[I Are Baboon]

:huh: FG is the final gravity. I'm not sure why someone would suggest that your pre-secondary gravity is your FG

The instructions that came with my kit just say the FG is the reading you get when it's ready to bottle or move to secondary. I think my issue is that the yeast wasn't quite done when I moved to secondary, so the gravity dropped between primary and secondary.

Thanks for all the info about making a starter. I ordered a yeast starter from Northern Brewer. I figure that a single stage 2 liter starter will do the trick for the 1.065, based on the chart on this page:
http://docs.northernbrewer.com/pitching_rate.html

Here's the yeast starter kit I ordered:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/pics/fullsize/2000starterkit.jpg

I'd like to make the starter Friday and brew Saturday, but I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep swirling the starter since I'll be at work. Maybe make the starter early in the morning and bring it to work with me?

 

[BadDNA]

Here's the yeast starter kit I ordered:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/pics/fullsize/2000starterkit.jpg

I'd like to make the starter Friday and brew Saturday, but I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep swirling the starter since I'll be at work. Maybe make the starter early in the morning and bring it to work with me?

You could've save a little bit of cash and just used an empty growler and the stopper/airlock you already have for your carboy. That's what I do. You can see two of them sitting on the table in this picture:

I'd suggest making the starter earlier too. I usually make mine on Wed night for a Saturday brew or Thursday for a Sunday session. Don't worry too much about swirling it constantly. I usually give mine a few good swirls per day, when I get up in the morning, before I leave for work, when I get home, after dinner and before bed. If you're going to keep using the Wyeast smack packs, I'd smack those and get them ripping a day or two ahead of the time you plan on making the starter.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Hmm. Yeah, it would appear that I probably could have saved myself thirty dollars. D'oh!

The starter is supposed to be delivered Thursday, so I'll activate the smack pack tonight. Smack it tonight, make the starter Thursday night, brew on Saturday.

 

[BadDNA]

Hmm. Yeah, it would appear that I probably could have saved myself thirty dollars. D'oh!

The starter is supposed to be delivered Thursday, so I'll activate the smack pack tonight. Smack it tonight, make the starter Thursday night, brew on Saturday.

Now that you've got the flask though, a stir plate should be your next investment. It'll keep the starter constantly stirred for you.

 

[pnj]

Why make a starter? You still pitch the same amount of yeast don't you? or is it that the yeast is super active at the time of pitching it into the wort?

 

[I Are Baboon]

Why make a starter? You still pitch the same amount of yeast don't you? or is it that the yeast is super active at the time of pitching it into the wort?

I need ~ 243 billion yeast cells for the bourbon porter. A Wyeast smack pack only contains 100 billion. Making a two liter yeast starter will get the cell count up to the 243 billion. My other option is to just pitch a second smack pack directly into the fermenter but that will cost twice as much, still won't be enough yeast, and the lag phase will be longer.

 

[BadDNA]

Just a head's up Phil...the Bourbon you select for that beer has a HUGE impact on the finished product. Make sure you go with something good. I'd also suggest soaking the wood cubes in the bourbon while the beer is in primary. Just throw it all together in a tupperware container and let it soak for a week.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Northern Brewer recommends Makers Mark, so I was going to go with that. I don't know anything about bourbon.

 

[pnj]

So the yeast count increases at first? at what point does the yeast count drop?

I was under the impression that yeast count decreased as soon as you added food (sugar) the yeast started to die....

 

[BadDNA]

I haven't made a batch with Maker's yet but the first batch I did used Eagle Rare 10 year single barrel and the second batch used an Evan Williams Single Barrel. I haven't made up my mind about what to use in the current batch yet.

 

[I Are Baboon]

So the yeast count increases at first? at what point does the yeast count drop?

I was under the impression that yeast count decreased as soon as you added food (sugar) the yeast started to die....

I honestly can't answer either of those questions. I'm just following directions.

 

[I Are Baboon]

I haven't made a batch with Maker's yet but the first batch I did used Eagle Rare 10 year single barrel and the second batch used an Evan Williams Single Barrel. I haven't made up my mind about what to use in the current batch yet.

What was used in the growler you gave teh MBC?

 

[BadDNA]

What was used in the growler you gave teh MBC?

That was Evan Williams.

 

[BikeGeek]

So the yeast count increases at first? at what point does the yeast count drop?

I was under the impression that yeast count decreased as soon as you added food (sugar) the yeast started to die....

One of the first things yeast does when pitched is reproduce. We've seen some strains of Belgian yeast go from 300k cells/ml at pitching, to 70+ mil cells/ml overnight. The yeast count doesn't decrease, but the amount of yeast in suspension does as its capacity to consume sugars ends and it returns to a dormant state.

By making a starter, you're getting a head-start on reproduction so that the yeast can get to work on fermenting your wort sooner. The starter not only guarantees that you're pitching more cells, but, more importantly, that you are pitching more healthy cells.

 

[I Are Baboon]

TOYS!!!

I got two packages delivered today: My Anniversary Ale clone and my yeast starter.

The goods. I'm impressed with the Austin Brewer kit. The grains are already ground and in a sack, and the directions are *very* detailed.

I got my yeast starter going for my Saturday boil. Of course, I underestimated the yeast starter overflow and spilled on the stove top.

Beer = good, fyi.

 

[pnj]

Very nice.

what does making the starter entail?

also, thought you might dig this site, beerrecipes.org , I was checking it out earlier today...

 

[I Are Baboon]

Very nice.

what does making the starter entail?

also, thought you might dig this site, beerrecipes.org , I was checking it out earlier today...

The starter is easy. Real easy. Boil some water, add DME, boil for 15 minutes, pour into a container, chill, add yeast, cover and wait a day.

 

[I Are Baboon]

You could've save a little bit of cash and just used an empty growler and the stopper/airlock you already have for your carboy. That's what I do. You can see two of them sitting on the table in this picture:

It doesn't look like there is any krausen in your starter. Mine doesn't have any either this morning. I kind of thought there would be though like there is in a fermenter. A HUGE head forms though and the water in the airlock goes nuts when I give the flask a good swirl.

 

[BadDNA]

It doesn't look like there is any krausen in your starter. Mine doesn't have any either this morning. I kind of thought there would be though like there is in a fermenter. A HUGE head forms though and the water in the airlock goes nuts when I give the flask a good swirl.

Some do, some don't. It depends a lot on the yeast strain.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Some do, some don't. It depends a lot on the yeast strain.

So how much bourbon do you add to your bourbon porters and how big are the batches? The Northern Brewer instructions say to add 16 ounces to secondary fermentation for a five gallon batch.

 

[BadDNA]

That's it. I used their kits for the first two batches I made and tweaked it a bit for the current batch. I'm making 5gal batches and I'm using 16oz.

 

[I Are Baboon]

OK, last night and this morning I gave the starter a real good swirl. No problem. Well apparently the little yeasts were real busy today because I just gave it another good swirl and the airlock damn near got blown off by CO2. Now there is some starter liquid in the airlock, which I doubt is a problem. HOORAY YEASTIES!

 

[I Are Baboon]

I brewed the bourbon barrel porter this morning. Everything went real smooth.

Kitty keeping guard. And shedding on my bike clothes.

 

[I Are Baboon]

This morning I switched out an airlock for a blowoff tube. Krausen had completely filled the top of the fermenter and was getting into the airlock. I made the switch just in time because now there is krausen in the blowoff tube. Pics will follow if it gets interesting.

 

[Arutha]

Welcome to homebrewing!

I wanted to give you guys this.

www.mrmalty.com

There's a calculator to assist in yeast starters or even how much dry yeast to use depending on original gravity. Also Fermentis makes some decent dry yeast. The US-05 is pretty much the same as the basic California ale yeast from WL or Wyeast and cheaper. Good for many american styles.

Also if you have city water with a high chlorine content you should filter or use camdem tablets. Don't ask me how much is too much I don't know, my water doesn't need filtered.

Fermentation temps...60s is normally safe for any ale, some do like higher temps(many belgians come to mind) and some you can raise or let raise after the first couple days. The first few days is when you have a greater chance to get some of the less desirable flavors and aromas resulting from high initial fermentation temps. Some ale yeasts can ferment in the 50s as well just slower. Low pitching rates can have similar affects on the beer.

And use a blow off tube, safest to use the large tube like Northern Brewer sells, the tube fits right inside the carboy. Sometimes fermentations can be very vigorous.

As someone else mentioned, remember to relax and have a homebrew, or drink good commercial beers so you have more bottles.


Bikegeek - you work at Troegs? Nugget Nectar is my favorite IPA, keep up the good work.

 

[Arutha]

Well....n00b error?

I tried to attach the bottling tube to the bottling bucket spigot. That worked for about two minutes until the tube popped off the spigot and sent beer flying everywhere, and at a fast rate. Apparently you are supposed to attach that tube and bottle filler to the siphoning hose? I just said **** it and filled the bottles directly from the bucket spigot.

What you don't see in the pic is that my slippers and pants from the shin down were also covered in beer.

I like beer.

I see no problem in bottling from the spigot, that is how I have always done it with no issues.

 

[I Are Baboon]

That mrmalty site was very useful when I was trying to figure out how the hell to make a starter.

I have two Nugget Nectar bombers in my basement if MMcG will ever get his ass over here to get them.

 

[BikeGeek]

Bikegeek - you work at Troegs? Nugget Nectar is my favorite IPA, keep up the good work.

Been working there since March '07, started brewing there in Sept.

Seems like everyone loves the Nugget. I think we did over 2000 bbls this go around and 99% of it was sold before it was even out of the fermenters.

 

[pnj]

I brewed lastnight. Worst brew experience ever. I had a friend over and we were trying to watch a bike video while I brewed. I normally stay in the kitchen and watch/stir.
I had 3 boil overs. then I somehow lost the rubber stopper for my air lock. It was too late to run to the hardware store so I had to make due.

I used the lid from a yogurt container and wax...

 

[I Are Baboon]

^^ Looks like brains or intestines.


I bottled my barleywine this weekend. No spills on the kitchen floor! I'll be enjoying that in six short months. It might be best though if I age it a year or two. It's kind of harsh right now.

 

[pnj]

I made a starter on Saturday for a Stout. I'm bottling my Porter tonight, if the gravity reading checks out OK. then I'll get to brewing the Stout tonight as well. I'll be doing a partial mash with 2 pounds of grain.

 

[Heidi]

my brown is fermenting...hopefully. I've had no action in the airlock at all and it's been in the bucket for a week now(I've checked to make sure the lid is on tightly. In fact, I used a rubber mallet to pound it on so I may never get it off!!!! I can see that it has foamed up inside though. I'm holding out hope because I didn't do ANYTHING wrong this time. I followed directions to a T.

 

[pnj]

Does your bucket lid leak? Mine does....

 

[Heidi]

Not that I can find, it's brand new and if I push down on it then air comes through the lock.

 

[pnj]

I brewed up my Stout last night.

I did a partial mash, so I soaked three pounds of grains at 155 for an hour. Then I rinsed them in 166 degree water and boiled that. I ended up with more liquid then my pot will hold so I had to first, boil some liquid out, then add my five pounds of LME.

My O.G. reading was 1.042 or something. It's lower then I was expecting..
I pitched the yeast at 64 degrees and 12 hours later, I still have no activity. The temp is now at 56 degrees so I will probably move the bucket into a warmer room when I get home later today.

 

[TN]

question.
if a lone dog hair made it in to your wort, would that ruin your brew?

 

[BadDNA]

TN, chances are low but I think it would depend on where you are in the process. I've had batches go moldy after I was meticulous about sanitizing everything. It's always a possibility.

 

[TN]

TN, chances are low but I think it would depend on where you are in the process. I've had batches go moldy after I was meticulous about sanitizing everything. It's always a possibility.

I guess by lone I meant two dozen. cuz i never just find one.

 

[BadDNA]

Okay, stop using the brew kettle as a bathtub for your dog then.

 

[BikeGeek]

I bottled my barleywine this weekend. No spills on the kitchen floor! I'll be enjoying that in six short months. It might be best though if I age it a year or two. It's kind of harsh right now.

Let it age a bit, but keep tabs on it. I found my English barleywine to be best in the 6 to 19 month range. After that I started noticing some oxidation byproducts coming across in the aroma; nothing to bad, or out of style... a bit of apricot, probably from the English yeast. Now, at 13 months, I definitely get some cardboard coming across in both aroma and flavor.