Boodlemania
Well-Known Member
Hi all.
Been lurking here for a while. Took the plunge this weekend. Bought a Brewer's Best starter kit with two (6 gal and 5 gal) glass carboys. Tried an extract kit with specialty grains (Brewer's Best German Altbier).
Problems/observations I had:
1. Didn't fully realize that I needed a "violent" boil until about 10 minutes into the 60 minute boil time. Added some time to compensate.
2. Never had issue with boilover. Barely had much foam during the entire boil.
3. Used the no-rinse cleaner that came with the kit, which left a haze on my stuff.
4. Didn't have a cylinder to do an OG reading, though I had a hydrometer. Oops.
5. Had some trouble quick-cooling the wort, so don't know if I had a good "cold break" or not. I put the cooker in the sink with ice water and left it there for 45 minutes, adding ice as needed.
6. Didn't have a candy thermometer or other method of determining the temperature of the wort prior to racking it to the carboy. When I racked, the carboy temp went to 82F.
7. Pitched the yeast at 80-81F.
8. Put vodka in the airlock.
9. Put carboy in cooler with a wet towel, water w/jugs of ice, and a fan. 2 hrs later, temp was 68F. Removed ice and went to bed.
10. Got up this AM and had about a 3-inch krauzen in the carboy, airlock happily bubbling away, temperature of 64F. Dropped the fan speed and came to work.
So, how bad did I screw up on my first attempt?
Been lurking here for a while. Took the plunge this weekend. Bought a Brewer's Best starter kit with two (6 gal and 5 gal) glass carboys. Tried an extract kit with specialty grains (Brewer's Best German Altbier).
Problems/observations I had:
1. Didn't fully realize that I needed a "violent" boil until about 10 minutes into the 60 minute boil time. Added some time to compensate.
2. Never had issue with boilover. Barely had much foam during the entire boil.
3. Used the no-rinse cleaner that came with the kit, which left a haze on my stuff.
4. Didn't have a cylinder to do an OG reading, though I had a hydrometer. Oops.
5. Had some trouble quick-cooling the wort, so don't know if I had a good "cold break" or not. I put the cooker in the sink with ice water and left it there for 45 minutes, adding ice as needed.
6. Didn't have a candy thermometer or other method of determining the temperature of the wort prior to racking it to the carboy. When I racked, the carboy temp went to 82F.
7. Pitched the yeast at 80-81F.
8. Put vodka in the airlock.
9. Put carboy in cooler with a wet towel, water w/jugs of ice, and a fan. 2 hrs later, temp was 68F. Removed ice and went to bed.
10. Got up this AM and had about a 3-inch krauzen in the carboy, airlock happily bubbling away, temperature of 64F. Dropped the fan speed and came to work.
So, how bad did I screw up on my first attempt?