Adding the additional hops

Added the secondary hops this morning. The mix was still very foamy, but no bubbles in the airlock. I hope we didn't add them too soon.

First, the hops


Next, open the primary fermenter (pretty foamy)


Then dumped the hops into the wort






Happy hops, floating on the foam. There was nothing in the instructions or that I could find online about stirring them into the wort or anything, so I'm assuming they will settle to the bottom as the foam dissipates.

Bubbles...

At 6 pm the following evening, we now have bubbles in the airlock. Current rate is about 1 per second, the temp on the primary fermenter is 66 degrees.

Brewfest January 2009

Well, we're at it again with a second batch. We added another "Brewer" to the team, so now we're DJDS Homebrewers.

After a road trip to our favorite brewing supply store, in Cincinnati, OH http://www.listermann.com/ (yeah, it's a shameless plug but the customer service is great, and they're so helpful for us novice brewers) we gathered at the brewhaus for a night of food,brewing and fellowship with spouses and friends.


We had a table full of food and some new Cream Ales to taste, so without further ado, let's get down to the brewing.


First order of business was to put the grain into the "sacks" or BB's as we call them.

It took two sacks this time as we needed a second one for all the hops



Then we added the "secret ingredient" to the mix


Meanwhile, we all ate pizza, salad and an EXCELLENT pecan pie (thanks K) while the grains, water and hops steeping.


After steeping the water and hops, and bringing it to a boil a second time, we added MORE HOPS, boiled for another 1/2 hour, and then we were ready to whip the wort.


After an uneventful casting of the yeast,

we had a little excitement when inserting the airlock into the top of the primary fermenter. The rubber grommet decided after 10 years of sitting, it fell apart. This led to a trip to Lowes, where we were fortunate enough to find an exact match. Whew, now all is well and the primary fermenter is in the downstairs brewhaus.

The first taste!

We met again on Wednesday night, and sampled the fruits of our labor. The results were:
We decided it was a VERY GOOD first batch, and we're already planning our next batch. We're plotting whether or not to serve it at our holiday party this coming weekend, or save it all for ourselves. I think we'll end up with a compromise and offer it to a few beer lovers, and save the rest for ourselves :-)

The Lineup


All bottles had carbonation, 1 of them had too much (it overflowed after opening, and had a "fizzy" taste to it until it was in the glass for a few minutes).
The flavor was very nice - caramel and some hints of coffee flavor, in addition to a nice nut brown color.

Ready to Taste



The first bottles we drank "cold" from the 'fridge, and then we sampled a second round at "cellar temperature". The second was my personal preference, as I like my beer a little warmer than most folks.

Of the 8 we tried Wednesday evening (there were 4 of us BTW), 3 had too little carbonation (a little flat, not too bad), 1 had too much (way too much) and the other 4 were fine. During cleanup, we noticed a lot of white sediment in the bottom of 6 out of the 8 bottles, which required a good rinse with hot water and shaking to remove. We didn't want it to dry on the bottom of the bottles and make the next round a real mess to clean out before we could use them again.

Next up: An IPA, probably after the first of the year. Until then, happy Beermas from DJD Brewers!


Saddest sight

It's bottling time

10 days after brewing we bottled our first batch. First the specs, then the pics.
The temperature of the beer in the primary fermenter was 60 degrees. The FSG was 1.2, we're not sure if that's good or bad, but we checked it anyway :-).

We had a lot of our good friends stop over to watch and help; let's hope they're still our friends after trying the beer LOL

Washing bottles

We dissolved the bottling sugar in 1/2 cup of boiling water, and removed it from the heat. We poured it into a sanitzed bottling bucket, and siphoned the beer from the primary fermenter into the bottling bucket, but did not stir it afterward.

Transferring into the bottling bucket


Siphoning the beer into the bucket

Using the bottle filling tool (that worked wonderfully) we filled 47 12 oz bottles, and they're sitting in cases waiting to be drank.




Antique "cheaters" used by an ATF agent at a local distillery


Capping

Women

Our wives insisted we take a pic of the fermenter covered with a coat and hat to keep it warm. Not really necessary, but since they're kind enough to indulge us in our new habit, we want to keep them happy

BTW, today's report: 60 degrees, and holding steady. No bubbles, but the airlock seems to be clearing out of the sediment that was hanging on the inside of it last week.

It's saturday and nothing is new

Nothing new since yesterday with the project. Temp is still at 66 degrees, even with the space heater turned on. No bubbles, but we're not too concerned anymore. We're planning to put it in the secondary fermenter next weekend and bottle it so I guess we'll find out more then.