First batch is fermenting away!

elproducto · Post by **elproducto** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 7:29 am

First ever brewday yesterday.

Did a batch of John Palmer's Cincinnati Pale Ale.

Full Boil extract on my turkey fryer. One boilover, but nothing crazy. I think I misjudged the starting volume because I started with 6.2 gallons and it was almost too much for my kettle which I think might only be 7 gallons. It only boiled down to about 5.5 gallons, but the OG was 1.040.

The simple immersion chiller I made with a roll of copper was a beast! It cooled the 5.5 gallons of wort down to pitching temp in 12 min! We have fairly cool tap water here.

Now to wait the LONG 5 weeks until I can drink. Next batch is going to be Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale!

iguenard · Post by **iguenard** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:33 am

Good stuff!

Fermenting in plastic or Carboys?

I like Carboys because you can see whats going on.

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:38 am

Congrats on your first batch, get another one going pronto. You need to buildup stock so that you aren't tempted to drink it all at once.

elproducto · Post by **elproducto** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:04 am

iguenard wrote:Good stuff!

Fermenting in plastic or Carboys?

I like Carboys because you can see whats going on.

First batch is actually in a fermenting pail, but I just picked up 3 used glas carboys.

I'm putting in an order with Randy in Brampton for 2 more batches worth of supplies:

Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale
Some sort of easy Hefe

I'd really like to do a Sierra Nevada celebration clone too, but I've pretty much decided I'm ready to make the jump to all-grain. All I need is a mashtun which I'm ready to build, but I'm going to get a couple of more extract batches under my belt.

My real problem is lack of bottles!

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:06 am

elproducto wrote:All I need is a mashtun which I'm ready to build

Now is the perfect time to build a mashtun - picnic coolers are onsale everywhere.

elproducto · Post by **elproducto** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:21 am

markaberrant wrote:
elproducto wrote:All I need is a mashtun which I'm ready to build
Now is the perfect time to build a mashtun - picnic coolers are onsale everywhere.

My small town only has Canadian Tire and Walmart.

Walmart has sold out of all their coolers, and they aren't on sale at Crappy Tire. I've kind of been holding out until the Coleman Xtremes go on sale but it seems to be getting late.

elproducto · Post by **elproducto** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:30 am

So I took a 1 week hydro sample as fermenting seemed to have slowed/stopped. It was right on at 1.010, but was very bitter and watery. I'm assuming this will correct itself with age?

I plan to leave it in the primary for another week and then bottle and leave for 3.

cannondale · Post by **cannondale** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:04 am

By watery do you mean low alcohol, or thin body? Your OG was 1.040 and your current is 1.010 which is an abv of about 4%. If your IBU's are high (you mention that it tastes very bitter) and you have that low an abv and FG, you may have an imbalanced beer, which could lead to the perception of 'watery'.

IF this is the case, it won't correct itself with age.

elproducto · Post by **elproducto** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:16 am

cannondale wrote:By watery do you mean low alcohol, or thin body? Your OG was 1.040 and your current is 1.010 which is an abv of about 4%. If your IBU's are high (you mention that it tastes very bitter) and you have that low an abv and FG, you may have an imbalanced beer, which could lead to the perception of 'watery'.

IF this is the case, it won't correct itself with age.

Thanks

No it had a thin body. The projected FG was right no according to beersmith/brewpal.

I did adjust the hops for the full boil.

cannondale · Post by **cannondale** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:40 am

10A. American Pale Ale
Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.045 – 1.060
IBUs: 30 – 45
FG: 1.010 – 1.015
SRM: 5 – 14 ABV: 4.5 – 6.2%

Midpoint BU:GU is 37.5/52.5=0.71
So with an OG of 1.040...OG*BU:GU='balanced IBU'=40*0.71=28.4
Daniels lists appropriate BU:GU for american pale ale at 0.91 I believe, so that would be 40*0.91=36.4.

If your IBU's are much higher than 36.4, then you will have an imbalanced beer that you may percieve as 'watery and very bitter'.

elproducto · Post by **elproducto** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:42 am

I just plugged everything in Beer Calculus verbatim and it says I should have a 4% ABV beer with 31 IBU's. Its just over the halfway mark towards bitter on the balance scale.

BU/GU is 0.75

iguenard · Post by **iguenard** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:44 am

Bitter, will fade with time, but watery wont, although good strong carbonation can lend a helping hand in giving it some mouthfeel.

If it lacks aromatics, its not too late to dry hop.

elproducto · Post by **elproducto** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:53 am

iguenard wrote:Bitter, will fade with time, but watery wont, although good strong carbonation can lend a helping hand in giving it some mouthfeel.

If it lacks aromatics, its not too late to dry hop.

I have 0.5oz of Cascades left, should I just toss them in?

Thanks for the help, I'll just RDWAHAH.

Cannondale, any places in Barrie to get supplies? I'm in Parry Sound and this Brampton thing is getting bothersome.

iguenard · Post by **iguenard** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:19 am

Well, cant hurt, though you have to be careful of your style guidelines if that kind of stuff is important to you.

I keep leftover hops for when I do my yeast starters. A master brewer once told me a pinch of hops helps get the yeast accustomed to the environment its targetted for.

elproducto · Post by **elproducto** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:30 pm

Well, I did another brewing no-no, but it was driving me crazy. I took another small sample today and unbelievable what 48 hours makes. There is now aroma, and it is starting to taste balanced.