So here's how I "screwed up" my first brew Honey Hibiscus Wit
- Added Coriander seeds directly into wort instead of cracking them first. There goes the coriander flavor!
- Austin Homebrew had forgotten to add hops to my package, so I had to stop the boil and run to the store to get it. Luckily, they are just 10 minutes away!
- Wort took 3 hours to cool to pitching temperature. I had a wort chiller but didn't know how to use it properly, and didn't have any ice handy in the house
- Primary fermenter wouldn't seal properly, so it wasn't air tight throughout fermentation
- Fermentation temperature varied between 78F and 85F
- Transferred to secondary after 7 days - I couldn't work the auto-siphon properly, so aerated the beer too much. As a result the beer started aggressively foaming out of the secondary (not sure why - would love to have ideas why this would happen). I got scared and poured out about a gallon on beer from the secondary so there wouldn't be a mess on the floor. Would this affect the flavor profile of my beer in any way? If the beer got oxidized, what kind of flavor would I get in oxidized beer?
- Bottling process went through ok, but the bottles were left again at room temperature, which varies between 76 - 85 F. How does such a high temperature affect the bottling process? I understand the yeast would be working overtime, but does it affect the flavor in anyway?
- I couldn't figure out how to use the hydrometer initially, so have no idea what the OG was. However, the FG before bottling was pretty close to what I should get, at 1.012
After reading enough threads on this forum, I now know how critical temperature is in the brewing process. However, I am curious how the high temperatures could have affected my beer, and what flavors could be missing and highlighted here?
I am about 1.5 weeks through the 3 week bottling wait. I opened my first bottle today and am pleasantly surprised to report that the beer doesn't taste like crap. It tastes a little yeasty, but I assume that is because I didn't chill the beer at all. Other than that, it's a pretty light sweet low hop beer, a lot like fruli. I was expecting a little more character from the Hallertau, but keeping in mind the temperature and the other hiccups along the way, is this what I should expect?
- Added Coriander seeds directly into wort instead of cracking them first. There goes the coriander flavor!
- Austin Homebrew had forgotten to add hops to my package, so I had to stop the boil and run to the store to get it. Luckily, they are just 10 minutes away!
- Wort took 3 hours to cool to pitching temperature. I had a wort chiller but didn't know how to use it properly, and didn't have any ice handy in the house
- Primary fermenter wouldn't seal properly, so it wasn't air tight throughout fermentation
- Fermentation temperature varied between 78F and 85F
- Transferred to secondary after 7 days - I couldn't work the auto-siphon properly, so aerated the beer too much. As a result the beer started aggressively foaming out of the secondary (not sure why - would love to have ideas why this would happen). I got scared and poured out about a gallon on beer from the secondary so there wouldn't be a mess on the floor. Would this affect the flavor profile of my beer in any way? If the beer got oxidized, what kind of flavor would I get in oxidized beer?
- Bottling process went through ok, but the bottles were left again at room temperature, which varies between 76 - 85 F. How does such a high temperature affect the bottling process? I understand the yeast would be working overtime, but does it affect the flavor in anyway?
- I couldn't figure out how to use the hydrometer initially, so have no idea what the OG was. However, the FG before bottling was pretty close to what I should get, at 1.012
After reading enough threads on this forum, I now know how critical temperature is in the brewing process. However, I am curious how the high temperatures could have affected my beer, and what flavors could be missing and highlighted here?
I am about 1.5 weeks through the 3 week bottling wait. I opened my first bottle today and am pleasantly surprised to report that the beer doesn't taste like crap. It tastes a little yeasty, but I assume that is because I didn't chill the beer at all. Other than that, it's a pretty light sweet low hop beer, a lot like fruli. I was expecting a little more character from the Hallertau, but keeping in mind the temperature and the other hiccups along the way, is this what I should expect?