First batch in the bucket!

So I went to visit my friend in London last month and the day I got there, he pulled out his new beer brewing kit and we did a wheat ale. I was in town for 2 weeks so the day I left, we bottled it. Book ended my visit with brewing and bottling. I've wanted to try this for a while but always thought it was way more time consuming than it ended up being. So when I got home I ordered my own kit.

I really wanted to start with something easy but the kit I bought at my local homebrew shop had a few more steps than I expected. I honestly am not sure I did it all correctly. First I had to steep some grains and I might have squeezed them which I know now is a no-no. Then the instructions weren't 100% clear to me but it appears I was supposed to boil for 60 minutes with most of the ingredients but there were 30 more minutes past that with some additional hops added throughout. I did get my wort chilled pretty quick with an ice bath (20 or 30 minutes) and its all bubbling now in my bucket.

The recipe also calls for a second fermentation step with one more addition of hops which I need to go buy a carboy for next weekend. Even with the extra complexity, just having done this once with my friend cut my time down significantly. Took about 4 1/2 hours with the disinfecting included. In the future I think I can save some more time by disinfecting while I boil.

I guess this is the hard part now...waiting?

Welcome to the obsession,as everyone says. It's fine that you squeezed your grains, although some would argue against. I do BIAB and always squeezed. A little longer boil is no biggie either. It will up your IBU's some, not much else.
Yes, as Tom Petty says, "The waiting is the hardest part" You will probably cave and sample a bottle early, but no harm, you will see what a "green" beer taste like. Then when it is ready, you'll see how much a few more weeks adds to your beer.

Welcome. Your hops can be added in the primary after fermentation is complete.

Dovage said:

Welcome to the obsession,as everyone says. It's fine that you squeezed your grains, although some would argue against. I do BIAB and always squeezed. A little longer boil is no biggie either. It will up your IBU's some, not much else.
Yes, as Tom Petty says, "The waiting is the hardest part" You will probably cave and sample a bottle early, but no harm, you will see what a "green" beer taste like. Then when it is ready, you'll see how much a few more weeks adds to your beer.

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When I did this with my friend last month we sampled the beer at bottling time. It was flat and warm but that was part of the fun. I'm sure I'll do the same again.

Colorowdy said:

Welcome. Your hops can be added in the primary after fermentation is complete.

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I figured that was the case but it probably doesn't hurt to get a carboy anyway

I pitched on Saturday night and now this morning I went and checked it and I must have had some big activity last night since my airlock is full of wort and still bubbling away and there's a little on the top of the bucket lid. I assume everything is alright though.

codefox said:

When I did this with my friend last month we sampled the beer at bottling time. It was flat and warm but that was part of the fun. I'm sure I'll do the same again.

I figured that was the case but it probably doesn't hurt to get a carboy anyway

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I've brewed hundreds of batches and I almost always sample my beer at every step of the way. It's a good way to understand where certain flavors come from, and as you progress you will be able to tell what the final product is going to taste like.

I honestly wouldn't bother with a 5gallon carboy. If I were you I'd use the primary bucket to dry hop this beer. And buy a second primary bucket or carboy to get another batch going. Trust me you will use a second 6.5gal primary a lot more often than you will a 5 gal carboy.

So after a week is over I can just throw the last hops in the bucket and put the lid back on? I don't want 2 batches going quite yet. I want to see how this comes out first.

codefox said:

So after a week is over I can just throw the last hops in the bucket and put the lid back on? I don't want 2 batches going quite yet. I want to see how this comes out first.

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Yessir.

You say you want to wait, but... after its done in the fermenter you've got another 3 or so weeks to wait for carbonation. If you don't already have a second batch going before you bottle you're looking at 6 or more weeks before you can enjoy a different homebrew . But, if you get a second batch going soon they will only be a week or two off so you can have some variety.

We're all quite addicted by the way. I have 6 different beers going right now, and that doesn't count the ones I have bulk aging in my basement (12 more).

codefox said:

I pitched on Saturday night and now this morning I went and checked it and I must have had some big activity last night since my airlock is full of wort and still bubbling away and there's a little on the top of the bucket lid. I assume everything is alright though.

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With that vigorous a fermentation, you might want to consider a blowoff tube.

What can sometimes happen is that the airlock can get clogged with wort gunk. if that happens and the gas can no longer escape through it, it's possible that the building pressure could potentially blow the lid off the top of the fermenter and make one heck of a mess.

A blowoff tube is very easy to install, and just about everything you need probably came with your kit. Just sanitize the tubing, remove the airlock, and shove one end of the tubing in the hole where the airlock was. Put the other end of the tubing in some kind of vessel with water (I put some sanitizer in the water). This gives the gunk a much bigger path to escape without clogging the tube and still allows gas to escape without risking anything getting back into your beer.

After a few/several days when the most vigorous part of the fermentation is complete, you can put the airlock back in place.

Welcome to the hobby!

Channel66 said:

We're all quite addicted by the way. I have 6 different beers going right now, and that doesn't count the ones I have bulk aging in my basement (12 more).

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Well, the biggest problem I have with 2 batches at once is I don't have nearly enough bottles for that. 8) (A problem I'm working on diligently...)

Mozart said:

With that vigorous a fermentation, you might want to consider a blowoff tube.

What can sometimes happen is that the airlock can get clogged with wort gunk. if that happens and the gas can no longer escape through it, it's possible that the building pressure could potentially blow the lid off the top of the fermenter and make one heck of a mess.

A blowoff tube is very easy to install, and just about everything you need probably came with your kit. Just sanitize the tubing, remove the airlock, and shove one end of the tubing in the hole where the airlock was. Put the other end of the tubing in some kind of vessel with water (I put some sanitizer in the water). This gives the gunk a much bigger path to escape without clogging the tube and still allows gas to escape without risking anything getting back into your beer.

After a few/several days when the most vigorous part of the fermentation is complete, you can put the airlock back in place.

Welcome to the hobby!

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Well, I did at least put the bucket in a bathtub and am watching it closely today. I don't have the time to deal with it until later tonight by which point the most vigorous part of this might be done since that will be a couple days in. I think part of the problem may have been I put the airlock too far into the bucket. I've pulled it up a bit and that seemed to help keep more wort (or whatever it is) from coming up. I have one of those cup style airlocks which seems like it'd be less prone to clogging but I will definitely keep an eye on it!

I feel like I have that goo in my bucket from Ghostbusters 2

You'll want to take that out and clean it up when you can, then add some star san back in it. If it gets too full, the beer can fall back into the bucket and you may risk an infection. Not something you want on your first batch.

It sounds like the instructions said to do a 90 minute boil? It is done with lagers & the like with mash out temps,etc. But with steeping? Normally,you steep the grains,maybe sparge (rinse) them to get your boil volume. Then add about 2 pounds of the extract to the boil,adding LME off the heat so it doesn't scortch when it goes straight to the bottom. Then bring to a boil,watching for the foamy hot break right before it boils,if any. When it boils,add the bittering hop addition. Flavor additions are usually 25-10 minutes left in the boil. 3-5 minutes left for aroma additions. That's atypical anyway of most kits here.
And def rig a blow off tube next time. But do keep the airlock cleaned out & sanitized. I picked up a few extra airlocks for my 2 fermenters,so I can change them out quicker. I use cheap grocery store vodka in my airlocks,since Starsan foams up & out with all the bubbling. Vodka dosen't,& anything that settles into it dies of alcohol poisoning.

I have b-brite...I can pull the airlock and re-san it quickly during lunch if you all think that's necessary. The liquid is well below the level of the tube though...I don't see any way that anything is going to fall back into the beer tbh

The problem comes in when initial fermentation slows to a crawl to finish fermenting down to FG. At that point,the temp starts going down,& a partial vacuum is created. This causes a suck back through the airlock,& all that nastie stuff gets sucked into the fermenter. That's why it needs to be kept clean,& why I use cheap vodka in mine.

I really like the idea of cheap vodka...I didn't understand what you meant at first by that. I'll pick some up at lunch today and sanitize my airlock and put it back on with that in there. Its going like gangbusters right now so I'm not worried for the time being. Stupid question...could I just sanitize the airlock with the vodka rather than the sanitizer? Seems like that would have the same effect

I spray the stalk of the cleaned airlock with Starsan I keep in a spray bottle,So when the stalk goes into the grommet in the FV lid,it won't bugger anything. Then fill to the line with the cheap vodka. Works fine for me. For a while,I bought the cheap vodka in those 1/2 gallon plastic jugs. They make great blow off jugs 1/3 full of water with a splash of Starsan.

I only have b-brite for the moment but that's what I used. And refilled with vodka. Hopefully that will all be enough.

I'm in the same boat - primary'd & pitched last Tuesday, fermentation lasted til Friday, and now I'm in the business of keeping the primary under 75F during this hot summer weather. Batch #2 gonna get cooked up soon.

As Tom Petty once said, waiting is the hardest part, but it won't be so difficult once I've already got some home brew to drink. It's this first batch that's making me impatient.

Well, the dry hops are in now and since I had it cracked open (what a great aroma wafted out 8) ) I spooned some into a glass for a little taste. I'm very happy with how this coming out! It was pretty decent warm and not completely finished. Will it stay as cloudy as it was?

No,it'll settle out. I wait till the beer hits FG & settles out clear or slightly misty to dry hop 7 days. You don't want the trub & yeast that make it cloudy in suspension while dry hopping. The hop oils coat the particulate matter & yeast cells & go to the bottom with them.

oh, well, I'll know for next time! it already tasted pretty good to me so even if its not perfect by the recipe standards, it'll come out fine once its done

It'd be better with more patience. If you pitched on the 22nd (saturday),it'd be only 9 days today. It usually takes about 3 weeks to let it finish fermenting & settle out clear or slightly misty. At the time it's settling out,it's also cleaning up by products of fermentartion.
Never be in too much of a hurry to get it into bottles. Patience will give better beer by giving it the time it needs to do the job fully. Even the bottle carbonation & conditioning phase typically takes 3-4 weeks at 70F or a bit more. Then a week in the fridge to get co2 into solution & settle out any chill haze that forms as it cools down.

Actually, yesterday was 9 days. But I'm in no rush...the instructions said do this step at 7 - 10 days and I waited till day 9. I know I won't be drinking this for over a month still. Trust me, patience has nothing to do with it...you don't know me (yet...I'm not going anywhere!) but if there are two things I could say about myself is that I'm a stickler for following directions and have more willpower than most people you'll meet. If the kit wanted me to wait longer it should have said so

No,it def would not. Instructions from kits,no matter who made it or who you buy it from,are notorius for being short & quick so you'll buy another kit soner. It's marketing by white collar types,& has little to do with the brewers that came up with the recipes. But don't take my word for it. Search the site & you'll see that I'm telling you the truth of it.

Do you have a hydrometer. If not get one asap. Take measurements for final gravity then proceed. In this case it would be dry hopping.

For your next brew learn about taking gravity readings and disregard any 7-10 days etc. timetable. Yeast do not have clocks and will do what they do on their own schedule.

When you bottle, be prepared to wait. At about 70 degrees it will take at least 2 weeks to carbonate properly and may take longer. I try one bottle at 2 weeks, but ALL of my beer tasted better after 3 weeks.

unionrdr said:

No,it def would not. Instructions from kits,no matter who made it or who you buy it from,are notrius for being short & quick so you'll buy another kit soner. It's marketing by white collar types,& has little to do with the brewers that came up with the recipes. But don't take my word for it. Search the site & you'll see that I'm telling you the truth of it.

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I'm sure I'll get better as I go...but I'm completely confident this is the best beer I've ever made so I'm not too worried about it.

kh54s10 said:

Do you have a hydrometer. If not get one asap. Take measurements for final gravity then proceed. In this case it would be dry hopping.

For your next brew learn about taking gravity readings and disregard any 7-10 days etc. timetable. Yeast do not have clocks and will do what they do on their own schedule.

When you bottle, be prepared to wait. At about 70 degrees it will take at least 2 weeks to carbonate properly and may take longer. I try one bottle at 2 weeks, but ALL of my beer tasted better after 3 weeks.

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Yeah, I do have a hydrometer and unfortunately I didn't really understand what to do with it. I have a better idea now and when I do my next one I fully intend to go by hydro readings to make sure I'm really letting the fermentation finish.

codefox said:

So after a week is over I can just throw the last hops in the bucket and put the lid back on? I don't want 2 batches going quite yet. I want to see how this comes out first.

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The more batches the better!