Still Bubbling

03/12/14

(10:00)

After not seeing any CO2 activity in the fermentation lock for nearly two minutes last night, I was convinced that it was time to start bottling BEER #2. However, while making a final observation before initiating bottling I saw that there is still bubbling activity happening. It makes me curious whether or not I am prolonging fermentation appropriately. I say this because the instructions that came with the beer state that a significant portion of the bubbling will stop around day 6 of fermentation. Today is day 14.

In my go-to guide The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, author Charlie Papazian suggests to allow fermentation to occur for 8-14 days. He states that terminating fermentation and deciding when to bottle beer should rely on 2-3 days of identical specific gravity (SG) readings. Once any visible signs of fermentation has ceased, such as bubbling activity, Papazian suggests to begin taking these readings to determine if the beer should in fact be bottled.

I have read enough material regarding this topic to feel comfortable that taking 3 days and measuring the SG is a worth while action. I will start tracking today and if the SG is unchanged, bottling will take place on Saturday. I will add a post each of the next three days showing the results of each SG measurement.

Installed Fermentation Lock #2

03/03/14

BEER #1 is no longer producing enough blowoff to reach the fermentation hose. Therefore, I installed the fermentation lock for this beer and while doing so, noticed that BEER #2 had an interesting surface layer of slimy looking foam. It was orange/brown and clearly distinguishable from the body of the beer. Temperatures have been consistently in the high 60s. Now that both beers will fit in the same location, I have placed them together for easier monitoring.

Surface of BEER #2

Blowoff & Sediment Update

02/27/14

(22:00)

BEER #1

BEER #2

I was checking on the beer before going to bed and noticed that BEER #1 was still producing a large amount of blowoff. It was very sweet smelling and almost thick looking. Another change that I noticed was that the yeast cells in both batches of beer appear to have settled to the bottom of their carboys, producing bubbles that float to the surface. At this point the room temperature is 68 degrees F and things are looking promising!

Blowoff from BEER #1

Let's Make More BEER!!!

02/27/14

This is my account of the steps that took place during my second attempt at brewing beer. This beer will be referred to as BEER #2. The instructions that came with my beer kit were very specific, detailed, and thorough. After reading all of the steps required I was now ready to get brewing! Here is how is unravelled. 

*** Before starting any brewing, proper sanitation of workspace and equipment should be completed!! (See: Cleanliness Is Next To...) ***

(11:00)

This beer required that some of the grains be steeped in order to break down their sugars before starting the wort. 

Here is how I did this:

• Poured 1 gallon of water into large metal pot
• Poured grains into grain bag and tied a loose knot at the end
• Using a cooking thermometer, monitor the water's temperature, allowing it to come to 155 degrees F
• Place the bag of grains into the water
• Keep the temperature between 148-152 degrees F for 45 min.

After 45 min., I removed the bag of grains and added another 1.5 gallons of warm water to the wort. 

(12:00)

I then brought the wort to a rolling boil added the 3.3 lb. of liquid malt extract, being sure to mix continuously to prevent sticking.

The consistency and scent of the liquid malt extract was very similar to molasses. They are probably quite similar. 

(12:30) 

It was now time to add the Liberty hops to the wort. With the wort continuing at a gentle boil, I added the 1 oz. bag of Liberty hop pellets. Hop pellets are a form of hops that have been processed and dried into small pellets that look similar to rabbit food.

Immediately upon hitting the wort, the pellets transformed the surface of the wort into a layer of green, smelling up the kitchen with wonderful aromas.

I continued to allow the wort to boil for another 40 minutes.


(13:15)

The step was adding the 2 lb. of dried malt extract and spice pack. Normally the dried malt extract would be added to the wort during the same time as the liquid malt extract. However, due to the style of this beer, it is added later in order to produce a light colored beer.

Once the dried malt extract was added I allowed the wort to boil for another 5 minutes before adding another 1 oz. portion of hops, this time GR Tetnang hops.



(13:35)

I boiled the wort for 10 min. after adding the second ounce of hops and then terminated the boil. The total boiling time for the wort was around 60 minutes.



(13:35 - 14:05) 

Immediately after terminating the boil, I removed the wort from the stove and placed it in an ice bath in order to bring the temperature down from about 210 degrees F to 70 degrees F.

The reason that these measures are taken to reduce the wort's temperature as quickly as possible is due to the vulnerability of the wort to environment contamination. It is important to reduce the amount of time that the wort is exposed to microbes while at temperatures below 210 degrees F.

Once the wort's temperature reduced to 70 degrees F, I poured it into the 6.5 gallon carboy fermenter, taking special care to not allow the sediment at the bottom of the pot to get into the carboy.




(14:10)

Because this recipe was designed to make 5 gallons of beer, 2.5 gallons of water need to be added to the wort in order to accomplish this volume. However, it is also important to not add too much water because any addition to the wort will ultimately influence the specific gravity and ABV %. In order to be sure that this didn't happen, I added the water to the carboy in gallon intervals, measuring the specific gravity between additions.

One final variable I needed to consider before deciding on a final volume was that my hydrometer was intended to be used in liquids of 60 degrees F. At this time my wort was 68 degrees F, meaning that any measurements taken would be off by 0.002 - 0.003. These figures are not very significant but given the nature of this project, I decided to calculate my decision with these variables in mind.

My final total volume ended up being 5 gallons with a specific gravity of 1.050. Almost perfect!


(14:25)

I added the final ingredient to the wort before its rendezvous with BEER #1: yeast. The instructions for the yeast used in this recipe were to not rehydrate them, otherwise I would have done so as I did while brewing BEER #1. Instead, I just poured the yeast from their packet into the carboy and vigorously mixed the wort to be sure that the yeast were evenly distributed. I then installed the fermentation lock and moved BEER #2 to a similar location as BEER #1. The reason that I did not install a blowoff hose for BEER #2 is because the wort has a volume of 5 gallons and will be fermenting in a 6.5 gallon carboy. There will not be enough blowoff to reach the hose in this case. Had I used a 5 gallon carboy for BEER #2, I would have also installed this hose.

Well, BEER #2 was much more intense to produce than BEER #1. I am eager to see how each comes out. From here I'll be updating my blog each time something new and exciting happens to either beer.

I've Heard of Canned Bread, But Boxed Beer?

02/27/14

Alright.

Everything went smoothly at the home brewing supply shop today. I decided to buy a kit that makes a Witbier, a.k.a white beer. There are several variations of the white beer, one of the more notorious being the Belgian white. This particular Witbier is described as a classic white ale that produces a fruity, spicy, refreshing, dry finish. Sound delicious!!

As I mentioned in my last post, the beer making kit has all the ingredients one will need in order to brew the beer on the box. So what might that be exactly?? Let's find out.

WHAT COMES IN THE KIT:

3.3 lb.     Wheat Liquid Malt Extract
2 lb.        Wheat Dry Malt Extract
1 lb.        Pale Malt
0.5 lb.     Wheat
0.5 lb.     Oats
1 oz.       Liberty Hops
1 oz.       GR Tetnang Hops
1            Spice Pack (dried orange peel, coriander seeds)
1 pkg.     Ale Yeast

A Few More Details...

The kit also provides the home brewer with some very important details regarding the characteristics of what the beer being brewed should possess. I am going to list these and give a brief explanation of what they mean and how they apply to brewing. After all, this is a school project.

IBU: 12 - 16

When you think of bitterness and beer, think hops. Hops are ultimately responsible for the tingly, dry, and sometimes almost metallic taste that beer most often has. This is an indication of at least one portion of the very likely outcome of BEER #1.

In order to better calculate, anticipate, and control the bitterness that hops deliver to beer, a standard unit of measurement has been adopted in regards to the bitterness of a particular beer: International Bitterness Units. The IBU scale starts at 0, with the least bitter beers sitting around 10, and continues to 100. However, beers with an IBU greater than 60 are considered to be at the top end of the bitterness spectrum.

Basically it all boils down to this: 1 IBU = 1 milligram of iso alpha acid in 1 liter of beer. Hops contain two types of acids, alpha and beta. The alpha acids are the more noticeable in terms of taste, which is why they are the determining variable for a beer's IBUs. The two styles of hops that came with this kit contain 3.9% & 4.9% alpha acids. So as you can see, 12-16 anticipated IBUs is going to mean that this beer isn't going to cause many to pucker their lips after tasting it.

OG (opening gravity): 1.045 - 1.049/FG (final gravity): 1.010 - 1.014

OG and FG are acronyms that describe the specific gravity of the beer during particular moments of the brewing and fermentation process. Specific gravity is a reference tool that is used to compare one liquid to another. Often it is used to compare the density of a liquid, in this case beer, to that of water. For beer, the greater the variance between OG and FG, the higher the beer's alcohol content. The opening gravity often has a much greater density due to undissolved/fermented sugars suspended in the liquid, causing the specific gravity to be quite high. After fermentation, the final gravity will be measured and the beer's alcohol content can be determined.

In order to roughly estimate the alcohol content by volume using the OG and FG: OG - FG x 105 = ABV.

ABV: 4.5% - 4.75%

The alcohol by volume is determined by the amount of sugar that is introduced to the wort and converted into alcohol by the yeast via fermentation. There are numerous variables that will influence a beer's ABV %, some of which are temperature, pH, the presence of other ingredients, the species of yeast, and type and/or timing of sugar(s) introduced.

Well, that's the rundown. Thanks for hanging in there and reading this. You now have a thorough understanding of what exactly I am going to be working with during the next several hours and how these ingredients will come together in making a delicious beer; fingers crossed! My next step will be to sanitize my workspace (AGAIN!) and get to brewing. I'll tell you all about it next time.

There Was A Glitch In The System!!!

02/26/14

At the beginning of this project each of us were advised to be prepared to reproduce our final product several times due to the likelihood of errors. I cringed at the thought of this because reproducing beer is expensive. The ingredients to brew a batch of beer costs around $40. Disregarding the fact that I had to purchase all of the supplies needed in addition to the ingredients, three or four reproductions of a batch of beer is more than I am willing to spend at this point. Nevertheless, I was determined that I could do this right within two attempts. I figured there would be at least a few minor errors in the first attempt and that I would need to conduct another try at it before the final product was usable.

It turns out that I was right after all. I followed the instructions on brew day to the letter. It felt flawless. However, upon reviewing my process after the wort had been poured into the fermenter and the yeast was already busy converting the sugars into alcohol, I came to a revelation that made me feel like an idiot. I forgot a notorious and vital ingredient: HOPS!!! 

The recipe called for hop-flavored malt extract. I remember buying non-hop flavored malt extract with the intention to just substitute real hops instead. However, in all of the excitement and new information, somewhere along the way I neglected to buy the hops and since the recipe never called for hops (due to the malt extract supposedly being flavored with them) I never thought twice about it, until now. 

I decided that instead of dumping out the batch of beer that I had recently become so emotionally attached to, I would instead purchase another set of ingredients along with another carboy for the second batch to ferment in. In some respects this error was a bittersweet occurrence. For one, it will allow me to brew another batch of beer, making me more experienced as well as producing 5 more gallons of potential brew to drink!! Also, I will be able to compare the two and although they will be different beers, I can have some sort of an idea of how much of a difference hops make in a beer's taste. 

In conclusion, I plan to visit the local home brewing supply shop in Morrisville tomorrow so that I can buy the correct ingredients to brew another batch of beer. Hopefully this time I will not forget anything. I am thinking that I will try the prepackaged beer making ingredient kits instead of buying everything individually. These kits are much more convenient and come in several different styles. It is similar to the way that boxed cake mixes are sold. The ingredients are packaged and organized so that all the consumer needs to do is decide what type of beer they want to make.

I will update my blog tomorrow with the outcome of brew day #2

Concocting the Wort

02/26/2014

Here are the steps that I performed to create the wort for my first batch of beer: DARK AMERICAN WHEAT ALE, aka BEER #1.

(15:55)

Add 6 lbs. of malt extract and 1.5 gallons of water to the large pot. Boil mixture for at least 65 minutes.

• The malt extract that I bought came in 3.3 pound cans. In order to only add 6 pounds, I needed to remove 0.6 pounds from the second can. This ended up leaving around 1/2 cup of malt extract that needed to be removed.

Ideally, at this point the dry malt extract would be added to the boiling wort. However, I neglected to do this at the appropriate time. The dry malt extract was added to the wort at approx. 16:25

(16:10)

While the wort is boiling, if the carboy has already been cleansed and sanitized, fill it with 3 gallons of COLD water and place the rubber stopper in it.

It is important that the water be cold in order that the thermal shock that the hot wort will introduce does not cause the glass carboy to crack. 

(16:15)

Added approx. 1/8 cup of clover honey to the wort. It is important to add honey before the wort is done boiling in order to help pasteurize any contaminants within it.

(16:25)

Added 1 1/8 cup of dry malt extract to the wort.       

This addition caused the wort mixture to bubble up and nearly boil over. I reduced the heat and mixed the wort with a spoon until the wort settled a bit, slowly returning it to a boil. (Right)






(17:00)

Added 1 cup of WARM water and the package of ale yeast to the glass mason jar, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to sit for 20 minutes. This process will help the yeast to rehydrate and more quickly begin the process of fermentation once introduced to the wort. 

(17:40 - 17:50)

Removed wort from heat and poured it into the carboy using the plastic funnel. Next, I vigorously mixed the contents together so that the water and wort combined. I then filled most of the remaining space in the carboy with water, leaving room for the yeast/water mixture. Again, I vigorously mixed the wort in the carboy.







(17:50)

After 20 minutes of rehydration, I added the yeast mixture to the carboy. They immediately began sinking to the bottom of the solution.

(18:00)

The carboy was relocated to the location that it will spend the largest portion of its time fermenting the wort into beer. This location happened to be my bedroom closet, mostly due to its warm dark environment. I installed a simple wall thermometer to track the temperature of the fermenting beer.

My final step in this process was connecting the fermentation hose to the carboy and placing the opposite end in a plastic 5 gallon bucket. 

This process of blowing off is practiced in order to remove the initial, sometimes bitter tasting, foam of the first few and most active days of fermentation. This practice is not a necessity for brewing/fermenting and if one does not desire to include it, simply add the fermentation lock and rubber stopper instead of the fermentation hose and bucket. 




From here the beer will ferment around 8-14 days. Each day I will add an update so that its progress can be noted. 

Cleanliness Is Next To...

One of the most important steps in any project that relies on microbes is establishing control over the environment. There is a world of microbes that lives in each of our kitchens, some more than others. It is important that the presence of microbes are controlled to the best of our abilities during each step of the brewing process, mainly because they are quite capable of altering the flavor and presentation of the beer. Although a sterile laboratory is not necessary for this project, it is very important to establish a clean work space and to thoroughly cleanse and sanitize any and all equipment that will come into contact with the beer.

Here is how I created an environment for brewing.

Step 1) Remove any potential sources of contamination

• Dirty Dishes
• Appliances
• Food
• Soap

Step 2) Wipe down the workspace with a weak bleach/water solution and allow to air dry

Step 3) Meanwhile, fill one sink with approx. 5 gallons of warm water and 1/4 cup of bleach

Step 4) Soak every piece of equipment that will come into contact with beer for 10 minutes

Step 5) Rinse thoroughly with hot water and place in clean space to dry

Step 6) Drain sink and rinse sink

Step 7) Refill with 2 gallons of warm water and 2 tablespoons of no rinse cleanser

Step 8) Allow solution to touch the surface of all equipment

Step 9) Air dry without rinsing

Once all the tools are cleansed and sanitized it is time to FINALLY start brewing!!

Here We Go!!

I feel as though I am adequately prepared to take pursue the adventure of concocting my first batch of beer. After careful consideration I have decided to brew DARK AMERICAN WHEAT ALE using closed fermentation (more on this later) in a single rack style. Below is a list of the ingredients and equipment I will use to make the wort (unfermented beer) and ferment it into beer. The ingredients and recipe I used for this beer was taken mostly from The Complete Joy of Homebrewing.

Equipment

20-25 Quart Metal Boiling Pot & Lid                         2 Quart Glass Measuring Cup

4 Cup Glass Measuring Cup                                       1 Cup Measuring Cup

5 Gallon Glass Carboy                                                Large Plastic Funnel

Rubber Stopper                                                           Wide Mouth Mason Jar

Fermentation Lock                                                      3 ft. of 1.25"/1" Clear Plastic Hose

Metal Cooking Thermometer (0-200 F)                      Beer Hydrometer

Large Metal Spoon                                                      Moderately Fine Metal Strainer

Rubber Spatula                                                            Various Plastic Measuring Cups

Household Bleach                                                       No Rinse Cleaner

Ingredients

6 lbs. Malt Extract (Wheat Flavored)                          5 gal. Water

11 g. Dried Ale Yeast                                                  1 ¼ C Dry Malt Extract

¼ C Clover Honey

Now all that is needed is about four hours of time and a sanitized workspace.