beer The FineExampl Homebrew Project

[fineexampl]

Don't know, not much info to go by. What temp did you mash at, did you add the extract with the grains (no-no), what temp did you boil at, what point did you add the hops, what temp did you cool it to before putting it in the fermentor and for god's sake, please tell me you throughtly sanatised EVERYTHING!

160-170 degrees with the grains for 30min.
than up to 200 and added the extracts and the sugar and added hops at boiling.
at 45min added finishing hops and turned off the heat for a little rest followed by a light for for the remaining 15.
chilled to about 70 and strained to the fermenter with the dry hops and took the hydrometer reading.

 

[imaguitargod]

160-170 degrees with the grains for 30min.
than up to 200 and added the extracts and the sugar and added hops at boiling.
at 45min added finishing hops and turned off the heat for a little rest followed by a light for for the remaining 15.
chilled to about 70 and strained to the fermenter with the dry hops and took the hydrometer reading.

Ok, now the nit picking, 160-170 IS WAAAAYYYY to high for mashing (you'll be lucky if you got any conversion at all), you generally want to be 143-155 F range depending on how dextrinous you want the wort. When you are ready to add the extract, pull it off the flame and then add the extract (this helps to prevent boil overs), stir in the extract to disolve, then back onto the flame.

Bump it up to boiling (212 F generally) and add you hops then (unless you are using LME with hops added already). Boil however long you feel nessicary for the recipe. When finished boiling, cool immedietly (unless you are doing a last minute hop addition for aroma, then you want to wait about 5 minutes). The faster you get to 70 F or less, the better.

Place it in you sanatised (you never said if you sanatized....you better have sanatized...have I mentioned you should sanatize? You NEED to sanatize...like everything....all the time...) fermentor and airerate the shit out of it then add your yeast.

After it's about done fermenting, rack it into a secondary fermentor (you are going to want to get it off that yeast cake on the bottom of the fermentor). THIS is when you add your dry hopping hops. The yeast cake (along with the yeast iduring your fermentation stage) will absorb almost all of the dry hopping flavor you are looking to achive.

But, please, continue to brew, read some more, hit up the forums, and always ask questions. We love to answer them.

Aslo, be careful with the home made airlock, they clog easly if the krausin get's up in there and then your fermentor will explode

 

[fineexampl]

Ok, now the nit picking, 160-170 IS WAAAAYYYY to high for mashing (you'll be lucky if you got any conversion at all), you generally want to be 143-155 F range depending on how dextrinous you want the wort. When you are ready to add the extract, pull it off the flame and then add the extract (this helps to prevent boil overs), stir in the extract to disolve, then back onto the flame.

Bump it up to boiling (212 F generally) and add you hops then (unless you are using LME with hops added already). Boil however long you feel nessicary for the recipe. When finished boiling, cool immedietly (unless you are doing a last minute hop addition for aroma, then you want to wait about 5 minutes). The faster you get to 70 F or less, the better.

Place it in you sanatised (you never said if you sanatized....you better have sanatized...have I mentioned you should sanatize? You NEED to sanatize...like everything....all the time...) fermentor and airerate the shit out of it then add your yeast.

After it's about done fermenting, rack it into a secondary fermentor (you are going to want to get it off that yeast cake on the bottom of the fermentor). THIS is when you add your dry hopping hops. The yeast cake (along with the yeast iduring your fermentation stage) will absorb almost all of the dry hopping flavor you are looking to achive.

But, please, continue to brew, read some more, hit up the forums, and always ask questions. We love to answer them.

Aslo, be careful with the home made airlock, they clog easly if the krausin get's up in there and then your fermentor will explode

while i do appreciate the input (and keep it coming) i was following a recipe from an experienced brewshop, so i won't take credit for it.

as far as the sanitizing, fear not, i'm very experienced in that area. no need to worry there. nothing went into the brew that wasn't sanitized. had a few near misses, but it ended up alright.

Oh and she's begun to burp in case i didn't mention it. fermentation has officially begun. so far so good.

I'd like this brew to end up correctly or at best drinkable. The next brew will be the surefire winner. I'm positive about that. the mistakes i made on this brew will make #2brew better.

 

[imaguitargod]

I'd like this brew to end up correctly or at best drinkable.

It's probably going to be no where what you were aiming for, but it'll still be drinkable (probably way on the sweet end). Don't worry, even infected batches are still drinkable Which reminds me of a tip, never throw out a "bad" batch of beer. Bottle it and let it sit, time heals all.

 

[fineexampl]

It's probably going to be no where what you were aiming for, but it'll still be drinkable (probably way on the sweet end). Don't worry, even infected batches are still drinkable Which reminds me of a tip, never throw out a "bad" batch of beer. Bottle it and let it sit, time heals all.

Oh yeah, definitely will see it through. If it's not that great, but uneducated beer drinkers wouldn't notice, than i just got 2 cases of gifts. I'm positive about the beer kit i made later in the evening though. That should be spot on, if a little on the sweet side as well.

One thing i did learn is that i could easily scale back a batch and possible make a tiny 2 gallon brew if need be.

So tonight i'm revisiting the homebrew place again. Seeing as how i've found a pot i can borrow and use anytime, that can wait on buying. $40 or so saved there. I like the buckets i have, but i'm modifying them with spigots so as to limit how much time the wort is exposed to the elements before locking.

Shopping list for tonight:
spigot(s)
bottle capper
bottle caps (hopefully get some unused soda caps just for fun)
replacement fermentation locks and bung to match
price checking on wort chillers while i'm there (won't need it yet)

IGG, maybe you can give me input here. Instead of a siphon, i have a drill pump i may use instead. Am i crazy in thinking i could get a few feet of "garden hose" and fittings and sanitize it properly? I saw garden hose wort chillers for sale last week. I was thinking this might be a good, clean way to move wort from one unit to another quickly with little to no mess.

I might try my habanero beer this weekend. I'm scared though. lol it's been sitting for over a month conditioning (almost 2months) and if it's anything like my hab-vodka, i'm screwed. If it sucks, it might make a nice sausage boil medium.

Oh BTW...the supply shop i go to has one of those frequent buyer cards. Any time you buy a complete recipe, you get a stamp. Five stamps and the 6th recipe is half off. Nice!

Also...brewing demonstration at the same place (The Brewer's Apprentice) this Sunday followed by cookout and homebrews. Demo is free, food is $10. I'm in!

 

[SumOfMyBits]

RDWHAHB - Relax don't worry have a home brew.

Skimmed through this post and everything seemed to be done right. Nice grain bag by the way. My last brew was a steam beer and it was the first time I used a grain bag. Seems to be an easier method than using a cooler as a masher. And there's no need to worry about the temp you held with the grains.

 

[SumOfMyBits]

Oh yeah, definitely will see it through. If it's not that great, but uneducated beer drinkers wouldn't notice, than i just got 2 cases of gifts. I'm positive about the beer kit i made later in the evening though. That should be spot on, if a little on the sweet side as well.

One thing i did learn is that i could easily scale back a batch and possible make a tiny 2 gallon brew if need be.

So tonight i'm revisiting the homebrew place again. Seeing as how i've found a pot i can borrow and use anytime, that can wait on buying. $40 or so saved there. I like the buckets i have, but i'm modifying them with spigots so as to limit how much time the wort is exposed to the elements before locking.

Shopping list for tonight:
spigot(s)
bottle capper
bottle caps (hopefully get some unused soda caps just for fun)
replacement fermentation locks and bung to match
price checking on wort chillers while i'm there (won't need it yet)

IGG, maybe you can give me input here. Instead of a siphon, i have a drill pump i may use instead. Am i crazy in thinking i could get a few feet of "garden hose" and fittings and sanitize it properly? I saw garden hose wort chillers for sale last week. I was thinking this might be a good, clean way to move wort from one unit to another quickly with little to no mess.

I might try my habanero beer this weekend. I'm scared though. lol it's been sitting for over a month conditioning (almost 2months) and if it's anything like my hab-vodka, i'm screwed. If it sucks, it might make a nice sausage boil medium.

Oh BTW...the supply shop i go to has one of those frequent buyer cards. Any time you buy a complete recipe, you get a stamp. Five stamps and the 6th recipe is half off. Nice!

Also...brewing demonstration at the same place (The Brewer's Apprentice) this Sunday followed by cookout and homebrews. Demo is free, food is $10. I'm in!

BTW, I find a wort chiller unnecessary for half mash recipes. If you are boiling and hoping in a 2 gal (plus all the extract) concentrated form, you can pour this into a fermentor that already has 2 gal. of near ice-cold water already waiting. (I use a glass carboy and the cold water is really to absorb the thermal shock of adding hot wort, but it is an effective cool-down process nonetheless.) Then top up to your 5 gal with more cold water. I like to splash the hell out of everything I pour into the fermentor... cold water, hot wort... this is my oxygenation technique simple, easier than shaking your fermentor for an hour, and I've never had a bad batch after a year and a half @ 20+ batches

 

[SumOfMyBits]

Oh yeah, definitely will see it through. If it's not that great, but uneducated beer drinkers wouldn't notice, than i just got 2 cases of gifts. I'm positive about the beer kit i made later in the evening though. That should be spot on, if a little on the sweet side as well.

One thing i did learn is that i could easily scale back a batch and possible make a tiny 2 gallon brew if need be.

So tonight i'm revisiting the homebrew place again. Seeing as how i've found a pot i can borrow and use anytime, that can wait on buying. $40 or so saved there. I like the buckets i have, but i'm modifying them with spigots so as to limit how much time the wort is exposed to the elements before locking.

Shopping list for tonight:
spigot(s)
bottle capper
bottle caps (hopefully get some unused soda caps just for fun)
replacement fermentation locks and bung to match
price checking on wort chillers while i'm there (won't need it yet)

IGG, maybe you can give me input here. Instead of a siphon, i have a drill pump i may use instead. Am i crazy in thinking i could get a few feet of "garden hose" and fittings and sanitize it properly? I saw garden hose wort chillers for sale last week. I was thinking this might be a good, clean way to move wort from one unit to another quickly with little to no mess.

I might try my habanero beer this weekend. I'm scared though. lol it's been sitting for over a month conditioning (almost 2months) and if it's anything like my hab-vodka, i'm screwed. If it sucks, it might make a nice sausage boil medium.

Oh BTW...the supply shop i go to has one of those frequent buyer cards. Any time you buy a complete recipe, you get a stamp. Five stamps and the 6th recipe is half off. Nice!

Also...brewing demonstration at the same place (The Brewer's Apprentice) this Sunday followed by cookout and homebrews. Demo is free, food is $10. I'm in!

Also, not quite sure by what you mean by garden hose wort chiller. I wouldn't run ANYTHING through something that wasn't food grade. Maybe you are referring to copper tubing inside of a garden hose... running hot wort through the copper tubing and cold water through the garden hose in the opposite direction (counter-flow wort chiller). A copper tubing immersion chiller would be my first try. edit: but that's only when I sack up and go all grain.

 

[fineexampl]

BTW....any favorite recipes you guys want to post here, by all means, feel free. I'm likely to choose a friend's recipe than a store's recipe.

and thanks Sum, it's good that i'm getting the other brewers' input. you can't get that in a book.

i'm less excited about this first batch than i am totally thrilled to be rid of it and make a 2nd batch. Next batch will be a wheat/wit/hefewiezen or other Belgian style ale.

 

[SumOfMyBits]

Papazian's The complete joy of homebrewing is considered the beginner's bible.

Dave Miller's Homebrewing guide explains the more advanced processes a little better

Also in the library:
The Homebrewer's Garden Fisher & Fisher

The Compleat Meadmaker Schramm

Microbrewed Adventures Papazian

Designing Great Beers Daniels

Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers Buhner


Frydad4... anything to add?

Agreed: There's nothing like sharing info on this subject... experience cannot be taught through a book.

 

[SumOfMyBits]

For starter recipes:

http://www.heartshomebrew.com/home_brew_beer.cgi?cart_id=9369363.22628*xa2uA7&page=recipe_page.html

download the PDF and print a copy for yourself

We did a Kiwi Wit out of Extreme Brewing Not really a fan of Wit beers, but this was pretty good.

Radical Brewing is a fascinating look into brewing, IMO

Your own daring is the limit to recipes after these two reads.

Edit: there's nothing wrong with tweaking a store's recipes and calling it your own. Eventually this ends up happening by accident anyway... thanks to the HB you're drinking while making its replacement.

 

[SumOfMyBits]

5 Gal. C-Keg and CO2

worth it if you can pony up the dough, IMHO

 

[cheezydemon]

Your first "while brewing" post stated that you boiled the grains....I hope you didn't mean that!

As for the temps, even though you had 1/3 lb or so of base grains, there would be little fermentables from that.

So the high mash temps were actually just steeping the flavor from the grains, so the temps are OK IMHO.

 

[SumOfMyBits]

Your first "while brewing" post stated that you boiled the grains....I hope you didn't mean that!

...

True. I noticed the grain bag is still in the kettle in the picture labeled "Almost Done".
This should have been removed when temps reached 160-170 (pre-boil)otherwise it was a mistake. Make mistakes, learn, and then apply knowledge next time.

Cheers

 

[fineexampl]

True. I noticed the grain bag is still in the kettle in the picture labeled "Almost Done".
This should have been removed when temps reached 160-170 (pre-boil)otherwise it was a mistake. Make mistakes, learn, and then apply knowledge next time.

Cheers

 

[fineexampl]

Put together my secondary fermenter tonight. Way way low budget stuff here. I like it though. Make it more "me". Debating painting the outside of the bucket (outside only) black to minimize even more light. Almost positive i'm going to paint it. Than next time i get some beer stickers, i can put them on there.

I dropped about $25 at the homebrew joint today. 2 ferm locks, 2 matching grommets, a spigot (gonna buy a 2nd one), caps and a capper. The head brew guy was in when i went and he seems pretty cool. I'm swinging by there on Sunday for a brew demo and maybe grab some fresh brew while there.

 

[SumOfMyBits]

Painting the fermentor?... Maybe a good idea you have there. UV light is probably one of your biggest threats to skunking your batch after you get sanitation down to a science. Down here in Miami it's hard to ferment at the recommended temps. (the higher the temp. the more vigorous the fermentation is and can sometimes add flavors that might not normally occur.) To combat this (AND UV light) we fill a Rubbermaid bin with water, slowly lower the carboy into it, and wrap the carboy with a towel (preferably dark). The thinking is that the added water (as thermal mass) will act as a buffer to temp. swings (if the windows are open in the winter), and the towel will wick up the water through evaporation. Not sure if the towel wicking up water and evaporating it is really dropping the temp. (maybe by a degree or two at most), but it gives me peace of mind and is at least doing something to keep the UV out.
RDWHAHB

 

[cheezydemon]

Frozen 2 liters work well to keep a bath cool.

Make sure you use no rinse sanitizer.

My first "band aid" flavored batch was not too long ago. A miniscule amount of regular sanitizer gave the whole batch a band aid like phenol flavor. It just barely covered up the otherwise delicious flavor of the brew, but enough to ruin it entirely.

 

[imaguitargod]

"IGG, maybe you can give me input here. Instead of a siphon, i have a drill pump i may use instead. Am i crazy in thinking i could get a few feet of "garden hose" and fittings and sanitize it properly?"

Never use garden hoses unless it's going into your work chiller. They leech stuff and change the taste.

 

[imaguitargod]

Put together my secondary fermenter tonight. Way way low budget stuff here. I like it though. Make it more "me". Debating painting the outside of the bucket (outside only) black to minimize even more light.

Don't pain it. Cover it with a sweater or a black trash bag. Also, remmeber, plastic breaths so it's not best to use plastic (especially for a secondary fermentor as O2 will eventually leek into your beer and oxidize it)