New CT Brewer

[Skeeternst]

Hey everyone,
I used to do all little brewing back in college and had a brief stint working at one during the pandemic. I'm excited to get back into it and currently have an extract Hefeweizen that's been in the fermenter for 5 days. Hoping it'll hit Final Gravity early next week and I can Keg it for the Super Bowl. Thanks for having me aboard!

 

[wallyLOZ]

Welcome from Missouri!

 

[Cameronl]

Welcome from Stratford!

 

[Skeeternst]

Welcome from Stratford!

My old man grew up on Huntington Road!

 

[visitor]

Welcome from South Windsor. Good to see more Connecticut based brewers on here.

 

[ncbrewer]

Welcome from NC.

 

[Skeeternst]

Extract Hefeweizen 1st Pour

Color- a bit darker than I wanted and not as much yeast floating around as I thought there'd be.

Taste- Light Body, refreshing, VERY sweet, Lots more Banana than Clove.

Notes for Next Time

• Better Temp Control - I put the fermenter in our empty guest room but in hindsight it wasn't the most temperature stable place. Temps probably ranged from 64°F up to low 70s. I'm guessing a more consistent mid 60s would lead to a more balanced flavor.
• Steep Grains- This kit was super straight forward, Dissolve the LME, a 30 Minute Boil, and 1 Hop addition early. Maybe I should introduce some unfermentable proteins to bolster up the body.
• Carb it up! I had the regulator set at 18 PSI for 1 week and my fridge ranges from 36-38 degrees. After the first test pour I turned it up a little over 20 and was happier with the pour and head retention.

I think I'm gonna try and Squeeze in an another extract brew, an Irish Red, in for St. Patty's Day if anyone has a good recipe to suggest. Thanks!

 

[jdauria]

Welcome from a former Nutmegger (New Haven), now in Mass.

 

[ncbrewer]

Color- a bit darker than I wanted

It does look dark for a hefe. What sort of extract/specialty grains are in it?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

This kit was super straight forward, Dissolve the LME

It does look dark for a hefe.

(LME darkens quickly when not stored properly. Without knowing the actual color inside the package, any estimate assuming a color is has a good chance of being wrong).

 

[Skeeternst]

It does look dark for a hefe. What sort of extract/specialty grains are in it?

Recipe didn't actually call for any special grains, just the extract, which was just labeled light malt extract.

It does look dark for a hefe. What sort of extract/specialty grains are in it?

 

[Skeeternst]

View attachment 869010

(LME darkens quickly when not stored properly. Without knowing the actual color inside the package, any estimate assuming a color is has a good chance of being wrong).

Haha, got everything from one of last LHBS around in the state, no idea how long it sat but definitely could have been for awhile.