IPA fermenting now. Starting gravity: 1.078 
My heffe should be ready to bottle in a week or 2.
My heffe should be ready to bottle in a week or 2.
What's fermenting now?
- Thread starter TN
- Start date
Water. Wife got me a brew kit for our anniversary (woohoo!!), so I got a turkey fryer (w/ 7.5g aluminum pot) and did a practice run with water today to oxidize it. Boiled a full 7-7.5g in order to oxidize, and it took about 50min. I'm guessing that if I start with some warmer wort as well as only boil 6-6.5g it shouldn't take as long.
Next up was the cooling test, where I dunked the pot into a steel drink bucket filled with water, and put the hose in to continuously add water (I didn't care about the water overflowing and filtering through the deck). I need to adjust how the pot sits in the bucket (was up on bricks to allow water to flow underneath, but left too much of the pot out of the water), but still came down to temperature in about 40min, not bad but should hopefully get a little better.
I'm starting the yeast starter either tomorrow or Monday, and looking to brew on Wed when my wife is home to help out. It's just a simple pale ale from the local homebrew store, can't wait to start!
Next up was the cooling test, where I dunked the pot into a steel drink bucket filled with water, and put the hose in to continuously add water (I didn't care about the water overflowing and filtering through the deck). I need to adjust how the pot sits in the bucket (was up on bricks to allow water to flow underneath, but left too much of the pot out of the water), but still came down to temperature in about 40min, not bad but should hopefully get a little better.
I'm starting the yeast starter either tomorrow or Monday, and looking to brew on Wed when my wife is home to help out. It's just a simple pale ale from the local homebrew store, can't wait to start!
brewed up another ale on friday. Similar grain bill as my last one.
2 row
munich
crystal
chocolate malt
Amarillo and Willamette hops.
I transfered another beer into secondary and dry hopped with an ounce of Willamette.
You guys do know that this coming Saturday is National Homebrew Day, right?
2 row
munich
crystal
chocolate malt
Amarillo and Willamette hops.
I transfered another beer into secondary and dry hopped with an ounce of Willamette.
You guys do know that this coming Saturday is National Homebrew Day, right?
Ordered a bunch of ingredients last week for a batch of Monkeyfest beers.
Rye-IPA:
2-row
Caramel 60L
Dextrine malt
Light wheat malt
Rye malt
Chinook and Columbus hops including a dry hop addition (my first)
Czech Pils:
Vienna
Pilsener
Dextrine
Saaz and Perle hops
Hefeweizen:
2-row
Light wheat malt
Hallertau hops
I'm brewing one of these this weekend and helping a couple of friends brew a mead. Next weekend I'll be brewing the other two and maybe IAB will be coming over to try his hand at all grain brewing.
Rye-IPA:
2-row
Caramel 60L
Dextrine malt
Light wheat malt
Rye malt
Chinook and Columbus hops including a dry hop addition (my first)
Czech Pils:
Vienna
Pilsener
Dextrine
Saaz and Perle hops
Hefeweizen:
2-row
Light wheat malt
Hallertau hops
I'm brewing one of these this weekend and helping a couple of friends brew a mead. Next weekend I'll be brewing the other two and maybe IAB will be coming over to try his hand at all grain brewing.
This is our porter that actually was just sent to a brite tank to condition.
^^^^ No video / picture?
Brewed my first batch yesterday, and aside from a few procedural steps that I'll change for next time, I think it went pretty well. I didn't use a starter (primarily since it was dry yeast, and everything I read online was that it would actually retard the fermentation process), but I did to a full boil outside with the (newly purchased) turkey fryer. Homemade immersion chiller (large bucket with a hole cut in the side that I could "immerse" the brewpot in, with the hose constantly feeding fresh water) didn't work as well as I'd hoped, as it took ~40min to get down to 75deg. Not bad, but think I might have to do a few things differently next time (more ice?). Stirred the pot 3-4 times during the cooling process, since the bottom was cold and the top was hot. Might have to hint to the wife that I need a wort chiller for my birthday...
Was a bit above my target OG (should have been 1.037, but was actually closer to 1.045), but that might have been that I have slightly less than 5 gallons currently fermenting. I neglected to mark the carboy where the 5g mark would be, so didn't add any water after boiling (started with ~6g, and I'm guessing that a little more than 1g boiled off). Since the kit originally called for a 1.5g boil, I'm guessing that I got better utilization out of the hops anyway, so it all might even out in the end (little more body, little more hops)...
Checked this morning and looks like some vigorous fermentation definitely took place during the night (was at 70deg when I went to bed, but has cooled down to 65deg now), but it has since calmed down and is bubbling along merrily.
Looking to move this to the 2nd fermenter at some point, and then brew again in another week / week and a half (once the primary is usable again). My LHBS definitely has a lack of IPA kits (I count *one*), so not sure what's up for the next round. Maybe a wheat? IPA from Northerbrewer? Go wild and crazy and come up with my own recipe? Dunno yet. Only thing I do know is I need to start drinking more so I can save up more bottles. Poor me.
Brewed my first batch yesterday, and aside from a few procedural steps that I'll change for next time, I think it went pretty well. I didn't use a starter (primarily since it was dry yeast, and everything I read online was that it would actually retard the fermentation process), but I did to a full boil outside with the (newly purchased) turkey fryer. Homemade immersion chiller (large bucket with a hole cut in the side that I could "immerse" the brewpot in, with the hose constantly feeding fresh water) didn't work as well as I'd hoped, as it took ~40min to get down to 75deg. Not bad, but think I might have to do a few things differently next time (more ice?). Stirred the pot 3-4 times during the cooling process, since the bottom was cold and the top was hot. Might have to hint to the wife that I need a wort chiller for my birthday...
Was a bit above my target OG (should have been 1.037, but was actually closer to 1.045), but that might have been that I have slightly less than 5 gallons currently fermenting. I neglected to mark the carboy where the 5g mark would be, so didn't add any water after boiling (started with ~6g, and I'm guessing that a little more than 1g boiled off). Since the kit originally called for a 1.5g boil, I'm guessing that I got better utilization out of the hops anyway, so it all might even out in the end (little more body, little more hops)...
Checked this morning and looks like some vigorous fermentation definitely took place during the night (was at 70deg when I went to bed, but has cooled down to 65deg now), but it has since calmed down and is bubbling along merrily.
Looking to move this to the 2nd fermenter at some point, and then brew again in another week / week and a half (once the primary is usable again). My LHBS definitely has a lack of IPA kits (I count *one*), so not sure what's up for the next round. Maybe a wheat? IPA from Northerbrewer? Go wild and crazy and come up with my own recipe? Dunno yet. Only thing I do know is I need to start drinking more so I can save up more bottles. Poor me.
I have an IPA from northern brewer going right now. If inital smell is any indicator.....
It's going into secondary this weekend. I'll keep you posted.
It's going into secondary this weekend. I'll keep you posted.
If you guys are up for all grain, I have a killer IIPA recipe I brewed for Monkeyfest a couple of years ago that I'll share.
I will take you up on this once I switch to an all grain setup. Unfortunately, due to lack of space that won't be for a while
I kinda figure that when I do switch to all grain, I might as well jump up to a larger brew setup anyways. I currently do 5 gallon, and am thinking jumping to a 10-14 gallon setup. Would you advise against this? Any advantages/disadvantages to doing it this way? Other than additional ingredients and larger equipment, is it much more labor intensive to do larger batches? I figure for the time it takes, it'd be nice to get more than just 2 cases of beer per batch.
On one of the homebrewtalk.com threads (either the stovetop all-grain or the partial mash thread) one of the posters was doing a full 5g boil split into 2 batches. So boiling a 5g "partial boil" and then putting 2.5g into each carboy and then adding 2.5g of water so he ended up with 10g total. You'd have to do the math to figure out everything, but otherwise it seemed like a pretty simple way to do it. (although he, was brewing with 2 separate yeasts and then was going to combine them before bottling)I will take you up on this once I switch to an all grain setup. Unfortunately, due to lack of space that won't be for a while
I kinda figure that when I do switch to all grain, I might as well jump up to a larger brew setup anyways. I currently do 5 gallon, and am thinking jumping to a 10-14 gallon setup. Would you advise against this? Any advantages/disadvantages to doing it this way? Other than additional ingredients and larger equipment, is it much more labor intensive to do larger batches? I figure for the time it takes, it'd be nice to get more than just 2 cases of beer per batch.
yea that's an option I'm keeping in mind - splitting into multiple carboys.
Eh...how much do you want to brew at once. I'm equipped to do 10 gallon batches but so far I've stuck to 5s. splitting is a quick and easy way to go, I've also considered a Fermenator but I'm having a hard time justifying the $600 outlay (that's a lot of beer to brew instead).
One of these days I'll drop the coin on a nice brewing sculpture and stainless fermenter but for now I'll stick with what I've got, it just works.
One of these days I'll drop the coin on a nice brewing sculpture and stainless fermenter but for now I'll stick with what I've got, it just works.
uh....I will take you up on this once I switch to an all grain setup. Unfortunately, due to lack of space that won't be for a while
I have NO SPACE in my apartment and do all grain. 5.5 gallon batches. two pots on the stove. I have a mash tun I made from a cooler that I already had. All I had to do was buy another five gallon pot.
Here are some great links of others who brew in small spaces.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/apartment-ag-brewing-18604/
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/anyone-else-brewing-out-apartment-my-story-115106/
I suggest jumping into all grain. It's really easy, it's fun and it's possible to do with very little equipment.
Allow me to add a disclaimer: my girlfriend has determined that we don't have enough space.uh....
I have NO SPACE in my apartment and do all grain. 5.5 gallon batches. two pots on the stove. I have a mash tun I made from a cooler that I already had. All I had to do was buy another five gallon pot.
Here are some great links of others who brew in small spaces.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/apartment-ag-brewing-18604/
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/anyone-else-brewing-out-apartment-my-story-115106/
I suggest jumping into all grain. It's really easy, it's fun and it's possible to do with very little equipment.
Do like we do with bikes, where we just sort of sneak one or two into the apt and hope she doesn't notice. Start doing partial mash, and then just *happen* to get a cooler to help you do that, and then you're golden.
I'm letting this one slide. We're saving for a house, and I've already been given permission (more of requested by HER) to build a full bar and tap setup. 
A maibock is in my fermenter...a Dead Guy Ale clone from Northern Brewer. I hope I didn't fock it up too badly. The recipe calls for 1.5oz Perle hops at 60 min, but I did 1oz at 60 and another full ounce at 15. Stupid.
Am I the only person who doesn't worry when I deviate from a recipe or my results aren't exactly what the recipe says they should be? I see a lot of you guys getting worked up over a few hundredths of a percent on your OG or like IAB here, missing the hop timing and amount. We're making beer here guys, chances are pretty good that whatever comes out the other end of the process is going to be pretty good. Remember, this is just as much art as science. Once you understand what's going on in the mash/kettle/fermenter you need to relax and let your creativity flow.
Have another beer and calm down.
I'm not worried at all...I guess I failed at my sarcasm. 
^^^ Since I didn't bother adjusting my hops when going from a 1.5g boil instruction sheet to a 5g boil, yeah, not too worried. Just:
1) Don't want to fvck it up and get something undrinkable (hardly likely unless it gets infected) and
2) Want to develop some type of baseline to start experimenting from
I also screwed up the only time I've ever tried to brew (~10+ years ago) and ended up with yeast that didn't do much of anything, so I've at least been trying to get it down as accurately as possible this time. So far, so good.
1) Don't want to fvck it up and get something undrinkable (hardly likely unless it gets infected) and
2) Want to develop some type of baseline to start experimenting from
I also screwed up the only time I've ever tried to brew (~10+ years ago) and ended up with yeast that didn't do much of anything, so I've at least been trying to get it down as accurately as possible this time. So far, so good.
So I had vigorous fermentation on my pale ale for 24-36h before all activity ceased. Moved it to my secondary and took a reading, 1.015 which gives me about a 4.0% ABV so far. Think that it might've been a bit warm where I was fermenting, as it got up to around 72-73deg as the cold Spring weather left and the hot Spring weather arrived. Recipe didn't list FG, so I'm just figuring on letting it sit for another week or so (downstairs, a little cooler) before bottling (total 1.5 weeks).
Brewed a Honey Wheat yesterday, and aside from a boilover (thank GOD for brewing outdoors) it went well. Starting gravity was 1.055, which I have no idea is good or not, since the recipe didn't have anything for it. <shrug> Oh well, time will tell. Storing that one in the same cooler place as the pale ale. Fermentation is active, but definitely not as active as the pale ale, which is good since I'm hoping for more of a slow, consistent fermentation as opposed to a fast, vigorous one (I'm guessing that that might've been my problem with the pale ale?).
Brewed a Honey Wheat yesterday, and aside from a boilover (thank GOD for brewing outdoors) it went well. Starting gravity was 1.055, which I have no idea is good or not, since the recipe didn't have anything for it. <shrug> Oh well, time will tell. Storing that one in the same cooler place as the pale ale. Fermentation is active, but definitely not as active as the pale ale, which is good since I'm hoping for more of a slow, consistent fermentation as opposed to a fast, vigorous one (I'm guessing that that might've been my problem with the pale ale?).
Bottled my bavarian weiss yesterday - turned out right around 7% abv, smells great too
racked my IPA into secondary - currently sitting at 7%. Might creep up a little bit more during secondary? Needs a month so we'll see.
racked my IPA into secondary - currently sitting at 7%. Might creep up a little bit more during secondary? Needs a month so we'll see.
Recipe sucked, actually. Very little information on it (no OG, no FG), and stated that you should do a 1.5g boil... No advice on transferring to a secondary, but was told that you could do it anytime after the primary vigorous fermentation took place and the foam had dissipated back into the wort. Brewed on Wed, by Thurs morning fermentation was very active, by Friday morning fermentation had stopped (almost stopped?), and the foam had receded. There was no change between then and Sunday.
However, my storage place for it (upstairs) had warmed up from the 65-68deg when I put it up there to 72-74deg (spring and sunny weather arrived) and was looking to get warmer, so I figure that while I as moving it (and replacing the blow-off tube with an airlock, I might as well siphon it into the smaller carboy. <shrug> Oh well, guess I'll just wait and see. Theoretically since the active yeast is still suspended in the beer it shouldn't matter if I transfer it, correct?
I mentioned this in today's GMT but not all of you snobs read it, so I'll repeat myself. I went to a beer fest this past Saturday and one of the "brewers" was MICHELOB. 
But get this: They were handing out free half ounce packs of Hallertau hop leaves! I snagged two ounces worth. Those will make for some good dry hoppin'. HOORAY Michelob?
So I took a sample of their amber bock, tried a sip, then dumped it.
But get this: They were handing out free half ounce packs of Hallertau hop leaves! I snagged two ounces worth. Those will make for some good dry hoppin'. HOORAY Michelob?So I took a sample of their amber bock, tried a sip, then dumped it.
You should only transfer to a secondary when the primary fermentation is finished. You can only tell when primary is finished by taking gravity readings. Krausen falling doesn't always mean it's done. Trust in the hydrometer.
It still matters - there's a lot of active yeast that's in that cake on the bottom. If you transfer too soon, you might not have enough yeast to complete the fermentation, and often not enough for them to clean up after themselves.
A secondary fermenter isn't typically for fermenting - it's just to allow crap to settle out of the beer. The fermentation should be done before you transfer. Take 2-3 hydrometer readings over 2-3 days and make sure it's not still fermenting.
That said... it'll probably be okay.
No, wait, scratch that. Bottle it and ship it to me for safe disposal. It's probably terrible. I'll flush it right down the toilet after safe processing through my liver.
The past 3 beer fests we've gone to have had a Michelob booth and a Budweiser booth. I can't believe how popular they are. Why do you pay $35 for a ticket and then drink Budweiser? DO YOU PEOPLE KNOW HOW MUCH BUDWEISER YOU CAN BUY FOR $35??I went to a beer fest this past Saturday and one of the "brewers" was MICHELOB.
Freakin' score on the hops, though
Most of the time they're not brewery reps, just employees of the wholesaler who is required to rep the brand at festivals in exchange for product discounts, trucks, etc. It's kind of like that whole payola thing that hit radio a couple of decades ago.
My $0.02 The bulk of fermentation for ales, assuming a healthy start, is over in 3-5 days.
A secondary isn't a requirement, but it can help eliminate some undesirable flavors. A lot of homebrewers point at the commercial cylindroconical tank and say we're not doing a secondary, but the difference is that we're dumping that cake sitting on the bottom very early in the conditioning process. Think about it, why would ale yeast settle to the bottom in a nutrient rich environment? It's usually not very healthy. Unhealthy yeast dies, dead yeast lyses, lysed yeast tastes and smells like meat (check a can of Spam and you'll see "autolyzed yeast extract" as a flavor additive).
There's a ton of reasons for sluggish fermentations: poor wort aeration, too little yeast pitched, low FAN level, etc.
The longest line at this last beerfest was the Corona booth. BikeGeek is right though in that the macro booths were run by distributors and were labeled as such. I'm used to seeing long lines for Long Trail and Magic Hat, but not Corona.The past 3 beer fests we've gone to have had a Michelob booth and a Budweiser booth. I can't believe how popular they are. Why do you pay $35 for a ticket and then drink Budweiser? DO YOU PEOPLE KNOW HOW MUCH BUDWEISER YOU CAN BUY FOR $35??
Freakin' score on the hops, though
I got my first tastes of Sapporo and Molson Canadian at this fest. Holy cow were those steaming piles of crap.
Thanks BV, I figure that at the very least I'll end up with a ~4.5% pale ale that so far doesn't taste too bad. Was a little bitter, but it should mellow out in the next couple weeks. The Krausen on the honey wheat is up to the airlock... Thought there'd be enough room to not need the blow off tube, but guess not (5g in a 6g carboy). Nothing's gotten in it yet, so will keep my fingers crossed. Definitely looks like the yeasties like the 2lbs of honey I put in.
Dante- your beer will be fine.
Lots of people believe that leaving the beer on the yeast cake for 3 or 4 weeks is a good thing. It does go against what many have been told in the past though, that we need to get that beer off the dead yeast.
I have found my beer (amber, pale ale, stouts and porters) to be better tasting when I leave them in the primary for 3 weeks. Some say the yeast has some 'cleaning up' to do, even after the fermentation is done.
I have a Brew Your Own magazine that did a study on this. They left the beer in primary for 4 weeks and brewed the same beer at the same time, but secondaried after 2 weeks. No one said the longer primaried beer was worst tasting, most said it tasted better.
There are a billion ways to make good beer..... rdwhahb.
Lots of people believe that leaving the beer on the yeast cake for 3 or 4 weeks is a good thing. It does go against what many have been told in the past though, that we need to get that beer off the dead yeast.
I have found my beer (amber, pale ale, stouts and porters) to be better tasting when I leave them in the primary for 3 weeks. Some say the yeast has some 'cleaning up' to do, even after the fermentation is done.
I have a Brew Your Own magazine that did a study on this. They left the beer in primary for 4 weeks and brewed the same beer at the same time, but secondaried after 2 weeks. No one said the longer primaried beer was worst tasting, most said it tasted better.
There are a billion ways to make good beer..... rdwhahb.
mmmm beer.
like has been said, timing is flexible. Lately I have been doing 2 weeks of primary. The bavarian weiss recipe I used called for 2 weeks of secondary, but I gave it 3. I have an IPA going - I gave it 2 weeks in primary, and recipe calls for a month in secondary. If I can't rack it right at 4 weeks, its no biggie if it sits in there for 5 weeks.
like has been said, timing is flexible. Lately I have been doing 2 weeks of primary. The bavarian weiss recipe I used called for 2 weeks of secondary, but I gave it 3. I have an IPA going - I gave it 2 weeks in primary, and recipe calls for a month in secondary. If I can't rack it right at 4 weeks, its no biggie if it sits in there for 5 weeks.
Thanks BikeGeek, also had read that in How to Brew (2-6 days, as soon as primary fermentation is winding down with 1-5 bubbles every minute or so, Krausen falling back into the wort, etc). Since my pale ale has to condition for another week or two, I'm either going to be transferring my honey wheat after fermentation, *or* I'll just leave it in the primary and bottle straight from there. Won't be as clear, but then again it's a wheat beer, so who cares?
Also found out that even with 5g of wort in a 6g carboy, a blow-off tube is necessary. The airlock got clogged last night, so cleaned it out, refilled with sanitizer and within 20min it was clogged again. Pulled it out and switched to a blow-off tube, and there's definitely a decent amount of sediment in the tube. Plus side is that now all of the clothes in my closet smell like beer!!
Also found out that even with 5g of wort in a 6g carboy, a blow-off tube is necessary. The airlock got clogged last night, so cleaned it out, refilled with sanitizer and within 20min it was clogged again. Pulled it out and switched to a blow-off tube, and there's definitely a decent amount of sediment in the tube. Plus side is that now all of the clothes in my closet smell like beer!!
that's why i got a 6.5 gal carboy
Doubt an extra half-gallon of head space would've made any difference. There's sediment in the blow-off tube probably 6-7" higher than the top of the carboy... Like I said before, those yeasties must really, really liked the 2lbs of honey. It's subsided a little bit and is back to bubbling merrily, but that could be due to cooler temperatures overnight.
ah durr, honey is predominantly sugar.