First brew tonight

Brewing processes and methods. How to brew using extract, partial or all-grain. Tips and tricks.

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PhalC1
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First brew tonight

Post by PhalC1 »

Hey guys! Cool place you've got here

I'm starting my first brew tonight. A honey wheat :) The guy at the brew shop told me to put half the hop pellets in 30 minutes in and then the rest at the final 60 min mark

Why is this?
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Legman
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re:first brew

Post by Legman »

There are different hop additions when brewing. Bittering, Flavor and Aroma. Read this and it will explain. http://howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-1.html

How many ounces of hops do you have in your recipe?
Seems odd to not have a bittering hop addition.
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Re: re:first brew

Post by PhalC1 »

This is for 2 gallons

2.5lbs dried muntons wheat extract
1oz mt hood hop pellets
2oz of this activator
[url]http://www.ebrew.com/Products_W/wyeast_ ... h_beer.gif[/url]
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Post by PhalC1 »

And I'm adding honey at the end
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Post by Legman »

How much honey are you adding?

If it were me, I would add .25 oz @ 60min (beginning of boil), .25 oz @ 30min. and .5 oz @ 1min. (end of boil)

Why not just make a full batch (5 gallons)??? You're doing the same amount of work making 2 gallons, and you'll only come up with about 3 6-packs worth of beer.
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Post by PhalC1 »

Will that make it taste too hoppy? I want it to be like an American wheat or hefeweisen type style

I'm going to do something like this recipe, 0.4lbs. I haven't measured it out yet so I don't know how many cups yet
http://www.beertools.com/ht
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Post by Legman »

The more hops you put in @ 40 to 15 min, the more hop flavor you'll have.

According to what you've told me, with a final volume of 2 gallons you beer is going to have about 6.3% alcohol (which is high for a wheat beer). Is this what you want?

If you've got room, I'd make it a final volume of 2.5 gallons with the hops @ 60,30 and 1. That will get you closer to the style you want.

What yeast are you using?
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Post by PhalC1 »

It's called Wyeast

That is pretty high for a wheat. Should I tone down the honey or will it be noticeable at 6.3%?
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Post by Legman »

Wyeast is the name brand. It should say what type of yeast it is. Like American Ale, California Ale, Hefewiezen Ale.....etc.

At a final volume of 2 gallons and NO honey, you'll have about 5.6% alcohol.

At a final volume of 2.5 gallons and .4lb honey, you'll have about 5.0%
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Post by PhalC1 »

Oh I didn't even see that. It's Bavarian Wheat

Maybe I should leave out the honey then. My kit is only a 2 gallon kit
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Post by Legman »

Ok, well then you're making a Hefeweizen. I would definitely leave out the honey and you'll end up with about 5.4% ABV, which is more appropriate for the style.

Good luck to ya! Don't let your first batch discourage you from trying it again. You'll make some mistakes along the way, but you'll get better at it.
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Post by PhalC1 »

Cool! Thanks for the help

Where's something I can look at so I can learn how to find estimated alcohol content
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Legman
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Beer Tools

Post by Legman »

Right here @ Beer Tools. Just use the Recipe Calculator under the Tools tab at the top.
PhalC1
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Post by PhalC1 »

Holy hell this might be the greatest site ever created!
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Post by PhalC1 »

OK here goes nothing! Sanitation time!
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