It's ALPHA brew day...my first batch!

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gwapogorilla

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Well, it's here....brew day! After long research, playing with beersmith, and some help from you great folks...I'm stepping forward to be counted as a "homebrewer". I was inspired by different recipes, tweaked them, added this and that....and ultimately come up with a recipe for a "Beligian Wit".
I will be doing a full 5 gallon boil since I have a huge 44 qt. stainless brew pot. I'll be using Wyeast "belgian wit" yeast..got a 32 oz. starter churning on a stir plate even as we speak. Oh, and lots of sanitizer!! ;D
 
Okay...here it is, 6 hours later.  Brew is in the primary, and it REALLY has an intense orange smell to it, as I boiled 1 oz of sweet orange peel in the recipe. On the stove top, it took a lot longer to boil than I thought, but it got there. Oh, and it smelled SOOOOO GOOOOD when boiling! ;D MY GAWD...it reminded me of hot cereal mom used to cook for me when I was a kid...that's a bonus I wasn't expecting. ;)
So, question for you all. How long before I see bubbles? Primary is sitting in a place that had an overnight temp of 64*...belgian wit needs 62-75*.
 
MY GAWD...it reminded me of hot cereal mom used to cook for me when I was a kid
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When I do my stove-top decoction for mash out, my wife often says the same thing.

How long before I see bubbles?
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Patience, grasshopper. I started a pilsner yesterday with dry yeast, and the yeast clumped up on me. Swirled it a few hours ago and I think it finally dispersed. I'll probably see bubbles before bed. Tomorrow at the latest.  If you don't see bubbles in 48hrs, then it might be time to worry. Until then, have a beer.
 
Man, I'm really trying...I've got a few friends, brothers AND my parents expecting a mouthful. And I have to say, I hate disappointing my folks. :-\ I'm 43 , and my ol'man is still my best friend, and mom is the only woman never to break my heart....well, yet anyway. ;D So, I'm really hoping to please.
I really am a patient man....just wish God and beer would give me a sign of their intentions is all. :Pha ha
 
Well, here it is, 24 hours since yeast pitching. The volcano has quieted down...almost too quiet. I am going to leave it be til Sunday(day 7) then I will transfer to the carboy...and do another hydrometer check.
 
gwapogorilla said:
It's 5am...getting ready for work. WHOA...it's alive! REALLY ALIVE! I'm glad I put a blow off tube with a 1 gallon jug on it!
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;D I was the same way, first time I used the carboy... It was SO cool to actually SEE what it was doing. The plastic bucket jus wadn' gittin it for me.

Patience, grasshopper. I started a pilsner yesterday with dry yeast, and the yeast clumped up on me. Swirled it a few hours ago and I think it finally dispersed. I'll probably see bubbles before bed. Tomorrow at the latest.  If you don't see bubbles in 48hrs, then it might be time to worry. Until then, have a beer.
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Yes, Maine Homebrewer's told me that a couple times, gwapo... but, he is so right. Patience is quite the virtue here. Good on ya, keep us posted, and welcome to the addiction! 8)
 
That pilsner wasn't taking off this morning. Pushing 40 hrs since pitching.  A few spots of bubbles on the top like you would expect in a freshly racked secondary, but no real activity. I did have a mason jar in the fridge of yeast I was washing from a previous batch. Same strain. Third generation. Hope I didn't screw the pooch. Wasn't really planing on using this yeast except to practice yeast washing techniques. It wasn't quite finished washing, but I was able to do some more separation before adding it to the brew. Took right off in a couple hours. Don't know if it was the additional yeast, the existing yeast, or a combination. Probably both.  If that hadn't have worked I still had a packet or two left.  Always do.  It only takes one time of waiting for four days before making a desperate yeast run before you ALWAYS have a backup.
 
gwapogorilla said:
Man, I'm really trying...I've got a few friends, brothers AND my parents expecting a mouthful. And I have to say, I hate disappointing my folks. :-\ I'm 43 , and my ol'man is still my best friend, and mom is the only woman never to break my heart....well, yet anyway. ;D So, I'm really hoping to please.
I really am a patient man....just wish God and beer would give me a sign of their intentions is all. :Pha ha
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Haha... yeah, my son asked me today if I could give him some of the beer I've got stocked up so he can serve it at his gallery opening...had to tell him that it wasn't fit for a public serving just yet, I wasn't going to embarrass him at his first opening. It's ok for me to drink, but it's a chocolate milk stout that runs more along the lines of an imperial stout....sooooo...... yeah... I get where yer comin' from. It's like everyone expects every beer you make to be as smooth and clear as commercial brews and taste EXACTLY like what you were telling them it kinda tastes like. Sorry, I'm just not there yet, and probably won't be for quite a few brews. Still experimenting....and lovin' every sip of it too!! ;)
 
Yeah, I can already tell mine isn't going to be the way I hoped. It has a really strong orange smell...almost like marmalade beer! But, it is my first, and I have made a few notes to keep in mind for my next batch. My boil off was NOTHING like beer smith estimated...It had me 5.8 gallons off water, plus I did a 32 oz. starter. I am guessing evaporation was in the area of just over a quart...2 at the most. So, I havea full buck fermenting, plus my estimated gravity was off quite a bit(on the low side). It's all knowledge to apply forward, 2nd batch will be much better.
It is still bubbling pretty good...I am soooo gland I went with a run off tube rather than a air lock! ;D
 
Okay, here we are a week later...racking day. I had quite a few problems trying to rack the beer to the secondary, as the was LOTS of trube in the bucket. The trube kept plugging up my syphon , thus resulting in a lost flow. I had to keep trying to push aside the trube with my mixing paddle.
I got quite a few air bubbles in the carboy... I hope I didn't ruin it by adding too much oxygen. as far as trube goes...I got 10 cups of it out of my primary.
The beer itself does NOT seem to be as I had planned. It is much darker, and the orange peel smell has not dispersed much at all...has a very strong marmalade odor to it.
Time will tell. Perhaps my next batch will be a little more on the more basic side, so I may learn without all of the expense.
 
Your local brew supplier should have a attachment to keep your syphon just above the trube. Tilting the bucket towards the syphon tube should get most of the beer out without ant trube.
 
Since I have all kinds of glass carbs and jugs around, I have no shortage of rubber bungs. They work great to tilt the works towards the siphon and minimize junk in the secondary.
 
ihikeut said:
Your local brew supplier should have a attachment to keep your syphon just above the trube. Tilting the bucket towards the syphon tube should get most of the beer out without ant trube.
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Is this the unit you are referring to?
http://www.amazon.com/CLAMP-for-Regular-Auto-Siphon/dp/B0064OJRUA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1361742932&sr=8-6&keywords=auto+siphon
 
The siphon actually does have a cap on it to aid in filtering trub out...but it didn't do so well. Maybe I'll try Maines trick...or maybe get one of those metal coffee filters to assist next time.
 
or maybe get one of those metal coffee filters to assist next time.
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I wouldn't.  There's no need. That and filters can clog or allow air to enter the mix adding oxygen which is bad.

Just tilt it a bit and keep the siphon in one spot at the low point. You'll siphon out some sludge, but it will fall right out in the secondary anyway.
 
Also, hold the siphon a few inches below the surface. Then just follow the beer down as it drains. Then you can just stop before you reach the sludge.
 
tom_hampton said:
Also, hold the siphon a few inches below the surface. Then just follow the beer down as it drains. Then you can just stop before you reach the sludge.
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I never thought about that one Tom. I would have to scoop off the thick kraeusen...had about 2 inches of that on top.

These tips aren't going to waste guys. I am taking notes and storing things in the hair covered(somewhat) computer.
 
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