A little confused......

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bell0347

bell0347

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New brewer here. Just a few quick redundnat (i'm sure) questions.

Iodophor...Air dry or rinse with hot tap water then air dry?

Brewing with liquid extract....Boil a full hour or just 20-30 minutes? Don't want to burn it or carmelize it.

Boiling temp....Just a good rolling boil or should I shoot for a certain temp range? Again, afraid of burning it

Wooden spoon...Should be ok in the boiling wort since it is boiling right?

Hot break....Not exactly sure I understand what this is or how to tell if you have it.


Flame out....What is this?


Thanks for any help here.
 
Iodophor...Air dry or rinse with hot tap water then air dry?
Mix according to instructions and don't rinse.

Brewing with liquid extract....Boil a full hour or just 20-30 minutes? Don't want to burn it or carmelize it.
Do a full boil with 25% or so of the extract so hop utilization is correct and add the remainder of the extract the last 15 minutes of the boil.

Boiling temp....Just a good rolling boil or should I shoot for a certain temp range? Again, afraid of burning it
Just make sure it is well mixed and there isn't any extract sitting on the bottom of the pot and do a good rolling boil.

Wooden spoon...Should be ok in the boiling wort since it is boiling right?
Yes, but only as part of the boil or pre-boil and not used in the cooled wort. Wood can harbor bacteria.

Hot break....Not exactly sure I understand what this is or how to tell if you have it.
Probably won't have too much with extract. But any present will look like egg drop soup. Don't worry about it, it will settle out in primary and won't cause any issues.


Flame out....What is this?
When you turn off the heat after boil is complete.


Thanks for any help here.
 
bell0347 said:
New brewer here. Just a few quick redundnat (i'm sure) questions.

Iodophor...Air dry or rinse with hot tap water then air dry?

Brewing with liquid extract....Boil a full hour or just 20-30 minutes? Don't want to burn it or carmelize it.

Boiling temp....Just a good rolling boil or should I shoot for a certain temp range? Again, afraid of burning it

Wooden spoon...Should be ok in the boiling wort since it is boiling right?

Hot break....Not exactly sure I understand what this is or how to tell if you have it.


Flame out....What is this?


Thanks for any help here.
Click to expand...

Idophor is a contact killer - don't rinse it or dry it...

Boil for what your recipe says (usually an hour); but when you add the extract, turn off the heat and stir until completely dissolved

boiling temp - it varies with your altitude - focus on a gentle boil and not a specific temp -- be careful adding hops to a boil; you can easily boil over

wooden spoon - you'll be safer with a metal one

hot break - it's what happens to the proteins when they get real hot; you'll see it when your boil (keep an eye out or you'll boil over!)

flame out - it's when you turn the flame off (others sometimes refer to it as a "0" addition)

good luck
 
1. not sure, i don't use this stuff. someone will be along shortly to answer, i'm sure.

2. Boil the full hour. To avoid carmelizing or burning, just be sure to STIR STIR STIR while you are adding the extract. If it sinks to the bottom, it'll burn. If you keep it moving, it will mix in and the boiling action will take over.

3. any level of boiling happens at the same temp, so that doesn't help you. The trick is to keep it boiling enough that it keeps moving. I would describe it as a "light rolling boil". there's no advantage to having it boiling so much that it splashes out of the brewpot, that just makes a mess. However, you have to keep it actually boiling. Simmering isn't enough as there are some chemical byproducts that must be driven off with the steam.

4. I'd avoid a wooden spoon altogether. Sure it's fine while the wort is boiling, but how are you going to stir while it cools? Just find a stainless or plastic stirring instrument, they're easier to clean anyways.

5. Hot break is the foamy stuff that tries to boil over the side of the pot when your extract comes up to temp. The trick is to get the wort up to a boil and IMMEDIATELY reduce the heat to the lowest possible amount that doesn't stop the boil. In practice you'll find the the heat must be reduced to almost off to avoid the dreaded boil-over. At this point a spray bottle with water will help you to knock down the foam. After a while you'll notice that the foam that comes up will fall back down into the pot on it's own. THAT is the 'break' part of the term "hot break". Once this happens, slowly start turning up the heat until you get the "light rolling boil" that I described earlier.

6. "flame-out" is when you turn off the heat at the end of the boil. Some recipes call for additions of hops, spices, orange peel, etc. at flame-out. That means that you turn off the heat and make the additions. The wort is still boiling, so the additions DO effect the final product. Sometimes those additions are the most noticeable because the lighter chemical compounds don't have time to boil away.
 
shafferpilot said:
dang! how's that for prompt service. Nice work guys/gals
Click to expand...

The best part is all our answers were essentially the same! good thing he didn't ask:

glass carboy or better bottle?
aerate by oxygen or just shaking?
how long in the primary?
liquid or dry?
starter or no?
 
AZ_IPA said:
The best part is all our answers were essentially the same! good thing he didn't ask:

glass carboy or better bottle?
aerate by oxygen or just shaking?
how long in the primary?
liquid or dry?
starter or no?
Click to expand...

Hah - well since you brought it up.... :p

I'm looking to add another carboy to my lineup. Right now I have a glass primary and glass secondary. I'm thinking about going Better bottle for another primary.

Whats the debate?
 
json2001 said:
Quite the polarizing debate then? Now I'm quite curious!
Click to expand...

Not quite that bad... personally, I use glass carboys realizing the fact that one could easily slip and sever the cat's tail or a useful appendage on self.
I also want BetterBottles, but refuse to fork over nearly $100 for bottle, plus spigot, plus adapter, plus special installation tool, plus ad naseum.... I think they are sort of screwing their customers on the cost of the "things" that go with the BB. Aside from the pricing issue, it is a much safer solution realistically. There have been several threads over the last couple of days about severed arteries, stained carpets, etc because of accidents with glass carboys. So, this is somewhat of a timely question and the reason for the previous responses.
As a side-note, the SWMBO took a jab at me saying that they use carboys a lot where she is from and has never heard of a serious mishap. We get hurt here because we are clumsy. For that reason, I am still using the glass just to prove her wrong! :D
You know, the ol' "cut off your nose to spite your face" kind of thing. Instead, this time it is fingers, toes, etc!
 
bull8042 said:
Not quite that bad... personally, I use glass carboys realizing the fact that one could easily slip and sever the cat's tail or a useful appendage on self.
I also want BetterBottles, but refuse to fork over nearly $100 for bottle, plus spigot, plus adapter, plus special installation tool, plus ad naseum.... I think they are sort of screwing their customers on the cost of the "things" that go with the BB. Aside from the pricing issue, it is a much safer solution realistically. There have been several threads over the last couple of days about severed arteries, stained carpets, etc because of accidents with glass carboys. So, this is somewhat of a timely question and the reason for the previous responses.
As a side-note, the SWMBO took a jab at me saying that they use carboys a lot where she is from and has never heard of a serious mishap. We get hurt here because we are clumsy. For that reason, I am still using the glass just to prove her wrong! :D
You know, the ol' "cut off your nose to spite your face" kind of thing. Instead, this time it is fingers, toes, etc!
Click to expand...

Never even thought about it cutting me! Think I'm going to invest in one of those carriers for mine. Been reading about suckback on the Betterbottles and yes - the more expensive proprietary parts. Might just stay with glass - I don't carry mine around full much at all....except of course when I'm shaking the damn thing...next time I'll be sure to have safety in mind when doing this...or maybe its just time for an air stone.
 
bull8042 said:
Yup. I grew up in Mt. Airy, NC and could throw a rock into Virginia on a good day.
Richmond is a beautiful area, great off-roading too.
Click to expand...

Sweet! Yeah its a nice area, really pretty this time of year as well. As for the off roading - I used to ride shotgun in friends trucks back in high school and have a blast...atvs were even better - but i dont think my little hatchback would much appreciate that sort of treatment :)
 
bull8042 said:
Sorry, as this is kind of off-topic, but here is my ride. I haven't updated the site in months, so it is a little dated.
http://www.phpwebworks.net

I drive a smart car now, so this just sits in the driveway taking up space.
Click to expand...

Whoa! you have a big old badass truck! When I was living in cali, it seemed common for people to have a truck like that for recreation and a smart car for work/getting around. Does she have a name?

Cool ****! To get back on topic...I've had some home brews, and I've decided a ported better bottle might be my next purchase. You're thread scared me!
 
bull8042 said:
Not quite that bad... personally, I use glass carboys realizing the fact that one could easily slip and sever the cat's tail or a useful appendage on self.
I also want BetterBottles, but refuse to fork over nearly $100 for bottle, plus spigot, plus adapter, plus special installation tool, plus ad naseum.... I think they are sort of screwing their customers on the cost of the "things" that go with the BB.
Click to expand...

Now I'm confused. It seems unfair to compare a totally tricked out $100 BB to a glass carboy that can't possibly be tricked out.

I paid $21 a piece for 4 6 gal BBs delivered. Stoppers were $1 each. The same place had 5 gal glass only and they charged $55 plus $18 per for shipping.

Also I'm not as sure handed as I used to be so I feel uncomfortable with glass. Frankly BB is a godsend for me.
 
dontman said:
Now I'm confused. It seems unfair to compare a totally tricked out $100 BB to a glass carboy that can't possibly be tricked out.

I paid $21 a piece for 4 6 gal BBs delivered. Stoppers were $1 each. The same place had 5 gal glass only and they charged $55 plus $18 per for shipping.

Also I'm not as sure handed as I used to be so I feel uncomfortable with glass. Frankly BB is a godsend for me.
Click to expand...

No, you are exactly right. There is no question that the BB is the better way to go safety-wise. It just aggravated me when I was looking to replace my glass and decided how nice it would be to be able to drain instead of siphon. To get the ported version, it was going to cost a bloody fortune. And getting the non-ported version and adding the spigot later is not really an option since drilling polycarbonate is quite risky and you stand a good chance of destroying your bottle.
No question in my mind as to which is better. It just sucks that they value their "other" pieces of plastic so highly.
 

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