going to attempt a beer kit help please!

[Pumpkinman]

Saflager s-23 is a good lager yeast, make sure that you hydrate it before pitching, if you want to kick it up a few notches, get a vial of white Labs WLP833 German Bock yeast, my Oktoberfests were good, they are now amazing because of this yeast.
Do you have a way to ferment at 50° and then lager between 30° -35° for 6-8 weeks? This is extremely important.
I have to agree on starting with an extract kit for your first brew, but if you are confident that you can follow the all grain procedure, then go for it, I'd still start with an Ale, get a few under your belt to get use to brewing before making an Oktoberfest.
I will admit, I was chomping at the bit to go all grain and brew my first Oktoberfest as well, so I can totally understand! You will be disappointed with a gallon batch, by the time you lose volume to traub/sediment from the brew kettle and then the lose to sediment in the primary, you may end up with 1/2 -3/4 gallons of beer, I'd bite the bullet and make a 5 or 6 gallon batch.

 

[peaches9324]

I have read all the instructions and know I can do this but time is running out for the lager stage which will be done in the garage so with this in mind I will start with a couple one gal. kits how about the German blonde extract one gallon kit and the Bavarian Hefeweizen one gallon kit from northern brewer? Because of the time restraints of getting all the equipment: wort chiller, the burner and boiling pot - the one I really want because I want to be able to do this all outside.

thanks again!

 

[Pumpkinman]

Good plan! If you run into any problems, let us know.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

it should be noted that you can make the batch that you have and still manage to chill the batch after the boil with the frigid outside temperatures or an ice bath. the wort chiller is definitely the better option but I wouldn't let not having one stop you from brewing. like you stated earlier, given the time of year it is, lagering could be done in the garage as long as you monitor the temps.

 

[peaches9324]

made my first one gallon beer kit today

It seemed way to easy! Should of taken LoneTreeFarms note and went with the kit I already had, but it did give me the feel for it, and I'm going to use the half pack of yeast I have left over for beer bread. The only thing I can say I regret is not taken a taste before I put the yeast in but it really smelled good!! And that was out of the ordinary for me I've always taken a taste of my wine before I pitch the yeast!

 

[Pumpkinman]

Peaches, you will be happy that you got a batch "under your belt" before making a lager.
Congrats on the successful brew, maybe we should set up a home brew swap in the next few months, there appears to be a fair amount of Home brewers here.
Can we get a "show of hands" to see how many people brew and how many would be interested in a home brew swap, this could be fun.

 

[peaches9324]

sounds good but I would like to present my Oktoberfest for something like that and that calls for extra steps - the sparg and the lagering, hoping I get that done right. Any tips on how to do that without any problems would be highly appreciated. I left a lot of trub behind but there is still a lot of trub at the bottom of the jug 5 hours after the siphon, is that common?
thanks!

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

+1 on the homebrewing, I think it'd be fun to swap some items. i'll have to see what I have on hand, I know I've got a keg of brown ale as well as an empty keg ready for my coffee stout, haven't sampled it lately, last I did the coffee was very forward, I'm hoping the time in secondary has mellowed that out.

 

[derunner]

Good Luck! I plan to find this thread in the Spring and make a beer.

 

[Pumpkinman]

Sparging is simply rinsing of the grain bed to extract as much of the sugars from the grain as possible without extracting tannins from the grain husks.

There are two main types of sparging, Fly and Batch sparging, while fly sparging is considered the most efficient, it is also very time consuming, it can take between 60-90 mins, while batch sparging is almost effortless and much faster, not to mention,batch sparging is perfect for 99% of the brews that we make.

Fly sparging involves slowly adding water above the grain bed while draining an equal amount from the bottom simultaneously. This method is efficient, time tested, and effective, but, you can over sparge.

Batch sparging is where "batches" of sparge water are added to the tun, stirred and drained completely, and then repeated 1 or a few times, it is much faster, I batch sparge all of my brews.

The easiest thing that you could do is to download BeerSmith, I believe that they have an evaluation version, punch in your recipe and ingredients and it will tell you how much water you will need and what to do, it is a great program, not to mention the recipe database that they have!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Tom

 

[wildvines]

I just received a free beer kit on accident. It's a Belgian Dubbel extract. I heard great things about it. Anyone here made any? I never made beer do will see.


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[peaches9324]

thanks tom, will do

 

[peaches9324]

Is there such a thing as a one gallon kit lager? Can't find one anywhere!

 

[peaches9324]

just got done cleaning up my mess from bottling my first beer I have ever made. Its a German blonde and it taste great warm and flat so I can't wait for a couple or 3 weeks to try it cold! Thanks Tom for suggesting I make a gallon kit before I try the Oktoberfest! I've been gathering all the supplies I'll need for the Oktoberfest, thinking about splitting the kit so I don't have to wait any longer for the brew kettle. And I want to ask a question.. Is the boiled grains ok to put in the compost? I couldn't see a reason why not their all natural but I thought I would ask lol

 

[Pumpkinman]

Composting the spent grains is perfect, but Making a real nice multigrain bread from the spent grains is even better! If you'd like a recipe, I'd be happy to send it to you.

 

[Pumpkinman]

Carlos,
The Belgian Dubbel is described as a rich malty beer with some spicy, the color can range from amber to dark, an ABV% between 6% - 8%, medium to full body, Mild hop bitterness with no lingering hop flavors, with a decent amount of carbonation.
As an extract kit, you should have no problem following the directions, read them through once or twice before starting, then follow them step by step.
What brand of Kit is it, brewers best for example? The reason I ask is that if we know which kit it is, we might be able to find the instructions online and help you if you have any questions.

 

[peaches9324]

yes Pumkinman I would like that! There were no good beer bread recipes I could find to use the other 1/2 of the beer yeast so I compromised and did my own lol

 

[Boatboy24]

Here are several spent grain recipes. I actually had some of the banana bread last night. I've made it twice now, and really like it. Once I got the grains all dried out, I've stored them in a gladware/tupperware container and grind them into flour as I need them.

http://brooklynbrewshop.com/themash/category/spentgrainchef/

 

[peaches9324]

thanks a lot Jim I appreciate it!