Time to step up - help needed!

[dime1622]

Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster

I've been interested in brewing since about 6 years ago when I bought my first brewing book, but I had just never had the right opportunity. Last Christmas my in-laws spontaneously got me a Mr. Beer, which was really cool and thoughtful of them. However, it's certainly not the kit I would have chosen. I'm doing remodeling work on my house at the moment, though, and so it wouldn't really be possible to keep a couple glass carboys sitting around, so I'll wait for the basement to be done before I step up.

I've brewed three beers - the West Coast Pale Ale, the Vienna lager, and the weizenbier. The WCPA was not so good - it was pretty soapy, so I'm guessing I pitched at too high of a temperature. The Vienna lager was decent, but was pretty thin. The weizenbier was actually on the verge of being good. At least it was markedly better than a domestic light beer

I then did a batch of apfelwein, which will be ready for bottling in 10 days. I'm ready to move on from the HMEs but am definitely not ready for full-grain brewing (both in terms of equipment and experience). So I've been looking at the LME kits from Northern Brewer. I'm thinking of trying a half batch in the Mr. Beer (which would also make cooling the wort in an ice bath easier ). My questions are:

1) I know I could probably ferment in the Mr. Beer with the notches as an airlock and chances are things would turn out okay. I'm thinking, though, that I might fill the notches, somehow put a gasket on the rim of the fermenter to seal to the lid, and buy an airlock that I can install in a drilled hole in the lid. Your thoughts on the viability of doing that?

2) Is it possible to split a LME can and use the 2nd half later? I would worry about having exposed the unused half to the environment, as well as making sure I use exactly half. Does it matter if the LME is exposed? Do I reseal it as best as possible and put it in the fridge until I bottle the first batch (I'm looking at doing something that will only need to ferment 2-3 weeks before bottle conditioning)?

3) I should be fine just using the liquid yeast and utilizing a pitch rate calculator, right?

4) Any other thoughts/tips?

Thanks!

 

[Germelli1]

All of your ideas would work great! The only thing I would be careful with is saving that LME. It is much more prone to spoilage/losing freshness/whatever than DME so I would recommend getting DME next time around if you are planning on storing it! Also try and jump to unhopped extract when you feel comfortable (if you havn't already). The added bit of freedom is fun with hops, plus unhopped extract gets moved more frequently so chances are it is fresher!

 

[dime1622]

Thanks for the reply! The kits I'm looking at are all unhopped and contain both DME and LME. I haven't bought anything yet, just taking this time to get prepared and hopefully order something early next week. I also had that same concern with the LME about spoilage, but I don't know if only 2-3 weeks in the fridge and well-sealed would be okay considering its high sugar content. Maple syrup sure keeps well for a long time even out of the refrigerator so that's what got me thinking.

 

[Germelli1]

Awesome, you are in great shape then! You shouldn't have any issues storing LME for only a few weeks, especially if you are seal it up decently and refrigerate it.

This isn't relevant, I am just curious but are you storing the LME to cut the batches in half?

 

[dime1622]

You got it. I can only make 2.5 gallons at a time, but the kit is for 5 gallons. So I should be able to make all 5 gallons in two batches, only needing to buy another bottle of liquid yeast for the 2nd batch.

 

[Germelli1]

Honestly...take a look at the yeast washing thread on here. Since you would be reusing the yeast immediately, just do this:

Boil a quart of water, store it sealed in the fridge overnight.
After you bottle the first half of the batch, pour the (now) room temp boiled water into ther fermentor.
Let it sit for 20-30 minutes.
Pour into sanatized container
Make some rough calculations for you pitching amounts for the second half and pitch when second half of batch is ready.
Store rest in sanatized mason jar.

Bam: you reused the yeast from the first batch for the second and can store the rest for a later date!

Just an idea since yeast is probably the most expensive part of a 2.5 gallon batch!

 

[dime1622]

I'd still end up throwing half of the yeast out when I started, though, right? The pitching rates would keep me from using all of it. I'd worry about figuring out how much yeast I'd obtained from the fermenter for repitching calculations.

 

[Germelli1]

Well it depends. I ALWAYS make a starter with liquid yeasts to make sure they are viable, and to get them woken up/multiplied. I don't like the idea of pitching straight from the vial even if a calculator says it has enough yeast. I also dont really buy in to the over pitching arguments (within reason), but I always want to make sure my liquid yeast survived shipment or life on a storeshelf.

You can always store the yeast you dont use...or harvest it back from a fermentor (which has multiplied to insane cell counts). Once it settles out it is somewhat easy to get a decent estimate of yeast volume, and thus cell count.

Like I said I don't really believe in over or under pitching unless it is an extreme amount (but you should definitely make up your own mind on these topics!)

This is just a suggestion to help save you some money since I have not bought yeast for my last 34 batches haha.

If you feel more comfortable buying fresh vials of yeast than I agree you should stick with that!

 

[dime1622]

Hmmmm - sounds like I need to go back to Palmer and reread the section on pitching and starters. I like the creativity and the money-savings - I just worry about screwing it up

 

[Germelli1]

Hmmmm - sounds like I need to go back to Palmer and reread the section on pitching and starters. I like the creativity and the money-savings - I just worry about screwing it up

I understand completely! So if you dooooo try this method out, I would have some yeast on hand as back up! I still always have 2 packets of US-05 on hand in case something does go wrong!

And read this thread if you are interested in trying it! https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/

 

[nunyafnb]

Or just use dry yeast packets and rehydrate before pitching. Honestly, I don't even bother rehydrating most times I pitch a packet of dry yeast. Way cheaper and just as good as liquid yeast for most styles.

 

[Germelli1]

Or just use dry yeast packets and rehydrate before pitching. Honestly, I don't even bother rehydrating most times I pitch a packet of dry yeast. Way cheaper and just as good as liquid yeast for most styles.

Yup, I just dump dry yeast in when I use it.

Then I wash it after...not so much to save money, but now I have a sample I KNOW will ferment and with the recent problems with consistancy with some yeast manufactures plus always having it in my house plus saving gas on a trip to the not-so-local homebrew store when that boneheaded moment occurs where i realized I forgot a packet of nottingham

 

[nunyafnb]

Oh, and as far as fermentors, you can always get some food grade buckets (cheap or free from restaurants) or buy some Better Bottles instead of glass carboys, and then you can have full batches fermenting without having to worry about breaking the glass carboys.

And as long as you buy your dry yeast from a place that gets a decent amount of turnover, you can keep a few packets in the fridge for those times when you want to brew. It keeps for a decent amount of time.

I'm lazy when it comes to washing yeast and I have a tiny fridge in my apartment, so I just use a new packet of dry yeast each time. I also have the luxury of being a 10 minute drive from Northern Brewer and a 20 minute drive from Midwest Supplies, so I can always go grab more yeast if/when I run out.

 

[dime1622]

I understand completely! So if you dooooo try this method out, I would have some yeast on hand as back up! I still always have 2 packets of US-05 on hand in case something does go wrong!

And read this thread if you are interested in trying it! https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/

Yes - quite interested. I do want to try that now! Plus, if I try it on 2.5 gallons, I won't be as pissed if I mess it up

 

[Germelli1]

The good thing is it won't harm your current beer...if something does go wrong it will be on a future one so you can drink your woes away

 

[dime1622]

Oh, and as far as fermentors, you can always get some food grade buckets (cheap or free from restaurants) or buy some Better Bottles instead of glass carboys, and then you can have full batches fermenting without having to worry about breaking the glass carboys.

I'm not so much limited by breakable glass but by limited dark, temperature-controlled space and a wife who doesn't want me buying brewing equipment until I hurry my ass up and finish the basement

I don't have a Northern Brewer or similar near me, but I do have a shop that carries a healthy selection of brewing ingredients that I can always run to in a pinch.

 

[Germelli1]

Oh, and as far as fermentors, you can always get some food grade buckets (cheap or free from restaurants) or buy some Better Bottles instead of glass carboys, and then you can have full batches fermenting without having to worry about breaking the glass carboys.

And as long as you buy your dry yeast from a place that gets a decent amount of turnover, you can keep a few packets in the fridge for those times when you want to brew. It keeps for a decent amount of time.

I'm lazy when it comes to washing yeast and I have a tiny fridge in my apartment, so I just use a new packet of dry yeast each time. I also have the luxury of being a 10 minute drive from Northern Brewer and a 20 minute drive from Midwest Supplies, so I can always go grab more yeast if/when I run out.

Haha for me it isn't that the LHBS isn't close distance wise, it is living in a DC suburb where it takes me an hour one way to travel the 12.8 miles to the LHBS if I forget something last minute in the evening

 

[EddieB428]

It's really easy to add a "proper" airlock to a Mr. Beer. I picked up an airlock and grommet at my LHBS, drilled a hole in the lid and stuck the grommet in. Using it as a small secondary right now, not sure if it's big enough to hold a 2.5 gallon batch (I never used a Mr. Beer kit, but I think they make 2 gallons?) to use as a primary though. The highest mark on the side is 8.5 quarts. You may be able to squeeze another 1.5 quarts in there but it wouldn't leave much room for the krausen unless you use a blowoff tube.

 

[duboman]

Not sure about your locale for suppliers but I have been using www.midwestsupplies.com out of Minnesota. All of their kits are top notch and they have over 100 proven Extract kits all generally $40.00 or less with your selections of yeast. I have brewed over 40 gallons of their recipes and each one has turned out great. They are all for 5 gallon batches and use simple 6.5 gallon buckets for fermentation and bottling with 5 gallon carboys for secondary. The amount of time required to do 5 gallons is about the same as 2.5 gallons and you'll yeild a little over 2 cases each batch. Good luck!

 

[gtlaw10]

because i am not a large drinker i have stuck with using my MrB keg and making ~2.5 gals at a time. fyi if you fill the keg up to the L for liters you have 2.13 gals of wort so adjust your abv accordingly.
as for splitting 5 gal recipes, it's totally feasible, LME is fresh can last bfor a couple months in a cool clean environment. however i suggest you check out brewmasterswarehouse as they allow you make your own recipe and add whatever amount of extract you need, i tend to use between 3 and 3.5lbs of lme for an abv range of 5-6.5%. this way you dont have to worry about splitting containers of extract and your recipes cost you $16 before shipping as opposed to ~$25 and up before shipping.
i have never 'sealed' the keg. i rely on the laws of thermodynamics and gases generally to guarantee the sanitized nature of wort, CO2 is denser than oxygen and will sink to cover the beer, excess amountf of CO2 will fill the headspace in the keg and repel air from entering - assuming the keg is in a clean, nondrafty area. it has worked so far for me, i have left beers in the keg for more than 6 weeks before without contamination.

good luck with whatever you choose to do with your new hobby!!

 

[gtlaw10]

BMW also has no problem with me buying 1/2lbs of extracts.