First time brewer needs LOTS of help...

[Richard Maclaurin]

Hi, I've just done an all grain Epic clone as my first ever attempt at brewing.  Nothing could possibly go wrong, could it?  Oh yes it could.  I managed to lose over 5 liters in the boil, then tossed the whole lot into the fermenter, trub and all.  The Wyeast, which has been sitting patiently in the fridge for the last three weeks didn't seem to have an unbroken bag inside, so I suspect it had already been burst. There doesn't appear to be any fermenting happening if the air lock is anything to go by,  the SG is a whopping 1.085, and I would really like some advice.  Should I ditch the whole lot and start again, decant and remove grub, add boiled water back to the 20 L mark (I've only got 16 L incl. grub!) or what? Cheers.

[mattd2]

I would let it ride, when did you brew this? One smack pack into the fermenter might be pitching a bit low (most will make a yeast starter to build up the cell count from the initial pack) but it should still make beer. If you don't see any kruasen forming after 3 days start to think about throughing a packet of US05 dry yeast in there.

Nearly forgot congratulations on you first brew and an AG is impresssive. 5 litres boil off is normal (just need to account for that to make sure your pre boil is enough - so collect 25 litres for 20 litres into the fermenter). Don't worry too much about the trub, it will just sink to the bottom and you can rack your beer off once it is done. I expect that the high OG is because of the unintended low volume, looks like you would of had around 1.068 with 20 litres so you did good with the mash/lauter it seems.

Don't judge the activity by the airlock, even a small leak in the fermeter lid (nothing to worry about though) will mean no bubbles through the airlock. Look for signs of fermentation like a kruasen forming (nice thick foam on top).

All in all my last point is, this was your first brew and you did great when that is taken into account. You have learnt stuff that will help out in the second brew, i.e. 5 litre boil off. Keep the brewing up, keep the fermenter cool and keep the beer flowing!

[JR]

If it as been less than a couple of days since you brewed I would have a shot at saving it. It wont be like epic but it may be drinkable.

If you have a syphon and another fermentor then it would be nice to dump the trub but if its going to be a hassle I would not worry about it.

Boil and cool 4-6 litres of water and add that along with a packet (or 2) of US05.  I would be tempted to not add all the dry hops as it may well be a waste of ingredients at this stage. 

Have a go and see what happens.

 

[Dougal]

I wouldn't dump it just yet, but definitely pitch a sachet of S-05 dry yeast after diluting it back to your desired OG.The third calculator on this page will help you dilute.

As Matt said, congratulations on your first all-grain. All of us had something go wrong on the first all grain brew, so don't worry too much. It might have been a bit much to take on using Wyeast first time. You should definitely read up about making starters as pitching directly from the pack can give poor results.

[jt]

I'd let it ride too

On the question of yeast, Wyeast say that you don't need to have either the smackpack swell or the nutrient bag burst.

I'd be looking at the date of manufacture and  the gravity and the volume in the fermenter and checking that out with the mrmalty calculator, you may have near an ok pitching rate.

But, how many days since you brewed ? If it's three days and no krausen and no drop in gravity then I'd be pitching some S05.

There's a few things working against it, but all you've got to lose now is time waiting.

Your first batch is something to enjoy, regardless of the taste, fruits of your labours etc etc.

And it's a starting point for your own evaluation of your brewing and your beer tastes.

Good luck

[Richard Maclaurin]

Thanks very much for your wisdom and encouragement ... when I got home from work today the airlock was going gangbusters so that problem seems to have sorted itself out. (I only did the brew last night, and thought there should have been some action by the morning.)

So, assuming the fermentation continues apace, I was wondering if it would be best to decant into a clean bucket, removing the trub and replace the brew back into the cleaned and re-sanitised fermenter.  Also, should I top up with boiled and cooled water as suggested by Dougal and JR ?

[Druid]

Now that your ferment is into gear, you could just leave it as is and you'll have yourself a Cascade double IPA monster. Impressive for a first batch!

[jt]

Good news!
I also vote for leaving it as the big beer, you won't have as much but it'll be a great first beer.

[Evan Davies]

Even with a healthly yeast starter, no activity within 24 hrs can be the norm, airlocks and bad seals can get all of us down, so look for krausen, and if you ever overproduce as you will : D remember to have a blow off tube to a bottle handy if you lack headspace. I have a tube and a cut down pen that fits snugly in the airlock grommet for the first few days and then finish with an airlock. Well done on ya first AG. And as for the trub, if you have a fridge crash chill for 24 hrs brfore bottling, say 5-6 C and that trub will settle and be rock hard and stay where it belongs. 

[Hillman]

Another vote for leaving it and seeing what happens. I wouldn't worry about the trub -- it doesn't hurt the beer and if it ends up in your glass, well, that's how you know you brewed it, right? 

[Des Ross]

Great stuff...I think we can all identify with the apprehension as to whether we have done it right, or why hasn't it started fermenting etc etc, when we first started brewing..relax, .sit back and let nature work it's magic! I'm glad you didn't tinker with it (dilute, pitch another yeast, decant off trub etc) as you might have upset the beer gods! The best advice I can offer now is treat the wort really gently...no splashing during siphoning etc to avoid oxygen pickup and keep everything that comes in contact with the beer spotlessly clean and sanitized. And then there is the joy and apprehension of waiting, and then that first taste...but that's another story! Keep us informed..

[Richard Maclaurin]

Thanks for all your comments, they have been very helpful and reassuring.  So, I let nature take its course, ferment went gangbusters, cold crashed for 5 days and ended up with the correct FG reading (1010).  Cleaned and sanitized my Grolsh pop tops, added sugar solution (a la John Palmer) and bottled.  Ten days later, chilled to perfection, it was time to test the brew.  Very slight release of pressure on opening the bottle didn't auger well.There was no head in the glass, and I was greeted with a flat, sightly sweet tasting load of crap.  What the hell went wrong?  I'm going to do another brew this weekend, and hope to improve my efforts.  Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.  Cheers all!

[mattd2]

10 days is early to start drinking, 3 weeks in the bottle should give better results. And let the beer condition a bit more.
Can you discribe the taste you are getting? How to brew has a good list of off flavours in one of the later sections. What temp did it ferment at? If it was 20+ the yeast might have started throwing some esters/phenols out there.