So, it’s been a while since I brewed the wit (April 11th) and I still haven’t bottled it. I did rack to secondary so hopefully it is OK since it isn’t sitting on the yeast, but I have to imagine leaving it for this long might produce some off flavors (or make it taste great, who knows). Hopefully, I’ll get around to bottling this weekend. Things have just been so busy lately.
We sold our pool through craigslist on May 16 to a nice couple from the Eastern Shore. They did most of the work. I felt bad, but I had to watch the kids since Megan was at the beach for the weekend.
I have no regret getting rid of it. Sure, it was fun, but it was 30′ and took up almost my whole back yard. We’re thinking about planing a garden this year instead of grass.
I fought off the kids running through the puddles from the pumped off water from the pool as long as I could. The begging won out this time. Plus it kept them busy for about a hour and I got some good pictures.
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted so I have some catching up to do.
We celebrated our 9th anniversary on May 1, 2008. We celebrated by having a picnic with the kids on the beach at East Beach in Norfolk. Some PB Sandwiches, some chocolate chip cookies, some chips. Good times. Hard to believe it has been 9 years. Love you, Megan!
Finally got around to bottling my first batch of Pale Ale.
I soaked my bottles in OxyClean to remove them and clean them Friday night thinking I would get to bottle on Saturday night. One thing led to another and I wasn’t able to get to it until Monday.
I can see why people Keg. Not only is the whole process a pain, but storing all those bottles sure does take up a lot of room especially considering I’ll need to bottle batch number 2 in a few weeks.
I tasted the brew and it tasted pretty bitter. I’m hoping the carbination will cut that a bit.
My Final gravity was 1.014 so it hadn’t changed since I racked to secondary (which is expected). My Original Gravity was 1.056 so that puts the ABV at 5.46%. Not bad. My target Final ABV was 6.02%.
Now, more waiting.
I decided to make something my wife might enjoy a bit more than the pale ale. Homebrew USA had a Wit recipe that I decided to try. I was pretty excited to get the next batch underway because I was going to do my primary in glass (Thanks, JP for the carboys!).
So on to learn from my first batch mistakes and make new mistakes with this batch (it’s how you learn, right?).
Recipe: “Wit” Way is Up?
Keep reading →
So I racked to secondary. The kid in me won out (sorry John!).
I prepped all my gear and got to siphoning. The whole process went pretty smoothly. I did notice a Star San Snake appear out of the top of the carboy, but as I have read numerous times, “Don’t fear the foam!”
I’m still pondering the same question from a few days ago: should I rack to secondary?
Being the newbie that I am, I e-mailed the Brew Dudes mainly asking what my Final Gravity should be and if when I should rack to secondary.
Brew Dude John was kind enough to respond:
“Now, for the secondary. For this brew, I would leave it alone until Sunday and then rack to bottles or a keg. I don’t think you are going to get another 3 points in another vessel for a while (do you really want to secondary for another 3-4 weeks?) if at all. To me, I think you have gotten what you can from your yeast. I think it’s close enough and you probably have a good beer on your hands. So, you didn’t hit your final gravity…you got pretty close and that works most of the time.
I get pretty close most of the time and I am happy with that.I think secondary fermenters don’t need to be used for the ale you are making….I would skip it this time.”
The impatient kid in me wants to use all my new toys. I’d like to rack to secondary just to do it and use my new carboy. The impatient adult in me wants to drink this beer ASAP. So waiting an extra week or two is a week or two without this beer.
I know John is right. I’m not going to get much more out of this brew in terms of drops in SG or any increase in ABV.
Decisions… Decisions…
John also pointed me in the direction of BeerTools. They have a free registration where you can calculate your FG and some other cool stuff.
Thanks again John!
In searching out when to rack to secondary, I ran across the Brew Dudes and one of their posts had me cracking up:
” I think my wife is weirded out a little when she sees me in our second bathroom, bent over and sniffing the airlock.”
Glad to know I’m not a weirdo for pressing my nose to the airlock.
Fermentation has slowed significantly. I’m getting about 3-7 bubbles per minute. I’m wondering if I should rack to secondary. I’ve actually been reading up on that. You have those for it, those against it, follow the 1-2-3 rule, or not.My recipe didn’t come with a target Final gravity but did have the ABV listed so I guess I can figure it out that way.I took a reading @ 69 degrees. The SG was 1.018 which I think is my final gravity although the ABV doesn’t add up. OG was 1.056.
Does this look… right?
According to the recipe, I’m aiming for an ABV of 6.02%. How much will change in the SG with the secondary and how much is gained in bottling? ABV right now is at 4.92%. I don’t think bottling will take it up to that point.In googling about, I found out that my strain of yeast, WLP005, is a bottom fermenting yeast. According to their FAQ:
” We advise to keep it in the primary fermentor until fermentation is complete. You might have to shake it once in a while to rouse it back up from the bottom and make sure it finishes.”
I think I’ll take another reading tomorrow night then go from there. I’m leaning toward going ahead and racking to secondary. I might give the folks at HomeBrew USA a call to see what they recomend.
