Messages

316

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Questions on my first batch, 5 gallon kit

« on: January 27, 2012, 09:56:42 pm »

My tricorder tells me that it's probably going to be somewhat extra bitter, possibly because I extended the 12 minutes to 25 because of the non-boil phase after adding the malt extracts and 2nd hops addition.  No doubt there's some extra bittering there, but how much I can't be arsed to attempt to calculate at this time and after this many beers.  Let's just say that I expect the IBUs to be higher than normal, except for the OG being lower than expected, thus leading to a definitive mathematical quantification of "I just don't f'in know." 

Whatever, the beer should be tasty when it's done.  The wort was pretty tasty, despite its slightly extra bitter nature.  I'm purely optimistic at this point.  Next time I brew I'll have homebrews to drink so I really won't be worried about it at all.

317

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Questions on my first batch, 5 gallon kit

« on: January 27, 2012, 07:16:26 pm »

Unless my thermometer is WAY off (doubtful) there's no way it reached 170.

I tasted the SG sample* after I read the OG and it tasted fine, quite bitter from the hops, but then it's an IPA so that's probably expected.  It smelled wonderful brewing so I'm not going to spend two weeks worrying when I've already gotten two positive replies and I've had about five beers since I finished brewing it! 

Thanks everybody who's participated in this thread, btw.  This forum is a really great place to learn about brewing, I'm already spending too much time here!!  It's distracting me big time from my other useless internet pursuits!!! LOL

I already can't wait to brew my sweet stout that's up next!

I have decided that bottling with the carboy went just fine, and I'm keeping the plastic bucket as the primary fermenter.  If I decide on secondaries for whatever reason in the future, I'll get another glass carboy, but for now I'm happy with this arrangement.  There's going to be slight losses from transferring, so I'll start with 5.5 gallon batches and bottle from the carboy from here out, at least until something better presents itself. 

Although bottling is a pain in the butt so I might just invest in a keg or two in the somewhat near future anyway lol.

*not that my pallet is advanced enough to glean any useful info from that, but hey, you can't put the sample back in the bucket, so might as well, right?

318

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Questions on my first batch, 5 gallon kit

« on: January 27, 2012, 04:01:03 pm »

OK.  Batch two, English IPA, completed.  Full procedure, with notes, here.

The only major concern was the temp on the mash got up to about 164 for a few minutes, probably 2-3.  I quickly removed it from the heat and hopefully it never reached 168.  Can't guarantee anything as the thermometer isn't calibrated (D'oh!  Hindsight 20/20 error). 

no worries it takes time at 168 to denature all the enzymes and there are plenty

That's good to hear, as (of course) I'm finding a bzillion things to worry about, even though I think I really should be fine.  But I'm a semi-perfectionist (meaning I like my results to be perfect without having to use perfect technique, LOL). 

319

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Questions on my first batch, 5 gallon kit

« on: January 27, 2012, 03:30:08 pm »

OK.  Batch two, English IPA, completed.  Full procedure, with notes, here.

The only major concern was the temp on the mash got up to about 164 for a few minutes, probably 2-3.  I quickly removed it from the heat and hopefully it never reached 168.  Can't guarantee anything as the thermometer isn't calibrated (D'oh!  Hindsight 20/20 error).  

320

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Questions on my first batch, 5 gallon kit

« on: January 26, 2012, 09:27:04 pm »

Bottling day today.  Getting the hang of this bottling thing with a friend and a couple of brewskies.  

FG = 1.020

I think I did good for the most part.  If anything, the addition of the boiled corn sugar was my iffy-est step.  I think I over-boiled the sugar longer than I wanted to (my buddy came over right at the critical moment, and I was distracted).  Slight color tinge when it was done.  But there was a slight residue on the pot I used and it tasted purely sweet and not burnt or caramelized, so hopefully it's good.  I guess it wouldn't be my first batch unless I sketched and worried about it.  Only time will tell at this point.

tomorrow I'm planning on brewing my first solo batch, the extract IPA I originally had planned before I met Old Guy.  There are some specialty grains but for the most part it looks pretty cut and dry.  I'm going for it one way or another, so wish me luck.

321

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 1/20 Edition

« on: January 25, 2012, 07:06:30 am »

Friday I'll be brewing an extract American IPA with specialty grains, my second batch.  Bottling my first batch tomorrow!  (sierra nevada celebration clone).

322

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: First brew day mistakes

« on: January 24, 2012, 05:06:53 pm »

Very interesting thread.  I'll be doing my first five gallon batch (at least without help, that is) this weekend.  Also bottling my first five gallon batch (brewed with a lot of help).  I'm going to keep a close eye on this thread because I think we're in mostly the same boat.  I will of course be reporting on my experiences down the line too.  

I'm already obsessed!!

My temperature control is much easier.   I'm also using dry yeast on batches 2 and 3 so that should make a difference too.

Have yet to decide what batch 4 will be.  I suspect I'll pick up ingredients for some type of "red" next time I hit St Louis.  I've got multiple books (joy of homebrewing, how to brew, beer captured), and I've narrowed batch 4 down to a couple different red recipes.

My second/third batches will be an extract IPA and a sweet stout (haven't decided the order yet).

It's very obsessive!

323

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Sam Adams Infinium

« on: January 22, 2012, 03:35:02 pm »

This is a spoiler review so quit reading if you don't want to know what it's like.  It's not too shabby and not even close to what I was expecting.  Should have know since it follows the m,h,w,y rule.  I'd say it's like a non-viscous Salvator (I know, wrong brewery) with med-high carbonation.  Deep dark caramelized (fruits, the wife says citrus too) with a touch of peppery spice in the nose.  It does indeed have a bit of a lighter body than the aroma would make you think but I'm sure the extra carbonation doesn't hurt.  Nice apple skin and slight peach aftertaste.  Not like Dues in any way; slightly less carbonation.  Pretty good.

I got to try this recently at a tasting, and I agree with this description (better than I could have said lol).  It's tasty and certainly worthy of a NYE party.  I wouldn't personally rate the beer much higher than a "B,"  but yeah, if you don't mind dropping twenty bucks, give it a try.

324

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Sam Adams Spring Seasonal...

« on: January 22, 2012, 03:27:29 pm »

I thought the alpine spring seasonal was pretty good, not spectacular but certainly drinkable.

I am glad the noble pils will be available year round though, it's my favorite SA beer.

325

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: SN Ruthless Rye IPA

« on: January 22, 2012, 03:25:04 pm »

hands down my favorite hoppy style beer from them. Way better than Torpedo for my tastes. 

I'm with you on that Keith - the more I think of it, I *might* actually enjoy this more than Celebration.  I can't wait to have some more tonight!

I wasn't that fond of Torpedo either.  I do like celebration, and in fact my first 5 gallon brew ever is a celebration clone, almost ready for bottling. 

Anybody got a good partial mash/extract recipe (or even all grain, for future use) for the ruthless rye IPA?

326

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Questions on my first batch, 5 gallon kit

« on: January 21, 2012, 02:51:16 pm »

Actually, given tomorrow has two big football games on TV (and I have other things to do), I can easily wait till next weekend to bottle.  The beer is sitting at about 68 degrees or so, covered in a towel against the wall in a dark closet.  The temperature is pretty steady in there, so I suspect it will be just fine if I wait till next saturday to bottle.

At the moment, that's sounding like the best plan.

327

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Questions on my first batch, 5 gallon kit

« on: January 21, 2012, 11:36:55 am »

Actually that was the first time I got into the beer since it was made.  I was going to wait a few more days before taking another reading. 

And yes, I used a sanitized wine thief to obtain the sample. 

I think I'll pick up some Irish moss next time I'm at the homebrew store.  My next two batches will be extract/partial mash batches, is the moss needed in those? 

Tomorrow will be two weeks since it was brewed.  I'm anxious to bottle but afraid of making bottle bombs if the yeasties aren't done yet.  The final gravity was supposed to be 1.017-1.018.  I'm waiting to hear back from my friend who helped me on this batch to see what he thinks too.  If he says bottle, I'll just go for it tomorrow.  If he says wait, I'll wait.  I'm not sure about target FG verses actual FG here, especially since our OG was a bit higher than expected.

On the other hand, if I took another reading tomorrow and it remained the same, I would think that would be a sign that it was finished fermenting and ready for bottling. 

Thoughts on my ramblings here?  I've been reading lots of "first time" threads and we all seem to ramble a little with worries, concerns, questions etc 

328

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Questions on my first batch, 5 gallon kit

« on: January 21, 2012, 06:49:42 am »

An update on this one.  Checked the SG and it's at 1.022.  We are targeting about 1.017 or 1.018 as the final gravity, so it needs to sit a little longer. 

The beer itself was quite cloudy still, kind of a tan color, and smelled and tasted quite good.  I think this batch is on course to come out really good.  I would like to see it clear up a bit, but we'll see what happens when the FG is reached.  I think I will check the SG again in about two or three days. 

329

The Pub / Re: impy stout blow up

« on: January 16, 2012, 12:51:32 pm »

I found that to be absolutely hysterical!  Especially since my first batch, an IPA, overflowed a little, and the OG was only 1.072. 

Seems you need to leave extra space for the high kreusen on certain beers!

330

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Most fun Label

« on: January 16, 2012, 11:19:16 am »

Those are great!

This one doesn't quite match up, but I really like it anyway...



The beer is pretty good too!