Second Brew Day

[Reinheitsgebot]

The day started out with bottling my first batch of beer ever. Thanks to the help of the wifey and my 3 year old boy, I bottled 48 Belgian Wits. Not quite as much as I had hoped for, but oh well.

The afternoon saw a partial grain recipe for a Smithwicks clone. All went really well and no problems whatsoever. 2 hours after pitching the yeast, the lid on the primary is sitting pretty with positive pressure. (I am using a blow-off tube just in case (near mishap on the Wit)

Couple of questions:

1, to increase the batch size, should I top-off the carboy when I rack to secondary? I don't really want to dilute the beer to much.

2, My OG on the Smithwicks clone was off by .005. Is this a big deal? I know it will come down, I am just wondering how that affects the brew.

3, What to brew next......

 

[Clonefarmer]

1, to increase the batch size, should I top-off the carboy when I rack to secondary? I don't really want to dilute the beer to much.

2, My OG on the Smithwicks clone was off by .005. Is this a big deal? I know it will come down, I am just wondering how that affects the brew.

3, What to brew next......

1) Ideally you want to top off to the correct volume before pitching. It's possible to add water after fermentation, but not recommended. Mark your primary at 1 gallon increments. Top off to 5.5 gallons in the primary before pitching. This allows for loss during racking.

2) A few things can effect this reading. Such as low volume of wort, temp of sample, temp hydro is calibrated at and wort & top off water not mixed. A few points off won't hurt your beer. As you brew more you'll learn how to correct these variables.

3) What brews do you like?

 

[Yooper]

Couple of questions:

1, to increase the batch size, should I top-off the carboy when I rack to secondary? I don't really want to dilute the beer to much.

2, My OG on the Smithwicks clone was off by .005. Is this a big deal? I know it will come down, I am just wondering how that affects the brew.

3, What to brew next......

1. If you want to increase the batch size, you'd need more than water to do it. Sure, you could add water to it, but you'd just be watering down your beer. If you want to make a 5.5 gallon batch, then scale up your recipes (and your ingredients!) to 5.5 gallons. If you're making kits, you can't usually do it, but if you're making beer from recipes, you certainly can.

2. That's fine.

3. Since you did a wit, and now a British style, it's time for an American pale ale, or American Amber! Or, go totally dark and make a stout.

 

[Reinheitsgebot]

Thanks for the answers. I guess I worded it wrong, I did not want to dilute the beer, just get closer to the 54 bottles. But hey it is only 1 6-pack less.... I did start with 5 gal on the first batch, maybe I lost some during the first few days of blow off (the Wit was rather active) and with all the testing. This second batch I filled to 5.5, like Clonefarmer mentioned before pitching. I hope it will help.

It is merrily and strongly bubbling away, leaving a sweet hoppy smell in my bathroom.

WHY DO I HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG??????

Anyway, I do like darker beers, so I think a Dortmunder, Stout or Newcastle might be up yet. Summer in Texas is closing in, so an ale is out of th question - unless I get another fridge. (But then again, Papazian says you can also ferment lagers at ale temps????)

 

[cvstrat]

My first brew was an american pale ale. I'm pretty sure I messed it up, but I'm seeing in through.

The second beer I made was an oatmeal stout, breakfast ale type thing. While I'm not a huge stout fan, the smell and taste of the stout while taking gravity readings is unreal. I describe it as a mix between dark chocolate and black coffee. While I'm not traditionally a huge stout fan, I know this one is going to be delicious and it has gone a long way in increasing my confidence for the next brew.

Also it was a small amt of grain and relatively cheap. I'd recommend it for your next brew.

 

[Reinheitsgebot]

It sounds great. I really do love the full bodied dark ales and stouts....

I am realizing I have a problem though: I love the brewing process, but hate the long wait while it ferments. Also, 5G goes a long way for me, as I am out of the house 4 days a week. I can already see the cases of beer stacking up.....

 

[Reinheitsgebot]

Major bubbling going on in the Red. Even the Belgian Wit was not as volatile. Well, it threw out Kraeusen, but not as amny bubbles. This one makes my jug with sanitizer look like it is on a rolling boil.....