First batch questions???

[snowcapt]

I did it. I brewed my beer. My smack pack finally swelled up nicely, so I pitched that bitch. The carboy is in a dark cozy place festering away as I type. I was going to listen live tonight, but I spent the whole show brewing and missed it.

On a somber note, I missed my OG by about 3 or 4 points. I was supposed to be at 1.049 and came in at about 1.046. How bad did I mess it up? I think I know what I did wrong.

That aint so bad, at all, nicely done. Could be a temp issue while reading or bubbles on the hydometer. Dont worry about it, worrying makes it taste bad. Let the yeasties do what they do. Let us know how she is in the a.m., if she is bubblin, all is good. The show is still on, too! Tune in!

[spiderwrangler]

Yeah, a few points is no biggie... please don't use festering to describe your brew... not good imagery!

[animaldoc]

Those few points could very easily be an error in volume measuring, wort stratification or not correcting your hydrometer reading ..... or all of the above, or a few of the above, or none of the above.

It'll taste just fine 4 points low or 4 points high.

There was a Can You Brew It episode where they tasted two beers that were 10 points off and you couldn't tell the difference.

[o2bwest]

24 hrs later it is bubbling well. One bubble about every 2 seconds. My theory about the OG is that I didn't poor enough of the wort into the fermentor. I was worried about getting too much sludge in the carboy so I think a left a little too much back. Does that make sense?

One question I have is about fermentation temp. We generally keep the house around 72 degrees + or - 2 or 3 degrees at night and during the warmest part of the day. Are these temps ok for a hefe? The beer is in a closet so it probably isn't exposed to the same temp swings that the rest of the house gets.

I am debating whether or not to put this beer into a secondary. I want to free up my carboy to do another beer.

[Fugglupagus]

My theory about the OG is that I didn't poor enough of the wort into the fermentor. I was worried about getting too much sludge in the carboy so I think a left a little too much back. Does that make sense?

Yes. Especially if you're doing partial boils, which means you end your boil with 5 gallons worth of fermentables concentrated into maybe 2.5-3 gallons. In this case leaving a quart of wort in the boil kettle means leaving about 8-10% of the good stuff behind.

FWIW, I did six or so NB extract kits last year. I found the OG listed in the kits to be generally 2-4 points higher than what I calculated and brewed. I suspect NB's recipes started as all-grain and were converted to extract. This OG scenario is pretty common for recipes that have been converted. It's usually no big deal.

[o2bwest]

Racked over to secondary tonight. The gravity was down to 1.010 from 1.046. How does that sound? How much more will it drop in secondary? It tasted clean, but a little thin. How will the flavor change with maturity and carbonation?

In other news, I brewed the AK47 tonight and hit my OG exactly. I am ordering the Petite Saison kit tomorrow. I'm going to try and have 3 beers ready by Memorial day.

[snowcapt]

Racked over to secondary tonight. The gravity was down to 1.010 from 1.046. How does that sound? How much more will it drop in secondary? It tasted clean, but a little thin. How will the flavor change with maturity and carbonation?

In other news, I brewed the AK47 tonight and hit my OG exactly. I am ordering the Petite Saison kit tomorrow. I'm going to try and have 3 beers ready by Memorial day.

Sounds like it is right on track. I didnt see the recipe, so Im not sure what you have in there for unfermentables. Flavor will be similar, but different once you get get it cold and get some bubbles in that puppy.
Brew On, Brotha!