Water Levels are low. First batch with my own recipe. A few questions for some more experienced brewers

[Brewer #410952]

Hi, I made my second batch last night. My goal was to make 1 gallon of brew which evaporated into about 40% of a gallon. I was wondering, do you start with 2.5 gallons or so if you're aiming for 1 gallon or do you add water during or at the end of the process? I think this resulted in issues getting a gravity reading as I dumped in DME at the end that must have been too much for 40% of a gallon. The reading was all white. Also, the wort was much darker than expected.

Also, what are your best practices for cooling the wort quickly? I have an immersion cooler, but the process hasn't been so seamless getting water to flow quickly through the hose as I need to raise it high and stop pouring water down it every 5 seconds.

Lastly, i used wyeast last night (wasn't sure how much to use due to the gravity reading being white). Am I supposed to puncture that little bag inside prior to use? Can it be stored for a later date in the fridge if partially used?


Thank you again if someone has some information on any of these questions. Really appreciate it!!

 

[NorthWest Small Batch Brewing]

You can do it either way. You can water down the wort if it is too concentrated (Brewers Friend has a calculator for that) or you can do a full volume mash as you say with 2.5 gallons if you expect to lose 1 gallon to grain absorption and 1/2 gallon to boil off leaving you with 1 gallon at the end. If you are doing just a gallon a chiller is a bit overkill. I would just do an ice bath in the sink. Last - Wyeast uses's smack packs so probably you need to wait till you want to use it and then smack it to break that inner seal to release yeast nutrient and you will see the bag inflate after a bit when it is ready.

 

[Zambi]

At first glance I thought maybe you are in my area as our water level is very low.
In the river & lake

But seriously, you boiled off a lot and instead of trying to use an immersion cooler, you could have added cold water, to both cool and bring SG where you wanted it to be.

I assume you used dme only?
Or did you use malted barley as well?

 

[Minbari]

Whatevert the batch size, I usually err on the side of too little water than too much.

If you boil off too much and your gravity it way too high, it's easy to add water to hit your target

 

[Craigerrr]

I'm going to give you a couple of good links to follow.
Brewing is essentially cooking, you can go in the kitchen and make a decent meal without any special training or experience.
But to make amazing meals you need to learn more about cooking, and gain a lot of experience.
Same deal with brewing, it will just take time to become a brew meister (or is that master)

This first link was the AHA! moment for me when I gained an understanding of water volumes in brewing.

Second link is from this site, it is very helpful when you are starting out.

Homebrewing for Beginners: How to Make Beer at Home​

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrewing-for-beginners/

 

[Craigerrr]

My referring you to some resources isn't meant to send you away to figure it out yourself.
There is much to learn!
Keep asking questions, we have a good community here, and a lot of people who are happy to help.

 

[philjohnwilliams]

Other people have addressed your water issues, so let me help (I hope) with the chilling. A 1 gallon batch doesn't really need an immersion chiller in my experience. Placing your pot in a sink of cold water can chill it just as fast provided you do two things. First, you need to stir the contents of the pot as you chill so that the hot liquid in the pot can have maximum contact with the cold sides of the pot. Second, you need to change the water in the sink often so that you are always working with the coldest possible water. After the first few changes of water you can add ice to the water to cool it down further. Using these methods, I have been able to get 1 gallon batches down to yeast pitching temps in under 10 minutes.

 

[Brewer #410952]

Really appreciate all the help!! I'll take a look at the links and use this guidance.

I did steep grains for 25 minutes prior to the boil at 160 degrees. After making this first batch I have made a lot of tweaks. For a gallon or 3 gallon brew is 1 ounce of hops at the beginning of the boil and 1 ounce near the end sufficient? I converted the 1 ounce hops at the beginning and end and use around .2 ounces which may not be enough.

 

[philjohnwilliams]

Also, what are your best practices for cooling the wort quickly? I have an immersion cooler, but the process hasn't been so seamless getting water to flow quickly through the hose as I need to raise it high and stop pouring water down it every 5 seconds.

Is your immersion chiller hooked up to a faucet? It sounds like you may be manually pouring water through it?

 

[Brewer #410952]

Is your immersion chiller hooked up to a faucet? It sounds like you may be manually pouring water through it?

I think there was an attachment, but it didn't fit my faucet so it's manual. Not really worth it that way haha

 

[Minbari]

Really appreciate all the help!! I'll take a look at the links and use this guidance.

I did steep grains for 25 minutes prior to the boil at 160 degrees. After making this first batch I have made a lot of tweaks. For a gallon or 3 gallon brew is 1 ounce of hops at the beginning of the boil and 1 ounce near the end sufficient? I converted the 1 ounce hops at the beginning and end and use around .2 ounces which may not be enough.

Greatly depends on the style. 2oz of hops in 1-3 gal for most American styles would be a crazy amount.

For an ipa, not so much

 

[Craigerrr]

If you are chilling in a sink, you can add ice to the cold water.
Have more handy to add as it melts.
With this process you need to very mindful of sanitation, this is when a wild yeast can get into your wort.
You could alternatively cover it with sanitized aluminum foil, and just let it cool to room temp on it's own.
Any hops you add during the boil will bring more bitterness if you do this, @Trialben can probably help you with hop rates if you go this route.

You said that you steeped grains for 25 minutes at 160F.
I assume this is what the recipe called for, was this a purchased recipe kit?

 

[Brewer #410952]

I put this recipe together based on looking at wheat beers. The beer I am making is a wheat beer. Using Vienna and wheat malt .2 pounds each for steeping. Around 1000 grams or so of Wiezen DME, 1/3 at the beginning of the boil and 2/3's at the end. I used Hallertau hops at the beginning of the boil and saaz hops at the end (.33 ounces each) at both the beginning and end of the boil.

 

[Donoroto]

Figuring water: Let's say you want to end up with 1 gallon of finished beer to bottle. Depending on your equipment and process, there will be water losses, and these losses can be measured or calculated 'close enough'.

The steeping grains absorb some water that can't be recovered. 1 pound might absorb a quart.
Your hops absorb some water too. About 0.15 quarts per ounce.
You can't get every drop from your boiling pot - the hops (and some water) should be left behind. Say 1/2 quart? Depends.
You can probably boil off a gallon an hour - typical stove top.
When fermenting, you can't get every drop from the fermenter - leave most of the yeast and 'trub' (gunk on the bottom) behind. Maybe a quart? Depends.

We do the math:
Final Volume: 1 gallon (4 qts)
Plus 2 qts (2 lbs grain)
Plus .15 qts (1 oz hops - 2 oz is common for a 5 gallon batch, you need less for most recipes)
plus 1/2 qt loss from boil pot
plus 1 gallon from boil
And 1 qt from fermenter
Total: 4+2+.15+.5+4+1 = 9.65 quarts to start to have 4 quarts to bottle.

Now, your pot, your boil, your grain, hops, fermenter... all these are unique to you. So figure out these values for yourself and calculate what you need to start with. (For the boil, boil 6-8 quarts of water for an hour, then measure what's left).

That'll get you started, as will the great resources @Craigerrr supplied.

Then, come back with more questions!

 

[Herm brews]

It looks like OP is an extract brewer, which I know nothing about that process. To the OP I suggest read everything you can get your hands on, watch instructional clips/videos, make friends with other brewers, and most importantly, ask questions. There is an active participation here on Brewers Friend that is ready and willing to offer humor, useful information and support. Many good folks have already stepped up to help.

I still remember my first ever brew (a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale kit). I followed the directions, but made a bunch of off the cuff, mid-brew adjustments because I did not have a clue what I was doing or what to expect during the process. In the end, even with missteps and seemingly ruinous “adjustments” the beer turned out very much drinkable. That was my one and only kit and extract brew, but it got me hooked.

Five plus years later, it is all grain, all the time, and generally recipes of my own design. It was a learning process, and I might not have gotten where I am in this hobby without the generous help and guidance from the group here at Brewers Friend. I have learned how to craft recipes and use the Recipe Builder on this site for some of the finer details, like water adjustments. My process is still simple - stove top single vessel BIAB for small 2.5 gallon batches, that until recently have all been bottled. All these years and batches under my belt, and I still use an ice bath to cool my wort.

Keep at it, and in time you will be helping the next group of new brewers who ask for help.

 

[Craigerrr]

I put this recipe together based on looking at wheat beers. The beer I am making is a wheat beer. Using Vienna and wheat malt .2 pounds each for steeping. Around 1000 grams or so of Wiezen DME, 1/3 at the beginning of the boil and 2/3's at the end. I used Hallertau hops at the beginning of the boil and saaz hops at the end (.33 ounces each) at both the beginning and end of the boil.

May I suggest that you post up the recipe for us to look at.
As @Herm brews notes, it seems that you are brewing an "extract" recipe, and there is nothing wrong with that.
It will just help us provide better guidance.

 

[Semper Sitientem]

Also, what are your best practices for cooling the wort quickly? I have an immersion cooler, but the process hasn't been so seamless getting water to flow quickly through the hose as I need to raise it high and stop pouring water down it every 5 seconds.

As @Craigerrr mentioned, you don’t necessarily have to cool your wort down quickly. It’s called the “No Chill” method. I utilize it more during the summer months when my ground water is very warm and it would be an enormous waste of water. I transfer hot wort into my fermentor and let it sit overnight. During the winter months when ground water temps are significantly cooler, after I siphon what I need for my cleaning solution, it just becomes a minor waste of water.

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

Really appreciate all the help!! I'll take a look at the links and use this guidance.

I did steep grains for 25 minutes prior to the boil at 160 degrees. After making this first batch I have made a lot of tweaks. For a gallon or 3 gallon brew is 1 ounce of hops at the beginning of the boil and 1 ounce near the end sufficient? I converted the 1 ounce hops at the beginning and end and use around .2 ounces which may not be enough.

The usage of hops is really subjective to the brewer and the style you are brewing. The longer you boil hops the more alpha acids are released into your beer creating levels of bitterness you may or may not want in your beer. My suggestion and please don't take this the wrong way, is brew a some kits. It doesn't matter if it is all grain or an extract batch. By following the instructions, you will get the brewing process down. After that, start on your path to recipe creation. That's how I started and I believe many of us on this forum did as well.

 

[Blackmuse]

The steeping grains absorb some water that can't be recovered. 1 pound might absorb a quart.
Your hops absorb some water too. About 0.15 quarts per ounce.
You can't get every drop from your boiling pot - the hops (and some water) should be left behind. Say 1/2 quart? Depends.
You can probably boil off a gallon an hour - typical stove top.
When fermenting, you can't get every drop from the fermenter - leave most of the yeast and 'trub' (gunk on the bottom) behind. Maybe a quart? Depends.

We do the math:
Final Volume: 1 gallon (4 qts)
Plus 2 qts (2 lbs grain)
Plus .15 qts (1 oz hops - 2 oz is common for a 5 gallon batch, you need less for most recipes)
plus 1/2 qt loss from boil pot
plus 1 gallon from boil
And 1 qt from fermenter
Total: 4+2+.15+.5+4+1 = 9.65 quarts to start to have 4 quarts to bottle.

Now, your pot, your boil, your grain, hops, fermenter... all these are unique to you. So figure out these values for yourself and calculate what you need to start with. (For the boil, boil 6-8 quarts of water for an hour, then measure what's left).

@Brewer #410952 - @Donoroto's advice here is solid. You gotta figure out your "equipment" profile - start by putting 2-3 gallons of water in your brew pot and boiling it for 1 hour - measure what is leftover after to find your hourly boil-off rate. You can use standard default numbers for now for grain and hop absorption... Then all you need to figure out is how much you plan to leave behind in the boil kettle and how much you plan to leave behind in the fermenter - for me, it is 1/2 gallon in each. Then, whenever you build a recipe just take these numbers into consideration before starting. You can build an equipment profile on brewers friend if you'd like - it can help when you design recipes. There's video in the learning section if you're interested.

Good luck!

 

[Ward Chillington]

Plus 1 on Craigerrr, Don and Herms, spot on advice there. Water loss math is a big word problem where only your steps are constants!

My suggestion to cooling the small batch.... hold off on the ice until you have things down below 150°F. My small batch experience was with a 4 gallon kettle in a utility sink for a couple gallons of brew. 2 fills of tap temperature water would get me low enough to where the ice became effective. Keep things clean, watch your splashing of the cooling water so not to cross contaminate. Keep at it and keep the questions coming!