First Batch advice needed...

Hi All, I am new to brewing and made my first batch yesterday. It has been somewhat confusing trying to follow my local suppliers directions, while trying to follow the beginners book to brewing, while getting everything right, and I made a few mistakes in the process. So, here is my question.

I decided to make for my first batch a bavarian wheat beer. I used cracked wheat, malt, hops, and a half-teaspoon of irish moss for the last 30 mins of the brew. My mistakes, when I strained the wheat after steeping it for 45 minutes, I only used a colander, I didn't use a filter for either the initial strain or sparge step. I then used this wort with my malt, hops for the 55 min brew. When it was done I cooled it in the sink until it was room temp (about 75 degrees) and mixed it with 2.5 gallons of 60 degree water. My second mistake was when I again used the collander without a filter to separate the hops from the wort. I poured the contents out of the 2.5 gal stainless steel pot through the colander into the fermentation pail which held the other 2.5 gallons of cold water.

After adding the yeast and sitting back to wait for fermentation, I went over the directions and realized that I should have used a filter to capture the fine particles when straining and sparging the wheat wort. Then as I read on, I realized that all of the protiens in the bottom of the pot that settled with the cold break were also in my brew now. So, what can I do to get the best batch at this point? Should I throw it out and start over? Would filtering it at 7 days into a secondary fermentation pail be a possibility?

Thanks in advance, Nick

Reply to
Nick
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Nothing to fear. The first batch I did I strained about the same way you did. The "stuff" that made it into your fermenter will settle out. You don't have to "filter" when you transfer to secondary. Just rack carefully so you don't get too much trub in your secondary. The next batch you do, use some cheesecloth in your collander and you'll have less trub. Or you could get a grain/hops bag. I use one of these for my hops during the boil. I also, sometimes, use one for steeping my grains, depending on how much I have. Cheers,

Reply to
DragonTail

Keep in mind that unless you use wheat *malt*, you can't use wheat without another "diastatic" grain, which has enzymes to convert the starch in the wheat into sugar that the yeast can ferment. If you don't do that, you end up with a starch laden beer that provides food for bacterial infections.

------------>Denny

-- Life begins at 60...1.060, that is.

Reply to
Denny Conn

My brew supply store gave me the necessary ingridients to make my first batch. I told him I wanted to make a wheat beer, and he threw everything on the counter and rang it up. I watched him crack the grain, and I believe he used two different grains. A wheat and I'm guessing a barley. He's a cherry fella but dont say much, so I dont exactly know what he sold me ;)

The first trip to the store, he handed me the stuff to make a lager beer, and I had just told him that my wife bought me a beer making kit for my birthday. When I got home and started reading up on Lagers, the book said it was the most difficult to brew at home. It was on my second trip to the store, that he told me I needed a refrigerator with a special 70$ thermostat installed to brew my own lager. (unless I do a steam beer). I was a little upset he didn't pass this info on during my first trip, but neededless to say, I'm now looking for a used freezer, refrigerator for my garage :)

Thanks Nick

Reply to
Nick

Glad to see the enthusiasm towards lagers, but I'd suggest making a bunch of ale batches to get your technique down. Ales are a little more forgiving. I tried a lager early on and was a little dissapointed. I ended up with a fruity (estery) beer closer to a Steam beer than a lager. I think my primary fermentation temp wasn't as low as it should have been, but also not as high as ale temps. Welcome to the craft. Cheers,

Reply to
DragonTail

It sounds like you might want to look for a new brew supply store first. If you told him you were brewing with a new kit you got for your birthday, he never should have sold you ingrediets for a lager without a much more thorough explanation.

A good homebrew supply dealer should be able to provide you with sound information and advice about the products he sells you, and it sounds like this guy is not up to it.

Reply to
Humorous Lupin

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