[redrocker652002]

My brother and I have decided to try our own styles of beer and have a brew day tomorrow.  I have a Ranger IPA clone and my brother got a Shock Top Clone.  Both from Austin Homebrew.  I am pretty stoked as this is my first time brewing with my little brother and hanging with him is always a good time.  Might invite my mom over so she can laugh at us too, make a family party out of it.  They sent a Whirfloc tablet and two Yeast nutrient pills.  Never used them, but might give them a try.  For the whirfloc, they only sent one pill, and the instructions say one half per 5 gallons, so I will cut it in half and my brother and I will each use half. 

I am looking forward to this, but All Grain or BIAB will be the next time I think.  Wish me luck, as usually hanging with my brother involves a few too many beers.  LOL 

RR

[BrewBama]

Sounds like a great time. You guys have fun!



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[tommymorris]

Heck yeah! That sounds like a great brew day!

[ynotbrusum]

Indeed, some of my best brew days were group brew days!  Cheers and enjoy your time together.

[KellerBrauer]

Sounds like good times are ahead.  Let us know how they turn out!

[redrocker652002]

Brew day complete last night about 6 or so.  It went ok.  My brother went first as his seemed to be the easier.  His seemed to go well.  According to the paper we got with his recipe his OG was supposed to be in the 1.052, and it was.  Mine, on the other hand, was supposed to be in the 1.058, but read in the high 1.060's.  Close to 1.070.  Not sure what I did wrong, everything was pre-measured so this time it wasn't me I don't think.  I used yeast fuel and a half a whirfloc tablet as they instructed, and I have never used either.  Would either of those upped the OG?  I am going to let it run it's course as it is in the fermenter now.  I have a small amount of dry hop pellets I need to add in about a week, then let it sit another week or two I think before it goes in the keg.  So, for now, I am going to say it was ok.  Have a great Sunday all. 

[denny]

No, neither of those should have changed the OG. Was this by any chance a partial boil where you added top up water after?

[redrocker652002]

No, neither of those should have changed the OG. Was this by any chance a partial boil where you added top up water after?

Yes.  I brought 2 gallons to 155, steeped the small bag of grains for 25 minutes.  Pulled the bag, added a gallon of water and brought that up to a boil.  Added the extract and sugar and brought that to a boil, then hop additions at 60, 30, 15 and 5.  Cooled the wort and put it in the fermenter.  Added enough water to bring the total liquid in the fermenter to 5 1/4 gallons.  Stirred well, added dry yeast, stirred again and in the closet it went.  Sitting in about 70 degree closet overnight.  Not getting much bubble out of the air lock yet, so the instructions say that I can stir the liquid with a sanitized spoon to try and get the yeast going.  Not sure I am going to do that yet.  It has been in the closet now for about 16 hours.  I get a rush of bubbles every 5 to 10 minutes, so maybe it is ok.  I have about 3/4 ounce of cascade pellets that are to be added in about 5 to 7 days. I have 1/2 ounce of Apollo hops left over, I am thinking of maybe just throwing them in to see what happens, but that is not part of the recipe I got, so I am not sure.  I followed everything to the T this time, so I don't think it was me who screwed up, but who knows.  My brothers wheat beer is bubbling like crazy, but it is a different beer with different yeast so I am guessing that has something to do with it.  Either way, I am going to do what the instructions say and go from there.  Any input is much appreciated and will help me continue on with my knowledge. 

Here is the instruction sheet that came with the ingredients. 

https://austinhomebrew.com/assets/images/RCPPDF/06841.pdf

Just for laughs, how would the extra 1/2 ounce of Apollo change the flavor at the dry hop stage of the process?  Just thinking outside the box for a second.  Anyway, thanks to all who looked and replied.  The journey continues. 

[denny]

An extra 1/2 oz for dry hops won't make a world of difference.

I'd guess that you got an inaccurate reading due to topping off.  Because the wort is heavier than water, it's difficult to get them mixed enough tpm get an accurate reading. No big deal.  With extract if you use all the ingredients and end up with the volume the kit was designed for, you pretty much have to be at the OG they tell you.

[redrocker652002]

Great.   Thank you for the response.  It is bubbling away, so I am happy so far.  LOL.  I am going to stick to the recipe and save the extra hops for another time.  that way I know whether it is something I want to do again.  Next up, BIAB I think.   I just need a bigger pot and a bigger burner.  LOL. 

[Richard]

I strongly recommend going electric if you are moving to a larger system. It doesn't work for everyone, but there are lots of advantages if you can make it work in your location: quieter, never running out of gas, ability to brew inside, better control, easier to avoid scorching your bag, etc.

[fredthecat]

I strongly recommend going electric if you are moving to a larger system. It doesn't work for everyone, but there are lots of advantages if you can make it work in your location: quieter, never running out of gas, ability to brew inside, better control, easier to avoid scorching your bag, etc.

yeah, ive been brewing for about 13 years now (i might have said 15 inaccurately before, i recalculated recently). i bought all new stuff 2 years ago after a move. i bought the classic stuff, cooler mash tun, 8 gallon pot, glass carboys, etc.

if i bought an electric all-in-one system it would have been only marginally more expensive for features and probably about 5x more convenient to have a brew day. its a matter of time before i get one. theyre simply better than the old style assemblage of containers.

however they may break down in the way that a big pot and cooler mashtun won't. but