The Cannman Diary: A Beginner's Journey In Home Brewing

[cannman]

Welcome everyone!

I am happy to introduce you to what is about to become (hopefully) the greatest personal experience in self sufficiency in regards to beer: The Home Brew. I felt it important to begin documenting what is about to happen in my brew discovery as I know almost NOTHING about the process from Hop to brew (other than the finished product that I pay at the grocery store). I want my process of experience to be something that another in my initial position can learn from and use when they come around to brewing their first batch of beer. Since I am a master at learning cross, I hope to present the data to follow as clear as possible in a format that is not complex and understandable.

Enjoy.

-Cannman

 

[cannman]

One problem that I've always found jumping into forums is that most of the "speak" is WAY beyond anything I could every understand... that is why tomorrow, Amazon is delivering John Palmer's How to Brew: Everything You Need To Brew Beer Right the First Time. After reading this guide, I hope this forum will be of much more value...

Note: Until today. I have been saving bottles for recycling (the wife likes to buy shoes with the redemption money the bottles bring), but I have taken back my claim back, and now have about 48 empty 12 oz bottles ready for reuse. Simple Math [(5 gallons x 128oz)/12oz bottles = 53.33 Bottles needed for a 5 gallon batch made from your typical online brew-kit product. I should have started saving a LONG time ago!

Apparently, "Oxyclean" is the best product to use to remove the commercial beer labels. Along with my book. so will a 3lb tub of Oxyclean be delivered! Simply soak, peel, and rinse? We'll see.

 

[cannman]

At this point, I am without beer equipment but I still want to feel apart of the brewing process. So I focused on prep-work! I needed to be able to make this as cost efficient as possible. A quick search and calculation put purchasing 12 - 22 oz beer bottles at about $40 a case after shipping!!! NO JOKE! for an extra $5 I could just save used bottles from my local beer cave for the same quantity and get to drink the beer!!! This lead to the question:

How do I remove the labels from old/used/empty beer bottles???

A quick search on this awesome forum noted that Oxi-Clean was the best product to do this (based on member's reviews). I put it to the test:

I filled up my bath tub with enough hot water to cover my empty beer bottles 1 inch. I added Oxi-Clean to the #1 line on the provided scooper:

After this I went to work and returned from my day about 12 hours later.

The shiny labels peeled right off.

But the paper labels left a bit of glue. But don't fear! A quick scrub took it right off!

I read a post that claimed that water could do the same thing after enough time, but I'm happy to use the Oxi-Clean as there may have been unseen dried up beer at the bottom of the bottle. This brings me to another note:

If you are going to reuse a beer bottle, clean it as soon as you are finished pouring it!

-Cannman

 

[C-Rider]

Once your pipeline is developed you no longer need HOT water. I keep a 5 gallon bucket full of Oxyclean on hand at all times. When I finish a beer I rinse it out in the sink and put it in the bucket. Every few days I empty the bucket and have bottles w/o labels. Rinse off the Oxy and store for future fillin'.

 

[cannman]

Once your pipeline is developed you no longer need HOT water. I keep a 5 gallon bucket full of Oxyclean on hand at all times. When I finish a beer I rinse it out in the sink and put it in the bucket. Every few days I empty the bucket and have bottles w/o labels. Rinse off the Oxy and store for future fillin'.

What a fantastic idea!

:rockin:

 

[cannman]

C-rider 's contribution in full force! Already, labels are just peeling off in a 5 gallon bucket of oxi-clean just after a few hours!



In other news, while I await my equipment to arrive from the Internet, Ive been reading John Palmer's "How to Brew." Because of this, my first brew will be a "Cincinnati Pale Ale." Here is his recipe:

----------------
Cincinnati Pale Ale

OG = 1.045 (11.2 P), 30 IBUs

Ingredients for a 5-gallon batch
- 3.3 lbs pale malt extract syrup, Unhopped
- 2.5 lbs amber dry malt extract
- 6 AAUs of bittering hops (any variety)
- 5 AAUs of finishing hops (Cascade or other)
- 2 new packets of dry ale yeast

----------------

Im thinking brewing this general recipe a few times with only switching around the hops used will give me a good appreciation of what individual hop can do for more advance brewing down the line. Having a solid benchmark to work with is important to measure my future success, or failures.

-C




Y

 

[29thfloor]

FWIW I was using OxyClean for a bit but I have hard water, and leaving the bottles in for more than an hour or so leaves behind deposits and residue. Same thing with carboys and anything else made of glass.

So I do the same thing, but with PBW. It's similar to OxyClean but more tolerant of hard water (and more expensive unfortunately). Or I just make sure to only soak them for like half an hour. That's usually enough time for most bottles.

 

[djfriesen]

Make sure and read up on late extract addition. I haven't read Palmer, so I don't know if it's in there, but it will help keep your PA a little closer to a proper color. Putting the LME in early can lead to scorching/carmelization, which darkens your beer. Putting it in at flameout, or at least turning of direct heat, can help prevent this.

 

[cannman]

I'm reading more on the recipe and it's instructions. It wants me to place 3 gallons of water in my fermenting bucket and only boil 3 gallons with which to mix the mash and hops. I have an 8 gallon stock pot, would I gain anything by doing a full 6 gallon boil instead?

 

[thetragichero]

better hop utilization

 

[cannman]

better hop utilization

So I SHOULD go 6gal boil then?

 

[Yooper]

So I SHOULD go 6gal boil then?

You don't really get much better hops utilization, but if you can boil (and cool!) that much wort, the beer is better for it. You'll get less darkening of the wort and a less 'cooked extract' taste.

Alternatively, you can add about 1/2 of the extract at the end of the boil if you can only boil about 3-4 gallons of wort.

Many people find that on the stove top, they can't get to a rolling boil with 6 gallons of wort, and find it cumbersome to try to cool it in the sink afterwards. So they boil a smaller amount, cool the wort some, and add cold water to top up.

Adding about 1/2 of the extract at the end of the boil gives pretty good results if you can't boil the full 6 gallons to start.

 

[ACbrewer]

I'm reading more on the recipe and it's instructions. It wants me to place 3 gallons of water in my fermenting bucket and only boil 3 gallons with which to mix the mash and hops. I have an 8 gallon stock pot, would I gain anything by doing a full 6 gallon boil instead?

As noted better hop utilization (meaning more bitter for the oz, not much but).. AND, the whole boild gets mixed, When you take your OG, you own't have to worry about 'did the water mix with the wort' because you did a full boil. Does the mixing matter? not really, as your beer will mix while fermenting, but it makes it harder to get an accurate OG measure if you don't have everything mixed well at the start.

A lot of people say that was a big improvement in their finished beers was from using full boils.

Problems with full boil - 1 now you have to HEAT5.5 gallons of water, not 3 - if you are on an electric stove you may or may not be able to do this. I can't so I don't do full boils Problem 2, you have to cool 5.5 gallons to about 70F or 65F to pitch your yeast - well just use more ice!

 

[cannman]

Ahhhh! Ok this is all coming together and making more and more sense.

First thing to address: the kit in the mail will contain a copper wort chiller. So we're good with the chill issue.

But I am on an electric stove...ouch. Will I be able to get 5.5-6 gallons to boil??? Hmm sounds like an experiment is in order...

Ok. Will filling the 8 gal pot with 6 gal of water only and setting the stove to max be solid enough to determine if a full boil is possible? I ask it in this way with the idea that with the addition of the malts will come a change in boil temperature, right?

-C

 

[Yooper]

Ahhhh! Ok this is all coming together and making more and more sense.

First thing to address: the kit in the mail will contain a copper wort chiller. So we're good with the chill issue.

But I am on an electric stove...ouch. Will I be able to get 5.5-6 gallons to boil??? Hmm sounds like an experiment is in order...

Ok. Will filling the 8 gal pot with 6 gal of water only and setting the stove to max be solid enough to determine if a full boil is possible? I ask it in this way with the idea that with the addition of the malts will come a change in boil temperature, right?

-C

You can try boiling 6 gallons of water on your electric stove. If I were a betting person, I'd bet it won't boil. You can try it with a lid on, but remember you have to remove the lid once the boil starts and keep it off. Water alone won't have much of a difference in temperature than wort will, so it's a good indicator of whether your stove can do it or not.

 

[djfriesen]

Is a propane burner an option where you live?

 

[cannman]

Is a propane burner an option where you live?

Yes it is but I don't own one... I knew id eventually want to buy one, but I'm trying to keep my initial investment in check... I hear there are solid cheap ones for $30 at the swap meets

 

[davis119]

i have tried on a stove it took forever to boil 3gl
not worth the time

go to lowes or depot and see if u can find a turkey fryer for 50$ and then u have a burner and an extra pot for sparge water once u start partial mashes or all grain

 

[unionrdr]

Also,that recipe with an OG of 1.045 won't need 2 packets of yeast. Yeast packets nowadays average 11-15 grams,so 2 aren't needed. Not to mention that it is possible to overpitch. A 2.5-3 gallon boil with late extract additions will work fine.

 

[bluemoose]

Cann,

I might suggest you go to the redemption center and ask to buy some bottles from them. If you give them twice what they give the public, it is a great deal for both of you. That is the only way I was able to get the 22oz bottles I needed before I went to kegging.

 

[gladius270]

For what it's worth, I am working with a 4 gallon kettle on an electric stovetop. My first batch has turned out quite good using a 2.75 gal boil with a kit similar to what you are planning for a first brew. I am hoping to acquire a larger pot and go to propane so I can do full boils. I feel that it would be worth it for you to go to the propane burner. The electric stovetop takes forever to boil even 2.5-2.75 gallons of water.

 

[cannman]

For what it's worth, I am working with a 4 gallon kettle on an electric stovetop. My first batch has turned out quite good using a 2.75 gal boil with a kit similar to what you are planning for a first brew. I am hoping to acquire a larger pot and go to propane so I can do full boils. I feel that it would be worth it for you to go to the propane burner. The electric stovetop takes forever to boil even 2.5-2.75 gallons of water.

That's worth a lot actually... It's making me consider dusting off my ol 16 quart pressure cooker for the first go-ahead...

 

[cannman]

Cann,

I might suggest you go to the redemption center and ask to buy some bottles from them. If you give them twice what they give the public, it is a great deal for both of you. That is the only way I was able to get the 22oz bottles I needed before I went to kegging.

It's funny, I told the buds to save their amber pry-offs and I already had one offer to drive the bottles to my work if I needed them RIGHT NOW!

 

[cannman]

Also,that recipe with an OG of 1.045 won't need 2 packets of yeast. Yeast packets nowadays average 11-15 grams,so 2 aren't needed. Not to mention that it is possible to overpitch. A 2.5-3 gallon boil with late extract additions will work fine.

I'm going to look into why the two packs are listed... It's a 2010 edition... Still, you have a point...

 

[ACbrewer]

I'm going to look into why the two packs are listed... It's a 2010 edition... Still, you have a point...

I wonder if the kit included 5g instead of 11gr packets. 2 at5 would make sense.

 

[cannman]

I wonder if the kit included 5g instead of 11gr packets. 2 at5 would make sense.

Yeast is 7.5 g coopers.... Hmm...

 

[Yooper]

Yeast is 7.5 g coopers.... Hmm...

That's not a good yeast- it's got some real "woody" flavors to it that I dislike.

I'd always buy good quality ale yeast in 11 gram packages- nottingham, So4 or So5 for most ales but Munich for wheat beers is good too.

 

[cannman]

That's not a good yeast- it's got some real "woody" flavors to it that I dislike.

I'd always buy good quality ale yeast in 11 gram packages- nottingham, So4 or So5 for most ales but Munich for wheat beers is good too.

Righto. I'll have to swing with it for my first batch. Guess I'd have to experience one day, might as well be now...

 

[cannman]

Ok it's time to start getting ready for brew day! First, I've been reading that I need to bake my aluminum pot in the oven for 6 hours at 350f prior to use. Can someone explain this and what it does or vs what might happen if not done??

Thanks

 

[ACbrewer]

I thought you coudl boil water in it for 1 hour and dump the water. Something about making a layer of Aluminum Oxide on the inside of the pot. I don't know why, just I've seen reference to that. Makes sense that you'd have to bake longer, the air has less O2 per unit volume than water does - I think.