YANQ (Yet Another Newbie Question)

[Rhuarc]

Ok, several actually. I am going to pick up the ingredients to brew up this recipe this afternoon. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f75/succulent-strawberry-blonde-132423/

There were just a few things I wanted to double check about my methods before I started on this batch.

1) I am fermenting in 6.5 gallon buckets, with spigots. I have 2 of these, one for primary, one for secondary. After secondary I just bottle right from the secondary using the spigot and a bottling wand. Is this a problem? It seems much easier to me to always use something with a spigot to prevent having to siphon. I know that I need to take the spigots apart prior to use for proper sanitation.

2) I built myself an immersion chiller to reduce the wort temp and it seems to work great. After I have cooled the wort down in my boiling pot, should I then pour the wort into the primary slowly or quickly? I have read about oxygenating the wort, and want to make sure that I do this properly. Any suggestions are appreciated!

3) When I pitch the yeast (dry packet) should I pour it into the wort slowly, or just pour it in and then stir the wort up, or doesn't it matter?

4) It appears that my LHBS doesn't have the Saaz hops that this recipe asks for. http://www.cellar-homebrew.com/store/catalog/Domestic-p-1-c-362.html Anyone have any suggestions for a different hops I could substitute?

I'm sure I will have more questions as I go along, but thank you in the mean time!

 

[johnnybrew]

1) You should rack (siphon) your brew out of the 2ndry into your bottling bucket (bucket with a spigot). You want to get your beer away from the yeast sediment at the bottom of your secondary. You don't have to take the spigot apart; just run some StarSan through it and wipe the end of the nozzle with it. Be sure you sanitize everything that touches your wort after you take it off the flame (this includes bottling, etc.).

2) You should aerate your wort as much as possible prior to pitching your yeast. I use a simple method (pour the wort back and forth between two sanitized buckets about 5-6 times).

3) You can toss the dry yeast right into the aerated wort. This will work, but you should consider at least getting the yeast prepared in water prior to pitching. Read this: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html. Once you are more comfortable with things, you should consider making a starter.

4) According to John Palmer: "Tettnang, Spalt, Ultra (some would claim there is no substitute)" (http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-3.html)

When I first got into the hobby I picked up Palmer's "How to Brew". I devoured it and continue to re-read, reference and find answers to my questions. HomeBrewTalk is also an invaluable resource. Folks here are nice, knowledgeable and always willing to help.

Good luck with the batch!

 

[wyzazz]

1) I would caution you not to ferment in a bucket with a spigot. Not only are there more places for "nasties" to hide, the spigot could leak and spill your precious brew out on to the floor. I just replaced a spigot on my bottling bucket this weekend, it was an absolute mess trying to bottle with it dripping like crazy! Pick up an Autosiphon and you'll never worry about siphoning again.

2) You want to oxygenate after chilling, the yeast need that O2 to reproduce. Pour it from a great height, then rock that bucket back and forth splashing stuff around. Whip up some froth with a sanitized whisk or a spoon, or even pick up a SS paint mixer and use your drill. The more O2 at the start of fermentation the better. O2 after fermentation has started is bad.

3) With a 1.058 OG I wouldn't worry about rehydrating your dry yeast. Just pour it in, there are more than enough cells in there to make up for the ones that die.

4) Tettnang, Spalt, Ultra, Lublin, Sterling. These are all possible substitutes.

 

[GySgtLynn]

Learn to siphon the correct way!!! I did my first 3 or 4 batches suck starting the siphon. One day I sat down for about 20 minutes with my carboys and water and learned to do it the right way, this will reduce the chance of infection.

 

[Oldyote]

O2 after fermentation has started is bad

You will want to pay attention to this if you still plan on transferring from your primary to secondary with the spigot. If you just open the spigot you will end up with a lot of spashing and oxygenated beer. If you have the right size tubing you could still use the spigot but use the tubing to run your beer into the secondary. Alternatively you could just skip the secondary and leave it in the primary longer.

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

I brewed this beer a few months ago. Actually I used this recipe as the base and made a few changes, but in theory it's the same. After secondary you want to add 8 lbs of frozen strawberries to another bucket and rack on top of them. After 6-7 days you need to rack off of the strawberries into terrtiary and leave it for another 4 weeks. I used US-05 and did not rehydrate or make a starter. This is the one beer I've made that everybody wants more of. It went so fast. And it really might be the bet best beer I've made yet. But really pay attention to the racking. And when you rack off of the strawberries they are going to look really nasty and moldy. Don't worry about it and don't make a post that say's "my strawberries are moldy, is my beer ruined?" This beer is great. Enjoy it!

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

One more thing, I cold crashed this at 46F for 3 days before I bottled it. I was still somewhat cloudy but I'm not sure how to overcome that with a fruit beer.

 

[Rhuarc]

I brewed this beer a few months ago. Actually I used this recipe as the base and made a few changes, but in theory it's the same. After secondary you want to add 8 lbs of frozen strawberries to another bucket and rack on top of them. After 6-7 days you need to rack off of the strawberries into terrtiary and leave it for another 4 weeks. I used US-05 and did not rehydrate or make a starter. This is the one beer I've made that everybody wants more of. It went so fast. And it really might be the bet best beer I've made yet. But really pay attention to the racking. And when you rack off of the strawberries they are going to look really nasty and moldy. Don't worry about it and don't make a post that say's "my strawberries are moldy, is my beer ruined?" This beer is great. Enjoy it!

Hmm, ok, so correct me if I am wrong here. The way I read the recipe was that you go first in the primary without the fruit. Then you move it to the secondary with the fruit. Then you move it to a tertiary without the fruit. Then you bottle it.

Does this sound right? The way I read what you said is that there should actually be an additional step of fermenting in there somewhere. And when you say "rack off the strawberries" what exactly do you mean? Sorry if some of these are stupid questions, still learning.

Thanks for the other answers and suggestions everyone! I will keep these things all in mind as I brew this batch. I will probably be back a lot in the next several weeks as I take this batch through it's paces!

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

That is correct. There will be 3 vessels used for this beer. Rack (move beer) into primary for 7 days (or until fermentation is complete), rack (move beer) to secondary vessel. I added the fruit first and racked on top of it. After 6-7 days, rack (move beer)into terrtiary (3rd vessel) and throw the fruit away. The hardest part of brewing this beer was waiting. It was so good. And the longer it conditioned the better it got. I save one bottle of everything I brew and the plan is at one year to open it. I'm really looking forward to this one next year.

 

[wyzazz]

One more thing, I cold crashed this at 46F for 3 days before I bottled it. I was still somewhat cloudy but I'm not sure how to overcome that with a fruit beer.

You need to go colder when you cold crash, drop it down to just above freezing. If it's stubborn then add gelatine.