First ever attempt

[pauls51]

Ok all I finally got the American IPA going in the fermenter and successfully rehydrated the yeast!! Only problem is as I was pouring the yeast I noticed a small hair drop into the fermenter and I couldn't find it so hopefully it doesn't do any damage.

Another question.. My brew is still slowly bubbling away, should I wait till it stops before adding the cascade hops?? Its been in the fermenter since Sunday night and started bubbling very slowly by Monday night.

 

[menoetes]

You can throw in the hops before it finishes fermenting, most people do. It won't hurt the flavor and as it is dry hopping (for the hoppy aroma) it's best to get it in before it finishes fermenting for best effect IMHO. Cascade is a solid hop that's hard to mess up, throw it in now and wait a week. If your SG is steady, you'll be ready to bottle.

 

[pauls51]

Awesome... Threw about 30/35 grams of the hops in and immediately she starting bubbling for 10 or so minutes and stopped again.. I will start taking readings this weekend...

One other thing is the temp has dropped to around 13/14 degrees over the past couple of nights so hopefully it hasn't spoiled the brew

Thanks again for the assistance

 

[gsouth82]

dropping to 13-14 degrees wont spoil it. it might just take longer to ferment. getting too hot or rapid temperature changes will spoil it.

 

[Moad]

With those temps I reckon your next purchase should be a heater pad/belt and a temp controller. Might be over budget at this stage but temp controlling the ferment was the best thing I did for my homebrew after sanitation...

Welcome to the addiction.

 

[pauls51]

Thanks guys
I'll apply to the MoF to get approval on a heater pad and a temp controller after I've bottled this lot..

 

[gsouth82]

Your method of heating is up to you but I personally prefer the heat belt. It doesn't warm up the tub and yeast cake sitting on the bottom of the fermenter. Plus they're around half the price depending where you go. The heat belts I'm running are from keg king and are only 20 bucks.

 

[pauls51]

Ok I thought I'd post a bit of an update for anyone interested..

My first brew appears to be spot on (A simple Draught kit). It pours clear and is not a bad drop at all and seems to have gotten better over the past several weeks!

The IPA with the added cascade Hops is starting to taste really good.. Its a massive smack in the face as soon as you open the bottle (God, I love that smell!), however I think it may need some more time to mature (seems to give a fairly strong taste towards the end of the bottle), so I'll give it another 3/4 weeks before I give my final verdict.

So onto my next project: A summertime beer! - I personally like a Stone & Wood Pacific Ale - easy to drink especially on a hot summers day.. This will be my first boil!.. Does anyone have any recommendations on receipes? I am looking at attempting this one: http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/71264-stone-wood-pacific-ale/

 

[paulyman]

I did Dr Smurtos golden ale kit recipe as one of my first brews. The LHBS didn't have Amarillo and gave me Galaxy instead. First time I'd used Galaxy. It was an awesome drop.

Had a Pacific Ale for the first time a few weeks later and realised the golden ale was really similar. I actually prefer Smurtos recipe.

 

[menoetes]

I've got a very solid S&W clone recipe not dissimilar to Shantas. I love that beer Though that recipe seems like it'll have that rough galaxy bitterness bite from the 20min addition. You could try mine if you like. I'm terribly fond of it - I also have a kit+bits version.

Bone Her Good Pacificale (Name still under construction)
23Lt batch

1.5kg tin of Cooper Light Liquid Malt Extract
1.5kg tin of Cooper Wheat Liquid Malt Extract
250g Carapils - cracked and steeped
250g Dextrose
30g Cascade (7.2% AA) – 15min boil
30g Galaxy (13% AA) – 5min boil
20g Galaxy (13% AA) – Dry Hop
Us-05 Yeast

 

[BrosysBrews]

Mad this a couple of weeks ago, seems to be a good drop but only just carbed up really. If doing it again I would personally buy up that final addition to increase the aroma to get closer to the original

Ok I thought I'd post a bit of an update for anyone interested..

My first brew appears to be spot on (A simple Draught kit). It pours clear and is not a bad drop at all and seems to have gotten better over the past several weeks!

The IPA with the added cascade Hops is starting to taste really good.. Its a massive smack in the face as soon as you open the bottle (God, I love that smell!), however I think it may need some more time to mature (seems to give a fairly strong taste towards the end of the bottle), so I'll give it another 3/4 weeks before I give my final verdict.

So onto my next project: A summertime beer! - I personally like a Stone & Wood Pacific Ale - easy to drink especially on a hot summers day.. This will be my first boil!.. Does anyone have any recommendations on receipes? I am looking at attempting this one: http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/71264-stone-wood-pacific-ale/

 

[menoetes]

Yeah, I always find myself wanting more of that passionfruit kick too

I love Galaxy hops but find that if I have them in the boil for any longer than 15 max then they can give a brew a harsh bitter bite. I just don't think they're a good bittering hop.

However; you'd be surprised just how much flavour you'd get out of 30g of Galaxy @ 5 minutes though, you can't miss the hops presence. They are a pretty intense hop.

 

[pauls51]

menoetes, I'm liking the look of your receipe!..

My only concern would be that it is my first attempt at both boiling and steeping.

I'm going to purchase the carapils already milled so they are ready to go straight into the bag and into the pot at 65 celsius. How long should I have the bag in the pot? Would 1.5L of water be enough and do I add this at the beginning together with the LME prior to the first boil?

 

[Yob]

Leave the grains in for 30 mins or so, how much grain are you talking?

 

[boybrewer]

Tea bag the grain for 30 min . Bring to boil add hops at the count down of 15 min then add the rest according to the recipe . I would probably make it 2 -3 lts as you will loose some liquid due to evaporation . To get that big flavour dry hop about 30 -40 gms of galaxy once fermentation starts to slow down .

 

[pauls51]

Thanks guys..
Yob I'm looking at 250gm of grain

 

[menoetes]

Steeping and boiling is dead easy but I can understand why newbies are so reluctant to try it with all the complicated times and terminology - I should make a video of the process some time to show just how easy it is. Your beer will thank you for it...

I put 2.5lts of water on the stove and using a thermometer (I use a simple milk thermometer from robins kitchen) bring it up to 70'c. I stir the water properly before checking the temp to make sure the reading is accurate.

At 70'c I turn off the heat (I have an electric glass-top stove), pour in the cracked grains and give it a good stir to make sure there are no lumps before popping the lid on and walking away for at least 30 min. Adding the 250g of room-temp grain will drop the liquids temp a degree or two but my glass cook top helps actually helps out here as it retains its heat for a while after being turned off.

When I come back, I strain the grains out with a stainless steel kitchen sieve (retaining the fluid) and pour another litre of hot water (from the kettle) through the grain to get any last drops goodness out of it. All this liquid poured back into the pot coming to about 3 litres.

For the hop boil; I bring this liquid to the boil, give it 10-15 minutes to make sure there's no little nasties still alive in my liquid (wort) then start adding my hops as per the hop schedual. In the case of my recipe you would add the cascade, wait 10 minutes then add the Galaxy, wait 5 minutes and then take it off the heat pronto.

Steeping and hop boiling done - lemon squeezy

- Meno

 

[pauls51]

Awesome... Much easier to understand!!!

Thankyou very much.

I will be picking up the ingredients on Thursday morning; cant wait!

 

[pauls51]

So over the weekend I tried my IPA again and it just keeps getting better and better!
And what better way to enjoy your brew than with a homemade burger complete with homemade brioche and triple cooked chips!!

 

[0juz]

I'm new to the forum and new to brewing but honestly there is no finer satisfaction than enjoying an additive free fresh homebrew ... Fwiw I just sprinkle good yeasts and every brew bar my first has been good enough for and enjoyed by guests...first brew was a ginger beer that got got infected...never again
So from a noob I,d say buy good yeast and sanitise the crap out of everything and joy shall be yours

And yes fresh hops make kits shine!

Ps that burger looks firkin awesome