2nd Batch Bubbling Away

I've got my second batch going in the basement, going with carboy primary this time. I pitched yeast around 6:30 last Sunday night, at 64*, and it was bubbling away Monday morning. Have a blow off tube set up, but the foam didn't seem that it would have been an issue anyway. Temp has been a rock solid 62* since then.

I used a cheap "Doric Light Canadian Beer Mix" kit, with the "Munton's Beer Enhancer" for the sugar, and the unmarked yeast that came with the kit. I wanted a cheap extract to work on my technique, and have something easy to drink in a large supply (I have a 2 day curling bonspiel that is heavy on competitive drinking and light on competitive curling in March). Should have a second carboy 2 weeks from today (if my wife took the hint) and 'll get another batch of this on the go. All in a batch costs me about $18, hope to net 48-54 bottles.

My OG was 1.040, hoping to get it down to a 1.010, which by my math would put me at a 4.0% ABV. Is that doable?

My questions, comments, concerns:

1)Didn't boil it. I dissolved the Munton's product in 4L of water at about 160*, then cooled it in a cold bath in the kitchen sink, poured it into the carboy when it hit 75*, then did the same thing with the malt extract. Topped with water straight from the tap. Should I have boiled the malt extract?

2)Should I replace my iodophor water in my blow off, or just let it go? Should I drop the blow off and put in an airlock?

3)Going to use gelatin to clear it, regardless. Should I use the gelatin just before I bottle?

Thanks!

PS, I'm using these threads as my brew log, easy to find the info again, my daughter won't find it and scribble on all the notes, the wife won't find it and harp about how much I brew and you vets can give me some pointers too I hope! :rockin:

hey ltpig. like you im new to this and am using this site to record progress and gain info.
for your 1st question, the ingredients in the kits do not need to be boiled. the water your adding them to should be boiled before you add the kit/malt but i think this is more for steralisation. boiling is only really really important when doing an all grain(or partial) where the boil changes the sugars.
the only possible worry there is the "top up water" from the tap is not sterile and i'd say its possible but very unlikely to cause infection. after taking so much time to steralise everything nicely you then loaded it with *dirty* water.
2nd, blow off or airlock is a personal choice and either is fine. just try making sure the contents dont end up in the fermenter as happened to me when i put in the airlock and then decided to move the fermenter. the water should not need to be changed. now you might see why some people use vodka in there. sterile and not damaging if it does end up in the fermenter.
3rd for the gelatin check this out https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/gelatin-28224/

lets not forget i am as much an amature as you but i see no one had yet replied and i thought if i get in here someone will piont out my obvious mistakes. good luck

Thanks for the encouragment Scrawbag!

Just bottled the beer today. Tasted like a plain, boring, flat, major brewery draft. Nothing tasted strange, it was actually pretty drinkable. Didn't end up using gelatin to clear, just let it go on it's own. I did put the carboy in the mud room, which runs in the middle 50's, for a couple of days. Thinking that would work as a poor man's cold crash. Took one last gravity reading at bottling and it finished up at 1.011 or so.

Going to make the same cheap Doric kit again, but this time with Nottingham and hopefully adding some EK Goldings to the boil to hop it up a bit. I'm going to keep working on this cheap kit, adding a change to hopping, maybe adding some additional LME or some DME if I can get my hands on some. I plan on trying to wash and re-use the Nottingham when my next batch is complete.

The wife wants me to make her some wine, so I'm a little worried I won't get back to my beer as fast as I'd like.

Wow! I was not expecting much from this beer, but it's not too bad. I let it ferment cold and slow, and it ended up pretty clear and crisp. Even my wife likes it. My only issue is it drinks too easy and it's going to be gone before I can get the next batch drinkable.....