Pliny the Elder extract kit help

[JoeBronco]

Yes, it is necessary. It's probably just not a step added to the recipe, as it's just something that people do with packaging, unless they keg.

I like 1 ounce of corn sugar (by weight) per finished gallon of beer. I "lose" lots of beer to dryhopping so when I make Pliny, I end up with about 4.25-4.5 gallons of finished beer if I make a 5 gallon batch!

I believe that's why the original recipe calls for 8 gallons out of the mash with 5 gallons after fermentation. To account for evaporation and dryhopping. This recipe seems to be a bit off in both gravity and color.

 

[jkendrick]

Successful brew day for the Pliny recipe from Vinnie. I did the extract version and had to substitute Citra for Simcoe, but I hit my OG pretty close and my very first starter looked good. For my first two beers (both much lower gravity) I kept it in the primary for 3 weeks. Vinnie's recipe calls for transfer to the secondary for dry hopping as soon as activity stops. I'm guessing that will be more like a week. Is that what most folks do with Pliny? Or would three weeks in the primary still be a good idea?

 

[JoeBronco]

Primary till its done, rack to secondary

Dry hop #1 hop pack - one week
Dry hop #2 hop pack - 3-5 days

Bottle or keg. For me its normaly about a 3 week process until i keg half and bottle half. But depending on temperature of fermentation and what the yeast is doing your at the mercy of the beer gods.

 

[jkendrick]

Primary till its done, rack to secondary

Dry hop #1 hop pack - one week
Dry hop #2 hop pack - 3-5 days

Bottle or keg. For me its normaly about a 3 week process until i keg half and bottle half. But depending on temperature of fermentation and what the yeast is doing your at the mercy of the beer gods.

So take gravity readings once the activity stops and transfer if it's right, wait if it's not?

 

[JoeBronco]

So take gravity readings once the activity stops and transfer if it's right, wait if it's not?

Correct. Don't use your airlock as an "activity" gauge either. Its not an accurate way to go. ALWAYS use your hydro. You don't want your beer off gassing to much when your dry hopping. Every time the airlock bubbles your losing aroma. That's why its always best to let the beer ferment out to FG (Final Gravity) before you dry hop.

 

[brewingmadness]

Brewed yesterday! Had a couple of small boilovers, but finished with a bit over 5 gallons. The lme was fine, but that dme went nuts! It's been a bit over 24 hrs and the yeast is going. Not much foam, but the blowoff tube is bubbling the star san mix like crazy. Might've added too much. My target was 1.077, but I came in at about 1.068. Can't wait to try this, but seems like my first brew was a success. I forgot to add the irish moss at 15 min, so I added it and added another 15 min to the boil. Will this harm it at all? Thanks for all the help everyone provided!

 

[jkendrick]

So I know this has been discussed to death and I've read some of the bigger threads on the subject, but does anyone have an opinion on skipping secondary and dry hopping in the primary for THIS particular brew? I've read from respected members such as Revvy that people forgo secondary even for dry hopping. So could I just throw the hops directly in the primary after I hit the target FG?

 

[brewingmadness]

Not sure, but I thought the purpose of the secondary was to get the wort off the yeast cake and then dry hop in a cleaner wort. I know my friend doesn't ever use a secondary and dry hops in the keg. Is this what you are thinking?

 

[jkendrick]

I'm still a beginner so I'm bottling not kegging. For my first beer I made an IPA with oak chips and just put the chips in the primary. I didn't secondary based on many of the opinions on this board. My second brew was a stout and I racked to secondary to add a cold extract coffee. The second beer was much better but I don't attribute that at all to using a secondary. It seems that racking to a secondary has more risk than benefit, the risk is oxidation and contamination vs. benefit of not sitting on yeast for too long. But the conventional wisdom seems to have shifted as to how much of a benefit this really is. This is, however, my first time dry hopping and my first higher gravity beer. So maybe there are benefits I'm unaware of, hence my question specific to THIS recipe.

 

[brewingmadness]

Well I'd like to know the answer to this too, considering this is my first beer period and I thought I had to dry hop in a secondary

 

[jkendrick]

Well I'd like to know the answer to this too, considering this is my first beer period and I thought I had to dry hop in a secondary

Cool. It sounds like we're in the same boat. I brewed on Saturday. It might be good to compare notes as we go.

 

[SteelCityBrewery]

I brewed mine on Sunday and my gravity is down 1.025 already and the smell is INCREDIBLE!!!!

 

[JoeBronco]

I'm still a beginner so I'm bottling not kegging. For my first beer I made an IPA with oak chips and just put the chips in the primary. I didn't secondary based on many of the opinions on this board. My second brew was a stout and I racked to secondary to add a cold extract coffee. The second beer was much better but I don't attribute that at all to using a secondary. It seems that racking to a secondary has more risk than benefit, the risk is oxidation and contamination vs. benefit of not sitting on yeast for too long. But the conventional wisdom seems to have shifted as to how much of a benefit this really is. This is, however, my first time dry hopping and my first higher gravity beer. So maybe there are benefits I'm unaware of, hence my question specific to THIS recipe.

Less chances of oxidation and contamination are huge benefits of not using secondary unless needed. Do a search on this site, there should be a thread on the subject "Primary only vs Secondary"

 

[jkendrick]

Less chances of oxidation and contamination are huge benefits of not using secondary unless needed. Do a search on this site, there should be a thread on the subject "Primary only vs Secondary"

Cool I'll keep it in the primary for dry hopping. I had read that thread and others previously, just wondering if there was anything different about this beer that would necessitate a secondary for dry hopping. Five days in and the airlock is no longer going crazy but is still pretty active. I did a partial boil and didn't adjust the recipe at all. I've already accepted that the beer will be different, but I'm hoping it will still be amazing. My question: is there anything I should do at this dry hop stage, given my failure to up the hop bill in the boil?

 

[trojandux]

I would definitly move it to the secondary before dryhoping. Typically dry hoping you are looking for a cleaner/ clearer beer and getting it off the yeast cake will prevent from a soapy flavor developing. If your sanitation process is good as it should be there should be no real risk of contamination. As far as oxidation goes, when you siphon make sure it is quiet and not splashing around. If you are really worried about oxidation you can always add some CO2 from your keggin system into the secondary so it will sit at the bottom of the carboy while you add your beer (A little overkill in IMHO). I have done many batches and always move to the secondary. infact I have a Torpedo Clone in the secondary waiting to start dryhoping. I like to have big IPA mellow alittle before dryhopping just to get the residual fermentation products off. Remeber Patience is a vurtiue when home brewing. Also Sanitation is everything.

Hope this helps.

Scott

 

[SteelCityBrewery]

So my Pliny is currently fermenting in my conical fermenter. I walked out to my garage to check the gravity only to see my fermenter reading 77F!!! I brought it in a box with ice and will keep it inside. Any chance this will kill my beer?

 

[jkendrick]

So my Pliny is currently fermenting in my conical fermenter. I walked out to my garage to check the gravity only to see my fermenter reading 77F!!! I brought it in a box with ice and will keep it inside. Any chance this will kill my beer?

I'm pretty much a beginner (this is my third brew), but I always thought the guidelines for fermentation temps were to keep it between 65-75. I try to keep it closer to 65, but I don't think you'd kill it at 77. I'd try to get it a bit lower and wait it out.

I have had my batch in primary for exactly a week and the air lock has slowed to about a bubble every 15 seconds. Should I take a gravity reading or just be patient? For my previous two brews I have waited three weeks before taking a gravity reading and either transferring to secondary or bottling. But real Pliny is so much better fresh I don't want to leave it too long. Or is freshness only an issue after dry hopping?

 

[badbrew]

So my Pliny is currently fermenting in my conical fermenter. I walked out to my garage to check the gravity only to see my fermenter reading 77F!!! I brought it in a box with ice and will keep it inside. Any chance this will kill my beer?

If you said that you brewed it last Sunday then after 5 days you shouldn't have a lot to worry about. It was probably at < 1.020 so I'd have left it alone at 77 F to finish up. The real question is, what was the peak temp during the first 2 or 3 days?

I plan to ferment this at about 72 F for three days and then 75 F max for about 10 days followed by up to 79 for a few days. Or at least my ac will be set at 75 F at first and then turned off a little later.

 

[OldWorld]

Yes go ahead and steep your grains in 3 gallons of water. Be careful to add your malt extract slowly...it can easily boil over.

If you are kegging you don't need priming sugar. But when your are kegging be sure you are getting good co2 into solution...Also don't be a big hurry for the beer. After it has been moved it will have a tendency to foam up more.

Let it rest at least a week under pressure in the keg...Make sure your beer lines are proper length and keep consistent psi on it. The beer should be good.

Pliny from the brewery uses hop oil/extracts. They also dry hop. So your kit might not taste like Pliny but it should be an okay IPA.

 

[sentfromspain]

Should be fine

 

[jkendrick]

I have had my batch in primary for exactly a week and the air lock has slowed to about a bubble every 15 seconds. Should I take a gravity reading or just be patient? For my previous two brews I have waited three weeks before taking a gravity reading and either transferring to secondary or bottling. But real Pliny is so much better fresh I don't want to leave it too long. Or is freshness only an issue after dry hopping?

I think my question got lost amongst my attempted answer of another poster's question. Any thoughts?

 

[badbrew]

I think my question got lost amongst my attempted answer of another poster's question. Any thoughts?

Why wouldn't you want to taste your gravity sample? I say rack if it's done.

 

[jkendrick]

Why wouldn't you want to taste your gravity sample? I say rack if it's done.

Well, I just don't want to unnecessarily open my primary and risk any sort of infection, however minimal the risk may be, if it definitely isn't done yet.

 

[jkendrick]

Well I broke down and took a sample. It came in at 1.016 after exactly one week in primary. I'm going to give it another week and it should be good! It's definitely tasty already.

 

[cdeme123]

I don't bottle until at least 7 days after the bubbling stops. Don't forget, the yeast may not be bubbling anymore but they are still working on clean up some undesirables in the beer.

 

[jkendrick]

I don't bottle until at least 7 days after the bubbling stops. Don't forget, the yeast may not be bubbling anymore but they are still working on clean up some undesirables in the beer.

Yeah, am I right in the the following rules of thumb for when to rack:

- down to target FG
- gravity has been stable for several days
- not a lot of cloudiness in sample

My one week sample was not quite to target FG and was quite cloudy. As a result I'm thinking I'll take another sample around Thursday, but project racking to secondary on Saturday after 14 days in primary.

 

[SteelCityBrewery]

Well I have hit and stayed at my fg for about three days. I'm going to try and dump the trub and harvest the yeast out of my conical and begin dry hopping! I can't wait!

 

[jkendrick]

Well I'm stable at 1.016 for four days. Is that badly off if the target FG is 1.011? It sure tastes good!

According to Dave's Dreaded Calculator and adjusting for temp, I had an OG of 1.0705. It says attenuation: 61%.

 

[SteelCityBrewery]

My recipe calls for it to start at 1.074 and end at 1.014. I started at 1.072 and dumped trub/yeast at 1.010. Adjusting for gravity, that's about 8% from what I have seen. Can't complain about that!

 

[jkendrick]

My recipe calls for it to start at 1.074 and end at 1.014. I started at 1.072 and dumped trub/yeast at 1.010. Adjusting for gravity, that's about 8% from what I have seen. Can't complain about that!

Yeah that looks right. Mine is off and I think will be more like 7%. I'm curious if those with more experience think I'm badly off or if the difference is negligible. It's still in the primary, but I plan to transfer and dry hop on Saturday.