23 Jun
2006
23 Jun
'06
7:56 p.m.
I just introduced a friend into homebrew and brewed my first batches in
three years.
Anyway, he was hot to brew and so we stopped into brew & grow (because
it was the closest) and picked up two kits.
He's a Leinie's / MGD drinker... so we grabbed the Novice Gold and
American Dream Ale extract kits.
Honestly, I've never been too thrilled with Brew & Grow and would rather
use Mid-west or Northern, but I wasn't paying for it.
Long story short...
On the SPG scale they both came in at right around 27 at 74 degrees F
after we'd added the yeast. To get the final SPG should we heat the
beer back up to 74 degrees? I would assume so -- I saw this fancy
hydrometer ( after we got our reading ) that says you should test the
beer at 60F. Well 60F isn't going to happen when it's 85F where you're
brewing.
We made the two batches and I asked him to check on them when he gets up
and in the evening -- just see if they're forming the krausen and if
there's any overflow.
He said they were bubbling like made the first day and haven't bubbled
much since. I was concerned, so I went over there and checked them out
yesterday -- just 3 days after we put the beer in the carboys the
krausen has come and gone and not more than an inch and a half in a 6
gal carboy. They were both still bubbling, but nothing near as active
as I would think they should be.
I know I need to relax and have a homebrew, but at what point should I
be concerned that the yeast isn't going to break down all the sugar and
think about adding a smack pack split between the two 5gal batches. I
think I always brewed (ales) at between 68 and 72 and never had an
issue, but I use smack-packs instead of dried yeast.
Thanks for the insight.
Ryan
**
23 Jun
23 Jun
10:43 p.m.
To figure out how much to worry, take a hydrometer reading now. The
closer it has gotten down to, say 1.008, the better it's doing. If it's
still something like 1.015+, you're in trouble and you should add more
yeast as per your plan. To minimize the risk of infection from taking
the reading, draw the sample out for measurement using a turkey baster
that you sanitized with cheap store-brand vodka, or you can sanitize it
with iodophor or bleach and rinse the sanitizing solution out with
(guaranteed sterile) cheap industrial beer. (Lite is ideal as a rinse,
precisely because it has no flavor.)
There are tables available to correct hydrometer readings taken at
temperatures other than 60F, but I can't dredge one up just now.
The big challenge with kits like Novice Gold etc is that these are
actually the hardest styles of beer to make, for anyone, not just
novices. Miller Lite, like it or not, is THE supreme technical
achievement of brewing science. Your mistakes or even slight flaws are
laid bare. I usually recommend that novices pick a more strongly
flavored style such as Porter, because it can hide many flaws and still
come out tasting OK.
BTW, I live in Da City, so I go to Brew & Grow, or to Bev Art if I'm up
for the trip. It's been harder to get to Bev Art with the Dan Ryan mess
underway.
Roger Deschner rogerd(a)uic.edu
======== Never relax, constantly worry, have a better homebrew. ========
On Fri, 23 Jun 2006, Ryan Sinn wrote:
I just introduced a friend into homebrew and brewed my
first batches in
three years.
Anyway, he was hot to brew and so we stopped into brew & grow (because
it was the closest) and picked up two kits.
He's a Leinie's / MGD drinker... so we grabbed the Novice Gold and
American Dream Ale extract kits.
Honestly, I've never been too thrilled with Brew & Grow and would rather
use Mid-west or Northern, but I wasn't paying for it.
Long story short...
On the SPG scale they both came in at right around 27 at 74 degrees F
after we'd added the yeast. To get the final SPG should we heat the
beer back up to 74 degrees? I would assume so -- I saw this fancy
hydrometer ( after we got our reading ) that says you should test the
beer at 60F. Well 60F isn't going to happen when it's 85F where you're
brewing.
We made the two batches and I asked him to check on them when he gets up
and in the evening -- just see if they're forming the krausen and if
there's any overflow.
He said they were bubbling like made the first day and haven't bubbled
much since. I was concerned, so I went over there and checked them out
yesterday -- just 3 days after we put the beer in the carboys the
krausen has come and gone and not more than an inch and a half in a 6
gal carboy. They were both still bubbling, but nothing near as active
as I would think they should be.
I know I need to relax and have a homebrew, but at what point should I
be concerned that the yeast isn't going to break down all the sugar and
think about adding a smack pack split between the two 5gal batches. I
think I always brewed (ales) at between 68 and 72 and never had an
issue, but I use smack-packs instead of dried yeast.
Thanks for the insight.
Ryan
**
24 Jun
24 Jun
2:24 a.m.
Roger,
Yeah, I'll get that hydrometer reading tomorrow and see if we're in the
1.008 range... otherwise I'll be off the B&G for a smack-pack.
I typically use the turkey baster method of working -- it's great. Do
you think an "active Oyxgen" based sanitizer is sufficient to sanitize
the baster? That's what I've been using in the past without issue.
I know that the lighter beers will bring out the imperfections, but
you're talking to guys who enjoy that style and make the 7yr-old kid
"eat your vegetables" face when you present them with anything with any
hops or malty flavor.
The two of us that have brewed before did most of the work and were
supervising everything. We were pretty strict about things, so I think
we'll get a unique light beer albeit maybe not a perfect beer.
They're already concerned because the beer is "too dark" ... it's tan
not gold (re: piss yellow.) Hopefully the taste overwhelms the visual
ascetics. I believe it will. I sampled the hydrometer's leftovers when
we put it in the carboy and it was definitely alright... although past
performance is no guarantee of future results.
Thanks for all your words of advice and insight.
Ryan
Roger Deschner wrote:
To figure out how much to worry, take a hydrometer
reading now. The
closer it has gotten down to, say 1.008, the better it's doing. If it's
still something like 1.015+, you're in trouble and you should add more
yeast as per your plan. To minimize the risk of infection from taking
the reading, draw the sample out for measurement using a turkey baster
that you sanitized with cheap store-brand vodka, or you can sanitize it
with iodophor or bleach and rinse the sanitizing solution out with
(guaranteed sterile) cheap industrial beer. (Lite is ideal as a rinse,
precisely because it has no flavor.)
There are tables available to correct hydrometer readings taken at
temperatures other than 60F, but I can't dredge one up just now.
The big challenge with kits like Novice Gold etc is that these are
actually the hardest styles of beer to make, for anyone, not just
novices. Miller Lite, like it or not, is THE supreme technical
achievement of brewing science. Your mistakes or even slight flaws are
laid bare. I usually recommend that novices pick a more strongly
flavored style such as Porter, because it can hide many flaws and still
come out tasting OK.
BTW, I live in Da City, so I go to Brew & Grow, or to Bev Art if I'm up
for the trip. It's been harder to get to Bev Art with the Dan Ryan mess
underway.
Roger Deschner rogerd(a)uic.edu
======== Never relax, constantly worry, have a better homebrew. ========
On Fri, 23 Jun 2006, Ryan Sinn wrote:
I just introduced a friend into homebrew and
brewed my first batches in
three years.
Anyway, he was hot to brew and so we stopped into brew & grow (because
it was the closest) and picked up two kits.
He's a Leinie's / MGD drinker... so we grabbed the Novice Gold and
American Dream Ale extract kits.
Honestly, I've never been too thrilled with Brew & Grow and would rather
use Mid-west or Northern, but I wasn't paying for it.
Long story short...
On the SPG scale they both came in at right around 27 at 74 degrees F
after we'd added the yeast. To get the final SPG should we heat the
beer back up to 74 degrees? I would assume so -- I saw this fancy
hydrometer ( after we got our reading ) that says you should test the
beer at 60F. Well 60F isn't going to happen when it's 85F where you're
brewing.
We made the two batches and I asked him to check on them when he gets up
and in the evening -- just see if they're forming the krausen and if
there's any overflow.
He said they were bubbling like made the first day and haven't bubbled
much since. I was concerned, so I went over there and checked them out
yesterday -- just 3 days after we put the beer in the carboys the
krausen has come and gone and not more than an inch and a half in a 6
gal carboy. They were both still bubbling, but nothing near as active
as I would think they should be.
I know I need to relax and have a homebrew, but at what point should I
be concerned that the yeast isn't going to break down all the sugar and
think about adding a smack pack split between the two 5gal batches. I
think I always brewed (ales) at between 68 and 72 and never had an
issue, but I use smack-packs instead of dried yeast.
Thanks for the insight.
Ryan
**
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