Questions On Stuff I don't Understand???

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Hey guys just going over a recipe for my First IPA!! and if I am to do a 23L batch of Beer then my calculations are for a 6Gallon batch? and if so is it ok just to add the 5Gallon + 1Gallon ingredients together to work out a 6Gallon batch?

Second question...If dry hopping is optional and says "you can add a handful" what measurement is that? and always with about 4-5 days left in fermentation left you do it?

Third question.....How do you work out the IBU (bitterness?) level if not stated in recipe?

Last question......How many packets of dry yeast US.05 would you use? basing it on adding the 5G + 1G together, it would be 1 and a half??

Cheers Guys appreciate it. 

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

cheers mate. it feels like I jumped in deep end and don't know how to swim. In my mind (help!!!) kidding, All-grain brewing is how beer is made, not having someone else make the wort for me. I interpret  the "baseline brew" as like a SMaSH brew, to se what that particular malt or hop brought to the party? I made notes all the way through first brew, visual observations as well as an accurate measure of what was going on with times, temps, etc... i would like to think I could repeat my brew now that's brewing :-) if i followed the same notes...

I guess a lot of luck would have helped too. I have learnt so much and still have so much to learn! So i see it as I have come a long way from not even knowing anything to writing out a recipe that i understand. First brew only had one hop variety (so that's simple) cascade which according to my book  gives me a Grapefruit, citrus pith, juicy with an range of Alpha acid between 4%-7% it's just basic stuff but i am growing.

Thanks for all the great advice i definitely take it all in. Now i need to improvise on a hop bag as I don't have one yet!! Whoops. haha. Keep it fun and make good beer. eh

Cheers.

[Craig Howard]

Good on ya.  Learning is part of the deal. 

Drinking your own brew that turns out great ...is the reward for the time and effort.

For me...I will give it a probably 18 months before I consider grain brewing from scratch.. and knowing myself..the attraction will also  be designing and building a rig to do so. A project and a challenge.

Meantime I have  got myself nicely ahead  with a stockpile of ready to drink beers, one in the fermenter til tomorrow...and another brew  bottled  in conditioning stage.

Cool thing also is when one has enough bottles in reserve  to recycle. (and I have - I use 750mls )glass)

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

You don't do the grain brewing from scratch? I am so passionate about brewing now, it's about all I think about haha. wiring up the STC 1000 was awesome too didn't think I'd manage but there you go. I am going to put my dry hops in now loose but will get a hop bag for next time and take note that I didn't use one now. some say it's fine on the internet  and seeing as I have no choice it has to be today with 5 days left,. All good it's my first time so not expecting miracles. I am wondering though whether or not I strain my beer in to a bottle bucket from fermenter to clear the big pile of trub at bottom them bottle it??

[Craig Howard]

You don't do the grain brewing from scratch? 

No.  I am too thirsty and impatient for that palaver.. as well as I dont have the time at the moment. It takes enough of my time each brew as it is.

I turn really nice brews around in 5+ weeks .   (10-14 days in the fermenter including fining...then straight to bottle..for 3 weeks plus for conditioning).

Lagering takes longer (6-7 weeks plus).

Opened my first Bohmian Pils in the weekend.  Rapt with it.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

I have a mate at work who can't wait at all and sometimes drinks it after 1 or 2 weeks  funny. he does extract brewing. I know there is a lot of gear needed for All-Grain brewing, well if don't have anything like I didn't. He wants to try AG brewing out was looking at the Grain-father but now looks like he'll give it ago next year like the way I do it in a brew-kettle over a burner. He was very happy with his results of a Clone Guinness beer he did. It took me just under 5 hours for my brewing day. Then clean up. Hey I found this info on SMaSH brews some guy doing one but using 2 different malts and still one hop. https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/smash-pale-ale-1-cascade

I love drinking APA's like Monteith's one. That is why I did that as my first, 4 weeks in fermenter and then 2 weeks in bottle, 6 weeks before I can drink it, which is why I bought another fermenter and another 3 dozen bottles.(500ml ones) Enjoy your beer!!

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

https://www.jaysbrewing.com/2013/01/10/smash-brewing-101/

I should make my next beer a SMaSH one. So I get to know what the malt is like and that particular hop is like too...yeah?

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Dry-hopping done, just need to bottle it on Saturday, woo-hoo!!! (then wait 2 weeks boo-hoo) new batch of beer on Sunday! Thinking of still doing an American Pale Ale of Mainly a single malt, mainly with Crystal light malt too. and mainly a single hop Simcoe with a late addition of Amarillo. Maybe a dry hop too?? how exciting love brewing All-Grain, must remember to take extremely accurate notes, not vague ones like last time. I took a hydrometer reading with cooled wort pre-fermenter didn't know what I was doing filled up glass trial jar to top then added my hydrometer, forgetting to spin it first to get air bubbles off it. got a reading of 1.060 when my target gravity was 1.052. Added 5 litres of water to fermenter to bring up my volume as it was only 18Litres. Learning from my mistakes will make me a better brewer!

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

If I have 18litres of wort and it reads 1.060 as the OG then add 5 litres of water what would the OG reading be then? Anyone with a clever software or website calculator please work this out? It's just that I want to take a FG before I bottle on Saturday, so I know what the abv is. cheers.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Maybe this shows what I should have put in and that is 2.7 litres of water to get my 1.052 and because I put in 5 litres now I think I have 1.047 so it's a bit under then.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/dilution-and-boiloff-gravity-calculator/

Those are not my figures.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

I am starting to get the "crap hope my beer's not cloudy and full of sediment" jitters!!

I there anything that I could do to help come bottling day????

I dry hopped today no hop bag(will be getting one for next time)

Advice please.

[Cain Harland]

The 2 simplest things you can do to clear the beer and reduce sediment going into the bottle other than the obvious don't shake the fermenter before bottling are cold crash and add a little gelatin once it is properly cold. You can buy fancy stuff but I just disolve about 1/2 tsp supermarket  gelatin  in about 1 cup boiled water tip in and shake. The gelatin  binds to proteins and yeast and sinks to the bottom.  I do this 1 day into a 1 week cold crash. It makes a big difference  but even then an unfiltered bottle conditioned beer is likely to have a bit of a haze to it. Pros cold condition for weeks in a Brite tank and filter to get super clear beer.

I wouldn't worry too much at this stage even if you get a lot of sediment in the bottle it doesn't effect the taste much.chill well and pour the whole bottle in one go, jug or multiple glasses if needed and you leave most behind. Don't get me wrong it's definitely something to work on just saying judge the beer on its flavours not its clarity. 

[Cain Harland]

That is the 2 simplest things once it's in the fermenter.  Kettle finings, vorlauf and whirlpooling all help on brew day.

Vorlauf (spelling? ) is when you take the first wort out of the grain bed and add it back to the top, the grain bed acts like a filter trapping the small particles. This can be just a couple of jugs or cycling with a pump. I'm not sure if this is aplicable to biab .