My First Batch of Beer

[Teej]

Posted this elsewhere - edited it for these forums... for interested parties. I added the answers to my four problems as well in case any other starter brewers have the same questions.

I went to my local store, HeartsHomebrew.com (pretty much a warehouse for the website, but I prefer brick or mortar).

I got this: http://www.heartshomebrew.com/home_brew_beer.cgi?cart_id=5919377.19122*sH3H83&xm=on&p_id=BKIT2M&xm=on&ppinc=dave2full

I tried to buy some other supplies there, but they run an honest business and suggested cheaper alternatives. I tried to buy a bunch of 1 liter pop-top bottles and they told me it would be easier to just save bottles from what I drink. I also tried to get a pot, but he suggested the local wolly world where I would save money.

He covered my options between the deluxe and the ultimate starter kits they offered. Basically they both do the same job, the ultimate just makes things easier. I figured I'd rather learn the hard way so I can appreciate the easy way to do things when I decide to upgrade.

With the kit, came my choice of beer recipe, I went with this:

"American Special Amber"

This beer is an emerging American style. It gets its color 34.99
from the Caravienne Belgian Grain malt and small
amounts of chocolate malt. There will be hop presence
both in the bittering and aroma. This beer can be made as
ale or a lager and will have a medium body with a crisp
finish. Although there are many versions of this style we
chose Sam Adams Lager as our inspiration.

3.3 lbs. Gold Liquid Malt Extract
1 lb. M&F Light Dry Malt
2 lbs. Lager Grain M&F (cracked)
1 lb. British Pale Grain (cracked)
½ lb. Caravienne Belgian Grain (cracked)
2 oz. Chocolate Grain (cracked)
2 oz. Hallertauer Hops
1 oz. Tettnang Hops
1 pkg. Wyeast Liquid Yeast - California Lager or American
Lager

Place grains into 1½ gal. cold water. Heat to 160°F.
Remove from heat cover & allow to sit for 60 min. Sparge
with 1 gal. 170°F water & return liquid to brewpot. Add Malt
& 2 oz. hops. Return pot to heat & boil for 50 min. Remove
from heat & add final 1 oz. hops. Steep for 5 min. Stain
into 3 gal. cold water & pitch yeast when cooled to 80°F or
below.

Yealds 5 gal.

I followed these instructions: http://www.heartshomebrew.com/home_brew_beer.cgi?cart_id=5919377.19122*m81Nz1&page=general_partial_mash_instructions.html

A few mistakes my buddy and I may be making:

1. The starter wort sat undisturbed for roughly 26-28 hours. If I recall correctly.

(I was later suggested to put it in the fridge after 24 hours, but it should be fine)

2. In attempts to give you guys the best information possible - I JUST found the actual information on the recipe. However, he gave me a bag of everything and I just assumed (possibly a mistake) they were in correct portions when it was brew time. The only thing I did not use all of was the dried malt extract, which only seemed to be called for when making the starter wort. I could be wrong.

(Was told that local homebrew stores often give you the correct portion of everything)

3. We kind of sanitized everything on the spot in my sink with B-Brite Cleanser. However, I used a wood spoon to help strain the wort through the colander. I also used the same wood spoon to stir the malt extract in the boiling wort. This wood spoon not having been cleaned with the B-Brite, and wood being the most absorbant material spoon I can think of - possibly with some soap traces. It did have a clear coat over it though, not a standard wood spoon - I'm hoping for the best.

(Was told that the boil shoulda killed anything in it.)

4. Liquid level in the carboy - the instructions said top it off. We weren't sure where to top it off to. We topped it off just short of the neck.

(Top it off = take it to the level that the recipe calls for)

Here's some pictures.

Starter wort...


"Mashing" the grains...


"Sparging" wort trapped in the grain...


Man room is manly...


This morning, green-ing foam (I assume hop sediment?) and about an inch of sediment settled on the bottom (we did shake the carboy before setting it down last night). Hundreds of small rapid-surfacing bubbles. We added the foil to keep an opportunistic Siberian Husky Mutt out:)

[DJordan]

If it ends up bein good make it again and get yourself out to chaos with it.

And quit shopping at target.

[Teej]

If it ends up bein good make it again and get yourself out to chaos with it.

And quit shopping at target.

Regardless it's this batch, or the next one, or even the one after that... I'm bringing good batches out to events by the gallon, lol.

And I pretty much live at Publix and Target. I only go to Walmart when I have to.

[Acorn]

oh sure, you bring it to events, but is is appreciated? At Chaos Wars we have a special session just for loving on some good beers: The Beer Appreciation Class! Where you taste amazing beers for 3 hours; Loving and appreciating them, drinking them, getting drunk by 4 with them. Isn't that how your beer deserves to be treated? I think so. I think your beer not only should come to Chaos, it deserves too.

[Acorn]

and you can come too.

[Nish]

That will be a delicious first beer.

A few mistakes my buddy and I may be making:

1. The starter wort sat undisturbed for roughly 26-28 hours. If I recall correctly.

(I was later suggested to put it in the fridge after 24 hours, but it should be fine)

2. In attempts to give you guys the best information possible - I JUST found the actual information on the recipe. However, he gave me a bag of everything and I just assumed (possibly a mistake) they were in correct portions when it was brew time. The only thing I did not use all of was the dried malt extract, which only seemed to be called for when making the starter wort. I could be wrong.

(Was told that local homebrew stores often give you the correct portion of everything)

3. We kind of sanitized everything on the spot in my sink with B-Brite Cleanser. However, I used a wood spoon to help strain the wort through the colander. I also used the same wood spoon to stir the malt extract in the boiling wort. This wood spoon not having been cleaned with the B-Brite, and wood being the most absorbant material spoon I can think of - possibly with some soap traces. It did have a clear coat over it though, not a standard wood spoon - I'm hoping for the best.

(Was told that the boil shoulda killed anything in it.)

4. Liquid level in the carboy - the instructions said top it off. We weren't sure where to top it off to. We topped it off just short of the neck.

1. By this do you mean you waited 24 hours to pitch your yeast? If so, you want to pitch as soon as your wort comes to acceptable temperature, however if the wort is kept in sanitary conditions it can actually be ok to sit for a day before pitching. Not recommended though!

2 and 4. Your beer may or may not be either slightly stronger or slightly weaker than intended because of these two variants, but you'd probably never know the difference anyway.

3. even if soap were to leech from the spoon the amounts would probably be completely negligible.


It looks like you're doing a great job man. Keep it up!

[Teej]

Thanks. I appreciate the tips/advice/reassurance.

I had a crazy period when the fermentation started. The hops pretty much rose out of the beer and the blowoff tube got clogged. No one seemed to know what caused it until I realized the recipe called for "specialty sugars" and I used roughly 2.5 cups of corn sugar I was supplied (that was meant for the bottling step).

The reaction...


As of yesterday...


Anyway, I was told it would just be a high alcohol beer, lol.

[Teej]

Update:

Cleared up, sediment settled on bottom. A day ro so before bottling.


My buddy siphoning the beer out, leaving the sediment in. The beer is going through one final filter as it goes into the bucket.


Bottling...


Sitting in a cool/dark place for 14 days while it self-carbonates. 48 bottles of my first homebrew. Came in at 5% alcohol by volume. Just waiting to see how it tastes, it smells sweet due to a **** up (we were supposed to use sugar for bottling but I thought we were supposed to boil it in with everything else. The guy at the store said it would be a stronger beer... but it came in average... smells really sweet - so I guess we'll see how the taste turns out.

[Mors]

Looks like you made "Buck".
Pretty much the same process it seems anyways.
Bravo though.

[Teej]

Popped open two bottles today. It turned out * good.

[Mors]

Congratz.

[Fangesta]

I suggest planning on bringing a couple or few gallons to each event you attend

Not only would I luff to taste some of your beer...keep super accurate notes for recreating...* ups are how all the bests are made.

We bring on average about 3 gallons of Apple Pie to each event we attend and it's usually gone after we've shared.