CypressTop
Active Member
Hello, New to brewing beer and have a couple of questions before I start my first batch this evening.
I purchased a True Brew - Oktoberfest kit and am going to use it for my first batch.
1. The kit suggests a partial boil, then to add to cold water. Should I proceed with a partial boil as directed or should I perform a full boil? Would this reduce the contamination risk from the cold water?
2. Should I ferment as directed for a week in primary, and then bottle, or should I ferment for a week in primary and then rack to a secondary? If I rack to secondary, I assume I should ensure hydrometer reading is stable for a few days before bottling.
3. I heard filtered/spring water is best. Distilled water should not be used as there are no minerals in distilled water that the yeast need. Is this true?
4. My fermenting equipment consists of a Bottling bucket with spigot and arlock hole and a 6.5 Glass carboy. Is is ok to perform primary fermentation in the bottling bucket? I am concerned about possible contamination and or leaks from spigot. I was thinking of getting a second 6.5 Glass carboy, performing primary in one and then rack to second one for secondary, then rack to botting bucket for bottling. This would also allow for a future rotation of carbys.
5. What is the best way to cool wort, keeping the risk of contamination at bay, if I do full boil, without a wort chiller. Budget may not allow for wort chiller it on first batch.
Thanks for any info that you can offer, and I look forward to making great beer!
CypressTop
I purchased a True Brew - Oktoberfest kit and am going to use it for my first batch.
1. The kit suggests a partial boil, then to add to cold water. Should I proceed with a partial boil as directed or should I perform a full boil? Would this reduce the contamination risk from the cold water?
2. Should I ferment as directed for a week in primary, and then bottle, or should I ferment for a week in primary and then rack to a secondary? If I rack to secondary, I assume I should ensure hydrometer reading is stable for a few days before bottling.
3. I heard filtered/spring water is best. Distilled water should not be used as there are no minerals in distilled water that the yeast need. Is this true?
4. My fermenting equipment consists of a Bottling bucket with spigot and arlock hole and a 6.5 Glass carboy. Is is ok to perform primary fermentation in the bottling bucket? I am concerned about possible contamination and or leaks from spigot. I was thinking of getting a second 6.5 Glass carboy, performing primary in one and then rack to second one for secondary, then rack to botting bucket for bottling. This would also allow for a future rotation of carbys.
5. What is the best way to cool wort, keeping the risk of contamination at bay, if I do full boil, without a wort chiller. Budget may not allow for wort chiller it on first batch.
Thanks for any info that you can offer, and I look forward to making great beer!
CypressTop