Virgin Brew

[GothGargoyle]

Hi.

So here's the details of my first ever brew!

Ingredients
Brewcraft Premium Belgian Ale Kit
Morgan's Unhopped Pale Malt Extract
Morgan's Finishing Hops (Fuggles)

This is what the LHBS ownder supplied me with when I bought my beginners kit and told him that I don't like Australian beers, but are quite fond of dark German & Belgian beers.

Naturally, cleaned and santised everything as it should be.

Seeped the hop "tea bag" for about 10 minutes. Threw the contents of the two cans into the fermenter along with a couple of litres of hot water and stired until dissolved. Topped up to 18L (as per the LHBS guy's recommendation) and threw in the hops.

It seemed to be around 30C so I put the lid on loosely and waitied about 2 hours until it was down around 28C, then I sprinkled on the packet of yeast, and then gently stirred.

The OG which I took from a sample before I added the yeast was about (adjusting for temperature) 1.055

When I stirred in the yeast it practically disappeared. But by 11:30pm there was a thin layer over the top of the wort. The temperature was then around 25C. This morning, about 8am, temperature was 22C and there was a somewhat foamy layer around 1.5cm thick on the top so I assume all is going well. No noticeable activity in the airlock so far.

By the way, when I took my sample to measure the gravity, I did taste the wort, which is something I didn't enjoy (had to spit it out immediately). It tasted and smelled like molasses and fresh cut hay.

 

[Stuster]

Sounds like everything is going great, GG. I've never tried one of those kits, but have read they are quite good.

Personally, I always taste the beer at all stages. What's not to like about molasses and fresh cut hay. :blink: :chug:

 

[hupnupnee]

Looking good GG.

I have one of those in bottles at the moment. It needs a good month to settle down though. Early on at say two weeks it was a bit cloying, but now it is lovely. A nice creamy off white head that lasts through out and a very intense malt favaours. The addition of the fuggles will help balance this malt in this one.

Welcome aboard

Tim

 

[MVZOOM]

Welcome GG - I spotted a couple of Goth's walking into Dave's homebrew on Sat morning (I ran out of sanitiser) - was this you and a freind? :chug:

Cheers - Mike

 

[GothGargoyle]

MVZOOM,

We went into Dave's just after 3pm on saturday, so not really "morning". My wife has bright blue hair, so if the girl in the couple you saw didn't have blue hair it was someone else!

 

[GothGargoyle]

Hi.

So here's an update on my brew so far, after approx 48 hours:

Temperature is now 20C and there still hasn't been any noticeable airlock activity. The foam layer on top seems to have thinned back down.

This was getting me slightly concered, so I took a sample and measured the SG. It is now 1.022. That's a significant drop - more than I would have expected - but it shows something is definitely going on!

It smells a lot more like beer now. I had a very small taste and it is like a uncooked bread dough crossed with typical aussie beer.

I am hoping the end product will have a bit more Belgian character.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Temperature is now 20C and there still hasn't been any noticeable airlock activity. The foam layer on top seems to have thinned back down.

This was getting me slightly concered

As others will tell you, the airlock doesn't always tell the full story and as the gravity has dropped you know the yeast are doing their thing.

As for the foam layer...it is called Krausen and the thick one (High Krausen) in an Ale will normally fall out at those temps after 2-3 days.

So in short, everything is still looking on the up-and-up man.

Enjoy! :beer:

PZ.

*EDIT* Ale-specific reference added to avoid confuzzlement

 

[Mr Bond]

Have patience Grasshopper.
Flavour development takes time.

at least you have learnt a valuable first lesson,The airlock means diddly Squat, the hydrometer is your guide.

Yeast is a big factor in a style flava also,so if u just used the supplied yeast you will have to be content with the results.
rest assured you will make something nicer than mega swill though.

 

[MVZOOM]

MVZOOM,

We went into Dave's just after 3pm on saturday, so not really "morning". My wife has bright blue hair, so if the girl in the couple you saw didn't have blue hair it was someone else!

[post="122703"][/post]​

:beer: Morning / afternoon - whatever - when you have kids it all becomes a blur! Yeah, I remember some bright blue hair, so all good!

My advice is to secure the lid a little better, you'll be surprised at how much of a difference this makes. On your next brew, really put some muscle into it. I had that exact problem and screwing the lid on hard solved it.

All seems to be proceeding to plan with the beer - keep it up!

Cheers -Mike

 

[GothGargoyle]

Hi.

So here's the latest update.

Took a measurement this evening. Temperature 21C. SG = 1.019, only a little below what it was 3 days ago.

The liquid was quite bubbly when I got my sample, spinning the hydrometer let loose quite a few tiny bubbles.

Taste was significantly less "yeasty", and was quite bitter. I hope the final product won't taste this bitter!

What should I expect the final SG to be before I bottle?

 

[Mr Bond]

If its bubblin, the yeast is still working (albeit slowly)

FG will be around 1015 prolly.

Bitterness this early is normal, and itts warm.

Your doing great, keep going.

Up to 14 days in prrimary is not an issue( to ensure total ferm entation)

 

[GothGargoyle]

OK, so I took another measurement today, and the SG is still about 1.019, no change from 2 days ago.

Doesn't seem quite as bitter as it did the other day, but hard to tell if there is really any taste difference.

Could it be finished at that SG? Or could there be a problem? Or am I just being oversensitive with my first brew? :blink:

Any recommendations?

 

[GothGargoyle]

Just an update in case anyone was actually following this with any kind of interest

On the 6th may the SG was still 1.019 so I decided that this must be the FG and went ahead and bottled. Yield was 23 PET botttles. Used 2 carbonation drops per bottle.

Taste - somewhat bitter, hopefully this will improve.
Colour - cloudy golden

Checked this morning, now they have been bottled for 11 days - bottles are quite firm but nothing has exploded The bottles have about 6mm of sediment in the bottom and the beer appears to have cleared considerably.

Once I hit the 2 week mark I plan to stick as many as I can fit in the fridge and then wait another 1-2 (painful) weeks before my first taste! :beer:

 

[peas_and_corn]

I normally leave the beer in the bottles for a month before tasting, gives some time to settle and get nice.

What do you think of the PET bottles? I've always found it strange to drink out of plastic (hence I use stubbies), or do you pour it into glasses first?

 

[GothGargoyle]

I am yet to form an opinion on the PET bottles - I haven't drunk any of my brew, which is my very first ever, yet! As I said, I am at the 11 day mark now, once I hit 14 I will be moving some to the fridge for a week or two before my first taste! 2 weeks carbonating in the cupboard + 2 weeks refrigeration = 1 month as you suggest.

Of course I will be pouring into a glass before drinking, I'd never even consider drinking straight from the PET. Pouring into a glass ensures I don't get a mouthful of sediment, as well as getting a good head and being able to appreciate the colour, etc.

At the moment I think I prefer the PET bottles because they are easy to get hold of (I still don't know where to get glass ones from), the dimples in the bottom seem perfect for holding the sediment, and most importantly as a beginner I am still wary of making potential dangerous weapons of glass bottles if I screw up :huh:

OK, I know I mentioned "taste" in my message which may have been misleading - this was just a scientific taste of my sample from the hydrometer tube when I bottled - I feel it is important to take a taste at each step of the process to learn about how it matures.

 

[Stuster]

this was just a scientific taste of my sample from the hydrometer tube when I bottled - I feel it is important to take a taste at each step of the process to learn about how it matures.

[post="127002"][/post]​

Totally agree. I feel it's really valuable to see how the taste changes with time. Which is why you should have a taste of that beer soon. :chug: You can certainly have a drink of that beer now. Pop it in the fridge and have one tonight. If you want to get all experimental, why not pop two in, try one tonight and leave the other in the fridge. Next week, drink that beer and try another that has been out of the fridge to see what the difference is.

Some beers definitely improve with age, some are good young, and the only way you can know for your tastes is to give it a go. :chug:

 

[Stuster]

GG

this thread on an American site might convince you.

 

[GothGargoyle]

OK, I am convinced

I will definitely try one tonight. After all, how else will I know it improves with time if I don't try one now?

 

[Stuster]

After all, how else will I know it improves with time if I don't try one now?

[post="127018"][/post]​

Exactly. Just say I twisted your arm.

 

[Thommo]

And we'll be expecting a full report complete with tasting notes.