First Batch in the fermenter, and HELLO!

[Test_Engineer]

Brew my first batch this past Sunday, and it is getting pretty angry in the fermenter right now. Recipe was for Bell's Two Hearted (IPA). U-Brew didn't have any centennial hops so we switched to cascade. I know we(the neighbor and I) made a few mistakes along the way, but that is what learning is all about.

OK, I got the beer related topic out of the way. I just wanted to introduce myself to the forum as well. My username suggests that I am an engineer. Yes, I am Vehicle Dynamics test engineer for an OEM. I am responsible for overseeing all ride and handling development for our North American products. So, basically I am the crazy nutjob that wears a helmet and firesuit at work. I live in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area of MI. I am married and one child on the way. I also have a partially finished basement project that is currently being redesigned in my head to accommodate my new hobby!:D

Well, Hello, and I am sure I will be posting all sorts of newbie questions along the way as we build our brewery.

[psychodad]

Originally posted by Test_Engineer I know we(the neighbor and I) made a few mistakes along the way, but that is what learning is all about.


Welcome. I was sure I mucked up a couple of things in my recent first batch, but all seemed to turn out well. One thing you will learn here is, relax, don't worry.

[wortchillergoal]

Welcome to a great site and a great hobby. Mistakes are a part of any hobby. The problem with this hobby is that it can lead to a great beer and You don't know/remember how you got there.

You test engineers are almost as bad as we goalies. I met an older gent, test engineer as well, at a train event. My other hobby with my son. He rode the front end of Hiawatha locomotive, steam, at 90 plus miles per hour to measure wind resistance.

Look forward to having you around.

[BrewDog]

Welcome.

I, like a lot of others with a Math/Science/Engineering background, enjoy brewing because it allows us to excercise both the technical aspects as well as the artistic aspects of our brains.

To me (a computer scientist), software is "brain art", and at least to me, brewing is very similar.

[Test_Engineer]

Originally posted by BrewDog
Welcome.

I, like a lot of others with a Math/Science/Engineering background, enjoy brewing because it allows us to excercise both the technical aspects as well as the artistic aspects of our brains.

To me (a computer scientist), software is "brain art", and at least to me, brewing is very similar.

I am doing it because I love beer! I understand what you are saying though. I really enjoy cooking(not baking), and brewing isn't much different than making soup. My problem now is looking at all the new high tech equipment that is available and really getting the itch to go all out with this hobby... MiniBrew fermenter, Therminator, wortwizard, big brew kettles and mash tuns. The neighbor(brewing buddy) and I both deal with cars and the automotive world all day long, so cooking up some brew is a great relaxing way to unwind on the weekend....and you get beer in the end!

[Test_Engineer]

HELP!

Well, I think we officially screwed this first batch up BIGTIME!

Being EXTREMELY green to home brewing, we made a boatload of mistakes.

Mistake #1 Didn't filter the wort, so there is an obscene amount of trub on the bottom of the fermenter! Planned on using a 2nd fermenter to get this beer off the trub when the yeast falls.

Problem #2: So it's been 7 days and the yeast hasn't fallen yet, so I start looking into possible reasons. First I check the recipe. OMG it's and ALL-GRAIN recipe...NOT an Extract recipe. I am so pissed at the LHB store now, and my fault for not reading enough before we started this to understand when we were doing something wrong. He sort of rushed us through the AG recipe and gave us another (extract)recipe to guide us. He just said, here is your specialty grains, here is your DME, and just follow this (extract)recipe and you should be all set. Well, to make a long story short, we steeped(partial mash) 13lbs of grain for 60min, AND added 6lbs of DME to this monster at the beginning of the boil. Being new to this we didn't/forgot to take an OG measurement. But, just by looking at various recipes, I would assume it was close to or above 1.090-1.120ish. That is a boatload of sugars!!!!!!

So right now it is day 7 and the White Labs CA ale yeast is still going strong. I looked at the specs for this yeast, and it says it can do 10-15% ABV. So maybe this yeast can get this down to a drinkable, yet very high ABV. The krausen has not fallen yet, assuming because of the massive amount of sugars still in the fermenter.

ANY HELP or recommendations would be really appreciated at this point.

[psychodad]

Relax.

I may be wrong, but...

When you rack to secondary, you will leave some sediment behind and when you rack to your bottling bucket you'll leave some more.

If the yeast is still working, that is likely good. Let it finish and don't rush it.

The flavors that you will likely get from steeping your grain too long may not be true to the original recipe, but don't bail on this until you try it.

Next batch just read your recipe at least two times before starting. The HBS where I buy includes extract, mini mash and AG instructions with the kit.

Quit worrying.

[Test_Engineer]

Originally posted by psychodad
Relax.

I may be wrong, but...

When you rack to secondary, you will leave some sediment behind and when you rack to your bottling bucket you'll leave some more.

If the yeast is still working, that is likely good. Let it finish and don't rush it.

The flavors that you will likely get from steeping your grain too long may not be true to the original recipe, but don't bail on this until you try it.

Next batch just read your recipe at least two times before starting. The HBS where I buy includes extract, mini mash and AG instructions with the kit.

Quit worrying.

At this point, I am not too worried about the trub, because I was planning on a second fermenter anyway. I am more worried about the crazy amount of sugars in there. I forgot to mention this is only a 5 gallon batch. So with 13lbs of grain and 6 lbs of DME... this is going to be a beast if that yeast can convert a good portion of that.

[BrewDog]

First, Relax-

CA Ale yeast is one of the heartiest. It'll have no problem finishing off your wort. Let it take the time it needs. It is more than capable of doing the job.

How careful were you with temperature control when you were steeping the grains? If you exceeded about 165F for more than 10 mins, then you may have a problem with unconverted starch.
Did you do an Iodine conversion test to see if all the starches converted? (I doubt the LHBS guy told you to, though).

I would be surprised if you got much above 1.090, since you are probably not really set up for super-efficient sparging (and hence sugar collection). Most of the time, a 'steep' will only get about 50% extraction efficiency. At that rate, I'd expect your beer to have an OG in the neighborhood of about 1.087 or so give or take.

So, in a nutshell, relax, let the yeast work its magic. This is your first beer. 7 days is not long. I usually let it go 2 weeks in the primary regardless of when the krausen falls. It will probably end up ok, but I'd suggest you let us help you with a simple extract w/ grains recipe for your next batch and just have the bozo at the LHBS fill the order for you, not dictate its contents.

Just let us know what kind of beer you want to make next.

HTH-

[Test_Engineer]

Thanks BrewDog for your input. Like I said, we were pretty ignorant when doing this first batch and just followed what the LHBS guy said. Obviously that was a mistake. No, we didn't do an iodine test, so that is another thing on the list to pick up. But we did keep the steep temp about 153-155 the entire 60min, so I think we should be OK.

We found another LHBS about 20min away(Adventures in Home Brewing in Taylor, MI) and it is MUCH better. The guy seems really cool and has a ton of grains and equipment on hand.

Time to let this first "learning experience" do it's thing and learn from our mistakes. The other guy brewing with me just wanted to "do it", while I wanted to read a bit more and make sure I knew what we were doing at all times. Since I've had more time to read and research, I know almost everything we did wrong. So I guess in a way it is a blessing.

[Vienna Lager]

Ther are good and bad LHB's out there and the best advice is to 'look' and 'listen'.

'Look' at all the reading materal you can especially John Palmers How to Brew.

'Listen' to your fellow brewers and learn for their sucesses and mistakes.

[Test_Engineer]

Update on the disaster 1st batch:

It's in bottles now carbing. I left it in the secondary for 2 weeks to hopefully mellow it out a bit. I did sneak a taste during bottling. Uhm...yeah... should be pretty disgusting. It tasted a bit like Two-hearted, but even more sour. Sort of a double IPA without enough hops. Sometime this weekend I'll toss one in the fridge and check the results. I'll just write this one off as the 1st batch disaster.


It did actively ferment in the primary for about 12 days, racked it to the secondary at day 14 and dry hopped it again.

Should be entertaining. At least I got some racking and bottling experience out of it.

[corkybstewart]

It's still way too early to bail out. Leave it in the bottles a couple of weeks, then try one. Rinse, repeat every few days until it starts to taste good. Patience is the key to good beer, at least after it's been bottled.
I usually taste my beers at different steps in the process just to experience the amazing changes that a little time creates.