First brew-gravity off

Craigerrr said:
With regards to more important issues, I was looking at the upcoming NHL playoff schedule, and for the life of me I can't figure out who the Sabres are playing in the play in round. Did they not qualify for the playoffs? I mean, almost every team qualified, right?
:D:D:D:D:eek::eek::eek::eek:
Sorry, couldn't help myself.
Do you live in the Buffalo area?
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I'm from the Buffalo area but live in Rochester which for those unfamiliar with New York is about an hour east of Buffalo and where the Sabres AHL club is.
Totally not bitter that Montreal beat us by 1 point for the last spot despite them playing 2 more games and that we were scheduled to play them the night it all shut down. Not bitter at all
 
The wort was well aerated but I'm not confident with how well mixed it was when I took my sample. Hoping that's where the discrepancy is
 
It feels like every nemesis the Leafs have ever had channeled themselves through that dude. I would fired for that:D
 
Craigerrr said:
It feels like every nemesis the Leafs have ever had channeled themselves through that dude. I would fired for that:D
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I just loved that it was your own EBUG wearing a Marlies mask and everything. I know it's silly to pick on but we need something to make us feel better about our own team
 
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It's a 5 gallon bucket and yes there is some slight headspace at the top but I have the 5 gallon line marked
 
Hmm...FWIW. You said this was your first brew. Do another before you worry too much. The only real way to figure out if you have a 1 time problem or a global problem is to repeat the process. If you use some of the feedback folks have given you on here I'm betting you will have a different, hopefully better, outcome. Experience and repetition teaches well. You may not every figure out what happened this batch. Try to repeat the process taking good notes and you may figure it out. Try changing what you THINK went wrong and go from there.

If it is important to you to do so, if the beer is still in the fermenter you could always add a little table or brown sugar to bring the ABV up. A pound of any (not honey) sugar will contribute between 1.036 and 1.046 gravity points per gallon of liquid, or 1.007 to 1.009 per 5 gallons. The difference of 0.002 between the two is negligible So 1 lb should theoretically increase the OG from the 1.040 to about 1.049 and the end ABV will be what it would have been if you had made your 1.05 number post boil. It will thin the beer out though; which changes the mouth feel and flavor etc. but you will get the ABV up.

I've made soooo many mistakes and oopsies that I now "just go with it" and see what happens. I learn from each one and from trying to figure out what I did that caused the "problem". I've made some pretty great beers by accident. Then again, I don't aim to be a perfect brewer, I aim for the perfect beer!
 
^Tony^ said:
Hmm...FWIW. You said this was your first brew. Do another before you worry too much. The only real way to figure out if you have a 1 time problem or a global problem is to repeat the process. If you use some of the feedback folks have given you on here I'm betting you will have a different, hopefully better, outcome. Experience and repetition teaches well. You may not every figure out what happened this batch. Try to repeat the process taking good notes and you may figure it out. Try changing what you THINK went wrong and go from there.

If it is important to you to do so, if the beer is still in the fermenter you could always add a little table or brown sugar to bring the ABV up. A pound of any (not honey) sugar will contribute between 1.036 and 1.046 gravity points per gallon of liquid, or 1.007 to 1.009 per 5 gallons. The difference of 0.002 between the two is negligible So 1 lb should theoretically increase the OG from the 1.040 to about 1.049 and the end ABV will be what it would have been if you had made your 1.05 number post boil. It will thin the beer out though; which changes the mouth feel and flavor etc. but you will get the ABV up.

I've made soooo many mistakes and oopsies that I now "just go with it" and see what happens. I learn from each one and from trying to figure out what I did that caused the "problem". I've made some pretty great beers by accident. Then again, I don't aim to be a perfect brewer, I aim for the perfect beer!
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Thanks. Flavor and drinkability are more important to me than ABV. If it ends up being a session beer so be it. Right now I'm going to work off the theory that the top off water wasn't mixed well enough into the wort and watered down the hydrometer sample. Hopefully it turns out. I've already got a short list of things not to do next time
 
Another good piece of advice that I received early on was not to change too many things at one time. In fact, it is best to only change one thing at a time. Having said that you are one batch in, brew some more, and learn some more.
 
Update:
Today was 12 days since I placed it in the fermenter. Took my first reading since brew day and got 1.012. The estimate for the recipe was 1.013. I'm just going to assume I screwed up my first reading. Looked vaugely hefeweizen-y but maybe a tad dark (but really hard to tell with the lighting in my basement). Didn't taste amazing but wasn't horrible, definitely drinkable, tasted somewhat right. Definitely got the banana in there, hoping it gets better after conditioning though. Assuming the readings stay the same I'm planning to bottle Wednesday. Definitely got beer though! Feeling much more confident now. Thanks for all the advise thus far
 
SabreSteve said:
Update:
Today was 12 days since I placed it in the fermenter. Took my first reading since brew day and got 1.012. The estimate for the recipe was 1.013. I'm just going to assume I screwed up my first reading. Looked vaugely hefeweizen-y but maybe a tad dark (but really hard to tell with the lighting in my basement). Didn't taste amazing but wasn't horrible, definitely drinkable, tasted somewhat right. Definitely got the banana in there, hoping it gets better after conditioning though. Assuming the readings stay the same I'm planning to bottle Wednesday. Definitely got beer though! Feeling much more confident now. Thanks for all the advise thus far
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You will probably find that you'll get lighter color with DME.
 
I'm thinking if it's darker than it should be it's likely because the LME was outdated. I don't know though, the lighting in my basement is pretty poor, could have looked darker cause of that. Like I mentioned in another thread I'm planning on using DME on my next brew. Just kinda would like to get a feel for the different types of ingredients. LME vs DME, liquid yeast vs dry, etc. I do like that DME has a longer shelf life and that it's portion-able. I see recipes on here that have LME in amounts that you can't readily but it in and I'm like I'm not trying to weigh out that stuff on a scale!
 
DME is a lot easier to work with generally.
 
Is LME more concentrated than DME? My first brew was a Northern Brewer kit, it came with LME. Maybe it is cheaper to ship?
 
No, DME is more concentrated, but LME is cheaper to make. Likely the lower cost makes it cheaper than shipping higher cost DME.
 
Darker shouldn't be a big problem. (Maybe drink with your eyes closed?)

As you wrote, the taste is what rules. It will taste better after it's gone through the whole process, early tastes will always be a bit different from the final product. With a Hefeweitzen and its relatively fizzy nature, carbonation affects the mouthfeel and flavor perceptions.

Brew the same beer a few times and you'll dial it in. As noted above, change one parameter at a time to gauge the effect, and write down what you've learned each time.
 
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