First brew & possible infection.

[archad71]

Hi Guy's,

Did my first AG brew on sat, using the guide downloaded from here to help me through the process, which I have to say was very useful.

However, think that I made a couple of fundamental errors in the process;

Firstly, think that I made the mistake of using whole pale malt instead of crushed pale malt in the mash, as my hydrometer reading of the wort was around 1018 at 25 degrees after the 60 min boil. (The hydrometer is calibrated at 20 deg, so should I be adding a figure to the 1018?)

Secondly, I pitched the wort at 24 degrees, and now after 36 hours I think that my wort is now infected as it has greyish clumps of matter floating around on the top, and there is no sign of any bubbling through the airlock, is this infected?

 

[phettebs]

You definitely need to crush the grain to expose the internals of barley for conversion. That would explain a low gravity reading. There is an adjustment factor for the hydrometer at other temps but you are not that far off that it would make that big of a difference.

24 is a bit high for pitching temp. It doesn't cause infections or anything like that but can lead to off flavours due to yeast activity at those temps. I would try to pitch no warmer than 20.

Fermenting beer looks pretty nasty at times. You will have clumps of yeast and "gunk" in the FV. Post a picture if you can and we can tell you if it's normal or not. My guess is that it's perfectly normal. However, with that low of an Original Gravity, you are not going to end up with much fermentation anyway.

Baz

 

[archad71]

Many thanks Baz for the info.

I am of the opinion now, that I have inadvertently used whole grain instead of crushed grain, that would explain the low OG reading.

However, could I simply add sugar to the FV to help with the finished OG, as if the brew is as you think ok, then left to its own devices and it is ok to drink I am guessing the % will be on the very low side?

I took a couple of pics this morning of the FV and shall post a picture, only not so sure how to get it up on here?

 

[mike77]

With the original gravity reading you may only be looking at about 1% alcohol. If I was going to boost that up I would be thinking about adding malt extract rather than sugar and probably adding it sooner rather than later.

 

[archad71]

I would like to try and at least salvage the whole brew, so would anyone care to offer any assistance on what type of malt extract and volume I would need?

The brew is 27 litres in total (used 2 x litres too much in the sparge) and will have been in the FV 48 hours from 7pm this evening, and is made up of the following recipe;

5kg pale malt (whole grain)
500g crushed crystal malt
300g flaked barley

100g challenger hops (60 mins)
30g goldings hops (30 mins)

Thank's in anticipation.

 

[joe1002]

How to upload photos :thumb:

Where did you get the recipe from? 100g of hops for 60 mins is a lot (for that brew length).

 

[mike77]

Not 100% sure about the calculations as the calculator I found online is in gallons/pounds but I think that 1.5kg to 2kg dried light malt extract would take you either side of 5% ish.

You'll need to mix the dried malt extract up with some water in a pot and warm it through on the stove carefully so you don't burn it then cool it down (I dunked the hot pot in sink with cold water). Then add the liquid to your fermentor and mix it carefully. I have boosted a beer up half way through fermentation before by doing this and it worked out fine. Someone else may have different/better ideas and maybe a more precise calculation.

 

[archad71]

100g of challenger hops was taken from the book Home Brewing by John Parkes, recipe for Best Bitter, must admit the wort tastes rather bitter and not sweet at all, but I put that down to the low OG reading.

Picture of the wort after 36 hours in the FV, let me know what you think please?

Just tried linking photo bucket pictures of the wort but forum message comes back as 'Your post looks too spamy for a new user, please remove off-site URLs' when submit button is clicked, but will try again later.

Thank's for all of the advice so far, not done any brewing before let alone AG brewing, so appreciate the learning curve is rather steep.

Thanks Mike77, I shall try and obtain a couple of kg of dried light malt extract this afternoon and follow your process.

 

[mike77]

The stuff goes into solid clumps when you first add it to water. Probably best to boil the water first then turn the heat off for a second while you add it then stir it through and bring it back on a low heat continually stiring while you get the malt extract dissolved. The wort in the pot will be very high gravity and could burn in the pot or burn you if you get it on you. It might be slightly easier to handle in two 1kg batches keeping the amount of water as low as possible so as not to further dilute the brew.

 

[archad71]

Great, thanks.

I can get the malt extract tomorrow via the home brew shop online, price is around £6 per 1kg, so it would appear that it is an expensive mistake I have made.

Alternatively, and I understand that normal sugar is not the best thing to add, but how about Dextrose? I can pick this up on my way home from a supplier and add to the wort this evening, it is also £2 per 1kg!?

 

[mike77]

Dextrose would get the alcohol content up (so would regular sugar) but I think you would make a big sacrifice in taste as you will only get the malt flavor from malt extract. I don’t want to see you throw good money after bad and can’t guarantee my method will work for you as it obviously isn't ideal, but it has worked for me in a similar situation in the past.

 

[archad71]

In an attempt to salvage the brew in an inexpensive way, and to act as quickly as possible I purchased 2kg of caster sugar last evening. After dissolving the sugar in some of the wort at 60 deg, it was then cooled in the sink to 24 deg then added to the brew. After some vigorous stirring, the wort frothed up somewhat, and finally measured just over the 1030 in OG. I reckon that after 48 hours of fermentation from an original OG of 1018 I may end up with something that will be pleasant to drink and with an alcoholic content greater than the 1% as predicted. The wort actually tasted ok prior to the sugar addition, plenty of flavour if not a little too bitter, so hope that by not adding the DME I have not compromised on the finished flavour. This morning, 12 hours after the addition of the sugar, I have a Krausen layer approx 1 inch thick, which may have risen even further by the time I check it this evening after work. Not an ideal process I know for a first attempt at a brew, and one which I hope never have to repeat again, but at least it has taught me a few valuable lessons in my AG brewing adventure! - So fingers crossed now, I shall hope for the best and will endeavour to let you know how it finally ends up! - Cheers.

 

[RobWalker]

I don't mean to be cruel but it's probably gonna be awful with over 50% of the total sugars being from white sugar.

dump it, call it a learning experience and buy an all grain ingredient kit from somewhere like the homebrew company, and go again. they will make things very easy, all you need to do really is dump them in water between 65-70c for 60 to 90 mins and then boil it with the hops in. Hard to go wrong and I guaruntee your second all grain beer will go a lot smoother and be worth the work :thumb:

 

[Duxuk]

From Photobucket I just click the IMG code at the bottom of the list. This gives a message a bit like this............
(URL=http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Duxuk/media/Vespa/dylandogbeer031_zps1e077600.jpg.html]

[/URL)
..............when I press Ctrl and the v key at the same time. It gives a picture like this when posted..........

As for the brew, you could add 2kg of light dried malt extract by dissolving in water. I too have doubts about the hopping. 100g for 60 mins is a hell of a lot of bittering hops. Also I'm not sure that you will have relaesed enogh enzymes to convert the flaked barley which could create a starch haze.
I'd hate to have to give up on a brew, but at least you are now wiser. That's the incredibly usefull thing about coming here to the forum. You're not alone with your problem and someones bound to have had similar experiences.
Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.

 

[archad71]

I am planning on brewing again this Saturday, (although wife does not know yet) and have purchased a kit for Timothy Taylor Landlord. I've space in the insulated, heated FV cabinet for another brew so will be keeping the original brew for when the mother in law comes around, unless of course it works out better than the TTL... :lol:

What I would like to build myself up to is a brew which incorporates Citra hops, as I had a bottle of Oakham Citra from Waitrose last week and it was just b****y gorgeous!

 

[RobWalker]

Assuming you're brewing 23L and Citra are 14.4% AA, 4kg pale malt, use 20g Citra at 60 mins and then as much as you want at 0 mins and dry hop (use the whole 100g for sure.) That'll get you reasonably close! But it might be wise to mix it with another cheaper C hop like Cascade, centennial etc. Citra are expensive :lol: