Rookie brewer from Louisiana

[gromet]

Hi, been brewing for a couple of months. My first batch was an unmitigated disaster and have my second, AHS Gold Seal California IPA, in the primary. I must say I'm already a fanatic and can't wait to soak up the collective genius of this forum!

Cheers! G

 

[Layne]

Good luck! and welcome aboard!

 

[lumpher]

tell us your method, and someone here can help you fix what went wrong. welcome to the obsession

 

[gromet]

Thanks all!

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but as far as my technique goes:

I did a 2 gallon boil, steeping the grains at 155 for 30 minutes, brought it to a boil, removed from heat and added the DME. Brought to a boil again and added bittering hops then flavor hops after 45 minutes and aroma hops for last 5 minutes for a total of 60 minutes boil time. I used an ice bath to cool it down and that took 45 minutes. Have since bought an immersion wort chiller. I added yeast fuel to the cooled wort instead of during the boil as the directions specified. I pitched White Labs California Ale V051 the second the wort hit 80 as the cool down took a long time. I failed to take an OG reading. The yeast was warm when it arrived and I immediately put it in the fridge. Don't know if that's a big deal or not. Did not do a starter either. Fermentation took 72 hours to commence and lasted barely 48. I racked to a glass carboy after 10 days and left it there for 2 weeks before bottling. Waited 3 weeks to try it. When I first poured it I was very optimistic as it smelled good and was obviously carbonated. The initial sip tasted like a good amber ale but the aftertaste is what kills it. A strong burnt, bitter (not a good hoppy bitter), citrusy, aftertaste. If bacteria got in there, it wasn't due to a lack of cleaning and sanitation, as I have friends that homebrew and preach sanitation until they are blue in the face.

On my second batch I think I did much better. Wort chilled in 15 minutes and I made sure it got down to 75 before pitching. I took an OG reading (1.054) and used dry yeast. Fermentation took off in 8 hours and lasted about 36, at least as far as bubbles in the airlock are concerned. I went to take a gravity reading tonight but after I moved the primary back in to my kitchen the airlock started bubbling again so I'm going to wait another day before risking contamination by removing lid. Any advice would be much appreciated.

G

 

[keon]

If you are going to have yeast shipped to you then I would stick with US-05 which it sounds like you did for your second brew. It is a great yeast to use and a lot of people still prefer it. I really wouldn't worry so much about your fermentation as long as it has started which is sounds like yours has. I let my beer sit in the primary for 3 weeks without even looking at it unless I am doing a Lager. By then the yeasties have finished their job and you are ready to keg or bottle. As lumpher said so correctly, welcome to the obsession.

 

[billtzk]

Thanks all!

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but as far as my technique goes:

I did a 2 gallon boil, steeping the grains at 155 for 30 minutes, brought it to a boil, removed from heat and added the DME. Brought to a boil again and added bittering hops then flavor hops after 45 minutes and aroma hops for last 5 minutes for a total of 60 minutes boil time. I used an ice bath to cool it down and that took 45 minutes. Have since bought an immersion wort chiller. I added yeast fuel to the cooled wort instead of during the boil as the directions specified. I pitched White Labs California Ale V051 the second the wort hit 80 as the cool down took a long time. I failed to take an OG reading. The yeast was warm when it arrived and I immediately put it in the fridge. Don't know if that's a big deal or not. Did not do a starter either. Fermentation took 72 hours to commence and lasted barely 48. I racked to a glass carboy after 10 days and left it there for 2 weeks before bottling. Waited 3 weeks to try it. When I first poured it I was very optimistic as it smelled good and was obviously carbonated. The initial sip tasted like a good amber ale but the aftertaste is what kills it. A strong burnt, bitter (not a good hoppy bitter), citrusy, aftertaste. If bacteria got in there, it wasn't due to a lack of cleaning and sanitation, as I have friends that homebrew and preach sanitation until they are blue in the face.

On my second batch I think I did much better. Wort chilled in 15 minutes and I made sure it got down to 75 before pitching. I took an OG reading (1.054) and used dry yeast. Fermentation took off in 8 hours and lasted about 36, at least as far as bubbles in the airlock are concerned. I went to take a gravity reading tonight but after I moved the primary back in to my kitchen the airlock started bubbling again so I'm going to wait another day before risking contamination by removing lid. Any advice would be much appreciated.

G

I wait at least 10 days before I bother checking gravity. Usually I wait two weeks, as it gives the yeast a little more time to clean up after themselves. It helps to eliminate off flavors like the ones you found in your first batch.

I'm generally not in a big hurry to rush my beers through the process. They taste better when you give them time. Get 4 or 5 beers in the pipeline and you won't mind the wait so much because you'll have plenty of beer to drink.

I don't see a lot of glaring mistakes in your technique, but your warm yeast and 72 hour lag time lead me to think that your yeast was borderline viable when you pitched. That's a long lag time. Were you past the "use by" date?

You don't have to make a starter, but if you do, it'll alleviate any concern about lag time. My beers pitched with a large starter take off in 4 to 6 hours. You just have to plan ahead a day or so and have some DME handy to make the starter wort.

Getting the wort chiller was a smart move. The faster you chill down to pitching temps, the better. Even so, the 45 minutes it took on your first batch is not really a problem.

 

[gromet]

I have read the "how to make a starter" thread in the FAQ. What is still not clear to me is how much of the yeast do you use in the starter wort? All of it or do you put some aside to pitch either concurrently with the starter or sometime after you've added the starter to the primary?

I frankly don't remember if the yeast from my first batch was past the use by date, but I bought from a reputable supplier so I doubt that it was.

 

[billtzk]

All of it goes in the starter wort. You drain off most of the starter wort before pitching the settled and abundantly multiplied yeast.

Yeast is good for some time past its "use by" date, especially the freeze dried type.