Going to do my first brew Wednesday.

Hey guys, I am going to be doing my first brew on Wednesday and I had a few questions first. Here is a list of questions I have for each step. Thanks for any help in advance!

1. Sanitize all equipment and put it off to the side. I plan on sanitizing everything with san star in one of my buckets. I will also clean out my brew kettle with pbw or something (I don’t think it really matters since it will be hot anyway right?)

2. Put grains into muslin bag and add two gallons of water to the pot. Bring to 155 degrees and add the grains in the bag for 15-30 mins (How do I know when to stop? My instructions say 15-30 minutes).

3. Bring pot to a boil and then take off burner and add malt extract and after it starts boiling again add hops. Let boil for 60 minutes (Do I need to keep the temp at a certain level here or do I just keep it to a boil for a full 60 minutes?)

4. Pour wort into the fermenter after cooling down and top off with water.

5. Add yeast. I am going to be using dry yeast, do I need to mix it with water or can I just pour it in?

1. Sanitation is the most important part. Don't worry about sanitizing anything that happens before the boil, just make sure its relatively clean. No need to use expensive PBW on your kettle. Just rinse it out. I usually start the sanitation process 5 min before the end of the boil.

2. Just time the mash to whatever the instructions say. Don't over shoot the temperature by too much.

3. Make sure all the extract is incorporated and stirred in before you move the pot back on the heat. If there is extract sitting on the bottom of the pot it will burn. Just keep it hot enough for a rolling boil (lid off!).

4. Use a sanitized thermometer to make sure the wort is about 80 degrees before topping off with cool water. This will bring you down to about 70 when you top off.

5. For your first time, just pitch it, you already have enough to worry about! Just sprinkle it in an even layer across the top of the fermenter (assuming its a bucket and not a carboy).

Sanitize everything is good. Steep your grains at least the 15 min. Steep until u get the desired color for your style. I would add half of the extract at the beginning and half with about 15 min left in the boil. Reduces scorching, and will stop your wort from darkening. Don't forget to aerate the wort after you top off, and before you pitch the yeast. I sometimes rehydrate my yeast, but have also just pitched it dry. All preference. Have a blast brewing!!

jayy42 said:

1. Sanitation is the most important part. Don't worry about sanitizing anything that happens before the boil, just make sure its relatively clean. No need to use expensive PBW on your kettle. Just rinse it out. I usually start the sanitation process 5 min before the end of the boil.

2. Just time the mash to whatever the instructions say. Don't over shoot the temperature by too much.

3. Make sure all the extract is incorporated and stirred in before you move the pot back on the heat. If there is extract sitting on the bottom of the pot it will burn. Just keep it hot enough for a rolling boil (lid off!).

4. Use a sanitized thermometer to make sure the wort is about 80 degrees before topping off with cool water. This will bring you down to about 70 when you top off.

5. For your first time, just pitch it, you already have enough to worry about! Just sprinkle it in an even layer across the top of the fermenter (assuming its a bucket and not a carboy).

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Thanks! Good info.

I have a carboy and a bucket but I am just going to use the bucket for the first time and not move it to a secondary. I think it will be easier that way and I don't have a funnel to get it into the carboy so I can't use that as my primary.

Also be careful about fermentation temperatures. I pitched yeast too hot which I guess caused the yeast to go crazy and get hotter still.

1.you only need to sanitize equiptment that comes in contact with wort post boil, everything else just soap and water clean.
2.what i do is put the grains in as the water is heating up and remove them when the temp reaches about 170, you get a little bit extra if you rinse the grains after removing the bag with a quart or so of water.
3.full boil on high the entire 60 min
5. you can rehydrate yeast by boiling and cooling 2 cups of water adding it to a sanitized container, pitch yeast and cover with tin foil, or you could just pitch it in the fermenter.
good luck on your first brew.

CatHead said:

Also be careful about fermentation temperatures. I pitched yeast too hot which I guess caused the yeast to go crazy and get hotter still.

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Yep, cool the wort to at least 65, then place it somewhere that's under 70.
I love my coal room, it's 60 degrees today. :rockin:

Rick

If this is a typical extract kit, I would just follow the directions given. Do that to get a feel of the brewing process. Then on your next kit, you can then see what you can tweak (bigger boil volumes, longer primary fermentation, etc.) to get better results.

Also, you mentioned you had a bucket and a carboy? If this is part of a starter kit you purchased, chances are your bucket is the primary and the carboy is the secondary. Most secondarys are 5 gallons instead of 6.

What are you brewing? If it's a simple recipe with no type of extra additions (hops, fruit, etc. after primary fermentation), then you could make it easier on you and not bother using your secondary fermentor. Just keep it in your bucket for an extra week, then transfer to your bottling bucket when you're ready to bottle.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Yesfan said:

If this is a typical extract kit, I would just follow the directions given. Do that to get a feel of the brewing process. Then on your next kit, you can then see what you can tweak (bigger boil volumes, longer primary fermentation, etc.) to get better results.

Also, you mentioned you had a bucket and a carboy? If this is part of a starter kit you purchased, chances are your bucket is the primary and the carboy is the secondary. Most secondarys are 5 gallons instead of 6.

What are you brewing? If it's a simple recipe with no type of extra additions (hops, fruit, etc. after primary fermentation), then you could make it easier on you and not bother using your secondary fermentor. Just keep it in your bucket for an extra week, then transfer to your bottling bucket when you're ready to bottle.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

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Yeah the carboy is 5 gallons and is meant to be the secondary but I dont plan on using a secondary fermentor for my first batch. Seems pointless to me.

Could I use the carboy as the primary if I wanted to though?

philly224 said:

Yeah the carboy is 5 gallons and is meant to be the secondary but I dont plan on using a secondary fermentor for my first batch. Seems pointless to me.

Could I use the carboy as the primary if I wanted to though?

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If you can figure out how to put 5.25 gallons of wort in to a 5 gallon carboy without the krausen going all over you can. Why not use that carboy for something else, like apfelwine or cider?

RM-MN said:

If you can figure out how to put 5.25 gallons of wort in to a 5 gallon carboy without the krausen going all over you can. Why not use that carboy for something else, like apfelwine or cider?

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Haha sounds good.

Is there a good chance I am going to want to use a secondary eventually or should I just plan on using it for something else.

don't forget to aerate(stir)the wort after you add the top off water, and before you pitch the yeast. then take a hydrometer reading to get your original gravity(OG). Gravity readings between your OG and your FG(Final Gravity) will give you your Alcohol by volume(ABV) content. The FG is taken after fermentation is complete. Usually in 7-14 days.

dmashl said:

don't forget to aerate(stir)the wort after you add the top off water, and before you pitch the yeast. then take a hydrometer reading to get your original gravity(OG). Gravity readings between your OG and your FG(Final Gravity) will give you your Alcohol by volume(ABV) content. The FG is taken after fermentation is complete. Usually in 7-14 days.

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Thats another question I had, how exactly do you take a hydrometer reading? I saw a lot of people use special tools to get the sample from the fermenter, how would I go about doing that without one?

I use a turkey baster( sanitized). you can use whats called a thief, also. everything that touches your wort or finished beer should be sanitized.

While testing the OG is a nice thing to do, don't get hung up on a strange reading. When you are working with extract and adding top off water, getting the dense wort to mix properly with the top off is very difficult. If you are doing a kit, you can depend on the predicted OG as long as you have the right amount of wort in the fermenter. It's good practice for using the hydrometer and you will want to use it when you think the ferment is over to verify that the yeast are finished before you bottle.

Any way that you can remove wort from the fermenter without adding oxygen or contaminating the wort will be fine. I now use a sanitized turkey baster but a sanitized measuring cup will work as well. Be aware that you shouldn't return the sample to the fermenter as that can be a source of contamination too. You can drink it or pour it out. I usually use the plastic tube that my hydrometer came in as a sample container. It is small diameter so I don't waste much if I pour it out but I've learned to watch that the end cap doesn't come out (broken hydrometer when the cap came off and it fell to the floor) and am really careful that it doesn't tip over with that small bottom to rest on.

Just did my first brew today, thanks for the advice guys! Hopefully the fermentation goes okay.

Decided to get a wort chiller for my second brew, I used ice last time but I paid 6 bucks for a bag which is pointless when I can just get a wort chiller.

Would one like this be good even if I switch to all grain eventually?

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/stainless-steel-immersion-wort-chiller-w-garden-hose-fittings.html

philly224 said:

Decided to get a wort chiller for my second brew, I used ice last time but I paid 6 bucks for a bag which is pointless when I can just get a wort chiller.

Would one like this be good even if I switch to all grain eventually?

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/stainless-steel-immersion-wort-chiller-w-garden-hose-fittings.html

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You will most likely want to at least try all grain brewing at some point. That is if you remain hooked on brewing which it seems like you already are. The chiller looks alright, doesn't have to be SS though. I've seen cheaper ones on eBay. Honestly though I made one myself from 20' of copper tubing and a garden hose fitting for about $30.

Been almost a week now, do you guys think it would be okay to bottle after 2 weeks or should I be safe and let it go 3?

The only way to really know is by hydrometer reading, the same reading over three days. That being said, I'd still let it set. Conditioning is conditioning, whether in primary, secondary, or bottle. Personally, my last batch stayed in primary for a month. Then went to bottle, crystal clear.

philly224 said:

Been almost a week now, do you guys think it would be okay to bottle after 2 weeks or should I be safe and let it go 3?

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I've found that my beer seems to be ready to drink sooner if I let it sit in the fermenter longer. That seems counter intuitive but the big yeast cake seems to help the beer mature so instead of 2 weeks in the primary and 3 in the bottles I might go 3 weeks in the primary and 1 week in the bottles to get the same tasting beer. Mind you, the beer still tastes better with more time in the bottles but I get a beer that is pleasant to drink sooner.

RM-MN said:

I usually use the plastic tube that my hydrometer came in as a sample container. It is small diameter so I don't waste much if I pour it out but I've learned to watch that the end cap doesn't come out (broken hydrometer when the cap came off and it fell to the floor) and am really careful that it doesn't tip over with that small bottom to rest on.

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I'm also a noob. Is there any reason that you can't sanitize the hydrometer and set directly into the fermenter full of wort for a reading?

unionrdr said:

It's harder to read accurately from a steep downward angle.

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Makes sense. Thanks

What is the best way to sanitize bottles? I got the labels off my just soaking them in warm water and was planning on sanitizing them in the dishwasher. I feel like I should probably soak them in some kind of cleaner first though, people drank out of the bottles so some kind of cleaner is probably necessary right? I was thinking about just soaking them in san star...good idea or no?

I've been known to put them in the dishwasher with some star San in the tray. But many people just use the sanitize setting.

philly224 said:

What is the best way to sanitize bottles? I got the labels off my just soaking them in warm water and was planning on sanitizing them in the dishwasher. I feel like I should probably soak them in some kind of cleaner first though, people drank out of the bottles so some kind of cleaner is probably necessary right? I was thinking about just soaking them in san star...good idea or no?

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First, make sure the insides are clean. If these are used bottles, and you didn't immediately rinse them, you'll want to use a bottle brush on the insides.

I clean my bottles with PBW. Other popular options are B-Brite, Straight-A, or just plain old unscented oxyclean.

Once they're cleaned, you need to sanitize them. The high temperatures of your dishwasher will work, provided you have a high temperature dishwasher (if it's new, and energy star compliant, it might not have high enough temperatures - most older dishwashers are just fine).

A more popular method to sanitizing is to use a sanitizing solution, such as iodophor or star san (I use iodophor, but star san seems to be more popular). You can simply let the bottles soak in the solution, or you can buy a vinator and use it to spray up into the bottles.

Once sanitized, you should store them upside down in their box (put a clean towel or paper towel on the bottom of the box first!) or on a bottle tree. Stored this way, they'll stay sanitized for up to a day (though if it gets to that, I usually resanitize anyhow!).

Going to do brew round number 3 this weekend and I am going to try a full boil this time. I am trying do decide how many gallons of water to start with, last time I boiled 5 gallons and lost about a gallon during the boil. For a full boil should I go 6 or 6.5 gallons? I don't want to end up with too much.

philly224 said:

Going to do brew round number 3 this weekend and I am going to try a full boil this time. I am trying do decide how many gallons of water to start with, last time I boiled 5 gallons and lost about a gallon during the boil. For a full boil should I go 6 or 6.5 gallons? I don't want to end up with too much.

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I start with 6 gallons. I like to have room for top water, so I can use ice to cool the wort.

I am going to brew this over the weekend.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/noble-trappist-ale.html

The instructions say to boil 1.5 - 2 gallons of water at the least but you should add more if you can. Do you think I'd be okay with a full boil? I am kind of confused about hop utilization, are these kits usually designed for full boils? Wouldn't that mean if you didn't do a full boil like probably a majority of the people getting extract kits like this it would not have the proper hop utilization?

philly224 said:

I am going to brew this over the weekend.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/noble-trappist-ale.html

The instructions say to boil 1.5 - 2 gallons of water at the least but you should add more if you can. Do you think I'd be okay with a full boil? I am kind of confused about hop utilization, are these kits usually designed for full boils? Wouldn't that mean if you didn't do a full boil like probably a majority of the people getting extract kits like this it would not have the proper hop utilization?

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You'll be best off with a full boil. But you'll be ok with 2-3 gallons. I wouldn't do less, unless you have to.

masterfool101 said:

You'll be best off with a full boil. But you'll be ok with 2-3 gallons. I wouldn't do less, unless you have to.

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I am just going to do a full boil then, I just wanted to make sure I didn't have to adjust the recipe at all. Thanks!

I think I might have frigged up this batch.

I brewed this: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/noble-trappist-ale.html over the weekend and pitched with dry yeast when I got it cooled to about 70ish degrees. I had it fermenting in a room that stays right at about 68 degrees but the airlock is going all out and I think my temp my be a bit high. Think I should move the fermenter to my basement (usually about 55-60 degrees) or just ride it out at 68? Its been fermenting for about 24 hrs now.

philly224 said:

I think I might have frigged up this batch.

I brewed this: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/noble-trappist-ale.html over the weekend and pitched with dry yeast when I got it cooled to about 70ish degrees. I had it fermenting in a room that stays right at about 68 degrees but the airlock is going all out and I think my temp my be a bit high. Think I should move the fermenter to my basement (usually about 55-60 degrees) or just ride it out at 68? Its been fermenting for about 24 hrs now.

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Depends on your yeast. What is the recommended temp range? Note that with most Belgian ales, you actually WANT some of he esters that come with warmer fermentation. But it won't hurt to cool it down some. Just don't cool it too quickly, or the yeast can drop out on you.