I recently brewed my first ever homebrew batch and I chose to do an Irish Red. I brewed it on tuesday, Nov. 13th 2012. I followed the directions to a “T”. The only thing I did different was I added one cup of brown sugar to the boil for the last 15 minutes.I read that will help bump up the alc. level. I read that some people were dumping up to two pounds of brown sugar in their boil. I figured one cup wouldn’t do much damage.
I pitched the yeast the same day, which I just used the Danstar Nottingham Ale 2 Dry Yeast that came with the recipe kit. The next morning around 5:30 a.m. after I woke up I immediately went in to check on it. It was bubbling up quite fiercely and the room smelled amazing, like a loaf of bread warm out of the oven. Right now my house has been sitting at about 74 degrees farenheit. The room where my fermenting beer is in stays between 69 and 72 degrees farenheit. I’ve been keeping an old black t-shirt over the bucket to block out any light.
I peaked in on it last night (Nov. 14th) and it stopped bubbling. I came home from work this morning around 8 a.m. and the yeasty bread smell had dissipated. I opened up the bucket and there were specks of yeast floating on the surface of the beer but not that thick foamy yeast cake like there is supposed to be. There was a ring of yeast residue around the surface of the beer on the bucket walls. A slight boozy smell was apparent but nothing overwhelming. I will attach a photo.
I heard that sometimes yeast can be over ambitious and sometimes the brew will be done fermenting in a couple days. A homebrewer friend said I could give it a gentle shake to help stir back up the yeast. He said sometimes that helps. I tried shaking it a tad but nothing vicious. So far no results.
So I am wondering, should I repitch some yeast, throw in a yeast energizer or just let it sit for a few more days? Any info and help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all who read and reply to this for your time. I plan to keep on brewing for a long time.
Cheers :cheers:
Brodie F.
P.S.- Sorry for the over abundance of writing in this post. Figured best to be descriptive as possible.
Leave it alone. Hard to do at first. Quit opening it.
Just seal it up and put the airlock back on, check it after 2 weeks have passed.
Take a hydro reading 2 days in a row after the 2 weeks - if stable and in right range, then bottle it.
[quote=“harpdog”]Leave it alone. Hard to do at first. Quit opening it.
Just seal it up and put the airlock back on, check it after 2 weeks have passed.
Take a hydro reading 2 days in a row after the 2 weeks - if stable and in right range, then bottle it.[/quote]
+2 leave it alone for 2 weeks
Thanks, I only opened it once and didn’t take off the air lock. I’ll need to get a hydrometer. Don’t have one yet. I will do as you recommend. Thanks for the help.
What would be the typical range for an Irish Red Ale, alc. wise? They are usually around 5% right? This one may be a little higher since I added the cup of brown sugar to the last 15 minutes of the boil. :cheers:
Just wanted to post an update of my first brew ever. It came out pretty damn good, I must say. I over carbonated a tad but not too bad other than that, the taste is fantastic. I wouldn’t say its the worlds best beer, but if I hadn’t known it was homebrewed I would have thought it was from a microbrewery. Even my wife loves it and she doesn’t care much for beer at all. Now the real test will come when I hand it out to my beer snob friends. HAHA!
Thanks again for the help. Now on to my second batch. :mrgreen:
Yeah, I’ve had about 5 or 6 bottles in the last few days and each time I get that feeling. It feels amazing. I was actually kind of nervous to try my first one. Didn’t know what to expect. Even after making a few minor flubs during the fermentation process, it still came out really great. Next time I know better. LOL.
It came in at 5.4% alc. due to the cup of brown sugar I added to the last 15 minutes of the boil. I’m so pleased with the end result.
You brewed your 1st beer on Nov 13. You are drinking it now and you don’t have your second beer in the fermenter yet? Oh my… :shock:
Congrats! Remember to always have something the wife likes in the bottle. Keep her happy. It’s interesting how many women like stouts/porters. Once they get over the fact that the beer isn’t motor oil.
I am getting ready to do two batches here in another week or two for my annual St. Party’s Day shindig at my house. I’m gonna do a batch of the Irish Draught Ale and a batch of the Chocolate Milk stout which my wife is gonna use to make cupcakes with. I can hardly wait. :mrgreen:
Getting ready to brew this beer (1 gallon recipe) for the first time but want to hop it up some. It calls to add 0.7 grams of willamette hops at start of boil – no other hop additions.
If I added 0.5 gram of centennial at 30 minutes and and other 0.5 of centennial at 15 minutes, what could be expected of the final beer? Any other suggestions are welcomed.
[quote=“Fat Mike”]Getting ready to brew this beer (1 gallon recipe) for the first time but want to hop it up some. It calls to add 0.7 grams of willamette hops at start of boil – no other hop additions.
If I added 0.5 gram of centennial at 30 minutes and and other 0.5 of centennial at 15 minutes, what could be expected of the final beer? Any other suggestions are welcomed.
LOL! Yeah, I messed that up. I meant that it called for 7 grams of willamette and that I would add 5 g and 5 g of centennial. I am just making a 1-gallon batch. What do you think?
