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Hi homebrew thread! I've been lurking for a few weeks and just finished bottling my first batch. I think everything went pretty well! It is an extract-based pale ale (I think), although a bit of the extract burnt when boiling so it's darker than I expected. I think it was also a bit warm (mid-high 70s) for the first day or so of fermentation, but the final gravity came out to 1.012, which is roughly what I expected. The tips and tricks I've picked up in reading you guys have been quite useful, so thanks! I'm already excited about my next batches, although I'm going to wait to taste this one to see how bad my various mistakes were.
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Apr 20, 2013 21:22
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 02:27 |
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I've got a few questions: 1. I've got a mead that is finished fermenting, so I'd like to bottle it. Is there any reason doing it like beer and using a bit of priming sugar wouldn't work? Would the carbonation hold for the several months I'd be aging it? If I were to bottle it as a still mead, so without priming it, how would I protect against oxidation, since there wouldn't be any CO2 produced? 2. I'm planning on making an extract wheat beer for my first non-kit recipe. Does this look reasonable? 6.5 lbs Liquid Wheat Extract (the kind at my local store is 55/45 wheat/barley) 0.5-1 lb Some sort of steeping grains? (No idea what kind) 1 oz. German Hallertau @ 40 min 1 oz. German Hallertau @ 5 min Wyeast 1010 American Wheat Is there anything I'm forgetting?
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May 31, 2013 23:59
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fullroundaction posted:1. Yes, you prime sparkling mead just like beer (assuming you've haven't added anything to kill/retard the yeast). You can buy oxygen absorbing caps to help with oxidation if that becomes a concern. Awesome! Thanks!
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Jun 1, 2013 00:09
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Jo3sh posted:We've got answers. Thanks as well! I do have all the hardware for my purposes - I've got an entire one batch under my belt (that turned out fairly alright). Thanks for reminding me to only boil part of the extract - I was planning on doing that based on what I've seen in this thread, but completely forgot.
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Jun 1, 2013 00:16
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Massasoit posted:Not beer, but I'm trying to make some mead. I recently racked it. It looks fairly clear and I don't see much, if any, yeast action. Is it about time to bottle it or should I let it sit for awhile longer? Additionally, should the place its fermenting in be dark, or does amount of light not matter? I just bottled a mead. It was cloudy for a few weeks, but then cleared up when it was finished. To know if it's finished for sure, though, check the gravity over the course of a few days. If it doesn't change, you should be good to go.
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Jun 2, 2013 20:43
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I'm thinking about making some cider later today and I had a couple questions. I know that preservatives are bad, but is there anything else I should avoid (or look for) in selecting the juice I use? And I was also thinking of getting some sort of other fruit juice (pineapple?) and making two half-batches. Is there any reason not to use other fruit juices, assuming they don't have preservatives and such in them? Could they be too acidic or something (I'm looking at you, orange juice)?
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Jun 29, 2013 16:43
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Roundboy posted:im new at this, but i made a 'cider' from store bought juice, using a wine yeast, and i wasn't to happy with the result. it got very dry, making me back sweeten after bottling, and since it was juice, all the apple flavor really left. I'd be interested to hear how your taste test goes/went. I've currently got a batch of cider that I threw together as a spur of the moment thing about a week from bottling. My recipe was similar to yours, it seems - five gallons apple juice from the store plus 2 lbs honey and Wyeast 4184. I mostly made it because I was worried the yeast were about to go bad and it was dead easy. Still, I'm wondering how much apple and honey flavor will stick around. I haven't tasted the mead I made with the same yeast, so I'm not too familiar with how much residual sweetness it leaves.
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Jul 8, 2013 03:04
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Paladine_PSoT posted:drat I'm behind in reading this thread. That's odd - mine was at 1.020 (from ~1.090) after a week. I agree with the poster above me - did you use (enough) nutrient?
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Jul 15, 2013 04:21
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Paladine_PSoT posted:3 tsp, which is what the recipe called for. I stirred the hell out of it as well, so air shouldn't be a problem. It's bubbling about once per 8 seconds so I know there's something going on in there, it's just nowhere near what I would expect. I just made a cider using the sweet mead yeast (I'm assuming that's what you mean by "sweet mead") and it was pretty slow all through the process, but it got the job done. Not much happening after a week is a bit strange, but it could just be one of those "wait a while and it will sort itself out" things. You could also try bumping up the temperature a bit if it's not already in the low-mid 70s.
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Jul 15, 2013 13:42
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fullroundaction posted:Is there any way to make carbonated cider that's not bone dry and worth drinking if you can't back sweeten (I don't keg)? So far I haven't been able to get anything to not drop to under 1.000 and its never that great. I used Wyeast 4184 (? Sweet Mead) on a mead and a cider. The mead finished at 1.008, and the cider at 1.004. A bit dry, I suppose, but above 1.000. I don't know how well they carbonate, though, because I haven't tried the mead and the cider still has about 10 days of conditioning left.
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Jul 20, 2013 00:07
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On the subject of lambic-oriented beer, if I were to make a sour (I'm thinking Kriek at the moment if that matters) in my normal fermentation bucket, would the critters that make it sour stick around in the bucket and mess with future beers despite normal sanatizing? Should I get a specific bucket for making sours, or would normal sanitizing take care of everything?
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Jul 27, 2013 00:11
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fullroundaction posted:When in doubt brew a super hoppy pale ale in your recently cleaned sour fermenter and that will help to eliminate any residuals along with the normal santiization process. I like this idea. Practical and delicious!
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Jul 27, 2013 03:11
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I've got more questions! 1. I've got a stout in primary that I'd like to put into secondary, splitting it and mixing in ~3 lbs of cherries to half. From reading this thread, it looks like I should cut them in half, take out the pit, and freeze them to break the cell walls. Do I need to do anything else, like sanitize them? 2. I'm planning on brewing another stout immediately after the one I mentioned and I'd like to reuse the yeast. Reading around, it looks like I should basically just scrape part of the old yeast cake into a sanitized jar and then pitch that (I'd be pitching it within a few hours). Is that right? Are there any good resources for reusing yeast out there or does anyone have tips? 3. For the second stout, I'm planning on splitting it and mixing vanilla and coffee into half of it. For the coffee, I found recipes saying anything from 2 to 10 ounces of brewed coffee in 5 gallons. Does anyone have experience that can help narrow that down a bit (and specify whether it's for 5 gallons or 2.5)? For the vanilla, I was going to use two beans, split lengthwise, and thrown in. Is that enough, or would the coffee drown it out?
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Aug 7, 2013 00:09
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I made an attempt at an extract Imperial Stout a couple weeks ago. Initially, the yeast (Wyeast 1084, reused from a normal stout) went nuts and took it from 1.090 to 1.032. There doesn't seem to have been any change in the past couple days. I was expecting this to finish more in the 1.020 range - should I just give it more time? Pitch more yeast (same kind?)? And if they just decided to stop relatively high, can I expect any issues with bottle carbing?
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Aug 22, 2013 13:35
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Marshmallow Blue posted:My friend made a high gravity Belgian Tripple and his stopped around 1.030, but restarted some few weeks later and finished up. I would imagine that this will happen to you as well based on that and Docs input. Also that tripple was split into 2 5 gallon carboys and both did the same thing. I've been swirling, but I suppose I'll give it more time. Thanks! (and Docjowles)
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Aug 22, 2013 18:23
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About a week ago I posted about a strong stout I made (OG = 1.090) that seems to have become stuck at ~1.030, when I'm expecting it to get to 1.025-1.020. It has been there for about two weeks. I've tried swirling up the yeast a bit, and the gravity hasn't changed at all. What should I do now? Should I just bottle it, and if so, given the yeast stopped with so much sugar already, could I encounter any issues with carbonation? Or should I pitch more yeast, and if so, should I use more of the same (Wyeast 1084) or something more generic (US-05?)?
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Aug 28, 2013 23:57
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ScaerCroe posted:What was the Fermentation temp at? If it's not too high already, you might try to bump it up a couple of degrees and see if it can't pick back up. Fermentation was high 60s, low 70s. Since then it has warmed up to mid-70s, so that hasn't done it. Thanks for the suggestion, though!
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Aug 29, 2013 13:33
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zedprime posted:At that point its probably just done and the remaining sugar is non fermentable. You can try a higher attenuation yeast if you want, but you shouldn't have any problems bottling because your current yeast wants nothing to do with the sugar that's left. 66% attenuation in a beer that big isn't anything to sneeze at unless you took specific steps with your fermentables to make them extra fermentable. Okay, cool. I've never done a beer this big so it's a new experience. It was made with extract, so I don't have much say in the fermentables. I suppose I'll go ahead and bottle then. Thanks!
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Aug 29, 2013 15:04
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Malacept posted:I hope you guys don't mind if I sneak in a wine making question: I'm just about to start my fourth kit batch of wine and I want to step up the professionalism (and hopefully the quality) up a notch. My kit says that the yeast should not be added to the wine juice unless the juice is between 72-75°F. My problem is that my basement is holding around 80°F and I have no A/C down there. Is it ok to add yeast with a higher temp? I can see how that would speed up the fermentation, but is that a bad thing? I definitely wouldn't add the yeast if it was colder than 72°F. Wine yeast probably don't behave much differently from beer yeast, so all that would happen is that they might produce some off flavors with a higher temperature. That said, those may go away with aging by the time you drink it. You could try putting your fermenter in a bucket of water and throwing some ice in every once in a while to keep the temperature a bit lower. I find that freezing old water bottles works great because the ice in them lasts longer than cubes.
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Sep 1, 2013 23:04
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As a relative newbie and nerd, I've been keeping track of expenses as best I can. After ~6 batches of beer and a couple cider/mead/whatever, with all the equipment I'm at right around $8.50/6 pack. And it's not like the money is wasted because I still get something drinkable out of it, rather than spending the money and that being that. I fully agree that, as far as hobbies go, this is a pretty cost effective one. I expect my costs to go down a bit as I start doing more and more with grains (did my first BIAB Saturday  ).
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Sep 2, 2013 17:23
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BrianBoitano posted:I'm very new to this but I love the idea of collecting and reusing yeast, but how do you operate it? How far from the top of the liquid is the tube in the primary? Once you have the blowoff, how do you use that to ferment the next batch? Just toss it all in? On reusing yeast, if you're using a bucket, you can just scrape a bit of the yeast off the bottom of the bucket. I've done it and it worked well - just make sure you're careful about sanitation like usual and it should be fine. I haven't tried storing the yeast, though. Only taking it and holding it while I brew the next batch, then pitching it immediately.
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Sep 8, 2013 17:42
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NEED TOILET PAPER posted:I've fallen a bit behind on this thread but I doubt this question's come up in the last couple of pages: You can use brewtoad (brewtoad.com), input the grains you'll be using, and play with the amounts until you hit the OG/FG/whatver you're shooting for.
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Sep 12, 2013 23:13
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Fluo posted:Anyone got any tips for getting rid of dried krausen that in your demijohn/carboy? I got a glass demijohn and have spent the last 2 weeks trying to get 3 bits of krausen off of my demijohn, soaked in warm water etc, used carboy cleaner with the drill, most of it is off but theres these 3 little bits which are in the indents on the demijohn. I think I read earlier in the thread that a soak in oxyclean can get nearly anything off, so you might try that and attack it with the carboy cleaner again.
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Sep 18, 2013 01:32
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Beer4TheBeerGod posted:How many of you guys use honey in your ciders? Is it going to provide much flavor, or just more fermentables? I've used a few pounds in the ciders I've made. I haven't noticed any overt honey flavors, but I haven't made a cider without honey either. I think honey could go well with the apple-type flavors, though, but if you're looking to simply add fermentables, dumping in a bunch of sugar will probably do the trick without messing with the flavor too much. Fluo posted:Ah ok, Which oxyclean do I need? Never really used it been using Five Star PBW instead as I didn't know what type? Cheers man by the way, if I can't find oxyclean is PBW similar? I'll defer to Jo3sh's answer on this - I've never personally used oxyclean, but from what I've read here, it's magic. 
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Sep 18, 2013 02:37
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It's OxiClean Free Stain Remover I'm after right as Versatile has perfumes?
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fullroundaction posted:I soaked crushed grains in apple juice for a couple weeks as my Berliner Weisse sour starter. Was quick and effective! Can you provide more specifics about this technique? This sounds like it would be delicious.
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Sep 18, 2013 17:50
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New Glarus has three spontaneously fermented beers - Serendipity, Raspberry Tart, and Strawberry Rhubarb - that are absolutely delicious. Check them out if you're in the Wisconsin-ish states area.
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Sep 20, 2013 01:29
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Jerome Louis posted:Anyone do the whole brew in a bag technique and have good success with it? I just ordered an extract kit but I also got a 10 gal megapot so that I could start doing all-grain batches quickly. I don't think I have room for a cooler mash tun or HLT yet so I was going to start my foray into all-grain doing BIAB. From what I've been reading my efficiency could be reduced so I should be mashing with a bit of extra grain, but I'm curious hear about it from any of you guys that do it. I've done one BIAB batch in an apartment with a ~4 gallon pot (2.5 gallon batch). It's not ideal, but my first beer came out really really well - definitely a step up from my extract batches. My efficiency was pretty low (60-65), but that's probably as much down to the technique as me screwing something up in my first attempt. The only other issue I had was keeping the pot at the right temperature, but I figured that out about 15 minutes into the mash. I'd highly encourage you to go for it. It takes hardly anything to get started (one bag: check.) and you can work out little issues before stepping up to all grain. It really feels like a lot more styles are possible to accurately replicate, rather than just X lbs of Y extract, you can choose exactly what grains you want.
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Sep 27, 2013 23:37
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Jacobey000 posted:Starting to think I have a problem. Can you post the recipe you used for the Kentucky Common? The style was mentioned in the thread a few pages back and I was intrigued, but I haven't been able to find a clear direction to go for a recipe googling around.
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Oct 1, 2013 13:34
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Jacobey000 posted:http://cobdavis.com/beer/2013/Bourbon%20County%20Common.html is my recipe. The instructions in the mash say to sour mash for 24h, but I did 18h to keep the sourness just this side of tart (a lot more mellow). I also suggest maybe sour mashing with just the base malt, the darker malts make the beer look like river dregs. Delicious, but just a strange "color" & "visual texture". I'm likely going to brew this again, but I'd keep the roasted malts in, kinda like the 'muddiness'. Awesome, thanks! I've never done a sour mash, so this will be an adventure.
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Oct 1, 2013 23:34
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I made a BIAB with Wyeast 3787 a bit over a week ago. Everything went well and I hit my target OG of 1.065. I checked the gravity today and it was 1.005. I've never had a beer get down that low, so I'm trying to figure out what happened. My two main ideas are either a: the yeast is simply a monster or b: I added in way too much (table) sugar, at about 20% of the grain bill. Any ideas?
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Oct 8, 2013 23:39
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The cool thing about brewing is that as long as you have good sanitation practices, it's drat near impossible not to make something that's at least drinkable, if not actively good.
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Oct 10, 2013 00:52
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wattershed posted:Ok, looking for someone's go-to house wheat beer recipe. I'm going to be livening it up with habaneros, and while I've been using cheapo pale ales as my guinea pig beers to dial in the mg/oz for the habaneros, I've never made a straight wheat beer before and would welcome a starting point for the wheat vs 2-row ratio as well as if I should stick with regular white wheat or if there's a good trick to create a wheaty flavor from other malts. I've been thinking about making a pepper beer for a bit. Would you be willing to share how much habanero you'd put in a batch? If it helps, I'd be looking mostly for aroma with just a hint of heat.
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Oct 18, 2013 21:38
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BLARGHLE posted:Just tested the gravity on my apple pie cider- I'm shooting for 18-20% alcohol, but it's currently only at 16%, and fermentation seems to have stopped or slowed to an unnoticeable amount. What kind of yeast did you use? 16% is getting pretty darn strong for most yeast, so they might have just reached their alcohol limit. Assuming champagne yeast can tolerate up to 20%, that would get you down to ~1.010, which would still be fairly sweet.
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Oct 29, 2013 23:20
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Daedalus Esquire posted:I was thinking about spicing my sweet mead cider as an apple pie cider. What's your plan on spicing? Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but even simply throwing a few cinnamon sticks (4-5 of the 3" ones) was delicious in a cider I made.
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Oct 30, 2013 01:23
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I'm intrigued by you guys doing these all Brett fermentations. Do you use a separate fermenter/equipment or whatever for these like I've seen people do for sours, or do you just sanitize really well afterwards?
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Oct 30, 2013 03:16
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BLARGHLE posted:4 packets of champagne yeast, six teaspoons of yeast nutrient, and a 1:10 drop of olive oil to water(kinda ridiculous for homebrew, and I only use it in my highest gravity brews) in a 1 gallon starter. My hope was that it would be able to get to the upper end of its range without crapping out, but... You could try splitting your batch into halves, and then filling out each half into full batches (i.e., two full batches) with water or more juice. If I'm thinking about this right, this should dilute the alcohol (and sugars if you used water - I think store juice is around 1.040-1.050 already), meaning the yeast could start fermenting again. This is pure speculation and you'd probably have to math it up a bit to make sure you don't dilute too much or too little, but it could be worth a shot. And you'd wind up with more cider!
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Oct 30, 2013 13:39
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ShadowCatboy posted:Thanks for the thread, dudes. Newbie brewer, I'm trying my hand at a chocolate mead and once I finish off the wine from this 4-L jug I'll be using this to make a batch of pomegranate wine. Gonna need a looooot of pomegranates. Chocolate mead? I'm intrigued - how are you making it?
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Nov 3, 2013 14:38
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Fluo posted:By the way does anyone have any tips when you want to do a brew and have a lot of 100-200grams of stuff you kind of want to get rid of? What's the opposite of a SMaSH?
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Nov 4, 2013 03:40
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Marshmallow Blue posted:Going to try to do a real gimpy All grain / BIAB (whatever this is) 2 gallon batch SMaSH. And I just want to make sure I get everything right and have some questions answered. I've done a couple smaller BIAB batches like yours that came out very well. I mashed at 150-155 or so. One thing I've seen is that my efficiency hasn't been stellar (60-65%), but your grain bill looks perfectly fine to get a solid beer. Good luck!
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Nov 4, 2013 21:37
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 02:27 |
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Shame Boner posted:Blinded by low prices, I inadvertently bought a bunch of cider without checking fine print on the label for preservatives (yeah yeah some of us learn the hard way) and now have a primary full of cider that I thought was totally inert. I come home from work a week after pitching the yeast to find the airlock tweaked and bubbling ever so slowly and now I'm wondering if I should still dump this batch or buy another primary and see if this one finishes. Is there any point in trying to finish this batch off and if so; what if I plan on back-carbonating, as I imagine the K-sorbate completely bones things here? Take a gravity measurement. It could just be that whatever yeast you used is shy and didn't want to make a bunch of noise bubbling away, unlike that weirdo 3787.
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Nov 6, 2013 00:18
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