After action report! (First batch brewed saturday)

[sok454]

Well as some of you probably read I brewed my first beer over the weekend. I went with the Irish Car Bomb Stout idea. The fermenter is down in the basement in a swamp cooler (rubber maid container with water about half way up and 2 frozen bottles to keep it cool. Air temp is about 67-70 in the unfinished part of the basement.

When I got up Sunday the airlock was bubbling away so that was exciting!

First thoughts:

Was a lot easier than I thought it would be. With all the guidance I have received from people on the board as well as Palmers book I think anyone can do it for sure!

I would suggest anyone that is doing it for a first time to write down all the instructions in their own words after making any adjustments based on recommendations/conclusions that you have came to.

I did make a few adjustments to the recipe I used, mostly because I was not able to procure the exact ingredients at the time. I tried to utilize similar ingredients (based my the descriptions given) so who knows what impact that will have on the end result.

Recipe:
(My changes are in parenthesis)
5# Lite/Pale LME (6# Gold Midwest)
1# Chocolate Malt (1# BlackPrinz)
1# Crystal 60 (1# Extra Dark Crystal)
8 oz. Flaked oats (no change)
8 oz. Roasted Barley (Lightly Roasted)
1 oz. Fuggles Pellets (60 min)

OG was 1.060.

Procedure:

I steeped grains for about 40-45 minutes at 155-157.


Added LME (recommend putting LME in warm water for 30+ prior to aid in pouring) Had no scorching and no issues even though I added while on heat.

Added hops.

Boiled for 65-70 minutes.

Started yeast. Let sit for 15 minutes. Stired. Sit for another 15.

Used Rubbermaid container and ice for Ice bath. Added Kettle to container.

Temp readings were as follows:
150 after 5 minutes
117 after 12 minutes
90 after 15 minutes + 1 gallon of destilled water (put 2 gallons in freezer for 2 hours)

Transfered wort to fermenter. Added another gallon to get down to 70. Aerated a few times by pouring back and forth.

Pitched yeast.

Closed up. Added airlock. Moved to basement.

Temp was 67 ambient air. 70-72 on fermenter.

Next morning had airlock bubbles and placed fermenter in rubbermaid container with about 8-10" of water. Added 2 paritally frozen bottles to cool water.

I did take a taste while I was doing my OG test. Very sweet but much more tasty then I thought it would be. I am looking to add the whisky/beans in about 2 weeks.

Hoping to let it primary for 3 weeks. Then bottle and sit for another 2-3 weeks minimum.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[twistr25]

Congrats! You perhaps got lucky with the LME this time, but I would not have that as standard practice. You may not be able to tell now, but you can get a twang taste from the extract if it does scorch a little. You can get a better color profile and much less likely to scorch if you add the LME near flameout. It's pasturized already, so it really doesn't need the boil, and it'll be a lot safer than adding at the beginning of the boil.

 

[BamaRooster]

Congrats! You perhaps got lucky with the LME this time, but I would not have that as standard practice. You may not be able to tell now, but you can get a twang taste from the extract if it does scorch a little. You can get a better color profile and much less likely to scorch if you add the LME near flameout. It's pasturized already, so it really doesn't need the boil, and it'll be a lot safer than adding at the beginning of the boil.

+1 I would actually add the LME at flameout.

 

[unionrdr]

It isn't so much scortching to worry about adding all the LME at the begining of the boil. It's mailard reactions that cause the twang & of course caramelization,or darkening. That's why many of us use late extract additions. To get lighter color & cut out all those mailard reactions that make extract funk by cooking the LME a second time by adding all of it at the begining. The late extract additions are way better imo.

 

[LandoLincoln]

You need to take an OG reading before you pitch the yeast. It sounds like you took it after, but I'm not entirely sure.

 

[freisste]

You need to take an OG reading before you pitch the yeast. It sounds like you took it after, but I'm not entirely sure.

Before or after pitching yeast, I don't believe it matters...

I could be wrong, though.

 

[twistr25]

Before or after pitching yeast, I don't believe it matters...

I could be wrong, though.

As long as it's not a couple days after you pitch shouldn't be a big deal. But you also don't want to scoop out of the yeast if you test after pitching, so before is usually best, though not required.

 

[sok454]

I took the OG before. Sorry for the confusion in description.

So I don't need to cool the LME for the 60 minutes? This is going to sound dumb but then do I even need to boil it for 60 minutes at all? Could I have just brought it to a boil and then throw in the lme and boil for 5 minutes?

Also how come I did not have any issues with evern remotely getting close to a boilover? I thought I would have issues with that.

 

[unionrdr]

If you're doing your own bittering,you need to boil at least 1 hour. Adding part of the LME at ther begining of the boil,& the rest at flame out. If using pre-bittered extracts,you can just boil the water,take it off the heat,& add the LME,etc. Steep 15 minutes & chill.

 

[sok454]

Well the LME was unhopped so the recipe called for the fuggles to be in for an hour. So I should have put in part of the LME initially, then boiled for 60 minutes then removed from heat and added the remainder? IS that correct?

 

[unionrdr]

Yup,that's called late extract addition & it curbes those nasty mailard reactions. I add the remainder at flame out,even on my PM pale ale.

 

[sok454]

Good to know... Hopefully it won't be too fooked.... Tasted pretty sweet when I tested it while I was pulling the OG. Great dark color... and by dark I mean black. Compared it to a glass of Left Hand Milk Stout and was much darker.

 

[twistr25]

Adding the LME at the beginning will cause the darker color too. So if you want lighter, add it later. The 60 min boil is really for hop utilization. The hops need that time to react properly. The only reason to add the LME to the boil is to sterilize it, but it comes pasturized, so that's not really necessary.

 

[sok454]

Probably why mine is pitch black!

 

[jerrodm]

Yes, from what I can tell from your recipe, you should have brought your water up to a boil after the grains had finished steeping, added maybe 1/3 of the LME and the hops, boiled for an hour, and added the rest of the LME at flameout. The hops require a 60 minute boil in order to achieve the right bittering character, as opposed to affecting the beer's flavor or aroma. If you only boil for 15 minutes you'll end up with a hop character that isn't what you're looking for.

 

[sok454]

Oh I boiled the hops for the 60 minutes. Sorry if that wasn't clear. I just also boiled the LME for 60. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[wordsmith]

What you did sounds like what I do. I think "extract twang" may be overrated; I'm sure it exists and can be a problem, but really, R,DW,HAHB. I'd likely just dump in all of the LME at the beginning (and have, several times, without negative effect) if I'm doing something darker than, say, an amber ale, and dump it at or near the end if lightness actually matters all that much, like on a pale ale. Or, more realistically, I'd do it at the end if I remember to, and not worry about it if I don't. It's beer, not nuclear physics.