I brewed my first extract IPA today and ran into some issues.... I guess you can say I learned a lot. Previously I have brewed extract Belgium Ales, Stout and Belgium White without issues.
The recipe called for 2oz of hops at start of boil, another .5oz at 30 minutes and a final 1oz. at 45 minutes. At 55 minutes I added a half tablet of the clarifier tablet (the recipe was not clear, but the packaging said to use 1/2 for 5 gallons). My boiling pot holds about 3.5 gallons of wort.
After I cooled down the wort I tried to siphon it into the 6-gallon carboy but the siphon tube kept clogging because of the thick hops and clouds of goop that were suspended in the wort. On my previous batches where it called for a clarifier (I used Irish moss in those), it had formed a layer on the bottom of the pot. This time there was no cloud on the bottom, the whole wort was full of it and made siphoning difficult. I finally poured the last half gallon from my pot through a sieve into a bowl and then into the carboy. My process was not very smooth, hopefully I did not introduce bacteria.
I have pitched the yeast and fermentation has started after barely 2 hours so it must like the food. There is already a 2" layer of whitish sediment on the bottom of my carboy.
What to do different next time?
Use a larger diameter siphon tube?
I probably could have just poured the whole pot of wort through a funnel into the carboy since the siphoning really did not leave anything behind in the pot.
Should I have used the whole clarifying tablet?
I see you can use bags for the hops, does that mean I should use three bags for each hop application?
I appreciate any insights / advise you can give me.
Patrick
The recipe called for 2oz of hops at start of boil, another .5oz at 30 minutes and a final 1oz. at 45 minutes. At 55 minutes I added a half tablet of the clarifier tablet (the recipe was not clear, but the packaging said to use 1/2 for 5 gallons). My boiling pot holds about 3.5 gallons of wort.
After I cooled down the wort I tried to siphon it into the 6-gallon carboy but the siphon tube kept clogging because of the thick hops and clouds of goop that were suspended in the wort. On my previous batches where it called for a clarifier (I used Irish moss in those), it had formed a layer on the bottom of the pot. This time there was no cloud on the bottom, the whole wort was full of it and made siphoning difficult. I finally poured the last half gallon from my pot through a sieve into a bowl and then into the carboy. My process was not very smooth, hopefully I did not introduce bacteria.
I have pitched the yeast and fermentation has started after barely 2 hours so it must like the food. There is already a 2" layer of whitish sediment on the bottom of my carboy.
What to do different next time?
Use a larger diameter siphon tube?
I probably could have just poured the whole pot of wort through a funnel into the carboy since the siphoning really did not leave anything behind in the pot.
Should I have used the whole clarifying tablet?
I see you can use bags for the hops, does that mean I should use three bags for each hop application?
I appreciate any insights / advise you can give me.
Patrick