First brew with the BN info

[KingBob]

On Thanksgiving Day I brewed my third extract kit using a lot of the info I’ve gleaned from the 5’oclock show. Yeast starter, adding the extract toward the end of the boil (fire off), immersion chiller, sanitation, sanitation, sanitation, blow off tube, etc. the whole thing went well, I think. The yeast started a very strong ferment within 12 hours. By Monday the foam had dropped off enough to allow me to install an airlock. I had to leave my baby to return to the city so I could get to work and I’m not really afraid to leave my beer on the yeast for two weeks ‘till I get back home to bottle.

One question I have is about the green hop stuff that collected around the top of my full batch boil kettle. I thought that the hop needed to be in the boil in order to bitter the brew, so I took my spoon and stirred it back into the boil. Should I have scooped that stuff out? Will it make a difference one way or another?

[bub]

You did exactly as you should have with the hops... they need to be in the wort to work... a good scrape and stir every 10 minutes or so helps your efficiency with that. Good instinct.
BUB

[KingBob]

Thanks Bub, this makes me feel all warm and fuzzy . Perhaps my brew will be worth drinking this time.

[KingBob]

I cooled some of my beer down last weekend and found it’s got a mean chill haze, what would couse this and how can I avoid this next time? It is nice and clear looking ‘till it cools down.

It seems to taste good, to me anyway, a lot different from the last batch I f’ed up. It is woefully under carbonated as I had some gushers last time so I backed off on the corn sugar that came with the kit; I’m thinking infection. The yeast bed on this batch was a smooth light tan and the last one was a darker more chunky looking nasty mess.

[linuxelf]

Is it a high-hop beer, like an IPA? I've seen my hoppier beers take on more haze. But I don't worry about it. Tastes good.

[Mr DNA]

It is woefully under carbonated...

KB, what is the ambient temperature where you're storing your beer? If it's too cold carbonation will take forever, or not happen at all....especially with less priming sugar. I had a Bock once that seemed to not want to carbonate, even after 3 weeks of storage, until I moved it to a 60ish degree room. It then carbonated in a week.

As far as the chill haze, I have a ceramic pint glass I drink out of. There's no haze that I can see.

[JP]

Thanks Bub, this makes me feel all warm and fuzzy

Please be careful about what you say to the Bub. He gets attatched easily.

[KingBob]

After bottling, I stored the cases in the same place I put the carboy. It carbonated, just not a lot. A nice head will form from the pour but after you swirl the glass a couple of times it’s pretty much flat, oh well. It tastes just fine. All that it’s lacking is the bite on the tongue from the little bubbles.

As for the Bub, I’m not too terribly concerned. At the menial drudgery I call a job there is a hermaphrodite that seems to have fallen in love with me. Flattering but very, very creepy. This guy/gal is just about the ugliest chick you’ll ever run across. He/she is working on creating a nice rack with the help of modern pharmacology but has all of the mannerisms of a dude, had me baffled for a couple weeks. Is he a dude or a chick, I didn’t know, just couldn’t tell? I wasn’t sure until one of my co-workers explained the situation to me and completely ooked me out (chick with dick-minus hot nuts). *Shudder* As it turns out this fellow lived and went to school in a town just a few miles from where I was raised in a neighboring state. I, coincidentally, worked and lived in his/her hometown for the better part of ten years after he/she had moved to San Francisco; Weird. So, if I could successfully rebuff this assclown this no pants wearing, cat loving, beer/web geek has no worries for me.