How long did you let the wort rest before you poured it? Some is bound to stay in suspension. I wouldn't worry though, when fermentation slows down, the solids will sink to the bottom and stay there. If a problem persists, either wait longer or rack it to secondary. In secondary you wont have to worry about the previous solids at the bottom, and you can watch the rest of it sink. Time is your friend, so just wait for it.
Also, if you're pouring it the sediment at the bottom is bound to move. You can always try using a racking cane next time, which will pull the liquid out without disturbing the solids.
__________________
Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world. (I think I may have found her!)
Fermenting: None
bottled: Prototype Porter, ESB, cider experiments 1-7.
Secondary: Zip point squat
Kegged: Nada :( (unless you count lemonade)
Using a rack cane to transfer from the brewpot to the fermenter? I thought pouring from high up after it cools in the ice bath was good to get oxy in before pitching. We poured it as soon as it cooled
Also I've got another couple questions
My wife couldn't wait for me to try it lol and so she went ahead and put a bottle in the fridge last night ( 5 days after bottling) I know its gotta be in the fridge 48 hrs before drinking right? Also it looks cloudy as of last night and had some settlements in the bottom. Is this yeast settling because of the cold fridge temps and will the beer clear up? I know clouding is a sign of oxidation but we used the racking cane to transfer to bottling bucket and were pretty careful so what's this all mean? Sorry if I'm being ridiculous lol
I know its gotta be in the fridge 48 hrs before drinking right?
This is your beer. If you want to warm it to 95°F before tasting it, you can. I wouldn't, but you can.
Some people think a 48 hour refrigeration makes it taste better. They're probably right. Chilling certainly helps with sediment, but it's not really a big deal. I prefer my beer "cellar temperature", so I frequently skip the chill altogether. But it's all about your personal taste.
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Also it looks cloudy as of last night and had some settlements in the bottom. Is this yeast settling because of the cold fridge temps and will the beer clear up? I know clouding is a sign of oxidation but we used the racking cane to transfer to bottling bucket and were pretty careful so what's this all mean?
It'll look cloudy for a while. After only five days, there's still a lot of yeast in suspension. There's a good chance your chilling will speed up the yeast's dropping, but it might cause some chill haze too.
I honestly wouldn't worry about it.
It's only been five days. Even if you made the world's most amazing beer, it's not going to be at its best after only five days. It's probably really cloudy, pretty close to flat, and likely has no head at all.
But it's your first beer. You're going to love it. Just try and leave some until the four- or six-week mark. It really will taste better after another month.
With my first several batches, I was finishing the last couple bottles right about the time they were ready to drink.
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Sorry if I'm being ridiculous lol
Every single person who's ever made beer asked all the same questions.
Well, I suppose not everyone: the mediaevals didn't have to worry about refrigeration...
Lol thanks for the help! Next question
Whats the benefit of using whole leaf hops vs. Pellets? Any added difficulties? Where can I get them easily and fresh? What's the differences in process?
Lol thanks for the help! Next question
Whats the benefit of using whole leaf hops vs. Pellets? Any added difficulties? Where can I get them easily and fresh? What's the differences in process?
I don't think there's a significant difference in the finished product. Whole leaf hops and pellets are equivalent by weight (i.e. one ounce of leaf is an ounce of pellet), and I can't tell a real difference between beer made with pellets vs. beer made with leaves. The process is exactly the same.
Pellets are compressed: they're less volume for the same weight. They're also a lot easier to divide, measure out, etc. When you put them in wort, they pretty much dissolve right into it.
Leaf hops are a lot lower in density, so they're more trouble to measure out. They tend to blow away in the slightest breeze, and they like to float, so I always end up stirring them into the beer. They're definitely messier.
I think the leaf hops smell better, but that's not really relevant except when you're actually brewing. They strain out of the wort really easily, but they leave an awful mess in the brew kettle and I find hop petals all over the place during cleanup.
At my LHBS they're the same price.
My preference for leaf hops isn't terribly profound, maybe even a little silly. I like to demystify food when I cook: I like to know where everything comes from. It's silly, but I view the hop leaves as slightly less processed than pellets. If you watch them make hop pellets, it's not all that complicated. But to me the pellets don't look like hops.
I've been brewing this winter with hops out of my garden, as well as hops a friend found growing wild. Those are obviously whole-leaf hops: I just rinsed them off and ran them through a dehydrator.
So there's not a ton of difference. I think pellets are easier to deal with for the most part, but leaves are easier to strain out of wort. Leaves smell just a little better, but the final product's pretty much the same.
My preference for whole leaf hops is almost entirely because I don't think pellets look like hops. If there was the slightest difference in price, I'd use whatever's cheaper.
Ok well with this IPA I did I just dumped the pellets in the pot and I started to strain when pouring into the fermenter but the funnel/filter was getting seriously clogged so we just poured it from high up to let it get oxygen. Was this totally wrong? Didn't all the hop sludge settle out of the beer? Some of it was dried on the side of the fermenter close to the waterline.
I also used a racking cane to transfer from the brewpot to the fermenter on my old setup. It's too cumbersome to lift a heavy brewpot and easier to just sanitize a racking cane and transfer. What i do to aerate my wort is I use a copper tube with holes drilled in it. I attach it to the end of the transfer hose and it sucks air in as it transfers. Now it goes on the end of a hose attached to a ball valve on the side of my kettle, but it used to go on the end of the racking cane. If you whirlpool gently during the chill and once it's cooled below 100 whirlpool vigorously, you can transfer with the racking cane once it's all the way cooled with little trub. Just leave your cane in the same spot during the transfer and it will make a crater around it with it only picking up the trub about an inch around the cane stopper thing. And the hops around the "waterline" will always be there. It's not just hops, it's all kinds of sludge from all kinds of stuff and extremely bitter if you ever decide to taste it.
__________________
On Tap:
Bottled: 4 lonely KBS Clones from '09
Kegged:
Primary: American Pale Ale
Secondary:
Next brew: Something with Chico Yeast
Also I've got another couple questions
My wife couldn't wait for me to try it lol and so she went ahead and put a bottle in the fridge last night ( 5 days after bottling) I know its gotta be in the fridge 48 hrs before drinking right? Also it looks cloudy as of last night and had some settlements in the bottom. Is this yeast settling because of the cold fridge temps and will the beer clear up? I know clouding is a sign of oxidation but we used the racking cane to transfer to bottling bucket and were pretty careful so what's this all mean? Sorry if I'm being ridiculous lol
+1 on Clumsy's response. I've never heard of waiting 48hrs in the fridge. Two weeks to bottle condition - yes. But drink up whenever you want for your first batch. Eventually you will taste it and say, "yup, it's a ready". Don't think your wasting it, it's in your belly and bloodstream either way. lol. I taste mine during the mash, boil, chill, after fermentation, and after kegging or bottling. And your probably seeing chill haze which most likely won't go away. Are you using an ice batch to chill or a chiller?
__________________
On Tap:
Bottled: 4 lonely KBS Clones from '09
Kegged:
Primary: American Pale Ale
Secondary:
Next brew: Something with Chico Yeast
Mike- ice bath.
I will try racking to fermenter next time.
My wife wanted to know if a wisk was a good idea for adding oxygen to the wort before pitching? I thought it might be hard to sanitize fully.
Now for the big news!
After what you guys said yesterday I went home and tried the bottle in the fridge..... IT WAS AWESOME!!! And fully carbed...wich kinda worries me after only 5 days room temp 1 day in fridge given that I forgot to gently stir. You think I'm still in danger of bombs? My wife doesn't want to bother pulling them out of the cabinet and putting them in a tub with
a lid... She thinks it will be fine. She's probably right.
It tasted of sweet caramel,oak, big hop backbone with a bit of booziness
Some whisks are ok, but most have hollow handles that can suck up liquid while you're stirring. If you were careful and made sure to keep the handle high and dry, it'd probably be fine. I usually just use a long handled plastic spoon and go to town on it. They also make slotted stirring spoons (more like paddles) just for this problem. I know a couple of guys who use bubble stones from aquarium setups attached to oxygen tanks, but that's quite a bit outside of my capabilities (or needs).
Congrats on your beer!
__________________
Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world. (I think I may have found her!)
Fermenting: None
bottled: Prototype Porter, ESB, cider experiments 1-7.
Secondary: Zip point squat
Kegged: Nada :( (unless you count lemonade)
Thanks malty! Oh and the head retention is insane! It doesn't go away either! I'm gonna be a good boy and wait another week before drinking anymore of it. :-) or sharing it.
How do you dry hop? How do you sanitize them to ensure no contamination?
After what you guys said yesterday I went home and tried the bottle in the fridge..... IT WAS AWESOME!!! And fully carbed...wich kinda worries me after only 5 days room temp 1 day in fridge given that I forgot to gently stir. You think I'm still in danger of bombs? My wife doesn't want to bother pulling them out of the cabinet and putting them in a tub with
a lid... She thinks it will be fine. She's probably right.
It tasted of sweet caramel,oak, big hop backbone with a bit of booziness
Congratulations! Sounds like your first batch was a success.
I wouldn't worry about bombs. You will anyway, but you shouldn't. I messed up carbonating a few times, and never made a bomb.
It sounds like you made a great start into home brewing. Well done!
Thanks clumsy it was a success! And I like how you said it about the bombs lol you getting to know me too well already lol worry will subside soon though I'm sure
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