A whole bunch of noob questions.

[jdsullivan]

So, I'm about ten brews in (all extract with specialty grains, I'm going to move into all grain when I feel I have absolutely everything down pat... which probably won't be for a long time) and I've come up with a ton of questions. I apologize in advance if these have been asked ten million times/are stupid.

1) So I used c-brite for my first brew/bottling and have since switched to Star san. The first set of bottles had that wonderful band-aid/medicinal flavor which I'm assuming came from not rinsing the bottles after they were sanitized (my cousin's kids "helped" with the bottling. This will not happen again.). Are there any off flavors I have to worry about with Star san? I'm assuming no, but I just want to make sure.

2) I'm about to make my first batch of Apfelwein and I'd (eventually) like to do 1/2 carbed 1/2 not. Do I need to pasteurize the carbed bottles to prevent bottle bombs or is this not an issue?

3) Sticking with Apfelwein, is there any way to get rid of/cut down on the rhino farts? Would yeast nutrient help? I feel like this is something I very, very badly want to avoid.

4) So I've been trying to do 3 gallons and topping off. My problem: my stove sucks and really can't handle a 3 gallon boil (up until the last batch I was brewing at my neighbor's place since he has a much, much better stove than I do and was curious as hell about the whole home brewing thing), and SWMBO's response to me getting a turkey fryer was, and I quote, "I will f***ing cut you if you spend any more money on this s***." After attempting to argue the point (Which was a bad, bad idea. Folks, don't argue with SWMBO about her spending habits versus yours... and if you feel compelled to do so, for the love of god, no matter how heated the argument gets don't bring up things like "But I make more money than you." or "But look at how much you spend on stuff." unless you want to sleep on the couch for a week at the least, praying she doesn't actually cut you. The lesson, as always, I'm an idiot. But I digress.) I was just wondering if it's okay to do a 2 gallon boil and then topping it off. I realize that the beer won't be as good (or at least from the comments I've seen, it seems like the more water in the boil, the better) but are there any other complications with doing a 2 gallon boil versus a 3?

5) I've been cooling off the wort in an ice bath in my sink. It takes a little bit of time, but it's not so bad. I think (and this could just be me making things up/misinterpreting what I've read) I read that the quicker the wort cools the better. Is this true?

6) So this more of a theoretical question since I can't do any sort of large boil right now, but if you're making a 10 gallon batch the ingredients can simply be doubled right?

7) I'm assuming that I'm okay with just stirring the wort for aeration since I'm topping off. Is this wrong? Do I need to get a pump and a stone?

8) I've been reading up on hot trub and I'm really, really confused. What the hell is it? And by that I mean, I get that it's coagulated proteins and other assorted junk, but what does it look like. I'm familiar with coagulation in cooking, hell I used to be a chef and my first job was making stock, but I don't think I've really seen anything coagulate in my pot. Am I missing something here? Could the non-coagulation be because I'm doing extract? Shouldn't this stuff just drop into the sediment during fermentation anyway? Does the fact that I put all my hops and specialty grains into muslin bags when brewing cut back on hot trub?

9) I'm thinking of doing a fruit beer soon, mostly to soothe the savage SWMBO (she loves blueberry and raspberry beer), and I keep seeing on here that beginners (which I most certainly am), should not use fruit. Why? Are there some sort of precautions I can take to not screw up my beer?

10) I'm planning on making a coffee stout soon. I'm assuming the best way to add the coffee is cold brewing it and then adding it to a secondary. Is this wrong? Should I be boiling it? Adding beans to the primary? Adding cold brew to the primary?

11) Is there anything wrong with using a bucket fermenter for a secondary? I've never had to use one before... in fact, it seems like unless you're adding something to the beer (oak chips, fruit, coffee, etc...) you don't need one. Am I wrong in thinking this?

Anyway, thanks in advance. You guys kick ass and are one hell of a resource.

(Edit: I fixed the question numbers.)

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

1---No, starsan will not add flavor to your brew. There will be a ton of bubbles, ignore them, they will break down into yeast food.

2---not if you don't back sweeten the apfelwein. if you let it ferment dry then bottle carb it will be fine. If you let it ferment dry then sweeten it without stabilizing and try to bottle then BOOM.

3---No way that I know of

3?---First off ask your wife if you can borrow your cajones for a little while.. then tell her she can't cut you off if she doesn't know where you are getting it. if my wife tried to use sex in that manner ( and I have told her this exact thing in the past) I would bring a woman home!... But anyway the only issue I can think of is hops utilization.

4---yes

5---yes

6---stirring will work...pouring in your top off water from a higher point will help also, let it splash

7---I don't think extract batches get the break material.. and yes it just drops into the bottom of the fermentor anyway....and what you are referring to is called break material.. the gunk at the bottom of the fermentor is the trub.

8---Not really sure but I think it is the risk of infection and a secondary fermentation.

9---No idea

10---A bucket for a secondary is a bad idea due to too much head space.. and you are correct a secondary is not necessary under normal circumstances.

 

[Dynachrome]

jdsullivan-son

One day grasshopper - you will snatch the pebble from my hand.

The first thing I would recommend for new acolyte is: patience.

Work on your sales pithch. SWMBO needs a turkey fryer, she just doesn't know it yet.

....and seriously, you have the most part of ten separate threads here. I would recommend separating them and placing them in appropriate sub-forums. "The guys" get a little overwhelmed with that much content in one "topic thread.

10 ....I just do primary in buckets to avoid chances of infection/skunking.

AND - Use a good descriptive thread title - for each thread. You will notice that there are some quite probably related threads that get listed at the bottom of the page.

I'm sorry, but this is a tad humorous....

Look down.






Welcome and have a good New Year brewing.

 

[Dynachrome]

ohiosteve

brew-wrang-do instructor and third degree thread answer-er extraordinaire!

I am humbled.

 

[jdsullivan]

Yeah... I think her response had more to do with the timing of me bringing it up: about 4 hours before we had a ton of people over for Christmas dinner, including her parents (who have never been to our place before), while we were cleaning. She really hates cleaning. Also she wasn't talking about cutting me off... she was actually talking about physically cutting me. It's pretty much her go-to threat these days.

 

[ISLAGI]

First off... Welcome to the addiction! Hope you get smarter about arguing with SWMBO!!!

1. StarSan is a no-rinse sanitizer. Rinsing would actually allow any bugs in your water to infect your bottles.

2. Good sanitation will most always prevent bottle-bombs, assuming you wait long enough for fermentation to complete.

3 (a). A yeast nutrient addition has always helped me, but sometimes you just gotta accept the rhino.

3 (b). DON'T ARGUE WITH SWMBO! (especially one who would cut you) And to answer your question, until you can get to full volume boils, it won't make as much difference, except in hop usage. The more concentrated the sugar solution, the less "room" for the hop acids to give up their spicy goodness. You could try placing the pot across two burners, if it is large enough.

4. The quicker, the better, but most everyone starts out with an ice bath. If you are really concerned, try loading up the bathtub with ice and water to cool.

5. No. Look for 10 gallon recipes, or invest in brewing software. Not everything will scale accurately.

6. A vigorous stir, or splashing the wort from the pot into the bucket and then splash the top up water into that.

7. The trub is hot break material along with any bits from the grain and broken-down hop pellets. You won't really see much break material in an extract recipe. The proteins are coagulated out before malt is concentrated or dried.

8. Adding fruit usually happens in a secondary fermenter, and it is tough to figure out amounts that contribute flavor, instead of overpowering. Also, sanitation can be an issue when introducing ingredients after the boil. Remember KISS rule while you are starting out.

9. Try it and let us know. The general method discussed here is cold-brewed added to a secondary.

10. Most of us here use a 3 week (or longer) primary with no secondary. No worries.

In the future, you may want to break these up into smaller posts with just a couple of questions. Most people here are really helpful, but don't have time to read or write an novel...

Enjoy!

 

[Dynachrome]

Yeah... I think her response had more to do with the timing of me bringing it up: about 4 hours before we had a ton of people over for Christmas dinner, including her parents, (who have never been to our place before), while we were cleaning. She really hates cleaning. Also she wasn't talking about cutting me off... she was actually talking about physically cutting me. It's pretty much her go-to threat these days.

Spirited women - ah!

I seriously hope you're kidding.

Have you ever seen the movie, "Misery"?

 

[jdsullivan]

Ah, sorry about the length of the post. In the future, I will most definitely break things up.

 

[GodsStepBrother]

1. If star san is mixed at the appropriate levels then there is absolutely no need to rinse. This will not cause a medicinal flavor. What type of water are you brewing with? This is going to be the source of band aid flavors. If you are filtering your own water through some campden tablets in it just to make sure it is not your filter leaving traces of chlorine in the water.

2. You can pasteurize the bottles if you like, just make sure you pasteurize right after you are happy with the carbonation levels in the bottles. I have never done this but some people do, up to you.

3.I am not sure if there is anything you can do to stop the rhino farts, maybe put some coffee grounds next to your fermenter and have the room smell like coffee instead of rhino farts.

3. Sure you can do a 2 gallon boil and top of, but like you mentioned it is going to limit your hop utilization and will produce a darker wort after all is said is done. To help out some, add 1/4 of the extract in at the beginning of the boil go on hopping it as usual, then last 15 minutes add the rest of it in. Hop isomerisation will be better and there is no reason to boil the extract again it has already been beaten and abused already.

4. It is good to cool the wort fast, but most importantly is making the t temperature drop very quick. This is will ensure you get a good cold break, and will lead to a brighter wort being produced, limit chill haze, and make a cleaner tasting beer.

5. Yes for the most part this is true, only if you going over a barrel of beer would you start adjusting differently.

6. Actually stirring should be fine, just make sure you are not stirring to hard till it is cold. Hot side aeration is something to avoid, though pretty rare and very debatable here on the forum, if it is limited so easy why risk it. You can also put beer in a carboy and slosh it around for 5 minutes. Or get a pump, but just make sure to get a HEPA filter if you go this route.

7. Yes the muslim bags will stop some trub from forming because it is usually a lot of hop matter. You are probably not getting a very good cold break thus very little trub being formed on the bottom of the pot. It usually is very different every time you get it, but usually looks like something like miso soup towards the bottom of the pots. Other times look like some muddy stuff that is all coagulated. Its not a big deal to add this to the fermenter, if you are making ales.

8. Do as you wish, if you want a fruit beer make a fruit beer. No body should tell you not to do something, and you shouldn't listen. If its something you want to do, do it. If you know it is hard do not get mad when you butcher it! But this is easy, since it is the first time you make a fruit beer, I would pasteurize the fruit by holding the fruit at 180 F for an 10 minutes or so, freeze it and add it to secondary. But there is a lot of different ways of doing this, research it and go for it!

9. There are many different ways of doing this. The best way I have found is cold brewing it and adding it when I keg or bottle. You can also add whole beans to the fermenter or add it when boiling. All have there pros and cons, up to you which one you want to do.

10. Yes it is okay to secondary in a bucket, just not for long periods of time. No problem if you do it for a month or so.

Keep in mind you can search the whole forum for different answers then the ones I have provided. You will quickly realize that there are hundreds of ways to do one thing, and people report that all of the have some value and work for them. You just have to do the one that makes more sense to you and go with it.

Happy brewing, let us know how your next batch turns out!

 

[jdsullivan]

Spirited women - ah!

I seriously hope you're kidding.

Have you ever seen the movie, "Misery"?

By go-to threat, I mean the one that she makes the most when we're joking around and/or I'm being an *******. I don't think she'd actually cut me... probably.

Maybe...

Excuse me, I have to go hide the knives.

(Note: Yes, I'm joking. She'd never actually cut me. And your Misery reference just made me laugh my ass off.)

 

[Toy4Rick]

4) Re: 3 gal vs 2 gal and top off. Why not split all your ingredients in half and do 2 boils of 2.5-2.75 gals and top off with a very small amount of clean water? This is what I do and it has greatly increased the quality of my beers. Not sure I want to put over 60lbs of water/pot onto the stove in the kitchen since I do not yet have a turkey fryer for the outside.

Doing a full boil as noted above means the hops need to be adjusted down a bit since lower gravity wort increases hop utilization. For me, I always cut back on the hops on a normal recipe since I am not a hop head :fro:

Have fun
Toy4Rick

 

[Dynachrome]

By go-to threat, I mean the one that she makes the most when we're joking around and/or I'm being an *******. I don't think she'd actually cut me... probably.

Maybe...

Excuse me, I have to go hide the knives.

(Note: Yes, I'm joking. She'd never actually cut me. And your Misery reference just made me laugh my ass off.)

Good LOL - Happy New Year.