First look at my first brew!

[shawnwolfe04]

Today is day 11 and I just took the lid off the bucket for the first time to take a gravity reading. My target FG is 1.011 and im right at 1.014. I tasted it when i was done taking the gravity reading and it tasted pretty good other then a slight fruity taste. Is this because its still early or is this a "off flavor"? Here are some pics that I took. Everything look okay?

 

[beerclone]

I'm certainly no expert but looks great. What did u make? My understanding is the fruity flavor MAY be an off flavor but depends. I think fermentation temperature being too high could cause this. Like I said I'm far from being a proficient brewer.

 

[SiriusStarr]

A "green apple" sort of fruity flavor is frequently present just in young beers and will disappear with age. More estery fruity smells are yeast byproducts, whether they're supposed to be there (e.g. with Belgian yeast) or a function of fermenting outside of the yeast's temperature range. What yeast strain was this and what was the fermentation temperature?

 

[shawnwolfe04]

It is a Simcoe Pale Ale and according to the recipe it says I used Coopers dry yeast. As for fermentation temps when I just tested it the temp was 67.7. I believe that it was probably lower during the beginning of fermentation because I put more frozen bottles in the swamp bath more often. Since the air lock activity stopped a couple days ago I just started putting 2-3 bottles in about twice a day.

 

[SiriusStarr]

Hmm, I wouldn't expect any real issues from the yeast at 68F, assuming the pitching rate/oxygenation/etc. were all good. Are you certain it's not fruitiness from the hops? Though Simcoe's aren't frequently described as fruity. I am inclined to say don't worry about it, leave it in the primary for a while, and if it is an off-flavor the yeast will clean it up.

 

[shawnwolfe04]

I just read the description on the recipe and it does say that its supposed to have a grapefruit character to it so that may be what im tasting. It also says that its supposed to have a sweetness from the C-80 (is that the yeast strain?) Also I pitched the yeast around 78 which I have now heard may be a little to high.

 

[SiriusStarr]

I just read the description on the recipe and it does say that its supposed to have a grapefruit character to it so that may be what im tasting. It also says that its supposed to have a sweetness from the C-80 (is that the yeast strain?)

C-80 most likely means Crystal 80, one of the specialty malts used. It will give the beer some residual sweetness, since it's a crystal malt.

 

[shawnwolfe04]

C-80 most likely means Crystal 80, one of the specialty malts used. It will give the beer some residual sweetness, since it's a crystal malt.

That makes sense! Well im going to leave it in the primary until tomorrow and then add the dry hops for 4-5 days and keg it. Im excited to give this a try when its all done! Thanks for the help!

 

[SiriusStarr]

I personally would leave it in primary for 3 weeks total (including dry hop time, if you're dry hopping in primary), especially if you're concerned about that flavor. I've moved to a 3 week primary on all of my beers (unless they're massive and need longer), but that's just me. Regardless, I'm glad it will be tasty. Cheers!

 

[shawnwolfe04]

I just noticed that I'm starting to get airlock activity again. There hasn't been any for several days and today I took the lid off to check my FG and now there is. Is this normal? I also haven't been putting as many frozen bottles in the swamp bath. Could it being a little warmer cause this too?

 

[SiriusStarr]

The hydrometer is your only reliable method of determining whether fermentation is complete. If the reading is stable over the course of several days, you're done (or more rarely stuck). Airlock activity can be the result of just CO2 coming out of solution (e.g. because it was disturbed or warmed up), fermentation activity, who knows.