First Brew

[David8464]

First off, I want to say this site has been a huge help. I've lurked here for years until things finally line up and I was able to order my starter gear and the amount of information I've gotten has been invaluable.

I brewed my first batch 11 days ago, and made a few mistakes, (to many brews during the process), but all in all it went pretty well. The batch I made was and all extract Light Ale kit that came with my starter kit from MoreBeer. I figured I'd start with something a little lighter to try and convert some friends of mine over. The recipe:

6lbs Light Malt Extract
8oz Crystal 15L Steeping Grain
.5 oz of Cascade Hops for 60 minutes of the boil
1 oz Cascade for the last 1 minute

My initial intention was to do a full boil but weather was not permitting and I couldn't wait, so I ended up doing a 3 gallon partial boil indoors.

My first mistake I believe, was instead of following the instructions and adding the steeping grains at the start and removing them at 170 degrees, I heated my water to about 160 and steeped in a grain bag for about 30 minutes. The smell that filled my apartment was enough to get me hooked already. After doing a bit more reading after the fact, I see I may have overshot my temp a bit, so I'm not to sure what the end effect is going to be.

My next mistake I realized after adding the LME. My stove top couldn't quite handle a rolling 3 gallon boil. If i left the lid on my brew pot, it boiled rather vigorously, but as soon as removed the lid I quickly died down to a simmer. So i tried to keep the lid on as much as possible.

After letting it go for the allotted time and adding my last hop addition in the last minute, I was able to get everything quickly cooled down using a wort chiller and then realized I forgot to add the included Whirlfloc tablet. This didn't bother me to much, since I figured all it would do is make my final product a bit more cloudy than intended.

So at this point, I transferred the wort to the carboy and topped off to the 5 gallon mark, did a quick temperature check and dumped in the included packet of Nottingham yeast. Probably could have done a better job aerating, and I forgot to take a OG reading until after adding the yeast, but lesson learned. My OG read at 1.050 but the recipe called for one around 1.038-42. So I'm assuming I may have drawn a sample from a denser portion of the wort, since it was a partial boil.

About 24 hours later, I had some pretty active airlock activity and the morning after that I had about an inch or so of krausen, so I figured all was well. I was able to keep temps at around 66-68 degrees. The only time it spiked was while I was at work, when I came home, everything was still bubbling away and the temp had jumped to around 71. I was able to get it back down to 66 rather quickly with some ice additions to my swamp cooler, and its been in than range ever since.

After about 4 days, airlock activity came to a crawl and all the lovely krausen fell back into the beer, so I just let it sit until today.

I had planned to give it at least two weeks, but my impatience finally got the better of me today, day 11. I took a gravity reading and it came out to 1.012 so I'm assuming I'm close if not there. Going to let it sit for a few more days and take another reading in a few more days to be sure.

The aroma it was giving off pleasantly surprised me, it smelled like, well, warm beer . So that eased my mind about any mistakes I made during the brewing process. Its still rather cloudy, which I expected, and not really concerned with as long as the end product taste good. Speaking of taste, I was rather pleased with how its coming along.

So now to my questions. Well, really only two.

#1 Were my assumptions about my OG reading correct, in that I probably drew my sample from a denser portion of the wort, or could it have been accurate?

#2 When I tasted it, it had a slightly acidic tingle on my tonight. Not really unpleasant, but almost like a heavy carbonated feeling, only it wasn't carbed. Mainly wondering if this is just because the beer is so young, and if that will mellow out as it ages or after bottle conditioning.

Sorry about the long post, I initially intended to just ask my questions, but the more I typed it got me excited about starting my next batch and I just kept typing.

 

[frazier]

Congrats on a successful first brew. Your imagined problems are not really problems - steeping is a pretty forgiving process, and 160 is a fine temperature. No whirlfloc, no problem. I have the same problem with my stovetop, I try to fine the right position of the lid, so it's partly on and it will hold a boil, but still allow the steam to escape (you want the steam to escape).

Your assumptions about the OG are correct. With an extract brew, you have to try pretty hard to miss your numbers by a significant amount.

That odd flavor you notice sounds like a combination of CO2 and green beer. Just let it sit, as long as you can, then bottle.

Cheers!

 

[phuff7129]

According to my calculations your OG should be around 1.053 so you hit it pretty close, certainly nothing to worry about. If your FG is 1.012 then you are most likely done. You will hear alot of different opinions about how long to leave it in primary. I generally do 2 weeks. 2 weeks makes sure your fermentation is done and lets things settle a bit.

Your steep was fine. I typically do 155 degrees for 30 minutes but its hard to maintain a temp of the stove. I dont know if you have electric or gas but if you are able to get your pot on part of two burners you can get a stronger boil.

The early taste is not necessarily a good indicator of what its going to tast like after it conditions for a while.

Sounds like you did all the right things. I think you can expect a great brew!

 

[lou2row]

Welcome to the madness! By reading your first post, it is obvious you have been reading as you gave plenty of info to help with answers to your questions.

Extracts are pretty tough to miss by much. I thought I was a natural getting started, then going to all grain showed it was the kits, not me.

 

[David8464]

Thanks for the replies,

My original intention was to give it two weeks before bottling, so since it taste good, and if the gravity stays the same this Saturday, its off to the bottles and time to make a new batch. I know I could get better beer if I let it sit longer, but being my first, I'm to impatient.

Next batch is going to be a hefe kit and I'll prob give the late ME addition a shot this time. I plan on doing a few more extract brews done so I have a nice pipeline going, and then make the move to all-grain.

The process of brewing is almost as fun as drinking the stuff for me :cross: .