What are some things I should expect?

[ab4uk74]

So, my first ever batch is in the bottle. Anxious is an understatement. I was hoping someone could tell what to expect because I had some steps in the process that didn't go perfectly right.

5 gallon Northern Brewers Caribou Slobber

1. Water boils at 212 F but I could only get my water with specialty grains up to 207 F. It was steaming but not boiling when I added the first round of hops. When that was added it actually started to boil.

2. I forgot to take an SG reading...(I blame it on the beer I was drinking at the time of brewing)

3. I used a space heater to control the temp in the room I would place my primary in. However, I didn't know that the thermostat on said space heater was broken so even though I set the temp at 72 F before I went to bed when woke up the next morning I found the room temp to be 86 F and my airlock looked like it was boiling. I adjusted the temp to get it back to 70 F and the next morning there were no bubbles. I opened the lid and saw there were still lots of bubbles on the surface so I closed it back up.

4. After one week there was no bubbling on the surface so I racked to a secondary and took a gravity reading of 1.024. 5 days later I took another gravity reading and it was still 1.024 so I decided to go ahead and bottle.


Some things I think might happen.

-lower than anticipated ABV%
-over carbonation
-exploding beer bottles

Any suggestions or ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[baptistbrewer]

Hey well a couple things. 1. I didn't see your recipe, but I'm almost postive you shouldn't have had your specialty grains anywhere near boiling. When I did extract (is this extract?) I steeped my grains at 150 ish. 2 you won't be able to tell ABV because you didn't take a hydro reading. 3. Your most likely going to have off flavors due to very hot fermentation temps. For ales 65ish is good.

You probably won't have overcarbonination because you FG stayed the same. And thus no bottle bombs.

Sorry to hear about the brewing woes, next time it will go smoother. It will still be most likley be drinkable.

 

[flabyboy]

Ya. Next time don't get your grain over 170. Heat the water to 150-170 and steep them. Remove the grains and bring up to a boil. Your fermentation temps were way too hot. You want your ales in the 60-70 range. That's the temp inside the fermenter, which during active fermentation is 5-10 higher than room temp. Next time cool your wort to 65 degrees, mix really well, take a hydro reading, stir and aerate, then pitch your yeast and try to find a room in the low 60s temp wise. These are all things you will learn over time. Keep reading the forums and brewing. It will go more smoothly in the future

 

[ab4uk74]

Thanks. I failed to mention that I removed my grains at 170F according to the directions and yes it is an extract kit. I have read that time (months) in the bottle can cure a lot of off flavors. Is that true?

 

[birvine]

Thanks. I failed to mention that I removed my grains at 170F according to the directions and yes it is an extract kit. I have read that time (months) in the bottle can cure a lot of off flavors. Is that true?

Time in terms of long enough in the primary (3-4 wees) can help beer.

Time in terms of another few weeks conditioning in the bottles can help beer.

Time chilling in the fridge can dissolve the co2 into the beer, which helps it.

In short, yes. Time is often your friend. When some people are impatient to rush the process they are often disappointed and quit the hobby.

B

 

[A4J]

2 you won't be able to tell ABV because you didn't take a hydro reading.

It doesn't matter whether or not you took an OG reading. For extract brews, it's almost always dead on to what it's supposed to be per the recipe. Take an FG reading while everything is done and then do the math for the ABV.

For future brews, skip the secondary (unless you're dry hopping or adding fruit and the like). As others have suggested, leave it in the primary for 3 to 6 weeks.

 

[flabyboy]

The off favors you'll get from your ultra fermentation temps will probably remain. Lots of esters and probably fusel alcohol can be produced at those temps. But time can cure a lot of issues for sure

 

[Yooper]

Thanks. I failed to mention that I removed my grains at 170F according to the directions and yes it is an extract kit. I have read that time (months) in the bottle can cure a lot of off flavors. Is that true?

No, time can help harsh flavors mellow a bit. But esters and other off-flavors don't get much better unfortunately.

I think that aside from some banana/apple flavors and maybe a little "hot" taste, your beer will be better than you think!