Question about a first batch

[Ed_]

Hi all,

Based on the topic here I guess it is obvious that I am a noob. Anyway, I just got into brewing over the holidays and started with two batches which are currently fermenting. The first one was a clone of Rouge's Mocha Porter which I racked today to a secondary. While racking I figured I'd divert a little to a glass to see how the taste was coming along and when I actually tried it it seemed more like a weak American Ale that had been poured from a keg that had been tapped 3 days earlier than a porter. So I guess my question is, does the character of the beer change that much during fermentation or am I probably looking at a very subpar first batch (my guess is it will likely still be drinkable).

For some background, it was an extract kit, the yeast might have been tossed a bit early as I couldn't find the cooking thermometer I thought I had so I just cooled the wort to a point where no steam was coming off the brew pot then added chilled water. Primary fermentation was very active however I screwed up and used a 5 gal glass carboy for primary so as you can imagine there was a good bit of foam over through the airlock (actually it looks like I lost between .5 and 1 gallon due to the level after racking). On the second day I rigged a run off tube into a bucket of water to keep from cleaning the airlock every few hours and this allowed fermentation to continue pretty well for the next 3 days. After a week (time listed in the instructions) I racked to secondary.

As I mentioned I'm not expecting this to be a great batch due to the mistakes I made but hopefully the second batch that's going (clone of New Belgium's Fat Tire Amber) will benefit from what I learned from that first one.

Oh as one other question; both recipes I have call for 1 week primary, 1 week secondary then 2 weeks (ideally) conditioning in the bottles. I've noticed a lot of people on here saying six weeks should really be a minimum anyone care to give any guidance on that one?

Thanks for putting up with a noob's ignorance.

Cheers!

Ed

 

[BrianP]

A few responses for your questions:

1) Your beer will taste much better after it's done fermenting, has been carb'ed and has had time to condition.

2) Consider a bigger fermenter since you want a little headspace for blow-offs. Another option is to use foam control drops (available from NorthernBrewer, etc.) to reduce the amount of foaming that occurs during fermentation. I haven't done this but several people have and said that you can use a 5 gal fermenter for a 5 gal batch with minimal blow-off.

3) In terms of fermentation time, I used to be a proponent of the 1-2-3 method (1 in primary, 2 in secondary, 3 in the bottle). I now follow a 2+/3 format which is 2 (or more) weeks in primary and 3 weeks for bottle conditioning. The only reason I go over 2 in primary is if I'm busy/lazy and can't get around to bottling.

The trick is to allow at least 2 weeks to allow the yeast to finish up the fermentation, cleaning up byproducts from the early stage of the fermentation (and their off flavors), as well as allowing the yeast to settle out nicely before kegging/bottling. There is really no need to use a secondary unless you are lagering or adding a bacteria culture (brett, etc.) for Belgian styles.

One last thing, bottle beer isn't done conditioning until about 3 weeks at room temperature, but it gets better with a few more weeks, so don't go nuts and drink it all really quickly. Save some for enjoyment later.


Congrats on your first beer and welcome to HBT.

 

[Ed_]

Thanks for the advice Brian, the outlook is definitely looking better on this batch after it's had a bit more time to settle.

 

[JoeMama]

Yes! Be wary of drinking your beer green!! (Trust me I know)

Many will tell you to 'sample' your beer at 1 week, 2 weeks etc to notice how it changes over time. Unfortunately, (for me) my beer was so tasty at 1 - 1.5 weeks I damn near drank half of it. After much restraint, I had a couple tonight (1 day before the 3 weeks was up) and I am sad to say that I only have a few bottles left when its tasting beyond awesome. (And I promised quite a few people beer already!) But tonights tasters were really impressed as well.

My only consolation is the fact that I have another batch of something different conditioning in the bottles next to them. I think that I will definitely let these run their full conditioning course as they were almost tits from the sample I took during bottling time.

And 2 more kits on the way...
Plus plans for my AG migration shortly thereafter.
Plus a kegging setup.
I need a faster pipeline - once you pop you cant stop...
You will see
-Me