BeanoNYC
Active member
So how's it looking? Still some airlock activity? Glad you were able to figure out what happened with the hop schedule. Looks like you just needed to add the bittering hops. Makes things easier for your virgin batch.
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The Homebrew Beer Thread
- Thread starter Marc
- Start date
So how's it looking? Still some airlock activity? Glad you were able to figure out what happened with the hop schedule. Looks like you just needed to add the bittering hops. Makes things easier for your virgin batch.
jaywbigred
Active member
Yup, 8 days since boil and still some airlock activity. Pretty slow, the airlock probably pops about once ever 2 minutes or so, but its movin'. Even if it tastes like butt, should be able to get drunk off it!
BeanoNYC
Active member
It will taste awesome. And if it doesn't let it sit and mellow out.
Are you planning on putting it into a secondary? I typically don't.
jaywbigred
Active member
Nah, I was just gonna let it mellow at least another 2 weeks or so then go to bottle.
BeanoNYC
Active member
jaywbigred
Active member
Sure do...but let me brew a few batches first and learn wtf I'm doing. Maybe when I move beyond extract kits...
BeanoNYC
Active member
Sure thing. I'm actually building a mash tun now and hope to be brewing All Grain in a month or so. I'm just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit so I can use the fryer on the deck.
jaywbigred
Active member
So I bottled my pale ale on Tuesday. Once I got it going out of the carboy and into the bottling bucket, I could see in the tube that it was not as dark as it looked in the carboy, which had worried me. Phew.
Everything went smoothly with the transfer, I added the priming sugar+water to the bottom and then autosiphoned the beer in. On thing of note is that when all was said and done, my yield was pretty low. Only a shade over 3 gallons. I knew it was going to be well less than 5, but I thought it would be around 4 and change. I guess between the boil off and the sediment in the bottom of the carboy, I was over estimating how much liquid was in there.
We bottled it into 8 or 9 big bottles and then the rest into about 3 maybe 4 six packs.
In the process we of course tasted it...and it was good! It tasted like a mostly flat (which is to be expected) pale ale. My buddy who helped me bottle said it "tastes like a fresher version of Sierra Nevada! This is going to be good once it is carbonated and cold." So, at the least, it appears as though it will be drinkable.
I did not take any hydrometer readings (successfully) during this brew, so I don't know the ABV. I did buy a thief so, next time, I will take the readings and hopefully my hydrometer will work.
I am going to wait 2 weeks before refrigerating/drinking some to give it time to mature. Fingers crossed (I'll post some pics later).
Everything went smoothly with the transfer, I added the priming sugar+water to the bottom and then autosiphoned the beer in. On thing of note is that when all was said and done, my yield was pretty low. Only a shade over 3 gallons. I knew it was going to be well less than 5, but I thought it would be around 4 and change. I guess between the boil off and the sediment in the bottom of the carboy, I was over estimating how much liquid was in there.
We bottled it into 8 or 9 big bottles and then the rest into about 3 maybe 4 six packs.
In the process we of course tasted it...and it was good! It tasted like a mostly flat (which is to be expected) pale ale. My buddy who helped me bottle said it "tastes like a fresher version of Sierra Nevada! This is going to be good once it is carbonated and cold." So, at the least, it appears as though it will be drinkable.
I did not take any hydrometer readings (successfully) during this brew, so I don't know the ABV. I did buy a thief so, next time, I will take the readings and hopefully my hydrometer will work.
I am going to wait 2 weeks before refrigerating/drinking some to give it time to mature. Fingers crossed (I'll post some pics later).
BeanoNYC
Active member
Extract batches will typically be darker than all grain, don't worry about a darker color. What was your starting volume prior to boil? I suspect that your beer will have more alcohol than intended than the recipe. Not a bad thing, necessarily. Are you going to send me a bottle or what?
jaywbigred
Active member
If I taste it and it is decent, I'll send you bottle :beer:
BeanoNYC
Active member
Finally had some time to drill my Kettles and install the new bells and whistles. I also did a test run of my outdoor setup on Saturday. Outside temp was in the 40s and I got 8 gallons to a rolling boil in 50 minutes. On the left is my new boil kettle and on the right is my HLT. I also found some kegs on craigslist and will be converting them to 15 gallon kettles in the future.
BeanoNYC
Active member
Bump....anyone still out there?
I have an all grain batch of an American Pale Ale bubbling away at the moment. My bourbon barrel porter is cold crashing in the fridge while it's oak cube soak in a pint of Makers Mark. Going to add them for a few weeks, then let it sit until November.
I have an all grain batch of an American Pale Ale bubbling away at the moment. My bourbon barrel porter is cold crashing in the fridge while it's oak cube soak in a pint of Makers Mark. Going to add them for a few weeks, then let it sit until November.
Hey Beano,
I made my first batch of homebrew ever back in October. I wrote up a blog post on it ...
http://imgerman.com/2010/11/brewing-your-own-dusseldorf-alt-bier/
I was trying to recreate Alt Bier like I used to drink when visiting my family in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Right now i've got about 3/4 gallon left of Bock in the basement, the next batch I'm going to make (my 3rd brew) will be a brown ale.
I made my first batch of homebrew ever back in October. I wrote up a blog post on it ...
http://imgerman.com/2010/11/brewing-your-own-dusseldorf-alt-bier/
I was trying to recreate Alt Bier like I used to drink when visiting my family in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Right now i've got about 3/4 gallon left of Bock in the basement, the next batch I'm going to make (my 3rd brew) will be a brown ale.
BeanoNYC
Active member
Nice! Where are you getting your supplies? All Grain or Extract batches?
Edit: Just read the blog. Great stuff.
Edit: Just read the blog. Great stuff.
ctenidae
Active member
My wooden barrel experiment was a great success, except that I've stopped drinking (much) during the week, and so the porter I put in there has been in for longer than one would expect. Last time I tasted it it had a bit of a green/woody taste going, with a bare hint of smokiness. Not altogether pleasant, but not awful. Eventually, I plan to just bottle some and let it mature in bottle for a bit and see what happens.
BeanoNYC
Active member
How were you getting it out of the barrel? Spigot? Sounds awesome.
Extract, still learning about All Grain. I'm almost finished with my 2nd batch, about to embark on my 3rd.
It is a lot of fun, and the beer tastes friggen great!
BeanoNYC
Active member
Extract, still learning about All Grain. I'm almost finished with my 2nd batch, about to embark on my 3rd.
It is a lot of fun, and the beer tastes friggen great!
I know you're a bit busy with this place but check out homebrewtalk.com . There is a wealth of information. Or you can just reply to this thread too. :razz:
ctenidae
Active member
Yup- spigot on the front. Pull the bung out of the top, open the tap, fill'er up. It is, obviously, not carbonated. I did pour a growler and added in some fresh boiled DME and left it to carbonate for 2 weeks a while ago. Got pretty tasty. The beer is a clonebrew of Okocim Porter, and carbonated it tasted pretty darn close.
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BeanoNYC
Active member
Oh yeah....bottle and carbonate that sucker. Send me a taste too. I'm dying to see how it aged.
