Started my first extract brew :)

[badgerdan]

Yup, I've now officially started extract brewing but am a little nervous now
All seemed to be ok except I never really ever had a big hot break and also I've got alot of 'dust' from the crystal malt that's hanging around the FV, too small for a siv. Will this sit at the bottom at the end or is it going to be messy?

Also It looks a lot darker than it should do. It's supposed to be a pale ale but is more like a dark brown. I put all the numbers into Brew Smith and Beer Engine and they come out saying it should be about 22 EBC's but looks more like 50 atm; will this get better in time.

Also I added Irish Moss, is this supposed to be loose in the boil or in a muslin bag and then taken out before going into the FV?

This should be very interesting

[mshergold]

I can't answer your colour questions, but Irish Moss should be added loose as far as I'm aware. Most people seem to rehydrate it. I would have thought (but maybe wrong) that any dust would get dragged down to the bottom of your boiler by the Irish Moss.

[badgerdan]

Hehe I hope so. I've already learnt alot from doing my first one that next time I'll do a few things different (if it turns out to not be perfect ) One thing will be is to maybe get a fine siv, to help get some of that stuff out before i put it in the fv from the pot. I didn't think much of it at the time as I was using muslin bags so thought it'd hold everything in

May also borrow a second fv and use it as a secondary to help clear it; never used one before but think it could be a good idea this time.

Would pouring the 1st into the 2nd over a fine siv give it too much oxygen, should I just grin and bare it and see what happens?

[mshergold]

Hi. I'd have thought your method would introduce too much oxygen. You could try catching everything in a sieve between boiler and FV. I can't see it causing any problems with flavour (someone more experienced ought to be able to confirm) and the worst thing you'd get would be a haze. Next time, you could try splitting your brew between two FVs using a sieve with one and not the other. That said, I don't know whether having, say, 12.5 litres in a 25 litre FV would create problems with there being (if you catch my drift) an extra 12.5 litres of air although I suspect not.

I've just noticed that you said you're using a 'pot'. I presume you mean a large pan and boiling on your kitchen hob rather than a boiler with a tap. Whether you'd have a problem with disturbing the break material at the bottom of your pot. That said, I've seen a good few people here using that method and wouldn't have thought they would if that was the case.

So, in summary, I've not been very helpful. Sorry!

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Just leave it to it's own devices and the yeast will clear down any suspended particles into the trub.

[badgerdan]

Just leave it to it's own devices and the yeast will clear down any suspended particles into the trub.

Yeah that's what I'm going to do now; just see if it turns out ok or not-

However, I didn't have anything at the bottom of my pot (large pan) it was just 8 liters of wort, I then poured it straight into the FV not thinking I'd possibly need a siv; just thought the muslin bags would hold everything in; stupid me.

What's the best ferment temp for nottingham? My FV is sitting between 19.5c - 22c, spends most of it's time at 20c. It's been in there for 13 hours now and there's a tiny white layer at the bottom of the FV but so far no plips from the airlock, not too worried though if I see a white layer at the bottom, surly something good is happening?

[OldSpeckledBadger]

I'd guess about 20C for Nottingham. I've not used it yet but I believe it's less tolerant of higher temperatures than S-04. It'll probably have got going properly by the morning.

[badgerdan]

Well, after 30 hours I noticed a bit of pressure in the FV but took the lid of a bit to have a look and found a healthy (but full of crystal malt bits) head and when I took a test in a glass (out the tap, not submerged) it is indeed a pale ale just looked so dark before i didn't think it'd be possible to be pale; oh well, you live and you learn.

Also, after giving it a nice shake the yeast woke up and is now bubbling like motherbubbler Just hope the crap sinks and indeed tastes good.

Thanks for your help guys, much appreciated

[OldSpeckledBadger]

All that crud will sink down to the bottom in time so just leave it be. I don't see why you bother with an airlock. Completely un-necessary IME. There are still one or two commercial brewers using open-topped FVs.

[badgerdan]

I love hearing those bubbles and there's a lot of dust here from when the kids run around.

How do they keep it from being infected? Have a NASA style brewing room, or is all this talk of keeping the beer away from oxygen and infection far fetched?

[OldSpeckledBadger]

The fermenting wort keeps itself free from infection by virtue of the blanket of CO2 which forms above it. Wort is also a hostile environment for most micro-organisms. Bear in mind that people have been successfully brewing beer for thousands of years without the aid of airlocks or modern sanitisation aids. All I do is drop the lid lightly on top of the FV and let nature take its course.

[Invalid Stout]

I brew in a pot on the stove and just tip everything through a sieve into the FV. It all settles down eventually. You can get clear beer even with this method.

[badgerdan]

I have a small amount in my testing jar and that has started to clear a lot so am not worried any more

[badgerdan]

Bottled last night after being in the FV for 12 days. Got lots of crap for the first litre as I think alot settles inside the tap but cleared up and now have a lot of 'clear from crap' bottles

I've not tasted it yet, will leave that until November maybe, it smelt fine too.

One thing, compared to the yeast that comes with kits, Nottingham looks very scary at the bottom of the FV. Lots of bobbles and worm like shapes around, didn't find any worms though

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Yes, give it a few weeks to clear. I'm not sure how quickly Nottingham clears compared to S-04.