New guy here!! started simple, but.

[Cheepbeer]

Hi all. First ever brewing attempt just started today. I bought a brewcraft 2 stage setup for 100 bucks. Brought it home and cleaned it real good. Used the supplied disinfectant . I bought a 2.2 can of Premier extra pale malt (pre hopped) brewed it for 45 minutes with 4 cups of light corn syrup, 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup of white granulated. in a 2 gallon wort that I cooled to 90... and then added 2 1/2 gallons of cool spring water in my primary tub.

Making a 4 1/2 gallon batch.

Stirred it real good and added yeast packet at 84 degrees about 4 1/2 hours ago and put it in the basement where I expect it to ferment at about 75 degrees for 3 or 4 weeks.

It started to bubble a bit after about 4 1/2 hours ... Did I do it too warm? will it be OK?? Should I keep it from light in the white primary bucket??

Thanks and my name is Rick

 

[Cheepbeer]

Also what would you all recommend for fermenting time in first and second stage and should I add sugar before bottling or use those tabs?? How much sugar? How long?
Thanks! I hope to make this work, I got much of the specific recipe so far from reading this forum... (The Premier ale thread)

 

[unionrdr]

You should never boil pre-hopped extracts. It breaks down the hop profile. Six cups of sugar Sounds a bit much to me. Corn syrup is basically dextrose syrup.
Adding yeast at 84F is too high,but not enough to kill it. Just stress it a bit. Not to mention off flavors from high initial ferment temps. Setting it on the basement floor might be a tad cooler. 70F preferred for ales,many ferment at 64-68F.
Many of us skip secondary & just let it finish in primary. Use your hydrometer at the 2 week point to see how close to FG it is. It's the only way to know for sure when it's done. When the gravity is the same 3 days in a row (check,wait two days,check again) it's done. I give it about a week to settle out clear or slightly misty. It also cleans up fermentation by products at this same time.
Use this priming calculator to figure out how much sugar by weight per style; http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html I use a cheap $20 digital scale from walmart to weigh the sugar,hops,etc.

 

[Cheepbeer]

Should I have just boiled the water and sugars? Then added the extract cold? I read here that 2 cups of corn syrup equalled 1 cup sugar and I believed it?? uh oh. What does it mean flavor wise to break down the hop profile?? Thanks Uniondr.!

 

[jlb307]

84 is higher than i would have pitched. if you do have activity, i guess there's not a lot to fear. i doubt you did irreparable damage, but you might get some off flavors in your final product. if you do, it oughta mellow with some age.
do your best to keep the fermentation temp near the optimal range according to the directions, if you can.
best you can do, is live and learn.
rdwhahb

 

[unionrdr]

Well,the bittering hops would break down some,& any flavor/aroma hops would turn to bittering. Too much sugar will dry out the beer. You just boil the water,then add the pre-hopped malt & sugars & stir till well disolved,& no more can be scraped off the bottom of the kettle.
You can read through my recipes to see how I do extract ales with cooper's cans & DME,hops,etc. It'll explain the process more.

 

[Cheepbeer]

Yikes... should I try it again? Thats why I bought the cheap Premier malt. For the first shot. Does this brew have the potential to be at least acceptable??

And is it true that 2 cups of corn syrup equals 1 cup of sugar or is that BS? Thanks again and thanks JLB also.

 

[unionrdr]

Not sure it's true about 2C syrup equaling 1C of granulated. Get the temps down to 68-70 at least. And try swirling the fermwenter to get some yeast back into suspension. It might take off again. If not,try pitching a yeast that can take more alcohol. You could search the yeasts at; http://www.midwestsupplies.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?cat=&q=windsor+ale+yeast&yeast_usage_profile=256 For one that can tolerate 10-12%ABV.

 

[Cheepbeer]

Ok got it down to 75 and added just another pinch of yeast. The Premier can says the temp can be up to 84?? Its a pretty hot day here in Walla walla.

 

[Cheepbeer]

Bubbling every 15 seconds or so at 72 degrees with fan on it... Hopefully it will cool down even more tonight... It all seems well.
I had a lot of fun doing this. A friend here in town brews his own beer for many years and says barring any horrible infection I should end up with a fairly strong beer that will need a few weeks of bottle aging.

 

[happynicky]

hello, i am new here,my name is nikcy.i think i will know more about brewing in this forum

 

[Cheepbeer]

What type of beer ferments best at around 70-80 degrees?? Any beers like this warm fermenting temp?

 

[Draken]

Saisons are typically fermented in that range.

 

[jbsayers]

Ok got it down to 75 and added just another pinch of yeast. The Premier can says the temp can be up to 84?? Its a pretty hot day here in Walla walla.

A trick a lot of home brewers use to lower their ferm temps is to take a wet t shirt and drape it over the fermenter and leave the fan blowing on it. You can also place the fermenter with the t shirt on it in a tub with a bit of water so as the water evaporates from the t shirt, more water will wick into the shirt keeping it moist.

Looking forward to hearing how the brew turned out!

JB

 

[Cheepbeer]

JB Sayers, Yes I did this and now have a decent temp. Thanks. It's bubbling away now and Hopefully there was not too much time spent in a bad range. If the beer tastes good when finished I will buy up all the premier malt at our little market here. Another brewer says YES you must boil the hopped extracts and sugars as well.... There seems to be two schools of thought on this point. I am learning new things very quickly this week.

 

[Whattawort]

JB Sayers, Yes I did this and now have a decent temp. Thanks. It's bubbling away now and Hopefully there was not too much time spent in a bad range. If the beer tastes good when finished I will buy up all the premier malt at our little market here. Another brewer says YES you must boil the hopped extracts and sugars as well.... There seems to be two schools of thought on this point. I am learning new things very quickly this week.

Let it ride in the fermenter and in the bottles a week or two more than it says and it should mellow out. I've had accidental high ferm temps in the past and while the beer didn't turn out the way I wanted it, it was still quite drinkable. Hefes and Saisons do pretty well in the higher temp ranges. Hefes are also quick from grain to bottle. I find (and others will disagree) that belgian pale ales also do pretty well in the mid 70's. Have fun with it and take some notes. I like to pretend I'm a mad scientist doing some devious chemistry experiment when I deviate from the directions. What can I say...I like to have fun with my demented imagination.

 

[Cheepbeer]

belgian pale ales also do pretty well in the mid 70's.

Thanks... What are the main differences in ingredients between Belgian Pales and American pales??

 

[Whattawort]

Thanks... What are the main differences in ingredients between Belgian Pales and American pales??

The base malts and yeast primarily. You can mess with the hop bill by using non-tradition varieties, but most stick to the nobles and native European varieties. Several brewers I know like to use different adjuncts and aromatics as well (candied sugar, flaked oats, torrified wheat, etc.)

Typical (certainly not always) base malt for a Belgian Pale is Pils and American pale is usually (again..not always) 2 row and sometimes Marris Otter.

 

[unionrdr]

JB Sayers, Yes I did this and now have a decent temp. Thanks. It's bubbling away now and Hopefully there was not too much time spent in a bad range. If the beer tastes good when finished I will buy up all the premier malt at our little market here. Another brewer says YES you must boil the hopped extracts and sugars as well.... There seems to be two schools of thought on this point. I am learning new things very quickly this week.

They are 100% dead wrong. NEVER boil pre-hopped extract. you'll break down the hop profile in short order. As long as the DME/LME container is sealed,it won't have any nasties in it to ruin the beer. You just need boiling water to mix them into off the heat. You can add sugars near the end of the boil. Again,they just need boiling water to dissolve them.

 

[Cheepbeer]

OK 7 days into it I transferred it into a glass carboy and gave it a taste... it did not taste bad or good. Just like weak flat dark ale. I suppose more fermenting time will do the trick. My questions :
1. There was no funk at all after 7 days, just a fine silt at the bottom of the bucket... Is that good?
2. should I add a yeast nutrient or a shot of yeast at this poit or leave it be. It's a slow slow bubbling brew.
3. anything else I should / could do at this point to make it better... irish moss?? or is now just the waiting time??
4. How long would you let it ride in the carboy before bottling?

Thanks. Helps me to chat this thing around... especially you uniondr.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

1. That's normal, its called trub, its the yeast and proteins that have settled out.

I wouldn't add anymore yeast or nutrients. Have you taken a gravity reading to see if ya don't fermenting? At those high temps I imagine the yeast fermented this really quick.

Irish moss is usually added during the last part of the boil. You could use gelatin and cold crash it but its not necessary.

Is leave t be for 3 weeks or so and then bottle. Don't worry about a secondary

 

[Cheepbeer]

I'll do a grav check tomorrow Matt. It didnt taste of very strong alcohol after the 7 days.... I hope it bumps up a little more in three weeks. Its still percolating in the airlock though. I prolly should have just left it in the #1 bucket but I wanted to try out the glass carboy and the siphon & stuff. haha. I will leave it for 3 weeks as you say. Judging from the taste so far Im guessing it may work out. Thanks again.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

Rick, only way to know the alcohol content is with gravity readings. Did you take one before you pitched the yeast? It probably won't be a very strong tasting beer with all the sugar in it and just the 2.2 lb can of malt extract. But that's ok, its your first and with some much info and supplies available it shouldn't be hard to start cramming out batches of what you like.

 

[Cheepbeer]

Thanks matt... hey do you know how much light brown sugar I could use to replace 1kg (2.2) lbs of dextrose?? Its for a mangrove jack Czech pilsener extract.

Thanks again.

First batch still bubbling in carboy. 10 days now. I found a place here in town to buy premier malt extracts for 5.00 a can (2.2 lbs) Can a beer get infected once it is fermented and has its alcohol? Does the alcohol prevent molds and stuff?

 

[Cheepbeer]

Ok going to bottle and store for 2weeks then try one. It seems to taste ok ... Nothing too unusual about the flavor so far ,

but I cannot really tell much without carbonation. Good alcohol content it seems,
No infections or horrible tastes or smells... I may have gotten lucky

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

It can get infected, but if you sanitize properly you should be ok. As for the brown sugar I would just use more malt, some sugar is ok, but it can dry out the beer

 

[Cheepbeer]

OK Bottled 26 22oz bottles from 4 1/2 gallons and primed with those sugar pellets (2). Storing in a big plastic storage bin at room temp (74 degrees) I'm wondering how many days til carbonation? I'm going to drink one every week until its just right! But it really did taste pretty darn good warm & flat. Just a bit of tangy that may not belong... im not really sure.

Thanks for following me along with this beginner project.

 

[Cheepbeer]

Hmmm did I say Tangy??? Maybe cidery... Hopefully that will lessen with aging?

1. Too warm pitch yeast & fermenting
2. Too much sugar
3. Made the mistake of boiling hopped extract
4. Didnt need 2 stages.
5. Probably did not wait long enough before bottling (14 days)
6. Did not take first gravity reading.

I have a lot to learn.

 

[Whattawort]

It's like most chemistry experiments. It's hard to identify all the variables until they rear their ugly heads. Live and learn, and try not to get discouraged along the way.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

Cidery would probably be because the amount of sugar you added, fermenting warm also through of some funky flavors. It's good you recognize it though, keep brewing and learning and the beers will keep getting better!