Specific First Brew Q!

Hey guys,

I've been reading this forum for awhile now, learning a lot, and I'm finally ready to brew! I just have two lingering questions I could use some help with...

1. Long story short, I have exactly 37 days to brew, is that enough time to go from extract kit to bottled product?

2. Heres a list of what I have / plan to buy, am I missing anything? Are there any items I can do with out? (Very tight, college budget)

Have:

- 5 gallon glass carboy
- Airlock
- 5 gallon kettle

Plan To Buy:

- 48 glass bottles/caps
- Capper
- Sanitizing agent
- Bottle filler
- Racking cane and tubing
- Food grade bottling bucket
- Pliny the elder extract kit, from morebeer

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, I'd love to hear everyone's thought's and input on the matter. I can't wait to start this new hobby!

Thanks

hydromiter
6.5/7.0 gal fermenter your 5 gal is great as a secondary but is too small for fermentation. its going to most likely blow out the top. if you cant get one cuz of budget use a blow off set up

37 days is plenty of time.

for me the brew goes from the brewpot to the bottle in 21 days, or less.

1 week primary
2 weeks secondary (if i'm using it).
bottle at 21 days, and then 3 weeks in the bottle.

for equipment, you need to get a hydrometer and flask, and a turkey baster (to pull samples).

and with using a 5 gallon carboy, you ABSOLUTELY want to invest in a blow-off tube, or you will be investing in cleaning supplies.

With only 37 days, you better get brewing. Figure 2 weeks to ferment, and another 2 weeks for your bottles to carbonate.

Your equipment is shy instruments. Minimum you'll need a thermometer and a hydrometer ($10-$15 at the most).

Cheers!

That should be enough time to brew, ferment, dryhop and bottle. I don't think it will be enough time to brew, bottle, and condition properly.

Fermenting in a 5 gallon carboy is going to be pretty tight especially for that big beer. Perhaps you could ferment in the bottling bucket and then move it for secondary to your carboy.

Also might i suggest you get some oxiclean free to clean your gear once you are done. There is a dollar store alternative (used to be Sun something) but they changed it up recently.

I would think you will need more than 2 weeks to properly bottle condition this beer. Sure it may take two weeks to ferment but you still need to dryhop for 2-3 weeks. So you need to weigh that in as well.

With all of those little things you have to get what are you looking at cost wise? Most of that stuff came with my first brew kit that I bought. I spent 75-80 bucks on it? It may be more cost effective for you to just buy a brand new kit? As I am still very new to this I am really not sure of exact prices and also I know that its going to fluctuate a little by store but it may be something worth looking into.

And as a side note I just picked up a beer thief from my local home brew shop the other day and I wanna say it was 8-12 bucks or something like that? I've seen people use them on brew day videos as well as checking FG and it seems to work really nice. Can't wait to use mine!

spring-tip bottling wand and NOT a gravity-tip

last bottling session, before I got my spring-tip, I lost a FULL BOTTLE of beer from the gravity-tip sticking open.

ONE WHOLE BOTTLE

the horror

btw... 37 days is long enough to brew it, ferment it, and bottle it, but probably not long enough to also drink it., unless you want to drink it "young".

so, it depends how long you will be gone, and whether you have someone to keep an eye on the brew for you while you are gone.

While we are on the subject of time. And I know this has to have been touched on before, but I am going to ask anyway. What is optimal time for a beer to age? I know that its gonna vary by style but if you guys had to average out the time from brew day/primary/secondary(if you use a secondary)/bottling/ to actually drinking what would you be averaging?

Erich8 said:

While we are on the subject of time. And I know this has to have been touched on before, but I am going to ask anyway. What is optimal time for a beer to age? I know that its gonna vary by style but if you guys had to average out the time from brew day/primary/secondary(if you use a secondary)/bottling/ to actually drinking what would you be averaging?

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As you yourself noted, this is largely a function of the beer style, but in my experience it changes slightly from batch to batch even for the same recipe, based on small variations in my process. That said, here are some rough estimates for styles I brew on a regular basis

In bottle peak age:

Nut brown ale 4-6 weeks
Porter 4-6 weeks
Standard stout 3-5 weeks
ESB 4-6 weeks
Bitter 3-5 weeks
Mild 3-5 weeks
IPA 3-5 weeks

Hope that's helpful.

Cheers!

@jerrodm Thanks for the reply, that actually does help out quite a bit as I have an IPA currently fermenting. It has been in the primary for a week now and I plan to dry hop at week two and let it sit for another week then bottle and I'll try it a week or so later (if I can wait that long) so I am looking at 4 weeks.

Erich8 said:

@jerrodm Thanks for the reply, that actually does help out quite a bit as I have an IPA currently fermenting. It has been in the primary for a week now and I plan to dry hop at week two and let it sit for another week then bottle and I'll try it a week or so later (if I can wait that long) so I am looking at 4 weeks.

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Just remember bottle carbing can take up to 3 wks so that might throw off your schedule. With a healthy fermentation you can probably bottle a little sooner than you're planning but really make sure it's done so you don't get bombs.

Might I also suggest re-using pry off bottles from beer you've already drank. It will save you a lot of money. Glass bottles ain't cheap!

jsv1204 said:

Minimum you'll need a thermometer and a hydrometer

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Is the hydrometer necessary? If yes, why?

gcdowd said:

Might I also suggest re-using pry off bottles from beer you've already drank.

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Also, I've been thinking, provided I use a blow off tube can get away with only using my 5 gallon carboy? I don't get why I need a separate bottling bucket or second fermentation bucket. Couldn't I just use my 5 gallon kettle as a bottling bucket? And I dont think Im going to transfer to second fermentor, this is only my first attempt at brewing.. Does that sound reasonable?

I remember reading something that Revvy wrote. He said that big beer (like Pliny is) can easily take three weeks to ferment. Also, if its packing an 8% punch, it could take a while to carb up.

Ok good to know..

So can I get away with only my 5 gallon carboy? I don't see why I need a bottling bucket, I have my kettle..

Does your kettle have a valve? If not you can still use it for bottling if you put the bottle wand on the end of your siphon. I did it this way for a few batches when I first started out - it's not as easy as using a bucket with spigot but doable. I always needed an assistant though.

The 5 gallon carboy will be a little tight, you might want to go down a little on your batch size if you use it as a primary.

when I got my setup, it was a 5g glass carboy and a 6-7g plastic bucket with a spigot. If ur gonna buy a fermentation bucket the few bucks xtra for a spigot setup is worth it in my opinion. primary there, secondary in the carboy(if you do secondry) then back into the bucket at bottling time.

chickypad said:

Does your kettle have a valve? If not you can still use it for bottling if you put the bottle wand on the end of your siphon. I did it this way for a few batches when I first started out - it's not as easy as using a bucket with spigot but doable. I always needed an assistant though.

The 5 gallon carboy will be a little tight, you might want to go down a little on your batch size if you use it as a primary.

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No valve on kettle... I think ill siphon.

And do I need a hydrometer? why?

I wouldn't say a hydrometer is essential, but I highly recommend one. If you are brewing all grain, it's much more advisable. With extract, probably not so much. A hydrometer measures the specific gravity of the wort (how much sugar is in there). For extract brewing, the only reason you'd really want one is to ensure your final gravity is stable before you bottle.

The hydrometer confirms your results, helps to estimate alcohol content, and confirms that fermentation is complete before bottling. For the small cost you really should get one. If you really want to push quickly to drinking I would go for a more moderate beer (hoppy blonde or hefeweizen maybe) I'd be looking at 6-7 weeks from brew day to drinking with this beer. Fermentation will be longer, there is a dry hop step, and you are bottle conditioning.

grognerd said:

spring-tip bottling wand and not a gravity-tip

last bottling session, before i got my spring-tip, i lost a full bottle of beer from the gravity-tip sticking open.

One whole bottle

the horror

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nooooooooo!!!!!!!

Gartywood said:

The hydrometer confirms your results, helps to estimate alcohol content, and confirms that fermentation is complete before bottling. For the small cost you really should get one. If you really want to push quickly to drinking I would go for a more moderate beer (hoppy blonde or hefeweizen maybe) I'd be looking at 6-7 weeks from brew day to drinking with this beer. Fermentation will be longer, there is a dry hop step, and you are bottle conditioning.

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Ahhh, I just purchased the Pliny kit... Haha oh well, if it takes longer, its not the end of the world (Im a seriously busy student who wanted to brew this this strictly during my winter break).

I hope this was an ok brew for my first time? Ill keep everyone posted. Thanks guys for the help