First extract brew

[dedken]

Evenin' all,

Tomorrow I'm attempting my first extract brew. The aim was to take part in the Big Brew http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/p ... mebrew-day but time constraints due to moving house have led me to advancing my brew day by two weeks. I will be brewing the 80/- http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/ ... ng-Extract and I have all the ingredients and (I think) a viable plan. The only slight query is the yeast. Scottish 1728 from Wyeast. Before I picked up my package yestarday I was planning to simply rehydrate the yeast a la John Palmer method, thinking that it would come dry. It's left me a bit flummoxed as it comes in a state I've never seen before - a 'smack pack' or somesuch.

It says to allow package to swell in 21-24c over 3 hours. Now I don't have anywhere I can put it that will maintain this temperature - I guess the ambient temp of my house is 16-18c at the moment. Also i have to make a starter wort and incubate at a similar temperature for 24-48 hours (obviously I can't do 48 in this case)
So what so I do? And do I really need to use both packets for a 23l batch?

Please tell me I can cut corners. Thanks!

[EoinMag]

It's liquid yeast, follow the instructions or get some dry yeast. You need to get the cell counts up to what they say is needed for the wort. Especially if you are thinking of entering this stuff in a competition or suchlike.

[dedken]

Damn. I wish I'd known beforehand. It's too late now to propagate the yeast as I have to do the brewing tonight. I've got some gervins' ale yeast and I've got some safale04 which I could use instead - Any recommendations?

Pleased to know I've knackered it before even starting!

[EoinMag]

If you've not smacked the smack pack you're grand, use it the next time.

Gervin is the same as Nottingham, not sure about safale.
Either would probably be fine.

[EoinMag]

Gervin would make a good sub for the Scots one, as they are both suited to high gravity ales and both are pretty neutral.

[dedken]

Cheers for the advice. I was up until 4am yesterday brewing! Used the Safale in the end after ringing up my LHBS - he told me he uses it for everything and never has a problem, so that was good enough for me.
Right at the end as I was putting the lid on my fv, disaster struck and my o-ring fell into my beer. I had to disinfect my arm and plunge it in to get it out. Hope it doesn't ruin it.

[fractureman]

A ring piece in the brew is never a good idea

[bellebouche]

I'm planning on that recipe for the Big Brew day itself as I'm hosting the event here. I'm quite intrigued by the simple recipe and the partial caramelisation of the first few litres of the first runnings.

I notice that for both the extract and all grain recipes that stipulate a 4-week low temperature fermentation for that beer...

When the wort temperature is down to 60-65° F (16-18° C), pitch the yeast and aerate well. Continue fermenting at 60-65° F (16-18° C) for four weeks. Rack to keg, or if you are bottling, add the bottling sugar and then bottle as you normally would.

This beer improves when stored at 40-50° F (4-10° C) for several months.

I'm not going to have the specific strain but do have packs of S-04 on standby - I'm guessing lees contact is a key thing in the development of the flavour.

Not an ideal beer to make at the start of the summer given the temperatures recommended in the instructions. I have a north facing workshop that's granite on all sides and never sees the sun so I'll just about be ok I think for the long fermentation time but there's every chance that i'll need to find some fridge space to almost lager-condition a few bottles.

[dedken]

I'm guessing lees contact is a key thing in the development of the flavour.

Not sure what you mean by this?

I was also wondering about the fermentation so I asked someone in my brewing group, and they reckoned that it was just an ageing suggestion. Personally, I will be leaving it to ferment until gravity stabilises, rack for a couple of weeks, then prime and bottle. I don't normally rack my beers but I guess I'm going to have to get used to it. I used one pack of S-04 pitched dry and after three days it's bubbling away merrily, so considering my earlier mishaps, I'm as happy as Larry.

[EoinMag]

I'm guessing lees contact is a key thing in the development of the flavour.

Not sure what you mean by this?

I was also wondering about the fermentation so I asked someone in my brewing group, and they reckoned that it was just an ageing suggestion. Personally, I will be leaving it to ferment until gravity stabilises, rack for a couple of weeks, then prime and bottle. I don't normally rack my beers but I guess I'm going to have to get used to it. I used one pack of S-04 pitched dry and after three days it's bubbling away merrily, so considering my earlier mishaps, I'm as happy as Larry.

I'd suggest bellebouche is more of a wine maker than a beer brewer.

Contact with the lees (sur lies) is where the wine is left in contact with the yeast and fruit pulp that sits at the bottom of the fermenter, beermakers call it trub. It can be vital in the making of wines to ensure that the correct flavour profile is gotten from the wine, in beer it's mostly seen as a bad thing as you don't want much flavour profile really coming from the yeast, whereby they all have their own taste characteristics.

[dedken]

Ah-ha. You learn something every day!

[bellebouche]

I'm guessing lees contact is a key thing in the development of the flavour.

Not sure what you mean by this?

I was also wondering about the fermentation so I asked someone in my brewing group, and they reckoned that it was just an ageing suggestion. Personally, I will be leaving it to ferment until gravity stabilises, rack for a couple of weeks, then prime and bottle. I don't normally rack my beers but I guess I'm going to have to get used to it. I used one pack of S-04 pitched dry and after three days it's bubbling away merrily, so considering my earlier mishaps, I'm as happy as Larry.

I think the long 4 week fermentation time with Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale / White Labs WLP028 Edinburgh Ale at a cool 16c-18c is a factor in the flavour development. The deliberately long/cool fermentation will give an extended period of yeast contact (the 'lees contact' referenced above) and will shape the flavour.

A great many bottle conditioned beers spend much of their life in contact with at least some small portion of yeast of course and I think it's a potentially important factor.

Doing a bit of research and I found an old podcast from Jamil Zainasheff where they were discussing the general Scottish Ale style. The All grain recipe was similar to this AHA 80/- brew in the malt selection and methodology (Caramelising the first run from the mash tun). The recommended dry yeast for it was a Safale S-05 if the specific liquid yeasts where not available. Fermented cool and for 3 weeks in this case.

Worth a listen:-
http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/The- ... w-12-17-07
Good discussion about malt varietals, low temp ale yeast fermentation. The recommendations above are at 19:00 - 21:00 in the program if you want to cut out the chatter.

I'm not au-fait with the safale yeasts, the spec sheets I found don't differentiate much between the S-04 and S-05 strains from a flavour perspective - just the flocculation.

http://www.fermentis.com/FO/pdf/HB/EN/S ... -04_HB.pdf
http://www.fermentis.com/FO/pdf/HB/EN/S ... -05_HB.pdf

I'm guessing that if you're fermenting warmer and with the s-04 yeast you'll get a slightly different beer than the recipe intends... but still, I'll bet excellent. Look forward to your follow up!

[bellebouche]

I'd suggest bellebouche is more of a wine maker than a beer brewer.

Ouch!

We have enough vines here to produce a couple hundred litres of a perfectly mediocre wine every year.

My beers on the other hand are marginally better!

[EoinMag]

I'd suggest bellebouche is more of a wine maker than a beer brewer.

Ouch!

We have enough vines here to produce a couple hundred litres of a perfectly mediocre wine every year.

My beers on the other hand are marginally better!

terminology based guess, apologies

[dedken]

I'm guessing that if you're fermenting warmer and with the s-04 yeast you'll get a slightly different beer than the recipe intends... but still, I'll bet excellent. Look forward to your follow up!

I guess from those spec sheets that the S-04 doesn't flocculate as well? Curiously, they also tell you to rehydrate the yeast or if not to pitch dry and aerate. My LHBS proprietor is always at pains to tell me NEVER to rehydrate dry yeasts (there is a scientific reason apparently, although I haven't received his lecture on it) and in the particular case of S-04 he told me that it was never meant to be rehydrated (he knew a guy that worked at the lab, yada yada yada) not to aerate it either. All I know is that he uses said yeast, pitches dry and makes award-winning beer with it! My guess is that the rehydrate/pitch dry is a source of contention in the brewing community?

Incidently I'm not fermenting warmer - the nearest heater to my beer is in the FV sitting next to it!. It should be around 16C in this room. Maybe I'll leave it in primary longer - have to prime and bottle before I move house on the 7th May though.