what I learned yesterday about brewing

[brew_ny]

Good Day I did my first brew yesterday I brewed this recipe more or less

Bee Cave Brewery Haus Pale Ale

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bee-cave-brewery-haus-pale-ale-31793/

and I did learn a lot and the brew went well for my first one

you cannot have too big of a brew kettle from what I can tell

I did an extract brew of this recipe with a boil of six gallons of water I thought why not do it in my 32 quart kettle and remembered all the boil over stories

so I used my 64 quart kettle I am glad I did

I learned how easy boil overs can happen and how quickly

I learned why taking the time to set everything up and being organized is so important

things happen very quickly when you are brewing and can get out of hand fast if you are not prepared

yeasties are hardy beasties

I used a couple of packs of Nottingham yeast in a 11 gallon batch I took the time to rehydrate as I waited for the wort to cool the last little bit

followed the Danstar website instructions to the letter all looked good add my yeast to the wort and check back after 30 or 40 minutes nothing

everything was bubbling and foaming before I pitched

so I set the temp on my STC 1000 and put it to bed I was going to just put a stopper in with a 3 piece air-lock

but thought again to all the threads I read on here about cleaning up wort so I put in my blow off tube

well I will tell you glad I did opened the freezer this AM to check before going off to the salt mine

the jar of san star was bubbling ferociously blow off tubes are a good thing

I am glad I posted what I had thought I wanted to brew the 2 lbs of crystal 40 and 1 lbs of crystal 60 would have been way too much

the 1 lbs of 40 was more enough to give my brew a very nice color

thanks to the folks that steered me in the right direction

I was going to brew this

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/apa-recipe-help-advice-etc-my-first-brew-420786/


something I put together with brewing software that I thought looked good but was given the advice below

There are a ton of great recipes around. For your first brew make someone else's proven recipe.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/

the more posts in the recipes, generally the more respected the recipe.

There will be a time for creating your own recipe, but it's better to figure out all the other aspects of brewing first with other people proven recipes.

so I took it I have been wanting to brew since last fall registered here in April did my first brew yesterday

I am glad I took the time to read things that are shared here by other brewers it helped a lot to give me a feel of what it was going to be like before brewing

I was going to brew over the Fourth but was not quite ready I had a few more ducks to get in a row

I got a package on the Fifth from Northern Brewer checked it just to be sure it was all there but really did not open everything should have

went to take an OG reading broke hydrometer, which is a good thing to have more then one of I will pick a couple up today but just check the FG with 12.5 lbs of DME I am sure I should be close to the right OG

Dry Malt Extract it is like working with a giant malt ball

it sticks to everything, it sticks to you, it loves moisture and I thought it was going be like maybe working with table sugar not a chance

maybe I should have went with LME but I have enough DME for about 3 or 4 more brews then hope to be doing all grain

I have a couple of brew kettles now 8 gallons and 16 gallons my big one has a spigot the other one will also in no time

gravity is your friend so much easier to turn a valve then lugging around 11 gallons of burn you hot wort

I will have a chiller for the next brew chillers are a good thing adding ice cold water works but waiting the last few degrees takes forever

over all it went well for me yesterday the sample I tasted was good I like the Cascade hops a lot


thanks to all that keep this place running, thanks to all that take the time to post what they do and how the do it

you all made my brew day


all the best and enjoy the day

S_M

 

[LoloMT7]

followed the Danstar website instructions to the letter all looked good add my yeast to the wort and check back after 30 or 40 minutes nothing

everything was bubbling and foaming before I pitched

Congrats on your first brew now your hooked

Don't worry about the yeast not instantly taking off as that is completely normal. Even when I prepare large starters it is often times 6-8 hours or more before I see any activity.

 

[Captain Damage]

Congratulations. You've taken your first step into a larger world!

With extracts, unless you're way off on your volume, your OG will be within about 0.001 of the calculation/recipe. Don't sweat the lag. Fermentation can take up to 72 hours to start (granted, it's usually more like 4-12).

 

[beergolf]

Congrats.


Brewing is a constant learning process. We all continue to learn everrytime we brew. You did one thing right, you spent a lot of time reading about brewing on this forum. It is a fantastic resource.

Have fun and brew more.

 

[jonnyp1980]

I read all of this. Awesome job I did the same thing when I came to this website. Congrats and post pics of you finished product

 

[brew_ny]

Congrats on your first brew now your hooked

Don't worry about the yeast not instantly taking off as that is completely normal. Even when I prepare large starters it is often times 6-8 hours or more before I see any activity.

Thank you I am indeed hooked

I was not really worried but somewhat surprised the yeast was foaming like crazy

but after I pitched it into the wort I saw nothing

last night when I got home it sounded like there was a coffee pot perking in my chest freezer

Congratulations. You've taken your first step into a larger world!

With extracts, unless you're way off on your volume, your OG will be within about 0.001 of the calculation/recipe. Don't sweat the lag. Fermentation can take up to 72 hours to start (granted, it's usually more like 4-12).

yes a larger world for sure

that's what I thought also my volume was right on, the weight of the DME was right so I did not sweat the load

I did run right yesterday and bought a couple Hydrometers to check the OG

Congrats.



Brewing is a constant learning process. We all continue to learn everrytime we brew. You did one thing right, you spent a lot of time reading about brewing on this forum. It is a fantastic resource.

Have fun and brew more.

This forum has lots and lots of great information and the brewers here are quick to offer advice and help

as with everything in life as I got older I realized we learn all the time

I am already looking forward to my next brew I am planning on brewing something very simple and brew it a few times to to be sure I can repeat it multiple times

I read all of this. Awesome job I did the same thing when I came to this website. Congrats and post pics of you finished product

I will be sure to post pictures of the finished product

I forgot to put in my Irish moss so I will be cold crashing with gelatin


Thanks for all the replies and Cheers

S_M

 

[brew_ny]

I do not like to start a new thread without a need so hopefully I will get an answer here instead

I took a sample today to do a check of the gravity because I did not see any bubbles in the airlock

right now my FG is at around 1.012 I did not take a SG reading because of a broke hydrometer

but I did taste the wort and it was very sweet but not no more

my SG was suppose to be 1.051 with a FG of 1.012

could the Nottingham ate up the sugar that fast ?

I will of course let it go longer and take a reading in a couple of days and watch it a bit to see if there is any activity in the air lock

I tasted the sample it had a touch of malt, a bit of grapefruit and a dry finish

it tasted very nice of course flat but I do not really drink fizzy beers

it is murky as I forgot the Irish moss

but I was going to cold crash with gelatin in the primary

I want to carbonate on of my kegs with corn sugar and do a set and forget with the other one with gas

just to see if there is or is not any difference to me

I am sure I will have more questions thank you all for the help, on to reading about cold crashing


all the best and enjoy the day

S_M

 

[LoloMT7]

From the 11th (brew day) down to 1.012 on the 14th doesn't surprise me. It is still really young I would leave it for another 10 days or so

 

[jonnyp1980]

Fermentation a lot of the time finishes in 3 to 4 days. Sounds like its all good. Agree on leaving it for a bit. Notty rips through sugar like nobodies business so that's normal.

 

[brewkinger]

I do not like to start a new thread without a need so hopefully I will get an answer here instead

I took a sample today to do a check of the gravity because I did not see any bubbles in the airlock

right now my FG is at around 1.012 I did not take a SG reading because of a broke hydrometer

but I did taste the wort and it was very sweet but not no more

my SG was suppose to be 1.051 with a FG of 1.012

could the Nottingham ate up the sugar that fast ?

I will of course let it go longer and take a reading in a couple of days and watch it a bit to see if there is any activity in the air lock

I tasted the sample it had a touch of malt, a bit of grapefruit and a dry finish

it tasted very nice of course flat but I do not really drink fizzy beers

it is murky as I forgot the Irish moss

but I was going to cold crash with gelatin in the primary

I want to carbonate on of my kegs with corn sugar and do a set and forget with the other one with gas

just to see if there is or is not any difference to me

I am sure I will have more questions thank you all for the help, on to reading about cold crashing

all the best and enjoy the day

S_M

Basically I agree with posts since this one but I wanted to give you some of the knowledge that I have gained in my year on this forum.
Starting on the 11th, today makes it 6 days.
Notty rocks!!
Bit of advice is: keep IT (and all yeasts) in their comfort zone for temperatures and avoid off flavors.
Good rule of thumb is big gravity drop in first few days and then it will SLOWLY and UNEVENTFULLY creep down to final gravity over the next 10-14 days. So leave it for minimum of 2 weeks before checking gravity and then recheck 2 days later.
If the readings are the same, bottle or keg it.

 

[brew_ny]

From the 11th (brew day) down to 1.012 on the 14th doesn't surprise me. It is still really young I would leave it for another 10 days or so

Thank you for the reply I checked the FG on the 16th and the 18th and it was the same all three times so for me it is done

all three sample tasted the same to me a bit of malt, some hops and a crisp finish

so I am calling it done I dropped the temp in my chamber to 33 degrees to cold crash it and will be putting in some Knox on Sunday

then into the kegs next Tuesday one keg will be on gas and the other will get priming sugar

Fermentation a lot of the time finishes in 3 to 4 days. Sounds like its all good. Agree on leaving it for a bit. Notty rips through sugar like nobodies business so that's normal.

I am glad I used two packages in this batch and I will be using Nottingham again more then likely on my next brew

I do agree on leaving some for a bit but this Ale is not really complex but one keg will sit to carbonate for a 2 or 3 weeks so it will give me a comparison

Basically I agree with posts since this one but I wanted to give you some of the knowledge that I have gained in my year on this forum.
Starting on the 11th, today makes it 6 days.
Notty rocks!!
Bit of advice is: keep IT (and all yeasts) in their comfort zone for temperatures and avoid off flavors.
Good rule of thumb is big gravity drop in first few days and then it will SLOWLY and UNEVENTFULLY creep down to final gravity over the next 10-14 days. So leave it for minimum of 2 weeks before checking gravity and then recheck 2 days later.
If the readings are the same, bottle or keg it.

I agree with that from all I have read yeast handling is very very important to brewing good beer and controlling fermentation temperature also

so you do not get off taste/flavors from the very beginning so you do not have to work at removing them

I will be sure to update about taste and I am going to be brewing a blonde ale for my next one

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge as it is a great gift

all the best and enjoy the day

S_M

 

[brew_ny]

Good Day all What I learn today is I have much to learn

I moved my brew from my fermenter to my kegs which I bought from Keg Connection and just love

I am so glad I have kegs because if I was bottling today I would have died, I made myself a racking came out of stainless steel tubing which worked well

the beer was so cold when I was putting it into the kegs went to pinch the tubing and it did not stop the flow so I over filled the first one

a little beer spilled looks like a whole lot

I was going to brew a blonde ale this week but there is a few things I want to work on so I will brew next week

I learned paint strainer bag may work as grains but they do not work that well for pellet hops, cold crashing helps and so did the knox gelatin

but keeping gunk out to begin with would have help even more

I ended up with 5 gallons in one keg and 4.5 gallons in another there was lots of gunk on the bottom that I stop there

I should rack this brew into my glass spring water bottles so I could have saw it better and it would have been so much clearer as they say you live and learn

It still is beer and it still tastes great and I can say with all of your help I made it

next one I am sure will be much clear

all the best and thanks for the help

S_M

 

[brew_ny]

well I thought I would post a up a couple of photos of my first brew number two is chugging away

did not get as clear as I had hoped but drank well none the less, I had it on gas at 20 psi for two days at 34 degrees and then a day at 7 psi and it was great went threw a keg in 5 days working on the second one now

did not have a pitcher but the measuring cup works

thank you all for the help

S_M