New to the brew and have just a FEW questions!

[ThatGuyRyan]

I just announced myself in the intro section so now onto the good stuff! Questions and more questions! I asked all of these on some other forums but none dedicated to brewing so I am going to ask them again. I already have 5 brews going so nothing can really help them now if I messed up but I have open primaries and plenty of space for more!


1st. To use a starter or not. My local shop instructions said yes but you don't have to double the yeast. AHB's instructions said yes on one recipe and no on another. It also said to double the yeast on one and not the other. J.P.'s book says yes to a started but in further chapters it also says that a starter is not needed with liquid yeast. Very confusing.

2nd pitch time. My local shop said start the starter 2-3 hours before brewing. AHB says nothing but make a starter or not and JP's says to make the starter 18-24 hours before pitching.

My first beer the Belgian dbl I used dry yeast and made a starter that sat for about 3 hours and was very active same with the Cream Ale. I used liquid yeast for the Winter Warmer and just let it sit out at room temp for a few hours and pitched it. The Chocolate I tried a liquid yeast with a starter and for 3+ hours not a damn thing happened. But I pitched it anyways.

The Belgian was crazy in the fermenter for about 4 days foaming out of the air lock every few hours then tapered off about 6 days in only one bubble in the air lock every three to four minutes. I moved it to a secondary after 8 days. ***Update In secondary since 12/28

The Cream Ale I cant really tell since they did not have any 6.5gal buckets so I got a 10gal and had to cover the top with a garbage bag as directed by the shop. It did puff up for about 3 days then collapsed. On Monday it will be two weeks and off to the bottle for that.**Update bottled after 2 weeks in primary per shops instructions.

The Winter Warmer was started 12/29 and today shows life only once every few minutes.**Update moved to secondary on 01/05

The Chocolate was started on 12/31 the next day it was slow but today it is bubbling once every second.**still in primary should I leave it for 2-3 weeks and just bottle?
The last brew was Three Weiss Guys found in Palmers Joy of Homebrewing bourn on 12/31 still in primary.**Should it stay in the primary until botteling or move to secondary?

OG on Winter 1.092
Belgian 1.082
Chocolate 1.068
Cream ? well I forgot

I also used alcohol boosters in the Winter and Chocolate so I cant compare the OG in the instructions since it was with out the booster.

3rd Secondary conditioning. Should you or shouldn't you. And my Belgian that is in the secondary is not close to the top but about two inches down. Is this going to cause a problem with too much oxygen? The instructions said not to disturb the bottom so I left about an inch of sludge in the primary.

4th and this also has to do with the 3rd boil amounts. The recipes all call for 2.5 or 3gal boils and then add more to the cooled wort the get your 5. However my local shop says that if you have a big pot you can do a full 5gal boil and that is best. Also JP's book says to use 5 1/4 gal. I have been boiling 4.5 - 5 gal in my pot with no problems and topping off the primary as needed. Also the last to batches I went over the5 gal to 5 1/4 as suggested. I assume this will help me fill the secondary to a better level. But should I be doing a 5 gal boil or a 3 gal?

5th I also read in JP's book that if you have extra primaries you can pour the wort in the first let rest 15 min then siphon to the next and pitch yeast. This will help remove some of the sludge from the main boil. Have you tried this?

6th Steeping temp and time. One says steep from room temp water to 155-160 then remove other say heat water to 155 then turn off heat and throw in grains and steep for x so many minutes. What is it add to hot water or cold?

7th alcohol Boosters and Yeast Nutrients. The AHB kits came with both but none of the other kits did. I want higher % beers so can I just buy and add these to any beer kits?

8th Adding extra ingredients. If I wanted to add lets say some coco or Cinnamon or dried orange peal when should I do that?

9th When cleaning my bottles for the Cream Ale I ran out of one step and just asked the local supply store for more and thought that was what they gave me. Well one step says that rinsing is not necessary and since the package looked exactly the same I thought it was but it wasn't. They gave me straight-a I believe and well I must admit I didn't read it and didn't rinse the bottles after using it. Just shook them dry and put them on the drying tree:-( Will this have harmed my beer?

Thanks to everyone who reads this! And sorry if its a little messed up I pulled parts from of this from multiple threads and tried my best to put it all together!


Thanks!

Ryan

 

[McGarnigle]

1st. To use a starter or not. My local shop instructions said yes but you don't have to double the yeast. AHB's instructions said yes on one recipe and no on another. It also said to double the yeast on one and not the other. J.P.'s book says yes to a started but in further chapters it also says that a starter is not needed with liquid yeast. Very confusing.

A starter would be done for "big" beers as a replacement for buying double the yeast. AHS suggests you buy twice the yeast, but making a starter will be cheaper for you.

2nd pitch time. My local shop said start the starter 2-3 hours before brewing. AHB says nothing but make a starter or not and JP's says to make the starter 18-24 hours before pitching.

2-3 hours isn't enough time. Or were they talking about smacking the Wyeast pack?

4th and this also has to do with the 3rd boil amounts. The recipes all call for 2.5 or 3gal boils and then add more to the cooled wort the get your 5. However my local shop says that if you have a big pot you can do a full 5gal boil and that is best.

How powerful is your stove? It's better to boil as much as you can, but (a) the pot needs to be a lot bigger than the amount and (b) you need a powerful stove to boil 5 gallons.

8th Adding extra ingredients. If I wanted to add lets say some coco or Cinnamon or dried orange peal when should I do that?

I am going to say probably not. I mean, you can, but usually it's best to stick with the recipe until you have more experience. I would say wait until your fifth batch...except you seem to have knocked off five batches right away.

 

[McGarnigle]

My first beer the Belgian dbl I used dry yeast and made a starter that sat for about 3 hours and was very active same with the Cream Ale

Clarification: The consensus view seems to be that starters for dry yeast are detrimental. So what I said above about buying twice the yeast applies to *liquid* yeast. With dry yeast (which is cheaper), I'd buy two packets for a bigger beer, and your Dubbel is big. So's your Winter ale and your Chocolate.

 

[kryolla]

noobs including myself tend to overcomplicate things or think too much into it. KISS is my moto that means no starter just double the vials of yeast we are just beginning this hobby so we don't have to worry about making a starter

2. Pitch the yeast when the wort gets around lower 70's
3. KISS no secondary
4. Your hop utilization is based on gravity of your water again KISS and follow the recipe noobs shouldnt try to adjust the recipe
5. Again KISS and leave it in the primary
6. Just dont let it go over 170 because it will extract bitterness minimum 20 minutes
7. Sure add them according to AHS
8. For noobs try to get the hang of things before adding stuff
9. THere is a difference between cleaners and sanitizers

HTH

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

1st. To use a starter or not. My local shop instructions said yes but you don't have to double the yeast. AHB's instructions said yes on one recipe and no on another. It also said to double the yeast on one and not the other. J.P.'s book says yes to a started but in further chapters it also says that a starter is not needed with liquid yeast. Very confusing.

A starter would be done for "big" beers as a replacement for buying double the yeast. AHS suggests you buy twice the yeast, but making a starter will be cheaper for you.

2nd pitch time. My local shop said start the starter 2-3 hours before brewing. AHB says nothing but make a starter or not and JP's says to make the starter 18-24 hours before pitching.

2-3 hours isn't enough time. Or were they talking about smacking the Wyeast pack?

4th and this also has to do with the 3rd boil amounts. The recipes all call for 2.5 or 3gal boils and then add more to the cooled wort the get your 5. However my local shop says that if you have a big pot you can do a full 5gal boil and that is best.

How powerful is your stove? It's better to boil as much as you can, but (a) the pot needs to be a lot bigger than the amount and (b) you need a powerful stove to boil 5 gallons.

8th Adding extra ingredients. If I wanted to add lets say some coco or Cinnamon or dried orange peal when should I do that?

I am going to say probably not. I mean, you can, but usually it's best to stick with the recipe until you have more experience. I would say wait until your fifth batch...except you seem to have knocked off five batches right away.

**They just gave me a 3 page print out of instructions and said follow it and it mad no distinction between dry or liquid just said how to make a starter and to add the yeast! I really don't like the advise that I was given by them or the so called needed equipment that they sold my friend and will not be using them anymore unless I need some equipment in a hurry since they are just down the street but no more recipes or advise from them. They gave me dry yeast for both recipes that they suggested. I did go back and get a second yeast pack for the Belgian. But what about the 3 hours that I did with the Belgian am I going to have a bad beer because of this?


***The pot I use is a 6.5 gal turkey fryer pot that I got just for this. So far I have used it with no problems boiling 4.5 gal for the brew and boiling the additional needed water separately and adding later. I did one batch at the full 5 gal but it got a little too close to boiling over when adding the hops so I think 4.5 is what I will hold at. My stove takes a while to get up to heat but once it boils I have to reduce the heat or else it will boil over so I guess it puts out enough.

 

[kryolla]

try to add the hops after the hot break.

 

[McGarnigle]

But what about the 3 hours that I did with the Belgian am I going to have a bad beer because of this?

This was the 3-hour dry yeast starter? I think the potential problems would be poor fermentation, but you said it was going well.

The real key here is your FGs. Did you measure FG before moving out of primary? To be honest, I think you moved out too soon (regardless of what instructions may have said). I also think you could have waited an extra week to bottle your Cream Ale.

I would absolutely not secondary 3 Weisse Guys. Give it a couple more weeks before bottling (3 weeks total maybe). And I would not secondary the Chocolate either. This should stay in the primary even longer than 3 Weisse Guys, thanks to its higher FG.

The current consensus seems to lean toward leaving in primary for longer, and not using secondaries often (although this is argued).

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

But what about the 3 hours that I did with the Belgian am I going to have a bad beer because of this?

This was the 3-hour dry yeast starter? I think the potential problems would be poor fermentation, but you said it was going well.

The real key here is your FGs. Did you measure FG before moving out of primary? To be honest, I think you moved out too soon (regardless of what instructions may have said). I also think you could have waited an extra week to bottle your Cream Ale.

I would absolutely not secondary 3 Weisse Guys. Give it a couple more weeks before bottling (3 weeks total maybe). And I would not secondary the Chocolate either. This should stay in the primary even longer than 3 Weisse Guys, thanks to its higher FG.

The current consensus seems to lean toward leaving in primary for longer, and not using secondaries often (although this is argued).

I thought it was early but since I had no instructions just what the guy at the shop wrote down on a index card so I just followed it. And yes it was 2 packs of dry yeast and it was the most active one of all my beers. I had to clean the airlock a few times a day for about 4 days. It still has a good visiable layer on the bottom of the secondary but no action at all in the airlock. And no I did not check the gravity when I moved it should I check it now?

As for the Weiss I wasnt planning on moving it since recipie in the book said no need to. And I really dont want to spend more $$ on another secondary so I will just let the Chocolate one sit for 3-4 weeks per your advise.

Should I be taking FG readings from these now or hold off until I bottle?

 

[McGarnigle]

For the Weisse and Chocolate, maybe wait until a few days before you plan to move to secondary to take a first FG reading. The idea is, if you get two of the same FG readings a couple days apart, then it's okay to bottle. But there's no need to take a reading tomorrow if you're not bottling this weekend anyway.

I probably would take a reading from secondary on the Belgian and the Winter. But then, what would you do if it's way too high? Pitch more yeast and set up a blow-off hose in the carboy? I really don't know. Maybe someone else can chip in with advice.

At the least, I'd be curious about them. When you drink 'em, you might wonder if you didn't hit the target FG and if that affects the flavor. A somewhat high FG isn't the end of the world, of course.

BTW: do you have enough empty bottles?

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

For the Weisse and Chocolate, maybe wait until a few days before you plan to move to secondary to take a first FG reading. The idea is, if you get two of the same FG readings a couple days apart, then it's okay to bottle. But there's no need to take a reading tomorrow if you're not bottling this weekend anyway.

I probably would take a reading from secondary on the Belgian and the Winter. But then, what would you do if it's way too high? Pitch more yeast and set up a blow-off hose in the carboy? I really don't know. Maybe someone else can chip in with advice.

At the least, I'd be curious about them. When you drink 'em, you might wonder if you didn't hit the target FG and if that affects the flavor. A somewhat high FG isn't the end of the world, of course.

BTW: do you have enough empty bottles?

Well I got around to taking a FG on the Belgian and Winter Ale today. The Belgian OG 1.082 FG 1.020 in secondary for about 12 days

Winter Ale 1.092 today's FG 1.028 this was only in the secondary for 4 days.

The temp of both were 66 my hydrometer reads at 60 so I will have to figure out the difference. I raised the room temp to 69 which usually in my setup will raise the beer to 70.

The Belgian tasted pretty good not like sour apples like the green ale or Cream Ale I made! But it is watery with a good smell and a slight carbonation taste. I didn't taste the Winter since it just went into the secondary.

I am just afraid that they will both get stuck at 1.020 but I guess its still too early to worry?