extracts I wouldn't add them until after the water hits a boil and is removed from the heat. But being that these would be the primary ingredients for my wort(in this instance anyway), I wouldn't really have a boil that consisted of anything but water and the use of said Hops. I won't pretend to know anything, so here goes:

Is it even common to just boil water for an hour and just adding hops at intervals despite the fact there are no other ingredients in the boil, as the extract wouldn't be add until after the boil along with the blended fruits?

Also, water-wise, I only use one of my favorite local waters, Arrowhead Spring Water.

Thanks for the responses so far guys.

@JSV, yes. It was a long post, and typing it on this thing took forever. I just wanted to make sure it was thorough!
One can of extract is 19.4 ounces. And I have two in my batch, which I should mention was for a 2.13 gallon batch.

 

[SledgeH]

The Mr Beer fermentation jug is trying to teach you the hardest lesson to learn about brewing. PATIENCE. I'm very similiar in the fact that when I commit to something I dive head first. I started in April and I've brewed 60 gallons since then. Active fermentation is so so so much more than a bubbling airlock. The Mr Beer lid has 4 grooves that vent gas, so you don't get that bubbling effect. But just because the bubbling stops on your brooklyn set up, doesn't mean it's done. Gravity readings are really important in order to determine when your fermentation is complete. But your beer will only get better with some extra time in the fermentor and extra time in the bottle.

Oatmeal + Creamy Brown + 1c of Molasses or Brown sugar = goodness. Even with Mr beer yeast. You should check out the MR beer site by the way. They give some ideas on what you can do with their stuff.

 

[SledgeH]

You should also boil any additions like brown sugar molasses etc.

 

[Yooper]

I wouldn't use tap water to make beer unless you live in the country and have your own well. Maybe not even then if your water is bad. I would never use city water.

Really? Why? I have city water. I've brewed 350+ batches. I'd be curious to know what I'm doing so wrong.

 

[bbenesh]

...But just because the bubbling stops on your brooklyn set up, doesn't mean it's done. Gravity readings are really important in order to determine when your fermentation is complete. But your beer will only get better with some extra time in the fermentor and extra time in the bottle.

Thanks Sledge for the reply. I should have mentioned that I am familiar with the vent system on the Mr Beer system from my original failed Blonde Ale recipe. What I was more curious about is that I haven't seen ANY activity in my Beer Keg. Is it common for the beer to ferment despite not seeing any sort of bubbling or debris on top of the wort? I've read numerous sources that say that sometimes Wyeast liquid yeast is a bit more finicky and slower than mr beers bullet proof dry yeast. Maybe it's just a lag time?

You are absolutely correct about patience though. Part of the reason I as excited to start this. I NEED this kind of discipline in my life.

Also, for anyone else using a Mr Beer: When measuring FG, is it ok to use the spout to fill up the test tube? I'm so afraid of introducing foreign material into my keg, even via the spout?

 

[Brulosopher]

I wouldn't use tap water to make beer unless you live in the country and have your own well. Maybe not even then if your water is bad. I would never use city water.

Huh? I've always used local tap through a potable hose, both filtered and unfiltered, and the beer is always great. Most municipal sources are WAY better than well water. Also, the majority of your favorite craft breweries use water from a municipal source.

 

[bbenesh]

Huh? I've always used local tap through a potable hose, both filtered and unfiltered, and the beer is always great. Most municipal sources are WAY better than well water. Also, the majority of your favorite craft breweries use water from a municipal source.

As you may gather from reading my posts on this thread, I am No expert here at all, but I chose to use Spring bottled water because I'm in a 100 year old building, and if I don't use my water for even just 1 day, there is brown sediment in the water at first usage. It goes away after 20 seconds of use, but I just didn't want to have that be An added element to my beer.

Obviously, YMMV.

 

[tre9er]

Yes, boiling hops is just fine. If they're meant to be a bittering addition at 60m, they need to be boiled for that long to get the desired effect. Otherwise your beer will be severely under-bittered.

 

[evrose]

Really? Why? I have city water. I've brewed 350+ batches. I'd be curious to know what I'm doing so wrong.

No offense intended Yooper, but if you live in the UP, you don't have city water. At least not in the sense that people who live in LA do - where the water is weakly magnetic and ever so slightly radioactive.

 

[bbenesh]

Yes, boiling hops is just fine. If they're meant to be a bittering addition at 60m, they need to be boiled for that long to get the desired effect. Otherwise your beer will be severely under-bittered.

Ok. I guess that's where I had assumed it was futile to boil hops by themselves in just water. I had assumed there was an interaction with the wort that needed to take place for them to have the battering/aroma effects and their desired time release properties.

So, correct me if this is wrong, but what I should have done ideally was this:


Boil up my water.
Add sugar
Add hops at desired intervals
At 0min, remove from boil.
Add extracts and dry hop if necessary
Cool
Take measurement
Place in fermenter
Pitch yeast
Drink a Ranger while watching Mythbusters for 2 weeks
Remeasure FG
Determine bottling potential.

 

[FlyDoctor]

Agree - city water is fine, though some argue that the best for extract brews is RO water since all the water chemistry was already done by producer of the malt-extract.

I use an in-line filter on a hose for my water. Not a big city, but 100k.

 

[SledgeH]

I use the spout to test FG. you can put sanitizer in a spray bottle to make things easier. I didn't for FG samples, it's a positive flow and you're not going to do anything crazy like pour the sample back in. But i did spray it once bottling time came along. A smack pack for a Mr Beer keg huh? I've not tried it, but with that much yeast you'd assume you'd see something. Did you test the gravity?

 

[bbenesh]

I use the spout to test FG. you can put sanitizer in a spray bottle to make things easier. I didn't for FG samples, it's a positive flow and you're not going to do anything crazy like pour the sample back in. But i did spray it once bottling time came along. A smack pack for a Mr Beer keg huh? I've not tried it, but with that much yeast you'd assume you'd see something. Did you test the gravity?

I did. Gravity was 1.045 before pitching. Haven't measured yet, as it's 42 hours in. I suppose I could check end of day 3 and the reading should be something noticeable if it was working...

 

[Brulosopher]

As you may gather from reading my posts on this thread, I am No expert here at all, but I chose to use Spring bottled water because I'm in a 100 year old building, and if I don't use my water for even just 1 day, there is brown sediment in the water at first usage. It goes away after 20 seconds of use, but I just didn't want to have that be An added element to my beer.

Obviously, YMMV.

Yikes, I'd stick bottled as well

Cheers!

 

[Bithead]

I don't think you've done anything wrong. You only need patience at this point. Not every fermentation is the same. Some fermentations take longer to start.

 

[logan3825]

Really? Why? I have city water. I've brewed 350+ batches. I'd be curious to know what I'm doing so wrong.

Maybe your water is different but any city water I have ever tasted was not good. Luckily I have access to a natural spring.

 

[bbenesh]

After 4 days of nothing, I repitched. Within a day things were bubbling like crazy... Strangeness abounds and shrouds itself in mystery...