In the middle of my first brew/ AAR

[mykrausenhurts]

Hey yall, I just got done with the first half of my very first brew. I am attempting to do EdWorts Hefeweizen in a BIAB/no-chill in kettle version split between two pots as I live in an apartment. So basically I am attempting to defeat myself before I begin hah.

This morning I mashed the grains and had some difficulty maintaining a steady mashing temperature on the stove. I fluttered in and out of 152-160 when the target temperature was 153. I hope that I didn't screw myself over with that. I was extremely surprised at just how much wort I was able to squeeze out of those grains. I feel like I only lost about 1/2 gallon by the time I got done squeezing.

The other mistake I made was I forgot to research in depth further the hop additions. The original recipe calls for .25 Hellertau at :15 minutes. I put them in at the hot break which may have been a mistake. I then put in the remaining .75 it originall called for at :45 and moved it to 55 and then cut it off. It is cooling now wrapped up in aluminum foil with the lid clamped on . We shall see how this all goes hah. A worthwhile experiment thus far now to clean up and get everything sanitized for tomorrow.

 

[glick]

I agree that you're trying to defeat yourself before you begin! As for hop additions the time of the addition is counted from the end of the boil. So for a 60 minute boil, when the boil starts that is minute 60. Then just count down. A 15 minute hop addition goes in 15 minutes before the end of the boil, or 45 minutes from the time the boil started.

For the mash I really don't think you would lose that much heat over the course of a one hour mash inside on the stovetop. If the mash temp really concerns you then I would dough in at the proper temp and let the mash ride for 30 minutes before even considering checking the temperature again. If the temp drops a few degrees over the course of the mash I'd be willing to bet that you would never notice in your final beer.

Hope some of this is helpful to you.

 

[RedlegEd]

@ mykrausenhurts. The term "AAR" in the title implies you are/were in the military. If so, thanks for your service. Next, Charlie Papazian coined a phrase, "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Home Brew", which you'll often see here as RDWHAHB. That's just what you should do in this case. If you've taken care to be clean, and sanitized anything touching post boil wort, you'll be fine. A slightly higher mash temp will result in a slightly less fermentable wort (less dry,) so it might finish at a Final Gravity a little higher than expected, but with a heff, it won't matter as it'll still taste great. The hop additions will affect the bitterness/flavor, so based on what you said, you put most of them in at the start, so the beer might be a little more bitter than planned - no worries since it'll finish less dry! The key to this whole homebrew thing is remember it's a hobby / passion / obsession. You learn by doing and adjusting your process. If you aren't using a detailed checklist and timer, you should. It will keep you focused on time/event based activities, and keep you from losing track of what you should do, and when to do it. Most of all, relax, have fun, and enjoy it!

 

[mykrausenhurts]

I agree that you're trying to defeat yourself before you begin! As for hop additions the time of the addition is counted from the end of the boil. So for a 60 minute boil, when the boil starts that is minute 60. Then just count down. A 15 minute hop addition goes in 15 minutes before the end of the boil, or 45 minutes from the time the boil started.

Ugh oh, if that is the case I am in trouble. I did it backwards. Welp ****, I guess I am really in trouble on that then.

 

[mykrausenhurts]

@ mykrausenhurts. The term "AAR" in the title implies you are/were in the military. If so, thanks for your service. Next, Charlie Papazian coined a phrase, "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Home Brew", which you'll often see here as RDWHAHB. That's just what you should do in this case. If you've taken care to be clean, and sanitized anything touching post boil wort, you'll be fine. A slightly higher mash temp will result in a slightly less fermentable wort (less dry,) so it might finish at a Final Gravity a little higher than expected, but with a heff, it won't matter as it'll still taste great. The hop additions will affect the bitterness/flavor, so based on what you said, you put most of them in at the start, so the beer might be a little more bitter than planned - no worries since it'll finish less dry! The key to this whole homebrew thing is remember it's a hobby / passion / obsession. You learn by doing and adjusting your process. If you aren't using a detailed checklist and timer, you should. It will keep you focused on time/event based activities, and keep you from losing track of what you should do, and when to do it. Most of all, relax, have fun, and enjoy it!

Haha yeah, I guess that is more of a military term. Was a grunt in the Corps. Thanks for your service, we grunts love arty haha.

I guess I did the hops backward according to the guy that posted above. If that is the case I am just going to have to hope that I got enough bitterness out of what I did put in very early. I bought enough stuff from the homebrew supply place that I can run two batches since I imagine this one is bust hah.

 

[RedlegEd]

Ugh oh, if that is the case I am in trouble. I did it backwards. Welp ****, I guess I am really in trouble on that then.

I reread your original post. If you put 3/4 oz Hallertau at 5 minutes before the end of the boil, you'll have a pretty hoppy Heff, but that's not a bad thing either (if you like hops!) Again, RDWHAHB!

BTW, unless it's infected, beer is *never* a bust. Some of it is just better than others. Who knows, you might really love it!

 

[mykrausenhurts]

I reread your original post. If you put 3/4 oz Hallertau at 5 minutes before the end of the boil, you'll have a pretty hoppy Heff, but that's not a bad thing either (if you like hops!) Again, RDWHAHB!

BTW, unless it's infected, beer is *never* a bust. Some of it is just better than others. Who knows, you might really love it!

I put in .25 oz at the hot break. I then put .75 oz at 55 minutes into the boil and then cut the heat off. It is no chill so it is still sitting on my oven fairly hot. I should have researched this a little bit more. But I will approach it with a RDWHAHB attitude!

 

[RedlegEd]

... I will approach it with a RDWHAHB attitude!

That's the spirit! You called it an AAR...so learn from this. What three things went well, and what three things could you improve upon? It's all about learning, dialing in your process/equipment, having fun, and making a d@mn good beer that you're proud to call your own. Please let us know how it turns out.

 

[mykrausenhurts]

Can you think of anything I may be able to do to save this batch?

If It helps me save it. I added the hops in two separate kettles. I have one that has .25 ounces of hellertau at hot break. And another that has .75 ounces at flame out. Could I possibly help save it by bringing back to boiling the one with hops introduced at flame out?

 

[glick]

I would just let it ride

 

[RedlegEd]

I would just let it ride

^^^+1. Remember, RDWHAHB. It's not broke.

 

[MaryB]

Let it go! The hops used are not super high on the flavor scale so it should be quite drinkable.

I was thinking of a batch with 1 oz Hallertau at 60 then .75 at 5 minutes(5.5 gallons) so it is not out of line. Your early addition at 60 minutes is your major bittering addition so this may be sweeter than you expect.

 

[dzlater]

I see you say it's "no chill". But even so I'm curious why you are trying to chill in the oven?
Why don't you put in the kitchen sink with some ice.

 

[kh54s10]

I too would leave it alone. You will have a less bitter beer with more hop flavor and aroma than intended, but these hops should not make a huge difference in the final beer.

Messing with it is much more risky.

 

[mykrausenhurts]

I see you say it's "no chill". But even so I'm curious why you are trying to chill in the oven?
Why don't you put in the kitchen sink with some ice.

I don't have a sink that can fit the size of pot that I have. I set both pots on top of the stove to chill for about 24 hours. I have sanitized everything and am waiting to transfer it all into my carboy. I am just waiting on my wyeast pack to swell.

 

[mykrausenhurts]

Also, I just did a measurement for my wort and I believe that I somehow went over the gravity that I Should have. I ended up with 1.060 and the target was 1.51. There was however a ton of sedement mixed into the sample as I had just stirred the pot. I am assuming this greatly affected my reading. Is there a way to compensate for that?


Well I got a calculator and added enough water to get my OG back down to close to what i think it should be. I have a TON of sedement in my carboy and I hope it doesn't cause a huge issue. This is only a couple minutes after moving it over to the carboy so maybe it settles down but we shall see.

 

[mykrausenhurts]

Ok two issues arose right off the bat from my first attempt that I was not prepared for in the slightest.

1. I need a larger blow off tube

On the first night I awoke to the cap of my container being blown off even though I had a blow off tube attached, it was not large enough of a diameter. I took my hops nylon bag which has super fine weave and I rubber banded that over the top of the carboy to keep any bugs from getting in and called it good. I let it open ferment in the bath tube and let the excess krausen drain down the tub. After about 24 hours it calmed down and I reattached the airlock.

2. I need a bucket to put this in so I can use ice to control the temperature. Right as I was about to go to bed I noticed that the temperature of the fermenter was all the way up to 82 and the temperature of my apartment is 73. The thing was bubbling like mad. I got the temperature the next day to return to some what normal of a temperature 74 (I know that is still high for a hefe) and it began to bubble what I would consider normally.

The big problem now is that there is absolutely no fermentation going on in my fermenter only 48 hours later. The airlock is moving soooo slowly. I am talking 1 bubble maybe every 5 minutes. I cannot see anything moving in the fermenter and the temperature is down to 66 after I attached a t-shirt. Any ideas for what I should do to fix the stuck fermentation?

 

[buzd]

Just because the airlock isn't bubbling, it doesn't mean it's not fermenting. You're fine. Let it ride.

 

[mykrausenhurts]

Just because the airlock isn't bubbling, it doesn't mean it's not fermenting. You're fine. Let it ride.

Ok, I was just a little concerned because I screwed up and allowed the temperature to get so high at first. Thanks for the reassurances.

 

[buzd]

That may have accounted for some of the rapid fermentation at first, and you may have some different flavors, but it's not enough to stop fermentation completely. Since so much of the sugar was consumed initially, it may explaining it slowing sooner than normal, but it's still chugging along.

 

[mykrausenhurts]

That may have accounted for some of the rapid fermentation at first, and you may have some different flavors, but it's not enough to stop fermentation completely. Since so much of the sugar was consumed initially, it may explaining it slowing sooner than normal, but it's still chugging along.

Ok, I will just attempt to maintain a steady temperature and see what happens at the end of 2 weeks.

 

[dzlater]

Since you have it in the bath tub, can you just fill the tub with cool water?
Maybe add some ice or frozen water bottles?

 

[mykrausenhurts]

I would do that but I work two jobs and hardly am ever at my apartment except to sleep so it would only be causing swings of temperature. I have managed to get the temperature down to ~66 with just the wet tshirt trick and it is happily bubbling away again. My krausen did fall as well after only 3 days. I am worried about that, but from the reading I did it seems that krausen can fall whenever.

 

[itsbarleytime]

Sounds good!

 

[mykrausenhurts]

Ok small update and search for advice. I finish pretty close to the target final gravity so I said good enough was good enough and decided to bottle. The target FG was 1.009 and I got 1.011. I bottled in PET bottles and can see the trub at the bottom forming extremely quickly it seems like. Its less than 2 days into the bottling and what seems like a noticeable amount of debris is forming at the bottom. I have put all of the bottles inside of trash bags and buckets in the hope that if they explode then I will not be in too bad of shape. I primed with 220 grams of corn sugar. Hopefully that wasn't too much. We shall see.

The biggest issue I had was that I think I produced too much of an alcoholic taste. I think this was my fault for allowing it to get about 80 degrees from the heat of the fermentation alone. Is there anything that I can do to try to fix this? Is it possible it will go away with age?