So ... getting towards the end? Still on track?

[Vedexent]

So - my first ever homebrew (Munich malt SMaSH with Cascade) - after three weeks in the fermenter has dropped from an O.G. of 1.046 (although it was really chilled when I measured it), to a S.G. of 1.015, with Wyeast #1028 (London Ale).

By my calculations it's clocking in @ 4.0% - 4.6% ABV depending on whether I temperature correct my initial hydrometer reading, or not. If that's accurate, I can live with that.

I thought the current S.G. seems a bit high yet, but I believe that I may have mashed on the high end of the target range ( 158 F falling to 154 F during the mash ) - and produced more non-fermentable sugars than I would have liked.

But if I plug my ingredients and volumes into the Homebrewsupply recipe calculator using 2.5Kg of Weyermann Light Munich Malt, and the water volumes that I used, it comes out to OG/FG/ABV of 1.046/1.012/4.56% - which seems to be in the ballpark of what I've got.

I'm not going to rush into bottles; I've placed the fermenter bucket (I'm not employing a secondary carboy) into a much cooler environment (dropping to a few degrees above freezing) to "cold crash".

The wort was pretty clear; no more floating yeast colonies, with a pretty well defined trub layer on the bottom from the outside. Some light "dusty" elements still on the surface, but no clumps.

Smell was still beery, but less so than I've sniffed before, and the citrus smell I've been experiencing through the airlock is pretty much absent. I'm also concerned there's a bit of a "harsh alcohol" smell (although not verging into acetone character).

I'll be taking a hydrometer reading again Sunday evening, to see if 1.015 is stable.

So ... all-in-all, does it sound like it's on track? Does it sound like it might be getting close to bottling territory? Anything to be concerned about?

I appreciate any feedback

 

[Calder]

158 F is high. I suspect you are done.

1.015 is probably a bit sweet for the beer you were after (Pale Ale I suspect), but it will be beer. I would have targeted somewhere around 150 - 152 to try and end about 1.010

Pretty good effort for first brew.

Nothing to be concerned about, it will be drinkable. Just use it as a learning experience.

 

[Vedexent]

Thanks - that's what I was afraid of - but we learn from experience.

I also snuck a little taste out with the wine thief after I posted, and I think that it falls into the "not horrible" category, but it didn't quite hit what I was picturing on any front.

IBUs might be a bit high, it's a touch sweet - as you suspected - and it's got that bit of "hot alcoholic" off-taste that makes me think I wasn't as successful keeping the primary cool with the "swamp cooler" as I hoped. I know there were a few incidents of "whoa! that's too warm" when I checked it. Also letting the finish sit on the tongue it's feeling a bit astringent; more evidence that I was probably mashing too hot.

But I'll bottle it (once I'm sure the S.G. is steady over 3 days), condition it, and move on. Who knows - maybe bottle conditioning will "gentle" it a bit.

I've already got an Inkbird temperature control setup in place for the next fermentation, and I know to watch my mash temperatures better.

This batch may be a beer that "only a mother could love", but I'll do better.

I appreciate the feedback, thanks!

 

[curtisbrewer]

first of all , i know most of us thought our first batch was going to be gold... how hard could it be right ? haha ..... you seem to be overly educated compared to most beginners in the forum so i would assume you will be able to decipher your issues and resolve them . all i can say starting out is temp control ! temp control ! temp control !. once you get the hang of things i look at it like so, it is easy to make "good beer" it takes dedication( and a whole lot of studying) to make GREAT beer

 

[Mothman]

Bit of a random question for you.... how do you know how compact the trub layer is, in the bucket?

I've been pondering this as I ferment my first batch... how will I know how much trub is in the bucket for, say, calculating my priming sugar (ie. how do I know my actual beer volume).

 

[Vedexent]

Bit of a random question for you.... how do you know how compact the trub layer is, in the bucket?

I've been pondering this as I ferment my first batch... how will I know how much trub is in the bucket for, say, calculating my priming sugar (ie. how do I know my actual beer volume).

I don't know It looks pretty well defined, with no "murky" boundary layer.

But I was planning on auto-siphoning to a different bucket, before batch adding priming sugar - so I should be able to measure the depth/volume without the trub.

 

[Calder]

Bit of a random question for you.... how do you know how compact the trub layer is, in the bucket?

I've been pondering this as I ferment my first batch... how will I know how much trub is in the bucket for, say, calculating my priming sugar (ie. how do I know my actual beer volume).

You make a guess. Doesn't really matter if you are wrong. I get about 2 pints of trub in a 6+ gallon batch. That's maybe 4%.

4% of 5 ozs is 0.2 ozs. Not worth the effort figure out.

Make your best guess at the final volume and don't worry about it.

 

[jaspass]

If you've cold crashed, you should not see any changes in gravity at this point. Too cold now for yeast to do anything but drop out. For a first beer it sounds like you have more than just the basics in hand, good job!

 

[kh54s10]

Don't put too much stock in what a sample of wort tastes like. It will give you an idea of what the finished beer might be, but I have tasted some samples and said "this one is not going to be very good". After conditioning in the bottles for 3 weeks the beers turned out quite good.

 

[SlitheryDee]

My first batch actually reached a stable FG after only 11 days. I ended up bottling 2 weeks from brew day after verifying that it was stable. Of course I was also anxious to get it carbonating so I could be drinking it sooner. I plan to be more patient with the one I have fermenting currently, but my point is that it could be done sooner than you think. I think I would assume that you've probably reached final gravity, but verify that with subsequent gravity readings.

I was actually kind of afraid to cold crash or use any finings because I didn't want to do anything that might increase the carbonation time due to dropping an inordinate amount of yeast out of suspension. That may be an unfounded worry, but I have read about such things having an effect. For this first batch at least, I want to be drinking it ASAP and couldn't care less about any haze in the glass. In the future I'll be making more efforts to produce a refined product.