First Brew

Did my first brew this morning, BB Altbier Kit.

I ended up with a OG of 1.033, kit says it should be a 1.048 on the low end.

I strained going into fermenter and still got a lot of hop pellet bits in the primary, not sure if this is going to be an issue, let me know what you think?

The foam has spread even across the top and I am getting almost a bubble every second or two.

Don't worry about the hops. They will settle out to the bottom.
1.033.....did you take that reading right after topping off? It might not have been mixed enough.

RugenBrau said:

Don't worry about the hops. They will settle out to the bottom.
1.033.....did you take that reading right after topping off? It might not have been mixed enough.

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I actually took one after topping off and it was at 1.025, then mixed it some in carboy and got 1.037(I posted wrong before with 1.033)

So I am about .011 off, maybe more mixing would have gotten an even better reading.

if its an extract or extract + steeping grains kit, just go by what the target OG was. if you topped with water its very difficult to get an accurate reading, in the future I suggest taking the reading before topping and calculating for the correct volume:
batch OG = post-boil OG * post-boil volume / batch volume

Hey I remember my first batch and all the things I learned from it and the batches following. Some of the things I wish that I considered early I listed here: http://winklerbrewery.blogspot.com/2010/12/random-tips-and-things-consider.html

let me know if you can think of anymore so I can add them.

FLBrewMeister said:

Hey I remember my first batch and all the things I learned from it and the batches following. Some of the things I wish that I considered early I listed here: http://winklerbrewery.blogspot.com/2010/12/random-tips-and-things-consider.html

let me know if you can think of anymore so I can add them.

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Expect to make a mess, even if it's just clean water and sanitizer.

haha that very very true.

ongreystreet said:

Expect to make a mess, even if it's just clean water and sanitizer.

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I think I will set my buckets in a plastic storage container for fermentation. I am considering filling it with some water for temperature stabilization. Water doesn't change temp very fast as the hvac system. That would also catch any mess that might happen.

That is very innovative and something to consider. I wonder how many people do that, its a pretty good way to isolate the fermenters i guess. It might prevent a brew mess but might still get things a little wet haha
good luck!

FLBrewMeister said:

That is very innovative and something to consider. I wonder how many people do that, its a pretty good way to isolate the fermenters i guess. It might prevent a brew mess but might still get things a little wet haha
good luck!

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I read about people in Florida doing it because they were having a hard time maintaining a 60-70 degree fermentation temp. They would drop a couple of frozen 2L plastic bottles of ice in the water as needed to keep things cooler.

This was at around 24 hrs.

ha that shows how dedicated brewers are.
I just went on craigslist and got a cheap chest freezer and then a temp. control. Works very well though the chest freezer which is pretty large and is sketching on me... at least i only through down $40 for it. Time to upgrade!

FLBrewMeister said:

ha that shows how dedicated brewers are.
I just went on craigslist and got a cheap chest freezer and then a temp. control. Works very well though the chest freezer which is pretty large and is sketching on me... at least i only through down $40 for it. Time to upgrade!

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Cheap is good, got my SS brew pot for $6 at a sorta odd lot store, it did have a very small dent.