First Brew Day

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Thanks for letting me post! I signed up last night, and this is my first post.

Today is finally the day of my first home brew! Won't lie, I'm a fair bit nervous/anxious/excited about this.


I am using a 5Gallon system. I have a Brew Kettle, a Mash Tun, a burner (that I'm borrowing from a local home brewer, since I'm missing an orifice for mine yet, so I'm using an oldie propane burner), a Pale Ale, and a Fermenter Bucket and a Carboy.

My home "brewery" is called Bender Braus Brewing (as my username would suggest), and all of the beers will be Futurama themed. (As my avatar will suggest once I load that up).

I created this first IPA recipe a while ago, but due to unforeseen circumstances (having three daughters under the age of 10 doesn't make things easy sometimes) I am just now getting to brew. I made the recipe on BeerSmith under the trial timeframe of the computer program. (Gotta get around to getting it fully.)

Ok, so without further adieu, here's the recipe:


GOOD NEWS EVERYONE IT'S MY FIRST IPA

Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5.00Gal
Boil Size: 6.53Gal
Boil Time: 60 Min
End of Boil Vol: 5.99 Gal
Final Bottling Vol: 4.60 Gal
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage

Date: (May 10) July 13 2017
Brewer: Bender Braus Brewing

MASH INGREDIENTS
11 Lbs 8oz -- Pale Malt (2-Row)
1 Lb --------- Caramel / Crystal Malt - 20L
12.0oz ------- Munich Malt - 10L

HOP INGREDIENTS
1.00 oz --- Chinook --- Boil 60Min
1.50 oz --- Cascade -- Boil 5.0 Min
0.50 oz --- Nugget ---- Boil 5.0 Min
1.50 oz --- Cascade -- Boil 0.0 Min
1.00 oz --- Nugget --- Boil 0.0 Min

YEAST
2 Packages ---- West Coast IPA (Wyest #1217)

FERMENTATION
* July 13 - Primary Fermentation [7 Days at 68.0 F]
* July 20 - Secondary Fermentation [14 Days at 68.0 F]

DRY HOPPING
2.00 oz --- Cascade --- Dry Hop for 3 Days




Some final things..... I have yet to get the ingredients from my local LBS (Scotzin Brothers). But looking at their website, for the munich malt, they only have Munich Malt Light 8L or Munich Malt Dark 10L (my recipe is calling for Munich Malt 10L), so I'm not sure which to go with. (Their both same price, I'm thinking of maybe aiming for the darker, but not sure.)

Also, I've been told not to bother doing the dry hopping since I'm not kegging and bottling instead. What are thoughts on that?



Also, since this is my first brew day, and I'm a bit nervous, any thoughts, suggestions, comments, or anything helpful would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much guys!

 

[marjen]

Also, I've been told not to bother doing the dry hopping since I'm not kegging and bottling instead. What are thoughts on that?

How you are going to package it has no bearing on whether to dry hop or not. You still are going to want to do it, as that will bring out more hop flavor.

 

[NickL]

How you are going to package it has no bearing on whether to dry hop or not. You still are going to want to do it, as that will bring out more hop flavor.

I agree with this.



Also, I'm guilty of being nervous sometimes also. But the worst thing that can happen is you dump it (i've dumped a few), and then you have an excuse to brew again.

In reality, with good sanitation practice, you will end up with drinkable beers every time. So just have fun with it.

"Relax, have a homebrew." - Charlie P

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

My ingredients list looking at their website looks to be 40-44$ plus StarSan. Plus water. So hopefully no dumping.

I've been reading and watching YouTube videos for nearly a year and talking to people, so just nervous/anxious about finally doing it. Especially since I'm not the most handy, and not really good at things of this nature (I can't cook to save my life), etc.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Does anyone have any suggestions or comments on my brew day coming up? Or about my recipe?

I am curious what people think:
* Two things:
** The Scotzin website doesn't list Munich Malt 10L, just Munich Malt Light 8L and Munich Malt Dark 15L... Which should I use?
**Two, the website shows no IPA yeast. What style of yeast is a good alternative?

Thanks!

 

[xpops]

My ingredients list looking at their website looks to be 40-44$ plus StarSan. Plus water. So hopefully no dumping.

I've been reading and watching YouTube videos for nearly a year and talking to people, so just nervous/anxious about finally doing it. Especially since I'm not the most handy, and not really good at things of this nature (I can't cook to save my life), etc.

Paralysis by Analysis...just get your first batch under your belt, and you'll be golden! You'll feel 100% more confident at the end of that first brew day!

Keep notes on everything. gravities, temperatures, times, processes. this will help you on future batches!

 

[xpops]

Does anyone have any suggestions or comments on my brew day coming up? Or about my recipe?

I am curious what people think:
* Two things:
** The Scotzin website doesn't list Munich Malt 10L, just Munich Malt Light 8L and Munich Malt Dark 15L... Which should I use?
**Two, the website shows no IPA yeast. What style of yeast is a good alternative?

Thanks!

i would personally go with the lighter Munich. It will come down to a personal preference that you'll eventually figure out. i personally dont like a lot of dark grain in my IPAs, but some people do.

at less than 10%, and considering you already have some 20L, choosing between 8L and 15L probably probably wont make a world of a difference, but i'd still personally go with 8L.

for the yeast, you could go with any of the clean dry/liquid yeasts. Nottingham, US-05, WLP001 are all listed on the first page and are a good option for your first IPA!

Also - definately dry hop. it doesn't matter how you're packaging. The worst part about brewing an IPA, is cracking that first bottle and finding it lacks that hop hit!!

good luck, and keep us posted!!

 

[ncbrewer]

I'd suggest skipping the secondary - just leave it in primary the whole time.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Any other suggestions of skipping secondary?

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Went with the light Munich instead of dark. Also went with WLP001 California Ale Yeast because of no IPA yeast.

 

[eadavis80]

I secondary when I dry hop (in fact, I just did that a few hours ago), but many will dry hop in primary. It doesn't really matter. Many fear oxidation/infection with any transfer (which can happen), but if you're sanitary that should not happen. Plus, I'm assuming since you're just starting you have only 1 primary and 1 secondary. A benefit of racking to secondary after 10-14 days of primary would be that you can brew again whereas if you dry hop in primary you should not be bottling up that beer for a month or so. Good luck on your first brew day - relax and don't have more than 2 beers before you pitch your yeast. After that, it's out of your hands and up to the yeast to do the rest. I think the recipe looks good. I didn't see a target OG on your recipe, but pitching 2 vials of yeast (assuming no starter) is a good idea.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Yes common practice these days is to skip the secondary. US-05 is my favorite IPA yeast. 8L vs. 15L is a pretty small difference. Absolutely dry hop. The reason dry hopping can be a problem is that the hops are all floating around in the beer and clog up your bottling wand. If you dry hop you should cold crash your beer 48 hours before bottling. That is to put it in a cold place and the hops and any yeast still in suspension sink to the bottom of your fermentor.

 

[sancycling]

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the hobby!!!
All that excitement and nervousness is what makes brewing fun. Just brew it!!! Most likely you will make plenty of mistakes the first time, and few more, but it is part of the learning curve. The good thing is that, if you keep everything sanitary, you'll make good beer. Later you will start getting picky with tastes, aromas, color, foam, and so on.
Good luck!!!
Take notes on everything even if you think it is irrelevant.

 

[Sammy86]

Went with the light Munich instead of dark. Also went with WLP001 California Ale Yeast because of no IPA yeast.

No such thing as an IPA yeast...there are Ale yeasts and Lager yeasts...you can use a wide variety of Ale yeasts for an IPA as many above posters have stated.

My personal favorite yeasts for IPA's are Safale S-04 or Wyeast 1098.

 

[xpops]

Any other suggestions of skipping secondary?

Yup. Skip it. Unless you're aging on fruit/oak/something else, just let your fermentation run it's course in primary.

 

[xpops]

Not to overwhelm you on your first brew, but do you have any method of controlling temperature during fermentation? even the use of a swamp cooler can make a big difference.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

To be honest, the game plan is to use the closest in my office.

 

[Kanonen80]

Not to overwhelm you on your first brew, but do you have any method of controlling temperature during fermentation? even the use of a swamp cooler can make a big difference.

I used the "wet shirt" method my last batch and it worked well enough. Just wrapped the carboy with a wet t-shirt and set a fan to blow on it. Was enough to drop it a few degrees.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Currently waiting for the strike water to heat up. Using a brand new Anvil burner that I got as a surprise birthday gift from the wife. Its been about 20 minutes and we're sitting at 120. Waiting for it to get to 168 before pouring into the mash tun.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

How long does it normally take to heat up strike water to 168?

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Ok, figured out why it was taking so long (I barely had the propane tank open). Now the water and the grains are in the mash tun and I'm just waiting for the 60-70 minutes to be up.

 

[Braufessor]

i'd suggest skipping the secondary - just leave it in primary the whole time.

+ 1

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Ok, just about to vorlauf and then go from mash tun back to brewkettle for the boil.

My recipe I printed out from BeerSmith says to add Hops at 5Min boil and at 60Min boil. It also says the Boil itsel is 60Minutes. So does that mean I'm adding hops right at the end of the boil?

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

My recipe calls for hop additions at 60 minutes, 5 minutes, and 0 minutes. How does the timing work exactly?

 

[BigCrazyAl]

I may be late answering you but the 60 minute addition means to add it when there are 60 minutes left in the boil so for you add them first. 5 minutes and 0 minutes follow the same logic. I hope that helps

 

[gromitdj]

I suppose you might be done by now... but the hop times are counting backwards. So you add the first charge at the beginning (or 60 mins remaining) and the other at 5 mins remaining. Good luck! One thing is for certain, there will be mistakes. The key is to learn from them.

 

[Moose_MI]

I remember my first brew....I was almost as nervous as when I took my wife to hospital to deliver our first child.

You got this dude! You're gonna make beer...it will not be the best beer you've ever had...in fact you will almost certainly find things about it that you wish were different.......and then you will brew again.

That's pretty much how this hobby goes.....oh, and don't forget the constant need to buy new cool equipment....that's when you know you're doing it right

Cheers!

 

[NickL]

Any other suggestions of skipping secondary?

Yep. Unless it's going to be in there for over a month, secondary isn't necessary.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

I suppose you might be done by now... but the hop times are counting backwards. So you add the first charge at the beginning (or 60 mins remaining) and the other at 5 mins remaining. Good luck! One thing is for certain, there will be mistakes. The key is to learn from them.

Yea.... I ended up doing them backwards. Adding them in the reverse order basically (the ones that said 0 minutes, I added at the start, the ones that said 60 Minutes, I added at the end). Oops.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Some pictures from my first brewday.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

According to recipe my OG was going to be 1.069 and I (SOMEHOW) managed to hit it. I'm proud of that at least!

It called for a 60 minute boil but I ended up boiling for only 55 minutes. I couldn't get the temperature of the boil below 178-180 degrees. So I figured I'd cut the boil 5 minutes short. I also ended up putting the hops in at reverse correct time, so that didn't help.

I also knocked my thermometer into the boil once, into the strike water once, and even into the mash tun once. I'm a complete klutz.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

My bucket is currently sitting around 77-75 degrees. I need to drop it down to 68. I don't have any kind of chambers, or fridges, or anything to use. I currently have it sitting in my basement. I have an un-air-conditioned (no AC anyway) house.

Any ideas/suggestions?

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

My airlock is bubbling, so that means my yeast is working - correct?

 

[BigCrazyAl]

Yes indeed. Keep an eye on it the first 3 days or so to ensure the airlock doesn't get clogged. This is less likely with a bucket vs. a carboy but it can make a mess if it overflows.

Other than that, don't touch it for at least 2 weeks. You can try to lower the temp by sitting it in a water bath but it's not super important after the first few days.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

So, even though the recipe calls for it to be 68 degrees..... and its sitting at around 77-75............... thats not a problem?


I also realized I never dry-hopped it either. Is that too late?

 

[SirSpectre]

10 degrees hotter will be a problem. US-05 Doesn't like it being over 70 in the slightest. You'll get a lot of esters and maybe some fusels being that hot.

Did it start out that hot is the question? If it was cold for the first 24 hours, you should be OK.

 

[BigJoeBrew]

Your brew day sounds like a successful one to me! You would like to see your fermentation temperature down around the 70ish degrees or lower. You might get some off flavors, which I did until I started getting control of the temperature with the swamp cooler method. For next time all you would need is a container to set your carboy or bucket in, a couple or few 2 liter bottles frozen to put in the water, that will help keep control of your temps better. Those things aside, you made beer. Now patience is the key, give it about 2 weeks, then bottle, and give it 2-3 more weeks before trying it.

 

[mongoose33]

Does anyone have any suggestions or comments on my brew day coming up? Or about my recipe?

I am curious what people think:
* Two things:
** The Scotzin website doesn't list Munich Malt 10L, just Munich Malt Light 8L and Munich Malt Dark 15L... Which should I use?
**Two, the website shows no IPA yeast. What style of yeast is a good alternative?

Thanks!

Not sure you'll be able to do all these, but in the event other potential new brewers might read this, here goes:

1. Simpler is better. We all have a tendency, I think, to want to brew a fantastical recipe that will knock the socks off anyone who tries it. The reality is that's not likely to happen the first time, IMO. Instead, brew a simple recipe, tried and true, so you're more likely to be able to isolate the cause of any problems. The more moving parts you have, the harder it is to isolate the problem.

There's nothing wrong w/ your recipe. The issues that will emerge are more likely to be oxidation as you move from fermenter to secondary to dry hopping. Do you have any idea how it will taste? If you don't, then whatever you get will be a surprise. And if there's a flavor that doesn't work, is it due to the ingredients or the process?

2. I wouldn't secondary at all. The only reasons, IMO, to secondary are that you either need the primary for another brew, or are aging for a long time. When you transfer to a secondary you introduce oxygen from air into the process, and you do not want to do that if you can avoid it. IPAs are susceptible to oxidation.

3. Can you find an experienced homebrewer locally who can help you and kibitz, or whose brew day you can watch? I did that before my first brew day, it was hugely helpful.

4. Water matters. A lot. You have a recipe and all that, but how is your water? Appropriate for brewing all-grain? It has been said that if your water tastes good, you can brew good beer. Well, that's not necessarily true. Wasn't in my case.

You need to end up w/ a mash pH of from about 5.2 to 5.6, and how you get that depends on the water you start with, and the grain you're using. Further, if your water is chlorinated that can introduce off-flavors to your beer. You can combat that with a Campden tablet.

5. If #4 above is confusing to you, you need a bit more background and information before proceeding, IMO. My local water is not good for brewing unless I'm doing a Stout. Lighter beers need to be cut with RO (reverse osmosis) water or distilled water, and then brewing salts and lactic acid additions to bring it to where it needs to be.

This is one reason why I think new brewers should start with extract brewing, unless they have a local mentor who can help them. Become comfortable w/ the process from the boil forward, including hopping, chilling, racking, dry-hopping if you're doing that, bottling and conditioning. Once you're OK with that (maybe 2-3 brews), then you can focus on the other side, i.e., making wort from grain.

To make wort you need to be comfortable w/ things like mash temp, mash pH, maintaining temps, sparging, vorlauf, first runnings, second runnings, or if you're doing brew-in-a-bag, whether you're going to squeeze or not, or dunk sparge, or......I think you get my point. At one level brewing is simple, but it's not simplistic, either.

Again, the more moving parts, the harder it is to isolate a problem.

6. Simpler is better at first. Oh, I said that already.

Either way, good luck, keep things as simple as you can and allow yourself room to grow. Think about where you want to be 3- and 6-months from now. You'll get there.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

This is a picture I literally just took of the fermenter.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

10 degrees hotter will be a problem. US-05 Doesn't like it being over 70 in the slightest. You'll get a lot of esters and maybe some fusels being that hot.

Did it start out that hot is the question? If it was cold for the first 24 hours, you should be OK.

I used WLP001 California Ale from White Labs. When I pitched it, it was 68 degrees (on the dot). It's now roughly 14 hours after pitching.