el beero
02-08-2007, 06:13 PM
Hello all-
New to the board, new to the obsession. So Ive got my first batch going in the primary and have developed a few questions.
Now, Im sure that Uncle Charlie would tell me just to relax and have a homebrew...and Im right there, these are just some nitpicky things that I am wondering about in an effort to make my first batch something I can show off and also improve on for the next attempt.
So I'm brewing an American Amber Ale (Yup, a Red Seal Ale Clone was too much to resist!). Things were generally good with the boil and subsequent transfer to the primary. Biggest lesson there is already going to be resolved by the time the primary is available again for the next batch...and that is namely a larger brew pot!
But that leads me to the first question. The recipe called for a 5 gal. total volume. Because I was afeared of making a horrible sticky mess out of my kitchen I ended up with a smaller batch of about 3.5 gal. I probably should have added it to the primary, BUT, since the recipe calls for a 2 week stay in the secondary, can I add water to increase the volume when I transfer? Will I affect the yeast if the water is too cold and stop the fermentation? Will I be watering down the flavor too far? If I don't should I expect really strong beer?
In a related, but probably less critical curiosity...when I took a specific gravity reading before adding the yeast I got a reading of 1.080, and the hydrometer barely seemed to even sink at all. My thought is that because I used the amount of malt extract called for in the 5 gal. recipe, and the water was far more dense. If I am recommended to add water to the secondary per question above, should I keep adding water until I get a specific gravity reading close to what was listed in the recipe (as opposed to a more arbitrary amount like 1.5 gal. or whatever it actually takes to reach 5 gal)?
Third, and probably most pressing concerns dry hopping as the recipe calls for it in the secondary. Do I need to use whole leaf hops for dry hopping or can I use the remainder of the pellet packet that Ive kept in the refridgerator? Also, what is the procedure for dry hopping? How necessary?
And, FINALLY, bottling...can I bottle directly from the secondary? Or will there be enough sediment from the yeast and the leftover hops make it impossible to stir in the priming sugar (also, how do you stir the priming sugar into a carboy?)?
Ok, I think thats about all. As you can tell I spent a lot of time at work this week thinking about this while it has been in the primary. I realize there is a lot there to respond to...but I've been waiting patiently for my account to activate, and reading a lot of posts. Thanks in advance for the advice!
New to the board, new to the obsession. So Ive got my first batch going in the primary and have developed a few questions.
Now, Im sure that Uncle Charlie would tell me just to relax and have a homebrew...and Im right there, these are just some nitpicky things that I am wondering about in an effort to make my first batch something I can show off and also improve on for the next attempt.
So I'm brewing an American Amber Ale (Yup, a Red Seal Ale Clone was too much to resist!). Things were generally good with the boil and subsequent transfer to the primary. Biggest lesson there is already going to be resolved by the time the primary is available again for the next batch...and that is namely a larger brew pot!
But that leads me to the first question. The recipe called for a 5 gal. total volume. Because I was afeared of making a horrible sticky mess out of my kitchen I ended up with a smaller batch of about 3.5 gal. I probably should have added it to the primary, BUT, since the recipe calls for a 2 week stay in the secondary, can I add water to increase the volume when I transfer? Will I affect the yeast if the water is too cold and stop the fermentation? Will I be watering down the flavor too far? If I don't should I expect really strong beer?
In a related, but probably less critical curiosity...when I took a specific gravity reading before adding the yeast I got a reading of 1.080, and the hydrometer barely seemed to even sink at all. My thought is that because I used the amount of malt extract called for in the 5 gal. recipe, and the water was far more dense. If I am recommended to add water to the secondary per question above, should I keep adding water until I get a specific gravity reading close to what was listed in the recipe (as opposed to a more arbitrary amount like 1.5 gal. or whatever it actually takes to reach 5 gal)?
Third, and probably most pressing concerns dry hopping as the recipe calls for it in the secondary. Do I need to use whole leaf hops for dry hopping or can I use the remainder of the pellet packet that Ive kept in the refridgerator? Also, what is the procedure for dry hopping? How necessary?
And, FINALLY, bottling...can I bottle directly from the secondary? Or will there be enough sediment from the yeast and the leftover hops make it impossible to stir in the priming sugar (also, how do you stir the priming sugar into a carboy?)?
Ok, I think thats about all. As you can tell I spent a lot of time at work this week thinking about this while it has been in the primary. I realize there is a lot there to respond to...but I've been waiting patiently for my account to activate, and reading a lot of posts. Thanks in advance for the advice!