I did my first all grain brew today.  It was a pretty standard pale ale that I was trying to use as a learning experience.

I ended up with 4 gallons of darker than expected wort (too much evaporation) at 1.052.  I'll rack it to the secondary in a week or so then dry hop after 2 weeks.  Ideally, I'll be cold crashing and kegging this one.

What kind of evaporation rate did you find you got? And from what type of boil kettle?
I get almost exactly 1/2 gallon per hour from my keggle.

Between evaporation and some hop sludge, I probably lost 2.5 gallons From a 6.5-7 ish gallon start.


I can ID a few reasons:




I'm using a 15 gallon, brew kettle that is probably larger than I need.  (I got it for a great price from a local brewery selling their old homebrew stuff).  I figure the larger exposed area will cause more evaporation.




I have a large burner (110k BTU/hour, I think).  It was my first time using it, so I was trying to get the hang of it, which was part of the reason.  It also guzzles propane.  If I can find a smaller one, I might pick it up.




I was distracted for the entire boil and it was frequently too vigorous.  There were several times that it almost boiled over.  I figure  if I tend to it better I can save propane and wort.




So, obvious answer, can I just leave the lid on the pot for a portion of the boil?  I can't think of a reason not to, but I've never seen anyone do it.


 

I think you'r on the right track with trying to get your burner adjusted and "settle down" the boil a bit.  With my setup if I have 6.25 gallons of wort when I start the boil (assuming a 60 min boil) I end up with 5.25 gallons to put in the primary.  This way once I siphon off the beer to my keg, leaving the sludge behind, I get 5 gallons.
One thing you may also want to try is using a hop sock for your hop additions to the boil.  This way you get no hop sludge in your kettle when your done with the boil/cool down before you transfer to your primary.  I can just dump the whole contents w/o worrying about it.  What little there is settles out during fermentation anyway.  I got mine from this place, nice guy and a quality product IMO --> Hop Bags and more

You do NOT want to put a lid on your boil.  Short answer is that it allows the "bad" things (like sulphur compounds, etc) to boil off and evaporate when you hit the hot break.  The long answer is googleable

I see, thanks for the post.  The hop bags look much better than other ones I've seen.
 



ETA:  The struggle continues.  I brewed and pitched on Monday.  I saw lots of bubbling monday evening/Tuesday morning.  Tuesday night into today, I saw virtually no bubbles.  So...I cracked it open and saw very little krausen, more like the remnants of very little krausen.  I took a gravity reading and got 1.032 (OG at 1.052 with an estimated/planned FG of 1.011) which I think is too high for where it is at this point...if I had seen a full krausen I would have assumed I had a small leak around the lid/airlock and let it continue to cook.  So, I sprinkled another packet of dry yeast on top, sealed it back up, and put it in a temperature controlled fridge at 68.






Here is the yeast I used:  http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_US05.pdf






Possible problems I see:






-We had some hot days and my normally cool fermenting closet got up to 77ish, which is on the upper end of the yeast's comfort level.  Perhaps some died.  I'm definitely worried about fusels.






-I tried a yeast starter for the first time.  1/4 lb DME with 1 quart water, boiled for 10 min, put into a sanitized growler, cooled to 80 degrees, and a packet of yeast pitched and mixed.  I didn't have an airlock that fit (it was my first try at a starter), so I used a piece of aluminum foil shaped over the lid.  After 36 hours, it smelled great, like yeast should.  After 60 hours when I pitched it, it had a definite vinegar odor (I read this was fairly normal).  I know dry yeast is known for fermenting quickly.  Perhaps my starter was too old/dead?  Everything I read said 24-72 hours for a starter is fine, but it didn't specify which kind of yeast.






-Maybe I am just paranoid and it was fine, but the lack of krausen seems very weird to me.




I'll report back in the morning if fermentation has picked back up.




 

ETA:  I just found this gem:  It is generally not recommended to make a starter with dry yeast, for a few reasons. The yeast comes packaged with a cell count and nutrient reserves sufficient for most 5 gallon batches. The cost of a packet of yeast is generally less than the cost of making a proper starter. To be large enough for optimal cell growth based purely on the number of yeast cells inoculating the starter wort, the starter would need to be roughly 3L on a stir plate and this is impractical for most and would yield far more cells (380+ billion) than you would need for most 5 gallon ales. Making a traditional 1L to 2L starter would not allow for healthy growth of the yeast cells.

I just started brewing this year, my first batch was a milk stout that turned out surprisingly tasty.  My second batch (racked into the secondary fermenter today)  is a Belgian wheat with about 2 pounds of honey added at the end of the boil.  Alcohol content is already at about 5 1/2%.

Southern Tier Warlock Clone: http://www.stbcbeer.com/black-water/warlock/


This is one of my favorite beers, and I'm trying to clone it.  It's a pretty standard stout at first, but it explodes with pumpkin, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spices after the initial flavor.  








I used this kit as a base:  http://www.homebrewing.org/Vanilla-Imperial-Stout-All-Grain-Recipe_p_4929.html




Recipe:


15.5 lbs 2 Row


1lbs chocolate malt


8 oz Carafa II


8 oz Caramel/crystal malt-60L

60 min 1 oz Cluster Hops


15 min Whirlfloc


10 min 5 teaspoons Fermax Yeast nutrient


5 min 87oz canned pumpkin, toasted for 1 hour at 350. (Yes, 87oz.  It came in 29oz cans)


5 min 1 oz pumpkin pie spice


Flameout 1 oz pumpkin pie spice, 5 min steep




3.5 quart starter of WLP001 pitched at 78 degrees.  http://www.whitelabs.com/yeast/wlp001-california-ale-yeast


I used this calculator based off of a planned OG of 1.090 with "intermittent shaking": http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html








I purchased my own grain mill, put it on it's smallest setting, and ground my own grain.  Completely different consistency compared to the pale ale i did a few weeks ago.  http://www.homebrewing.org/Cereal-Killer-Grain-Mill_p_2310.html




I mashed in at 152 degrees.  After 30 minutes, it dropped to 150 so I added a quart of boiling water to raise it back to 151.


After 60 minutes I cleared the wort and drained off the initial 4ish gallons.


I did a batch sparge at 168 with 3.6 gallons.  The runnings from the batch sparge were 1.030.




Initial boil volume was 7.86 gallons with an OG of 1.053.  I knew my evaporation rate was pretty high and there would be lots of pumpkin fiber, so this was planned.




I racked 5.25 gallons into my fermenter with an OG of 1.084 (70.7% brewhouse efficiency I'm quite happy with this compared to my last brew).  I knew I would gain 2 quarts or so of liquid from my yeast starter, and I only have a 6.5 gallon fermenter.  Plus, the trub will be massive from all of the pumpkin fiber.  I hope to get 4-4.5 gallons into the secondary fermenter.




I pitched at 78 degrees (because I am impatient) and put it into a 68 degree fermentation keezer.  After 5 hours, it was pleasantly bubbling.




I'll rack to secondary in 5-7 days.  Depending on how much trub develops in the secondary, I'll potentially rack to a tertiary fermenter.  I'm planning on aging this beer until September or October.




I have 3 vanilla beans soaking in 100mL of Tito's Vodka.  I'll scrape the beans and toss the whole thing into the fermenter in 2ish months.  Right now, the wort smelled great...kind of like a PSL (pumpkin spice latte for all non-basic bitches).  I'll throw in another ounce of pumpkin pie spices before kegging if necessary.


 

I was going to mention that dry yeast typically don't require a starter.  Just rehydrate 15-20 mins before you pitch to make sure they are viable.   Also just because the airlock isn't bubbling doesn't mean the fermentation has stopped, give it a week before checking/ worrying about it.

When I use White Labs liquid yeast I'll make a starter a few days ahead of time.  I have a homemade stir plate that I use.  I make smaller starters, 2 cups water and 1/4 cup of light DME boiled for 10 mins then cooled.  The foil on the top is good enough when making a starter, you don't want an airlock.  The whole idea is to get oxygen mixed in to get the yeast growing and multiplying.  A couple times I will take the foil top off for a few mins to allow more air in.

I just racked the Warlock clone into secondary after 2-3 days with little airlock activity, 6 days total.  ( I was shooting for a week, but I have family coming into town so I wanted to do it ahead of them).

About 24-48 hours after brewing my airlock began filling/overflowing with krausen.  I sanitized the area as best I could and switched airlocks a few times over the next day or 2.  


Due to the 87 ounces of pumpkin I had a huge trub and only got 4ish gallons from the primary.  With that said, my gravity was 1.018 which will give me a final abv of 8.8%.  I'm pleased with that, but I wouldn't be surprised if it dropped a few more points.  The beer I racked was pretty clear, so I doubt I'l use a tertiary fermenter.  


From here I'll add the vanilla beans and vodka in 5ish weeks.  


The beer tasted pretty good.  There were definitely good chocolate notes with a bit more than expected coffee.  The pumpkin was pretty present and the pumpkin spices definitely were.  I think a few months of aging will do it well.


The mouthfeel was super thin.  I assume that's because it wasn't carbonated?  I'm going to force carb in a keg in September of so.


I'm off to try to reclaim some yeast.  I've never done that before, so it'll be interesting to see if I can wash it enough off of the pumpkin.

Been busy with other things, my brewing lagged and my stock piles got very depleted.  

I'm kicking it in high gear now as I got 1 month before our annual 4th of July party and guests expect copious amounts of homebrew.  Got a cream ale in the fermenter right now and this weekend I'm brewing a Munich Helles and a Hefeweizen.

Really need to get my brew stand up and running and transition to all-grain.  I'm tired of hauling my gear back and forth to the kitchen and brewing extract on the stove top.

Today's brew was a citrus wheat for the Summer.


I started with this recipe kit, a Clone of Bell's Oberon:  http://www.homebrewing.org/Solsun-Oberon-Clone-All-Grain-Recipe_p_4827.html




I wanted to start with a wheat beer a bit more complex than a blue moon or standard summer wheat.  I thought the added hops of the oberon would be a nice compliment to the citrus I was adding later.




Here is the recipe:






Additionally, I had an ounce of bitter orange peal and the zest of 4 oranges, 2 limes, and a lemon all added at the 5 minute mark.  I made a 1 quart yeast starter too.










 

I was going to brew 3 beers this week. A hefewiess, an IPA, and a Quad.  Was....  I tried to rouse my yeast bank 3787, Trois, and Weihenstephan yeasts and they were all dead or spoiled Next week...

I'm starting to get into yeast rearing.  

How long will yeast stay "good" in a mason jar in a fridge?

Months.

Have 10 gallons of all wheat hefe in the fermentation chiller.

Tried Wy3056 for the first time, we'll see how that blend works.

Some do better than others.

Wheat beer yeast will stay good practically forever, if you make starters.

Some lager yeasts I've had issues keeping viable more than a couple of months.

Really?  I thought the common perception was that Hefe yeast (assuming that you mean that) is the worst for age and will not last long at all.  I only used it once and didn't keep it, so no judgement here.

I've had it last over a year with no issues

24hr duty day turned into a brew day for me! I call it "Helo Haus" hefeweiss

 
It's...beautiful.  best staff duty ever.


So, I racked the citrus wheat to secondary.  It already hit 1.016ish which will give it an alcohol of 6.9%.  It's definately higher than planned, but I won't complain.


The taste was good...perhaps a bit bitter, but the carbonation will eventually help with that.  I might dry hop with some more citrus peel to add a bit to the aroma.

Yeah, no shit! I think I might do this every duty day! I still have 6 left in June

I've got 5 gallons of apfelwein going in a carboy.

 
Is that like an apple cider?  I've heard people talking about it, but I've never made any.

So, I just bought this for Father's day for myself:  http://www.homebrewing.org/Adventures-All-Grain-Mug-Club_p_5439.html

It's going to be a busy 6 months.  


I'll probably brew the strawberry on hte 20th to enjoy for the rest of summer.  


This means I'll have to grow to a 2 keg setup.  

I've never tried it. Supposed to be like a really dry cider.I noticed people raving online and figured it was something I could mix up easy and leave in a carboy. I'll probably leave it until around Christmas. It was a little more expensive than I intended because I used an organic unfiltered juice. OG after corn sugar was 1.079.

Got the starters going last night for a Quad and an IPA, tonight I'm kegging my hefeweiss.

Brewed my quad and IPA yesterday, today a good bit of my quad is on the bathroom ceiling  Blew out the blowoff tube and shot straight up. Still overflowing like a volcano, there's no controlling this now  I just hope I don't lose too much good stuff or volume....

ETA: saved some of the Chimay yeast and started to grow it up for a Cinq Cents clone.

Hoegaarden clone, white wheat...

I did a strawberry blond on the 20th.  Depending on how much it is still fermenting, I may throw in 3 bottles of strawberry concentrate this afternoon. (It was a kit)



I "dry hopped" the citrus wheat I did with an ounce of sweet orange peel yesterday.  I'll probably give it 3 days before I cold crash it.



Tonight, I think I'm going to cold crash the imperial pumpkin stout I did 6 weeks back and keg it later this week.  It won't be "mature" for another few months, but I'm trying to clear up room.

That's the beer of summer for sure.

An IPA and a California Common

A gallon of Cyser at the moment

Welp.  The strawberry blond I brewed on Saturday was already at 1.014ish (OG was 1.048) after 5 days on WL410.  I added 3 bottles of strawberry concentrate which took the gravity back to 1.020. I figure raising the OG to 1.054 in BrewSmith will give me an accurate ABV when it finishes fermenting.

I kegged the imperial pumpkin stout I did after 2 days of cold crashing at 30.  The FG was 1.018 (OG of 1.084) for an ABV of 8.8%.  I added 100ML of 80 proof Vodka and 3 vanilla beans so I think the ABV may be closer to 9.2% or so.  Regardless, I am enjoying an uncarbonated glass from my hydrometer test.  The pumpkin pie spice is definitely coming through.  I guess I'm getting a bit of pumpkin.  I think the vanilla came through nicely (not as much as Warlock though) and I expect that it will get better once it is carbed up.  There is a bit of booziness, but I don't think it's too bad considering all the other flavors.  There is a bit too much coffee for my liking, but that's what I get for using a kit and not coming up with a custom malt bill (I'll get there).


Lastly, I moved my citrus wheat to cold crash.  It's been "dry hopping" with an ounce of sweet orange peel for 3 days and the citrus aroma I was going through is definitely coming through.  

Bought the ingredients for a Westy 12 clone, and a weird ass "Pirate's grog" beer a co-worker wants to make. I'll be kegging an IPA and bottling a Cinq Cents clone this weekend.

What'a in the pirate's grog?
 


Now, that inspires me to come up with a coconut rum porter.


 

It's a recipe on HBT called "pirate" in strong ales. Basically it's an amber with pineapple, brown sugar, and a cinnamon stick in the boil, secondary on wood chips soaked in dark rum. About a 1.08-9 OG

Yeah, that sounds dangerously delicious.  

Got 2-5 gallon batches of a highly modified "caribou slobber" I need to get kegged today, and I did my first non-extract (BIAB) on Sunday of a Zombie Dust clone. That's gonna be one hoppy SOB!

Carboys are empty at the moment, but I took advantage of Midwest Supplies "Buy any three select kits and pay $17.76 each".  Thought that was a good deal so I bit.  I'll brew them all this weekend.

Irish Red Ale
Hefeweizen
California Steam

Just bottled a lemon wheat that I brewed with coriander and lemon balm. The flavor was perfect after fermentation but this is meant to be a ABMC crowd pleaser so I dry-hopped with 1.5 oz of lemon peel for a little over a week.

Crazy lemon flavor. So much so that my hop schedule (1oz EGK at 60 min) wasn't enough bitterness to balance it out.

Almost more of a lemon malt beverage that a wheat beer brewed with lemon peel. I think it will be a hit but if I make it again I would dial down the lemon peel. We will see once it carbs up.

Next up in LH milk stout clone.... I love stouts, even in the summer, and I am clean out!

Made it today, OG 1.088! It smells almost like a cinnabon

14 gallons of light dunkelweiss.

Might get around to kegging it next weekend.

No rush, it's chilling at 62*F for now, and I'm running out of keg storage space.

Pale Ale that was on sale at my local brew supply store.

Another big pumpkin beer

I just realized a brewed and didn't post.  It's a golden rye with a pound of honey added into primary at 3 days.  OG was 1.069 and it's about 1.018 going into the secondary.  It's already a bit bitter from the hop schedule and spicy from the rye.  I don't really get much honey aroma or taste, unfortunately.  I think once it's carbed, that'll come out better.  

My experience with honey is the same as with maple syrup, unfortunately you probably won't ever taste it in the final beer. It gets eaten pretty fast. The honey malt might get it to where you want it to be.

And as far as clarity, I'd say that the flaked rye will give a little cloudiness.

First batch bubbling away in a friend's basement: a Kohlsch from a kit made by a local store; part grain, part DME and part LME.

On the 40 min. boil, I screwed up & did not add the LME until 30 min into it (that's what you get while drinking & brewing at the same time).

I also dumped some (but not all) of the settled sludge into the primary fermenter (oops again).

A few lessons learned for next time and it should still come out OK ( had an experienced guy around supervising other boils).

Well, my citrus wheat is almost gone and a keg will be free, so I just dry hopped my Rye pale ale with an ounce of Nelson Sauvin.  That is a delicious smelling hop.

Belgian partial mash quad with Chimay yeast,  OG 1.16

Cock-all, but I'm brewing OktoberFAST and a Hefe this weekend for the first MNF game.
I'm hosting a party to watch my Eagles beat the Falcons Sept 14th.