Started my first homebrew yesterday.

[thefuzz]

I know there is a beer thread, but anything that takes that much of my time deserves it's own.

Have to be honest, it does not smell nearly as good as you would hope when you are getting everything to boil. House still smells a bit "off".

[Porn Shop Clerk]

I love good homebrewed beer.

[thefuzz]

When I put it in the fermenting bucket, it seemed a little more cloudy that I was expecting. Hopefully it will settle to the bottom, or I can possibly filter it before bottling.

Certainly a little harder than I was expecting, but exciting as well.

BTW, I am brewing a Kolsh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lsch_%28beer%29

[mmmbeans]

yea, it settles. it'll settle more if you use a secondary fermenter. there'll always be a little sediment in it though.

congrats! I'm bottling a batch tomorrow!

[Porn Shop Clerk]

real beer has sediment. you just gotta deal with it and learn not to kill it off.

[thefuzz]

yea, it settles. it'll settle more if you use a secondary fermenter. there'll always be a little sediment in it though.

congrats! I'm bottling a batch tomorrow!

Will it hurt to strain it/filter it?

[mmmbeans]

Will it hurt to strain it/filter it?

i don't think so, as long as you let it sit on the yeast cake long enough.

[thefuzz]

I don't know what that means.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

i say don't strain it and let it keep its richness and character

chimay is some of the best commercial beer i've ever had.

give it a shot to see the potential of a little settle on the bottom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimay_Brewery

there are other trappist beers as well, and if someone hasn't tried one, they really should

[mmmbeans]

I don't know what that means.

in a week or so the yeast will settle to the bottom of the bucket/carboy. That's your yeast cake. That yeast continues to work even after the obvious fermentation is done.

Yeast also provides you with carbonation at the bottling stage.

Honestly, I'd say leave it in there this time around and after you're a little more comfortable you can start thinking about filtering or cold-crashing the beer for clarity. The yeast doesn't affect the taste, if you don't like the way it looks pour it into a glass and leave the sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

i think the yeast enhances the flavor and body, especially over the long term

americans are just sissies that thinks worms are icky and spiders are scary

oh and snakes are slimy too

[Kettle]

I have a funnel with a filter disc. I filter the wort and then I siphon through the filter into a second container before bottling.

[mmmbeans]

i think the yeast enhances the flavor and body, especially over the long term

americans are just sissies that thinks worms are icky and spiders are scary

oh and snakes are slimy too

yea but trappist ales are an entirely different kind of beer, brewed warm with a different kind of yeast. not saying yeast doesn't have an affect on taste, it does but my understanding is that trappists get an inordinate amount of taste from the yeast. much more than most beer.

[thefuzz]

I have a funnel with a filter disc. I filter the wort and then I siphon through the filter into a second container before bottling.

I have a bottling bucket, with a nozzle. I guess that I could siphon into a strainer and into the other bucket.