I brewed up a Witbier extract from Northern over the weekend and had a few questions. I
made a yeast starter using about 8oz of DME to a quart of water Saturday morning.
Sunday morning I brewed the Witbier. The corriander and orange peel both have a great
aroma. I chill the wort down in a plastic fermenter, however, as the plastic has a few
years of experience, it does not seal properly which results in very little, if any,
activity in the airlock. It looks like we have an OG of 1042.
After the wort is chilled down to where I pitch the yeast, I transfer to a glass carboy so
I know it will be air tight. After the transfer, I noticed much of the corriander and
orange peel remained on the bottom of the plastic primary and didn't get trasnferred
over. Would this have any detrimental effect on flavor, etc not sitting in the
fermentation tank? Should I add more during the primary or secondary fermentation to
enhance flovor or just leave it alone?
With using a yeast starter, I used a blow off tube vs the airlock. After just a few hours
in the glass carboy, I could not believe the activity within just a few hours.
Also, this is the third year I have hops growing in the back yard. Is there anything
special I should do to them at this time of the year ?
Thanks!
Jim Voosen
Stillwater, Mn