Re: First two batches bottled

On 3 Dec 2003 00:42:31 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Joe) wrote:

>Thank you for the ideas, I think you're right, a lot of it is a matter
>of getting my own technique down.  The second batch went much more
>smoothly than the first.  As for the leftover beer, I'm going to adopt
>your suggestion and keep the carboy tipped.  I just stuck it in the
>middle, pulled it up an inch, and let 'er rip.  Probably left a lot
>more beer than I thought.  Oh well, such are newbie mistakes.  No,
>I'll really start to cuss when I try my hand at all-grain.

I have been brewing for less than a year, and use extract with grains.
I tried various ways of keeping the hot and cold break material out of
the primary fermenter and finally decided that I can't do it.  My
boils are typically 6-7 gallons or so with 4 to 5 ounces of whole hops
in them.  

Hop pellets will leave more stuff in the primary, I went to whole hops
because of that.  The difference in cost is pretty small and whole
hops add some filtering effect and really are pleasant to handle and
work with.  That filter I use keeps all the hops and hop seeds out but
will not stop hot break.  Anything that will stop hot break will have
to be so fine that it will quickly stop the flow into the cane. 

>The bottom stuff wasn't syrupy, more clumpy and somewhat viscous,
>almost oily.  I'm guessing it's yeast.  When I drank my first bottle
>last night, it did look white.  Say, could I take a culture from that
>which I would use in my next batch?

In the bottle?  That sounds like the hot break residue (trub or
"troob")  I generally have in the primary when I rack to the
secondary.  You may have gotten some of it into the bottles too.  

You can take a culture from a bottle, it will have to stepped up in
size several times to have enough to start a new beer.  The yeast that
is in the secondary when you rack for bottling or kegging will be much
larger in volume, pretty clean and light colored, and that is a better
yeast to save and use for another batch of beer.  I am not doing that
but there have been many threads here about saving yeast and using it
again.  Maybe someday...

>I am getting excited.  I can't wait to do my next batch.  That,
>unfortunately, will have to wait until after finals.  Life intrudes .

Oh oh, you're hooked!  



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