40 replies to this topic

[tlojak38]

That's what I ended up doing. Leaving about half of a gallon in the bottom and just added fresh water to bring it up to the five gallon mark. Pitched the yeast. It's been 13 hours and I don't see any activity yet. Maybe I did something wrong. Should I go get more yeast and do a starter? I didn't do that with the first one. The guys at the lhb store told me I didn't need to do that with this yeast. I used wlp545 Belgium strong ale yeast. What do you guys think?

[tlojak38]

Mad Elf is awesome, can you post the recipe you have here?I'll agree with others that this is a HUGE first step brewing. Just don't get frustrated if it doesn't taste like Mad Elf (or just doesn't taste good at all). However it turns out try an easier beer for your next one and welcome to the obsession!

Ok. Recipe I got is:13 lb Belgium pils2 lb Belgium Munich malt 3 oz. Belgium Chocolate malt1 oz hallertau 1/2 oz saaz 2 lb honey 2 1/2 pounds sweet cherries 2 1/2 pounds sour cherriesMash pils at 153 for 45 min to an hour. In a separate pot, mash the specialty grains at 155-160F for about an hour. Combine and boil. Hallertau at 90 min, saaz at last 10 min. Add honey at flame out. Use any Belgium ale yeast. Some use wlf 500. I went with wlp 545, but that's seasonal. Add cherries in secondary. That's what I used.

[beach]

Welcome to the board tjak. It sounds like you got your brew accomplished. Yes, you should have made a starter, but you willl still make beer. Hopefully you aerated well. Your yeast will eventually take off. In the future making starters for liquid yeast will increase the viable cell count in your yeast pitch giving you faster starts and better attenuation with reduced risks for off flavors from yeast stress. Have fun and remember patience is your friend right now.Beach

[MakeMeHoppy]

Ok. Recipe I got is:13 lb Belgium pils2 lb Belgium Munich malt3 oz. Belgium Chocolate malt1 oz hallertau1/2 oz saaz2 lb honey2 1/2 pounds sweet cherries2 1/2 pounds sour cherriesMash pils at 153 for 45 min to an hour. In a separate pot, mash the specialty grains at 155-160F for about an hour. Combine and boil. Hallertau at 90 min, saaz at last 10 min. Add honey at flame out. Use any Belgium ale yeast. Some use wlf 500. I went with wlp 545, but that's seasonal. Add cherries in secondary. That's what I used.

Thanks for the recipe. I may try a scaled down version when I start brewing again in 2012. Mad Elf is a great beer, but with me being the only one drinking it that's a lot of have around.I'm not sure where you heard that a starter isn't needed, that is a pretty big beer, but hopefully it will ferment out for you. Keeps us posted on progress

[tlojak38]

Just checked it. Temp is a little low, so I put it up off the floor, on another bucket, but before I did, I noticed something, the airlock let two bubbles go. I have action!!! Can't wait to see tomorrow! I guess so far, so good.

[tlojak38]

One more question. If I do have to get more yeast, what happens if I can't get the same yeast? It is a seasonal, and not being made right now. Also, what do I use for a starter as far as food for the yeast? Sorry, that's two questions.

[Genesee Ted]

First off, congrats on the brew!If you have to add more yeast, just use another alcohol tolerant Belgian ale yeast.For making a starter, you can use some DME.

[tlojak38]

Getting bubbles from the airlock about every 30 seconds or so. Slow start, but better than nothing. Hoping for improvement in the next 12 hours.

[beach]

No big worries, it sounds like it's starting. You're making beer, maybe not a perfect start, but, at this point just do your best to contol the fermentation temp's (I've not used 545 but someone here has I'm sure.) A bit of a lesson going forward, a starter is never a bad idea, especially for big beers. Just use DME as doob said.Beach

[tlojak38]

Its official. My airlock is going just about nuts! And from what I can see, I've got about a 2 inch layer of foam on top! And I got the temp up to about 67 degrees. I think I got lucky this time. If you guys want ill keep posting my notes on here. I record all activity in a notebook so the next time I make it, I can try to fix whatever went wrong the last time.

[Murphy]

with big beers I have found a blow off tube is much better then just the standard airlock, I've shot a few airlocks off of my fermenter due to clogging hence the switch. just something else to consider.

[Genesee Ted]

Yeah, no one likes to mop the ceiling!

[tlojak38]

How long can I leave this in the primary, and secondary fermenter? If I leave it in too long, could the beer go bad?

[beach]

With a beer that big (high OG) I'd leave it in primary for 2-3 weeks. You're putting cherries in the secondary, correct? That will need to be to taste. As long as you practice good sanitation and are careful you're beer will be fine.Beach

[tlojak38]

That's what I was thinking, just needed to head it from someone else. Thanks.

[beerturtle]

Sounds like your Elf clone started out okay, tlojak. If you're interested in upgrading to a better all-grain setup (or chatting about homebrew in general), let me know (PM me). I think I have some unused equipment lying around and I'm near your area.

[tlojak38]

Ok, some more questions. When going from the primary to the secondary, do I re-aerate, or are we not trying to put more oxygen in the beer. Also, going to the bottling bucket, oxygen is bad right? Sorry for the stupid questions. Mr beer said do not disturb the beer when bottling, but you never know what applies from them to this.

[cavman]

Ok, some more questions. When going from the primary to the secondary, do I re-aerate, or are we not trying to put more oxygen in the beer. Also, going to the bottling bucket, oxygen is bad right? Sorry for the stupid questions. Mr beer said do not disturb the beer when bottling, but you never know what applies from them to this.

DO NOT re-aerate at either step.

[tlojak38]

Ok. So no air! Lol. When I put the beer into the bottling bucket, and add the promontory sugar, how do I stir it without putting more oxygen in it? Sorry, another stupid question probably.

[tlojak38]

Primary sugar, sorry. Damn predictive typing feature.