Thanks to you guys I am chilled out!

[peepfoot]

Hey peeps,

I've been wanting to brew my own beer for 3 years. I finally went out and got a real kit (not Mr. Beer). 6.5 gallon fermentor bucket, 6.5 gallon better bottle (I have a 2 1/2 year old, so the glass carboy sounded too dangerous to take the chance), airlock, auto siphon, and all the fixins. I even picked up a thief. Brew day went normal, besides the fact that I miscalculated the boil, and came up with 4 gallons of wort, instead of 5. I pitched German liquid Ale yeast at room temperature like my LHBS guy told me, and the fermentation is going great (as far as I can tell).

I'm not worried about the brew, but I was wondering if you might know the effect it would have on the brew since I put 5 gallons worth of ingredients and yeast into 4 gallons of post-boil liquid?

Oh, and thanks for being there for me everyday 2 weeks before my first brew day! This site is awesome!

 

[IrregularPulse]

If you had 5 gallons going in 4 gallons out sounds normal. You will lost some to the boil and trub.
I start with 7G boils to get 5-5.5G out.

You'll just have more concentrated wort aka higher OG, aka higher ABV%

 

[peepfoot]

oh cool. But this was the process, maybe It wasnt too bad/good but just right:

I have a 5 gallon aluminum boiler pot. I boiled 3 gallons first, and put the "clean water" into my secondary and capped it (sanitized first of course) after cooling it down to about 85*.

Then I heated 2 gallons while steeping my crushed pils grains. Added the DME, LME, and beginning hops after 20 minutes and it started to boil. Then finishing hops after 45 minutes, then aroma hops after 55 minutes and let it rest for 5.

I cooled the wort, oxygenated it (i think thats right) by stirring lightly (most of the trub was left behind thank god) and siphoning it into my primary.

Then I siphoned the clean water into the wort. So sadly, it was not a complete boil. Would this effect it much differently?

Thanks for the fast response BTW.

OG was 1050 also. pretty good for a pils.

 

[IrregularPulse]

You were still boiling so you'd have some loss from the 3G boil of water and the 2 G boil of wort.
Next time just boil more Clean water so you'll have enough to top off your wort to 5 Gallons.

 

[peepfoot]

No doubt. that was all in the plans. I appreciate the timely responses.

So, more ABV%!!! WOOT! this is going to be a great first time brewski!

I am recording everything, so I will have to experiment. I have another quick question since you're here:

I am planning on starting a new batch directly after placing my 1st into the secondary. I am trying to create a steady flow of different/readily available home brews. Do you think it might be too soon? Should I get another fermentor? Or another better bottle?

Just a thought. . .

 

[BruDaddy]

With 4 gallons you may want to cut back on the priming sugar when you bottle. Using the full 5 oz or 3/4 cup might overcarbonate.

 

[SumnerH]

No doubt. that was all in the plans. I appreciate the timely responses.

So, more ABV%!!! WOOT! this is going to be a great first time brewski!

Yep, also more unfermentables and hops. Basically, a thicker beer all around.

What I do is have a clean 3 gallons set aside (I cheat and buy 3 gallons of spring water and don't bother boiling it; how safe this is depends on your comfort level, but I know they UV-sterilize it after bottling). You can boil 3.5 or so to ensure you have 3 gallons set aside. Sanitize your bottling bucket and put the clean water in there. Aerate (by shaking) during dead time.

Then boil 3 gallons and make your wort in a 3-gallon boil. Most extract recipes are formulated for a 3-gallon boil; the bigger a boil you can do, the better taste-wise but you eed to adjust the amount of hops used based on the size of the boil (hops utilization is higher in a more dilute boil).

Then, after cooling, transfer the wort to the primary bucket and shake a bit to aerate. Top it up to 5 gallons with however much water it takes from the clean water (probably close to 2.5-3 gallons since you lost some to evaporation during the boil).

I am planning on starting a new batch directly after placing my 1st into the secondary. I am trying to create a steady flow of different/readily available home brews. Do you think it might be too soon? Should I get another fermentor? Or another better bottle?

I did 2 batches this weekend. Most beers don't need a secondary (you can just leave in the primary for 4 weeks and then bottle), and primary buckets are cheap and stack inside each other well for storage. Pick up a couple more primaries with lids. If you start making a lot of beers you want to dry-hop or add fruit or whatever in secondary, then you'd consider getting another carboy for secondary.

Note: You're better off with a 5 gallon carboy for 5 gallon batches--the reason to use a carboy for secondaries is to limit the amount of oxygen exposure (ie the air caught in the top of the fermentor, known as "headspace"). Ideally your beer fills it up all the way to the narrow neck. But it shouldn't matter that much, so don't worry about your first brew.

You didn't mention whether you have a bottling bucket (that's a bucket with a spigot at the bottom). You definitely want that and a bottling wand, and then read:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/revvys-tips-bottler-first-time-otherwise-94812/
particularly the part about getting a #2 drilled stopper and an extra racking cane and making a dip tube. I did that this weekend for the first time and it really helps.

 

[peepfoot]

I have a bottling bucket, and I'm basically using it for the primary. Should I have used the better bottle?

I do have a bottling wand. Basically it goes in the bottom of the bottle, and when you lift up it stops right?

I am reading into that right now. Thanks a bunch!

Ok cool, I read that before I joined here. I think I got it down. Revvy is awesome!