Please critique my brew process and give advice on fermentation/bottling

[re42674]

I'm on my second attempt at an all grain beer. I brewed it on 12/3/17. I was hoping to run you all through what I did and get some feedback on if I am doing this correctly. Also, I was hoping I could get some guidance on primary/secondary fermentation and bottling. Please let me know if I am giving you all too much information or if you need something else.

So, I attempted a Austin Homebrew Supply all grain kit that was a Belgian Noel (21B). The recipe is as follows:

15lbs of Belgian Pilsner Malt
9oz Cara Munich Malt
4oz Aromatic Malt
4oz Crytal 10L Malt
2lbs D-90 Candy Syrup
1 10 HBU Pack
1oz Kent Golding
1oz Fuggle

Estimated original specific gravity was supposed to be 1.090 with the final gravity at 1.023.

Mashed in at 168% for 60 mins. Was supposed to fly sparge at 168 degrees as well, but I hit slightly below that at 164. The last time I fly sparged I think I went a little to fast, so I attempted to control it a little better this time. I sparged probably a little too fast for the first half, but I think I slowed it down to a better speed towards the end. Sparging probably lasted 40 mins.

I boiled the wort making the additions as required. All went smooth with that process. I got the wort chilled pretty quickly. I used a refractometer and took a reading of 1.089.

I made my first yeast starter for this beer. Added it to the bucket and put on a homemade blow out line into a star san solution. After a few days checked it and it appeared to have a good krausen. On December 11 I checked the specific gravity using the refractometer. It showed a 1.046.

Today (December 13) I was doing some reading and learned that using a refractometer in this way may not reflect the true specific gravity. I got out the hydrometer, took a sample of wort and cooled it to 60 degrees. It appears that my gravity is now about 1.026 if I am reading it correctly.

So, couple of questions.

1. Is my method of making a blow off line fine or am I making a mistake by doing it this way?

2. Am I reading the hydrometer correctly at 1.026? After these past 10 days is fermentation complete? Should I move it to a secondary or go ahead and bottle?

3. Is there anything else I need to do or anything I am clearly doing incorrectly? I don't want to screw this up.

4. Is the beer too cloudy or is that normal for this stage?

Thanks for any help.

Mitch

 

[brewcat]

1. Blow off looks fine.
2. Yes, looks like 1.026. Check your gravity again in a couple days. If it is stable, bottle.
3. Not really. Sparging seems slow. Usually shoot for 1 quart per minute. I'm guessing the mash temp was 158 not 168. The only other thing to think about would be fermentation temp control.
4. Fine. Fermentation does that.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Leave it for at least another week before bottling - some of that cloudiness will drop out in the fermentor rather than going in to the bottle. Fermentation may or may not be complete, but will still need time to clear before bottling. Don't worry about going to secondary.
Brewcat's already on to the mash temp - 158? or was it 168 strike-water temperature?
What temperature are you fermenting at? I ask because you said you cooled to 60degrees for the hydro sample.

 

[Morrey]

Take your time and let everything settle off a few more days. Looks like you are at 1.028 now with 10 days into the brew which is a fairly big beer. If you give it time to finish and settle out, I'd tend to think you may get down to 1.023 which is your goal.

 

[re42674]

Sorry, I meant the strike water was 168. The mash was around 150

 

[RM-MN]

You didn't mention the temperature that the fermentation was done at. If it was fairly cool (low 60's?) then warming the fermenter to the mid 70's at this point will help the yeast get the last of the sugars and might still drop the FG to where you want it. Don't be in any rush with this beer. It will take time to mature into a good flavor beer anyway and time in the fermenter counts. With this big of a beer I'd probably plan on 4 to even 6 weeks in the fermenter. With that much time a lot more of the excess yeast will drop out in the fermenter instead of ending up in your bottles or keg.

 

[re42674]

What temperature are you fermenting at? I ask because you said you cooled to 60degrees for the hydro sample.

It’s fermenting at about 68 degrees right now. I took a sample and cooled it to 60.

 

[re42674]

You didn't mention the temperature that the fermentation was done at. If it was fairly cool (low 60's?) then warming the fermenter to the mid 70's at this point will help the yeast get the last of the sugars and might still drop the FG to where you want it. Don't be in any rush with this beer. It will take time to mature into a good flavor beer anyway and time in the fermenter counts. With this big of a beer I'd probably plan on 4 to even 6 weeks in the fermenter. With that much time a lot more of the excess yeast will drop out in the fermenter instead of ending up in your bottles or keg.

Thanks for the help. The time in the fermenter is what I was worrying about. I had planned on at least going 3-4 weeks but then I started reading that people were bottling after a week or two and I started worrying that I was making a mistake. So maybe it would be a good idea to move to a secondary and let it sit for a few more weeks or would you just leave it in the bucket that it’s in?

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for the help. The time in the fermenter is what I was worrying about. I had planned on at least going 3-4 weeks but then I started reading that people were bottling after a week or two and I started worrying that I was making a mistake. So maybe it would be a good idea to move to a secondary and let it sit for a few more weeks or would you just leave it in the bucket that it’s in?

I'd leave it right where it is. If it isn't infected now it won't be when you want to bottle it. I probably wouldn't go past 3 months in the bucket though.

 

[Mackster]

Since you asked..
From the look of your air lock you may run into clogging problems. I have seen two makes of the three piece. One with an open tip at the base and one with a tip that is slightly covered with more plastic, creating four smaller holes. If this is the case you can have a clog quite easily when fermenting with excess trub. It can clog the tip, pressurize, blah blah boom.

As for the ferment...
It all sounds like it is going well, but you should wait much longer. The cloudiness is from yeast still in suspension, they are not done eating yet. I would take the beer falling clear as a sign it is done fermenting. I would not rack any ale that will ferment less than 60 days. If this needs to be done for xmas, I don't think it will be. With that high of a SG I would assume it needs at least 30 days.

 

[JR_Brewer]

Looks like most of these folks have already answered your questions, but I'll add a few general observations.

You mentioned you mashed in at 168. That's fine when you're making a kit, but the temperature that matters is the temperature of the mash. 5 gallons of 168 deg water plus a certain amount of 70 degree grain is going to yield a mash between those two temps (hint, a lot closer to 168 than 70). Several reasons this matters - if someone else takes your recipe and changes the volume, proportions, etc, the number they need to worry about is the mash temp. If they know that, they can calculate the water temp. Also, if you're ever using grain not at room temp (e.g., you left your grain outside at 40 deg F) your numbers are going to be off if you use a recipe's water temp.

Otherwise, I like to recommend that people don't rush fermentation. A few extra weeks almost always helps a beer (exception is an IPA). Sediment falls out, yeast "cleans up" some of the off products, and gravity often keeps slowly dropping. When I visited breweries in Belgium (yours is a Belgian) they emphasized that beer needs to properly age for a month or so once fermentation is complete.

Finally, I agree that there's no reason to use a secondary vessel.

Hope this helps and wasn't too obnoxious. Happy brewing!

 

[kh54s10]

I too would leave this one in primary until it is more clear. A month to two months. Then bottle it and leave the bottles at room temperature for 6 months to a year, then enjoy a nice Belgian.