Attention: Check out the new BKB Home Brewing Blog
Pages: 1
Too much unstrained crud in fermenter?
I prepared my first batch last weekend and was forced to pour the wort unstrained into the fermenter. I had a pound of crystal grain and two hop additions, and an a fair amount went into the carboy. Is this likely to be a problem? It seemed to me I remembered reading somewhere that it wouldn't matter if some of the solids made it into the fermenter, but I sure don't see that anywhere now. If it matters, it's an amber ale.
well it sounds like you really missed a step somewhere, I would try to siphon the wort off the sediment as soon as possible, Make sure you sanitize everything. While some trub sediment shouldn't be a problem, grain and hops are another matter. They would lend themselves to off flavors in your finished beer.
Thank you im4fishnak. What happened was that I had a large funnel with small screen, and the wort wouldn't make it past the screen. Not having a sanitized strainer around, I just tried to pour it in as gently as possible through the unstrained funnel to leave as much grain etc. on the bottom of the boiling pot as possible. Anyhow, I appreciate your help.
Next time steep your grains in a bag and you won't have to worry about it. Also, before you pour your wort into the fermenter give it a good swirl and then wait a bit. Most of the sediments will form a nice pile in the center and you can pour fairly clean.
Get one of these below and you will never have a problem again. Most dollar stores carry the single mesh version; which is better than nothing.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products … rodID=7692
Wow I am amazed!!! I bought the $30 one from a homebrew store here in town. The one above is a steal!
This was the one I purchased.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products … rodID=5660
Do you actually have crystal malt in the kettle at the end of teh boil? Did you boil those grains?
Brewchez brings up a pretty good point, one that I hadn't thought of prior. Brewing Law states...When steeping grains, All Grains must be removed from the wort prior to boiling. (we don't boil grain) Now the hops are a horse of a different color. hops can even be added during a secondary, if chosen to do so. The advice about the grain bags is sound, and you should pay attention. It's an easy way to remove the spent grains, and you can rinse (sparge) them easily with a little bit of hot water. Hey, Don't be bummed out, chances are your beer will turn out really good. Its really hard to screw up beer. It has a way of compensating itself. I would like to recomend some reading for you. It's worth while, and a wealth of information. Charlie Papazian, the complete joy of Home Brewing. It's readily available, Just about anywhere.
im4fishnak wrote:
I would like to recomend some reading for you. It's worth while, and a wealth of information. Charlie Papazian, the complete joy of Home Brewing. It's readily available, Just about anywhere.
And if we are recommending books for reading, John Palmer's How To Brew, first edition, is available online for free.
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
It's a great resource for getting started. Just remember that not everything you read in a book will always be true and accurate, much like the interwebs. Nothing beats personal experience.
DT
I did the same thing with the same kind of beer(amber ale), and I fear that that may have been one of a few things that led to a bit of an off taste. I had a topic titled "my air lock quit bubbling after 36 hours" and got some great advice and insight into some of the things that I may have possibly done to screw up my first batch.
brewchez had a great suggestion that said "The break material in the kettle doesn't bother me any really.But to avoid some of it you can use a sanitized spoon and stir up the cooled wort to make a whirlpool. Get a good swirling motion going, then let it sit undisturbed for another 15 minutes. Then you can siphon from the side of the kettle and that should leave a fair amount of break material in the center of the kettle."
Of course your hearing this as I did-after the fact. I also am going to try to find a large stainless strainer that I can pour my wort through (sanitized, of course) since I will need one for my next beer that I just ordered yesterday- a partial mash kit called berlin wheat (which sounds like a hefeweizen?) from Midwest homebrewing and winemaking supply.
I wouldn't say my beer is bad, but I wouldn't call it good. It's drinkable, and I made it.
Bitter in taste, low in alcohol content. The commercial writes itself.
Just a couple of hints that I learned the hard way. When transfering from the primary to the carboy and back to the bucket for bottling make sure your transfer tube touches the bottom of whatever it is your transfering to. This is another thing that I discovered could have led to an off taste. I had my primary on the counter and the carboy on the floor which put my tube just a couple of inches from the neck, so I figured it was better to let it run down the side of the carboy than to just free fall down the middle. From what I have been told, letting it "fan" is a very effective way to get pleanty of oxygen into the beer. Oh wait, that's a bad thing.
Another thing is to take your time; be patient. It sounds like we had very similar(if not the same) kits and from what I have gathered from many experienced brewers is that the directions really did more harm than good. The reccomended time in the primary was way too short.
Good luck and Happy Brewing.
Pages: 1