Nick wrote:[color=blue]
>
> Hi All,
> I am new to brewing and made my first batch yesterday. It has been somewhat
> confusing trying to follow my local suppliers directions, while trying to
> follow the beginners book to brewing, while getting everything right, and I
> made a few mistakes in the process. So, here is my question.
>
> I decided to make for my first batch a bavarian wheat beer. I used cracked
> wheat, malt, hops, and a half-teaspoon of irish moss for the last 30 mins of
> the brew. My mistakes, when I strained the wheat after steeping it for 45
> minutes, I only used a colander, I didn't use a filter for either the
> initial strain or sparge step. I then used this wort with my malt, hops for
> the 55 min brew. When it was done I cooled it in the sink until it was room
> temp (about 75 degrees) and mixed it with 2.5 gallons of 60 degree water. My
> second mistake was when I again used the collander without a filter to
> separate the hops from the wort. I poured the contents out of the 2.5 gal
> stainless steel pot through the colander into the fermentation pail which
> held the other 2.5 gallons of cold water.[/color]

Keep in mind that unless you use wheat *malt*, you can't use wheat
without another "diastatic" grain, which has enzymes to convert the
starch in the wheat into sugar that the yeast can ferment. If you don't
do that, you end up with a starch laden beer that provides food for
bacterial infections.

------------>Denny
--
Life begins at 60...1.060, that is.