Newbie brewer who is super confused

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

Hahaha i got a good laugh out of this. I'm actually 31 years old and have picked up the books again, trying to become an automatisation and electric design engineer. I've got to tell you guys, not easy. Especially with 2 kids. That said. The plastic brewery overcame all my expectations. Easy and clean.
Made a Vienna simcoe SMaSH. It's bubling away and smells just lovely.

 

[Herman Bloom]

When I was a student, I didn't know there was like 'homebrewing' at all. And it became legal here in 1996 (something I read online somewhere). So those £? Cheap beer and then it would've been gone!

Anyone here remember Oranjeboom?

Oh I do indeed. We bought an out of date crate of it during my student days. Worst hangover I have ever had.

 

[GerritT]

Oh I do indeed. We bought an out of date crate of it during my student days. Worst hangover I have ever had.

Legendary hangovers indeed. They started already on the way home from the pub!

 

[Dutto]

......... Especially with 2 kids. ...........

Just to really cheer you up, with kids the first nineteen years are the worst ...

... then, if you are lucky they leave home for a few years ...

... before returning with their own kids; which they expect you to look after!

My advice is that when they leave home - you run away!

 

[Herman Bloom]

Hah, I just have the one and he is not yet two but I already feel like it has been a decade!

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Book has arrived so I will look to read it over the weekend, whilst doing the second (and final?) of the Northern Brewer recipe kits.

 

[GerritT]

If you like the kits, you can do some more. No-one here is pointing fingers "look at him, he brews kits". Kit-experience is experience too, remember? No need for running when walking will get you there too.

 

[Herman Bloom]

Oh for sure. I hope this second one helps me nail siphoning better (though it sounds like I can eliminate it from kettle to fv anyway and just pour, which reminds me I must get a funnel!) and this will be the first time I have used a thermometer and hydrometer so it will be slightly different process to the first brew anyway. As you say, it is all experience :-)

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

If you like the kits, you can do some more. No-one here is pointing fingers "look at him, he brews kits". Kit-experience is experience too, remember? No need for running when walking will get you there too.

There are some great kits out there. One of my favorites is St Peters red ale. Partialmash and allgrain are the next steps but I've made some really great beers with kits also

 

[Herman Bloom]

Hey gang! I did my second brew yesterday. I made some mistakes/had unpredictable stuff happen and I have more questions. Should i start a new thread or just carry this one on. I even have photo's (If I can work out how to get them on here!)

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

Hey gang! I did my second brew yesterday. I made some mistakes/had unpredictable stuff happen and I have more questions. Should i start a new thread or just carry this one on. I even have photo's (If I can work out how to get them on here!)

I don't know the rules, but the title of the thread does say say newbie brewer confused. Ask away. Pictures are always good.

 

[Herman Bloom]

Ok here goes!

Second brew was this: https://www.beerhawk.co.uk/bourbon-barrel-porter-1-gallon-recipe-kit

I steeped the grains for 10 minutes and then removed them and brought the liquid to a boil. Now for my first recipe the Malt was in a liquid form (or sorts, very thick) and I added it no issue. This time I had a pound of dark malt and a pound of light (recipe said to just use half of the light malt). I started to add the dark malt and all off a sudden "whoosh" the boil exploded over the top of the kettle and went everywhere! The recipe didn't mention anything about this, just said to add to the boil, so this took me a bit by suprise! I am not sure how much liquid I lost but it was a fair bit I think. Even on a soft boil I couldn't add the malt without it threatening to go over the top of the kettle, so I had to take it off the boil to add the malt and the first round of hops, stirred until it dissolved and then got it back on the boil.

35 minutes like that, then I added the second batch of hops (no explosion this time!) and after 45 minutes the boil was done. No other drama's at this point.

I used my shiny new thermometer to then cool the boil down to 65 F (it said between 60 and 70 was ideal) and then proceded to get the boil into my Bubbler via a funnel I had got that very conveniently sat on the top of the Bubble (luck, not judgement that one). With that done I then proceeded to try the Hydrometer. I had read the instructions, twice, but somehow missed the bit about needing to get some of the boil into a testing vessel. Oops. I only realised my error after trying to get the Hydrometer to give a reading from inside the Bubbler (I had at least sanitized it!) but I don't think there was enough liquid to go high enough up the ting, so no reading. I had nothing suitable sanitised at this point and coupled with the overflow earlier the kitchen was in a right state and my brain froze so I just added half a packet of yeast and closed the Bubbler off (putting some sanitises liquid in the airlock thing first).

So, it didn't go well again! This is what I ended up with (if this image upload works):

Brewday 2

• Herman Bloom
• Sep 17, 2018

It's a One US gallon boil (you start with 1.25 gallons of water), so I should have closer to four litres in there (think the photo has uploaded small, so it is just below the three litre mark I have made), which I guess is down to the explosion when I added the malt? I was watching the boil throughout and it wasn't excessive, so I don't think it is a case of more liquid evaporating in the kettle than there should be, but I could be wrong.

It's in the larder now, but once again I don't have a gravity reading, so I will have to watch it like a hawk I guess. Or try and forget about it for a few days and then open the door and hope!

So I have a few questions that I hope you experienced types can help me with:

1. Was that reaction with the malt powder normal? If so do I need to actually add it before the liquid starts to boil in future?
2. If I am just tipping from Kettle to FV via a funnel, how do I get a sample for the Hydrometer and what vessel should I use/avoid?
3. Once I saw I was short on liquid in the FV, could/should I have topped it up with water from the tap?
4. I just added the yeast as per the recipe's instructions, should I have stirred it in, or will it just spread naturally over the next few days?
5. As part of the "Bourbon" part, the recipe states the below:

Recipe

• Herman Bloom
• Sep 17, 2018

so I have a packet of Oak Cubes that came with the kit. If, as per the recipe, it says two weeks from boil to bottling, is it telling me to add the soaked cubes in one week's time? Do I just drop them in if so? I have had Bourbon Porter's before but have no idea what would be a good but not crazy expensive Bourbon to use either (really should have thought that one through!)?

Anything else I could/should have done? I am sure I have missed a question but these is all I had time to write down in between cleaning the kitchen and swearing (softly as this was all done whilst the Toddler was taking his nap!)

Thanking you in advance!

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

1. Yes it's normal. Malt boils over like milk. It can get really sticky and a pain to clean after. We always try to get a good rolling boil.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/a-video-of-a-rolling-boil.162819/

2. I use a big spoon and just pour the sample into my test tube.

3. Yes but by adding water you get a lower OG.

4. You can rehydrate the yeast 20 min beforehand. It prepares the the yeast. Or just sprinkle it over the malt.

Fint know about the bourbon, sorry.
Hope this helps.

 

[Herman Bloom]

Thanks for the response. That rolling boil is pretty much what I had, so not sure why it overflowed so hugely, will have to try and get it a bit lower next time I guess.

I will get a test tube and make a note to sanitise a spoon with the rest of the gear next time then. It came in a casing but it is pretty flimsy and with a plastic stopper on the end that looks like it would leak, so I will buy something more appropriate next time.

 

[Dutto]

I set an Alarm for 95*C when I start heating up the wort.

That's usually the time when it starts to produce the "foam" that will ultimately boil over if I don't catch it before it reaches 100*C.

I stir the foam back into the brew but some Forum members apparently:

• Spray the foam with plain water to keep the level below the "boil-over" level.
• Lift the foam off with a spoon for the same reason and throw it away.

I looked up the last three words to see what they meant and will continue to stir it in.

 

[Zephyr259]

Glad you got another brew going, should be a nice one.

Adding dried extract to boiling water/wort doesn't sound like a good plan. It also doesn't dissolve well in hot water and causes clumps, I'd dissolve it in a small amount of cold water then add that slurry to the rest. Never done and extract and steeping grains brew but I figure you could dissolve the extract in cold water at the start, then heat to steeping temp and steep grains, then ramp up to the boil. Others may confirm if this is a better plan.

I use a turkey baster to draw up samples for testing, do the same for FG's too.

You can add water, it will lower the OG but if you're short on volume you might be over the expected OG anyways.

Yeast will disperse just fine on their own once they wake up and multiple. Rehyrdating them is best practice but lots of folks have no issues sprinkling over the wort.

I have a bourbon stout, I didn't add oak but I added 240 mls to a 15L batch, so on that level you'd want 70 mls in 4L, I used Woodfords Reserve as my options were that or an ancient bottle of Jim Beam White, me and the wife did a taste test between them and decided that the Bean was a bit rough and less flavoursome and it wasn't worth risking the batch for the difference in price given we don't drink bourbon often anyways.

 

[Herman Bloom]

Ok thankyou. I guess the recipe they are handing out could do with some refining.

Not sure what FG's mean? I will get a turkey baster and a test tube type thing for the gravity readings though, both sound like solid plans.

The recipe didn't mention anything about hydrating the yeast. it was just in a small packet and it said to sanitise it along with the scissors, cut it open and pout half the packet into the wort. I will look into hydrating for the next view and see what that requires.

Am going to pop to the supermarket at lunchtime so will look at the Bourbon options. Will look for Woodfords and see if they have some of that. Am I assuming I add this/the cubes a week ish from today?

 

[ACBEV]

That rolling boil is pretty much what I had, so not sure why it overflowed so hugely, will have to try and get it a bit lower next time I guess.

I attach a fan to the top of my kettle, pointing at the wort. When nearing boiling point, I turn the fan on. This stops boil-over. When the danger of boil-over has passed, then I turn the fan off.

 

[Dutto]

..........

Not sure what FG's mean? I will get a turkey baster and a test tube type thing for the gravity readings though, both sound like solid plans.

The recipe didn't mention anything about hydrating the yeast. it was just in a small packet and it said to sanitise it along with the scissors, cut it open and pout half the packet into the wort. I will look into hydrating for the next view and see what that requires.
...........

"FG" stands for "Final Gravity". It's the Specific Gravity after fermentation is completed. With the OG (Original Gravity) and the FG it is possible to do two things:

1. Most importantly - to ensure that the fermentation has finished so that the brew can be bottled without fear of "bottle bombs". i.e. Over pressuring a bottle so much that it explodes due to fermentation in the bottle. The FG is normally at or below 1.010 but it may be higher if the brew contains non-fermentable sugars. (Which is a whole new subject!)
2. With the OG and the FG it is possible to work out the percentage of Alcohol By Volume (ABV) of the brew. Click on the "Calculators" button above and look for ABV. For an "as drinking" ABV, it is normal to add 0.5% to the given figure to account for the Priming Sugar put into the bottle to carbonate the brew.

Hydrating a dried yeast is just that. The yeast is placed in a cup or jug for a couple of hours and steeped in a small amount of boiled (NOT boiling) water to rehydrate it. It helps to speed up the yeast getting to work, but a lot of Home Brewers don't bother and just sprinkle the yeast on top of the brew. (BTW, I don't understand why the Instructions suggest that you sprinkle just half of it into the wort! I normally stick the whole lot in!)

Enjoy!

 

[Herman Bloom]

Thanks, I did miss the "half" on the first brew and lobbed the whole packet in, so will be interesting to see the difference this time!

 

[Sadfield]

Yes, adding Dry malt extract to boiling water will foam up out of the pan. I would add the extract after steeping the grains, then turn on the heat to boil.

As for boil overs, add some hops as it reaches the boil, or First Wort Hop, the oils from hops prevent boil overs.
A hop pellet in a yeast starter makes the world of difference when using a conical flask.