|
So holy crap, its been 8 days since I bottled my first homebrew and I just popped the first bottle. It...it tastes like beer! And good beer! Its quite hoppy but a bit sweet still. Amazing how much the taste has changed in only one week. I can't wait to see how it continues to develop.
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2011 03:31
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 5, 2024 14:01 |
|
|
Quick question- I just bought a Bavarian Hefeweizen extract kit from Northern Brewer that I'm going to make today. The recipe instructions tell me: -At start of boil, put in hops and half the LME -At the 45min mark, put in the rest of the LME and the pack of DME Now, reading the reviews of this kit, a lot of people are saying that to get the color and taste closer to a true hefe, I shouldn't put the LME in (all of it) until the 45min mark. That would mean for 45min, all I've got boiling is water and hops, which seems pretty weird to me? Is it? This will only be my 3rd batch doing extract so really I have no idea.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2012 17:29
|
|
|
Ok, that makes sense. I'd like to keep it on the lighter side if I can, I've certainly noticed so far that regardless of taste you're going to get a dark brew from extract every time. I think I'll throw in half the DME at 60min, then pour all the rest in with the LME at 15.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2012 18:08
|
|
|
indigi posted:Make sure you cut the flame and add the LME first cause the DME will explode over the top of your kettle if the wort's still near boiling. I learned that lesson the hard way, then forgot it and learned it again on my third brew. Thanks, I'll be sure to do that. This is my first time using a dry malt extract so I probably would have done the same thing!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2012 18:43
|
|
|
mewse posted:basically every racking cane has a tip on it so that it's not sucking liquid from the surface on the bottom of the chamber. My first batch my buddy gave me a funnel with a removable screen. When I poured the wort in my fermenter and when I went to transfer to the bottling bucket I used it to filter out the hops/yeast. Dunno if that was actually the right thing to do or not, I figured since he gave it to me I was meant to use it... In the end I don't think it screwed up anything. 
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2012 20:56
|
|
|
mewse posted:i strain the wort when i pour into the primary, that's normal, you're removing the hops and the hot break and cold break. Just to get the last few drops of beer from the carboy that were mixed with the gunk. And is it really necessary to strain it before primary? I don't have a strainer now that I bought my own kit.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2012 21:05
|
|
|
I've got my fermentation bucket in a closet, where my thermometer reads 66 degrees. However, the thermometer on the bucket says its 72, and ideally I'd like to get it down to 68. I don't have a basement or anything temp controlled that I can put this in. Is there anything I can do to drop the temp short of turning off the heat in here? I've even considered sticking it in my drafty window because its a whole 0F outside today.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 20, 2012 17:01
|
|
|
Retemnav posted:Wrap it in a wet towel or tshirt, turn a fan on it. Not terribly accurate, but it'll cool it down. Then you just have to keep re-wetting it every couple of hours... So I guess that's a no then. Welp, moving it next to the window that is covered in ice on the inside. That should do it for a day or two until it goes back up to 40 here....
|
|
#
¿
Jan 20, 2012 17:18
|
|
|
RiggenBlaque posted:Unfortunately, not everyone has enough room for a massive industrial grade restaurant refrigerator What does this keep the temp at? And what is your air temp generally? Might have to do this the next time I want to ferment something below 70, I don't have the space or the $$$ to be buying fridges.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 20, 2012 18:10
|
|
|
Super Rad posted:Since I work from home I took some readings for you: I guess I could still try this method with my current batch as its been less than 24 hours since fermentation began, but for now I've got it near an outside wall and the air temp seems to be 58*, with bucket temp slowly dropping to about 69* right now. On Sunday its supposed to get a lot warmer here and/or I might decide closing the hot air vents in my bedroom was a dumb idea tonight, so maybe I should. I realize all the temp swings are probably a terrible thing for the beer, but hey this being an extract brew and all, I'm just trying to ghetto it up to the max. At the very least I'll try this method from the beginning with my next batch if needed.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 20, 2012 18:32
|
|
|
Ok, I decided to try the water bath technique for my fermentation bucket. Right now I've got it in about 10gal of water at 62*. Googling tells me ideally I should keep the water at 62* if I can for the next 4-5 days or so. I think I should be fine without adding ice for the next couple of days, but I'll be monitoring the temperature to be sure.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 20, 2012 23:15
|
|
|
indigi posted:In the future, you want to avoid rapid (i.e. more than a couple degrees per day) temperature swings as it can cause the yeast to misbehave in a number of ways. Once the bubbling slows down I'd recommend you take it out and let it warm up again, maybe rock the fermenter back and forth a bit to get some extra yeast back into suspension and finish up. Good to know. I got it from 72 to probably 66 over the course of the day, less than 24hrs after I pitched the yeast. What kind of bad things can I expect if I've screwed it up at this point?
|
|
#
¿
Jan 21, 2012 02:27
|
|
|
Ok goons tell me what I need to be doing here because I feel like I'm really loving up this batch. When I left today, the water temp around my fermenter was 64. I put in more ice and off I went. Eight hours later, despite the fact the closet this thing is sitting in is 60 degrees, the water is up to 72. I've been having a really hard time keeping the water temp consistent, should I try to get it back down to 64 or at this point just...let it go? I'm on day 4 and its still bubbling away quite vigorously.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 23, 2012 22:45
|
|
|
Local Yokel posted:That's a lot of heat to come from your yeasties. I can't imagine where it's all coming from. Is it possible your thermometer is poorly calibrated? This seems like the most likely. Its definitely possible, I'm just using a cheapish food thermometer sitting in the water, and another one sitting on the floor near the bucket to register air temp. Since reading the whole discussion about the importance of temperature control I've been rethinking ideas of getting a minifridge to be a kegerator/fermentation uh 'vessel' that would make things more constant. Otherwise, I guess I'll never be able to make something that needs to be cold fermented. Its certainly a learning process because I don't think I paid much attention at all to ferm temps in my first two batches.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 24, 2012 00:46
|
|
|
I have a 4.4cu ft minifridge now that I use as a beer fridge. While doing beer batch #3 I've been thinking that maybe I should get a new minifridge (5cu ft or larger) to turn into a fermentation fridge. Then I was also thinking how rad it would be to build a kegerator and start kegging my beer. But now I'm not sure which I should make my priority, since I really don't have the kind of space or money right now to do both. My options are is: a) turn current minifridge into a kegerator, and not buy a fermentation fridge b) buy a larger minifridge that can be a combo fermentation fridge and kegerator, I just wouldn't be able to use it for both functions at the same time c) throw caution to the wind and turn current minifridge into kegerator, and wait until the end of the school year and buy a used 5cu ft+ minifridge from some college kid moving home What kind of an investment am I looking at for a fermentation fridge? Beside the cost of the fridge it's my understanding that I'd only really need a digital thermostat right? And what size would I need to be able to hold at least 2-5gal buckets at the same time? Scope creep......
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2012 19:26
|
|
|
So does no one sanitize their bottles by running them through their dishwasher once and letting them steam dry? Because thats what I've done thus far, seems pretty easy to me.
Sirotan fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Feb 4, 2012 |
|
#
¿
Feb 4, 2012 20:11
|
|
|
internet celebrity posted:Nothing really. That is, if you're willing to brew in a bag. http://vimeo.com/35571624 Dang, a bag is all I need to go all-grain? And the downside is only that I gotta keep it to 3gal batches? Sign me up! (Thanks for the link, this video is really interesting and informative even though some of their terminology is going right over my head.)
|
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2012 02:34
|
|
|
internet celebrity posted:The only other downside is you're probably going to get low efficiency but you can pad it out by beefing up the grain bill a bit or using a bit of extract to bump it up. I guess this is the part I didn't understand completely. How would I know how much more to use, is it a fixed percentage and/or would recipes tell me that?
|
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2012 02:49
|
|
|
internet celebrity posted:It's something you'll have to play with a bit and experiment with. For instance, in my brew I came up about 15 points short and I think it's because I had a coarse grind, didn't stir the mash enough (had some ~1" dough balls when I pulled the grain out), and didn't mash long enough. Next time I'll get a fine grind, stir really well, and mash for 75-80 minutes. I might boil a little longer as well because I had about 3.2 gallons instead of 3 when I transferred to the fermenter. But hey, it's all a learning process. Guess I'm gonna need a bigger brew pot.... drat there are way too many options out there. And if I get a giant pot I am probably gonna need to finally get a wort chiller. And and and..... Scope creep. quantegy posted:The Biabrewer forum is where I did most of my reading, they have a spreadsheet for calculating batches. Thanks, will be checking this out. Sirotan fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Feb 7, 2012 |
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2012 03:59
|
|
|
beetlo posted:I have the 25' stainless and it is indeed very nice. Thanks, I think I'm picking one of these up right now.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2012 16:28
|
|
|
MomJeans420 posted:That's who I got it from! Off of amazon, but fulfilled by ny brew supply. For everyone else who ordered one, make sure to test it out right away. Well gently caress! I hope mine is awesome like the other posters' and not poo poo like yours. 
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2012 17:48
|
|
|
lazerwolf posted:I do brew in the kitchen but unfortunately my kitchen sink faucet is weird and doesn't have the usual screw on aerator. So unless I brew at a friend's house and transport the bucket back to my place I'm SOL on the immersion chiller at the moment Can you go to a hardware store and see if there are any adapters you can buy? What about some kind of flexible tubing that you can tie on with a compression clamp or something? I used a chiller on my first batch and had a similar issue* but just assumed I'd be able to do one of the two things above once I get my own in. I guess time will tell. *Ended up having to take it in the bathroom where it fit a bit better and hold my hand over the faucet+connector to keep it from spraying water everywhere.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2012 18:48
|
|
|
lazerwolf posted:That's a good idea I never thought of. I'll have to take a picture of the faucet tonight to see if there's anything that can be done. You should be able to unscrew the aerator on the end and take it to some store and see if it will fit in anything. The might be the easiest way to do it.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2012 19:04
|
|
|
Using one of those portable burner things, how quick would you expect to go through one regular sized propane tank?
|
|
#
¿
Feb 13, 2012 20:52
|
|
|
Just bottled my third batch of beer, a Bavarian hefeweizen. I guess I'm getting more efficient at this as I was able to get 49.5 bottles out of it, versus 44 bottles in my last batch. Hoping to go all-grain with the BIAB method next time. 
|
|
#
¿
Feb 16, 2012 02:46
|
|
|
lazerwolf posted:I'm looking for some input on stock pots/brew kettles. Since I found out that I am able to use a wort chiller through my kitchen faucet, I'm looking to step up to full boil Mini-mashing/BIAB until I have the space to do all grain. I have a stock pot that is probably 4 Gallons at the brim. I have a buddy that has a 5 Gallon pot. What size pot should I be looking for to stovetop minimash/BIAB that can also be used for extract brewing? Bonus if I can use it for actual food cooking as well. I'm in the same predicament as you, and I think I've decided on getting a 10gal pot. The only thing holding me back at this point is I haven't decided if I want one with spots already welded onto it for a drain and/or thermometer. I'm thinking yes to a drain, no to thermometer.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 16, 2012 18:47
|
|
|
Fedex, print the shipping label at home, drop it off at an authorized Fedex store and don't say a word to them about it.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 16, 2012 21:38
|
|
|
Angry Grimace posted:Will do. Glad I got the valve. I can barely lift this thing with 6 gallons of liquid in it. Did you buy this online or locally? How much did you pay?
|
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2012 17:22
|
|
|
Scottw330 posted:I finally learned how to wax and label bottles! The wax + charms is seriously slick. Wanna drink that beer.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 25, 2012 04:26
|
|
|
Anybody ever put their beer into a minikeg? Like the ones Bell's puts out: I've got a bunch that I've been keeping for...who knows why (they look cool), but I'm getting kind of sick of them, especially one I have duplicates of. I'm wondering if there is a way I could reuse one with homebrew. Has anyone ever done this? Or if you have any other bright ideas for the minikegs, I'd love to hear it.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 27, 2012 04:06
|
|
|
Josh Wow posted:I've only made one sour beer before but it turned out really well and was easy. It was a Flanders red and I just used a recipe out of Wild Brews. I made an oak aged ale a month before I brewed the Flanders since I didn't want it to really have any oakey flavor but wanted the oak chips since I read the porousness of the wood helps with bacterial growth and I was planning to reuse the oak chips to make more sour beers in the future. This sounds kind of rad, I just moved two days ago and have a year long lease. Might have to think about doing a sour......
|
|
#
¿
Mar 1, 2012 17:49
|
|
|
Cointelprofessional posted:FYI Northern Brewer is having a 15% off sale on all their beer kits right now until the 20th. Use the code: MakeGreatBeer Thanks for this, but I guess everyone else knows about it too, because their site is totally down.  Edit: Welp, now I can get to it. Time to shop! Edit 2: FYI for anyone interested, the promo code doesn't include the yeast or priming sugar, etc that you can add on with a kit. Sirotan fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Mar 13, 2012 |
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2012 16:54
|
|
|
Splizwarf posted:Well, dang; I sort of expected as much. Better get on that tub of water, then! I figured on trying to drop it casually over several hours, looks like I should go more slowly. Good luck with that, I had a hell of a time keeping a constant temp on a hefeweizen I was making, and I was only trying to keep it around 62. I just opened my first one the other day, and while it was good, it didn't taste quite like I had expected. I need to drink another one to know for sure if there are "off" flavors, but my temps were fluctuating all over the place so I probably hosed it up a little. I bought two kits from the NB sale and both are ok for fermentation up to 72, I don't think I'll be able to make anything that ideally ferments at a lower-than-room temperature until I get a minifridge and convert it into a fermentation cooler/kegerator.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2012 21:36
|
|
|
internet celebrity posted:I do 3 gallon BIAB batches (with sparge) in a 5.5 gallon kettle on my stove. I start with 3-4 gallons in the kettle. My grist usually removes around a gallon which brings me down to 2-3 after the mash. When I'm done with the mash I put it in a strainer over the kettle and sparge with the amount I need to bring me back up to 4 gallons before the boil. My boils usually remove a gallon of water in 60 minutes. I brewed this way last Friday and hit 3 gallons on the nose with exactly the efficiency I was planning for, 70%. I love BIAB, it's so freakin simple and easy. Sorry if this seems like a really basic question, Edited cuz I need to study my brewing terminology more. Sirotan fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Mar 15, 2012 |
|
#
¿
Mar 15, 2012 18:05
|
|
|
Er sorry yeah, I got my terms mixed up there. I did mean sparge. But thanks for answering my question!
|
|
#
¿
Mar 15, 2012 18:31
|
|
|
Is there some reason a 'bazooka screen' wouldn't work as well as a false bottom in a cooler? I'm starting to reconsider my idea of doing BIAB and converting a cooler instead. I even have one now (rectangular) that maybe I could convert and still use as a food/drink cooler when I'm not making beer?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 15, 2012 21:29
|
|
|
How do I know how much priming sugar I should be using when I bottle? My first two batches I used whatever amount my homebrew store gave me, and that seemed to work great. Then my third kit I got from Northern Brewer came with 5oz of priming sugar, and after a month in bottles its disappointingly flat (among other issues). I just bought two more NB kits that also came with 5oz of priming sugar, how can I calculate whether this is enough?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2012 13:54
|
|
|
internet celebrity posted:5oz is enough to get good carbonation on batches up to 5 gallons. I actually severely overcarbed my first batch because I used all 5oz even though I only had around 4 gallons at bottling. What temperature are you storing the bottles at? Up until about a week ago I had my heat on, set for 65-70F. And they've been in bottles for 4, maybe 5 weeks at this point.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2012 13:59
|
|
|
TenjouUtena posted:What sort of bottles / capper are you using? Could it be there's not a great seal? Do you get that 'psst' when you open the bottle? I just used the standard 12oz longnecks that I either bought or cleaned the labels off, with your run of the mill caps and a standard kit capper. I don't think it's my equipment since my first two batches using all of the above turned out great as far as carb level goes. There is definitely some pressure in there, I can hear it release when I open the bottles. But when I go to pour there is very minimal/zero head, and just nothing in the way of bubbling going on and it really affects the taste/feel of the beer. I'm not sure how I hosed it up, its got a really great banana nose to it, but its a bit sweeter than I'd like it to be and, of course, is also flat. I had it in primary for a bit longer than I intended, about 3 weeks, and I know I had issues during fermentation with keeping my temps constant, but I don't know enough to be able to say if any of the above contributed to the lack of carbonation. I might get some of the carb tabs and try it on a few bottles and see if it helps. Sirotan fucked around with this message at 17:23 on Mar 19, 2012 |
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2012 17:20
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 5, 2024 14:01 |
|
|
Splizwarf posted:What did you clean them with? Could a little cleaner residue in the bottle have killed most of your yeast? I actually just ran them through my dishwasher without any kind of cleaner (twice, actually, since the first night I got too tired to do it so I repeated the process the next day).
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2012 17:27
|
|