For our first brew we had a Pale Ale. We used an ingredient kit by True Brew.
Our documentation wasn't that great, seeing as we were merely following the insructions provided to us with the kit itself. From memory:
Ingredients
3.3 lbs. (1 can) Hopped Light Liquid Malt Extract
2 lbs. (2 bags) Dried Malt Extract
6 oz. Crystal Malt Grains (o Lovibond unknown. 40?)
1 oz. Cascade Hop Pellets
1 packet Munton's dried Ale Yeast
5 oz. Dextrose (priming sugar)
Brew Method
July 13th, 2007
Placed the can of LME in a hot water bath to soften the extract, kept in water until time of use.
Boiled 1.5 gallons of tap water.
After coming to a boil, the heat was turned off, and the grains were steeped aggressively for 30 minutes.
Removed grains, returned heat to boil again. Once boiled, heat was turned off again.
Added the can of LME, stirred in the DME and Cascade hops.
Returned to a boil until severe foaming occured. Turned off the heat, but never checked to see if we achieved a hot break.
Added the hot wort straight into 3 gallons of tap water in the fermenting bucket (no cooling!!). Slow pour (mistake). Aeration was minimal to none. Filtering was nonexistant. All mistakes here.
Hydrometer reading for O.G. was 1.038, though we neglected to take temperature into account. Wort temperature was unknown, but possibly in excess of 100o F, adding at least another 0.006 points of gravity to a potential 1.044. Predicted O.G. per recipe kit reads 1.043-1.045.
Yeast was rehydrated fifteen minutes prior to pitching. Microwaved 1/3 cup of water, cooled and added yeast packet. Allowed to sit for ten minutes before stirring. Temperature of wort at time of pitching was unknown, but likely far too high.
Fermentation
Bucket was kept in Mike's basement for 14 days before bottling. Temperature ranges were between 68-72deg F.
Fermentation did not begin until after 48 hours of racking. Continued for a few days until it settled.
I (Mike) noticed a low level of water in the airlock at one point and added more to fill to level mark (possible contamination?)
Bottling
July 27th, 2007
Dissolved 5 oz. dextrose in 1 cup of boiling water. Cooled and added to racking bucket.
Opened fermenter to reveal overpowering acetaldehyde (cidery) smells. Smiles turned upside-down.
Final gravity was 1.016. Predicted per kit is 1.01-1.012. ABV = 3.6%.
Overcame some initial difficulties with the racking siphon and got the beer moving into the racking bucket. Some tap water found its way into the bucket (Eric.).
Successfully bottled and capped 24 x 22oz bottles. Stored in basement, surrounded by cardboard to prevent light contamination.
Tasting
July 30th, 2007
10 days after bottling, one bottle was opened. Loud hiss when cap was removed indicating successful carbonation.
In the bottle, the beer appeared clear at the neck and got progressively more hazy toward the bottom of the bottle. Sediment apparent at the bottom.
Poured into two tumblers. Acetaldehyde still prominent in both smell and taste. Cidery flavor gave way to very sour bitter flavors, gross aftertaste. Did not want to go away. Two sips, and dumped.
August 10th, 2007
Opened a second bottle. Foamed out and over the top of the bottle, excessive carbonation in this one it would seem.
Clarity was better, but again still very very hazy at the bottom of the bottle.
Taste not improved.
August 17h, 2007
Opened a third bottle. Clarity improved still, taste seems not as bad as previous. Maybe we are just more prepared for disappointment, making it seem not so disgusting. Maybe it really is getting better.
We decide to wait a few more weeks before we dump the whole batch.
August 30th, 2007
Kept a bottle in the fridge for a week, and opened it this morning to give it a shot. Some improvement maybe? Still only a couple sips & pour.
Notes
Achieve an actual hot break.
Properly rapidly cool wort to achieve cold break.
Aerate wort when transferring to fermenter.
Rehydrate yeast earlier.
Pitch yeast only when wort has cooled significantly.
Don't pour all the shit in the wort into the fermenter.
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