Hello everyone first time poster, but I've been trolling around these forums for a little while now getting info on my first brew. I got started with a basic kit that has a 2 6.5 gal buckets (one for bottling) and all the rest of the basics a kit would come with. I did pick up an auto siphon even though I'm not going to use a secondary on this batch. I'm also using a new turkey fryer with a 30qt aluminum kettle. On to the brew day!
I used a Cream Ale kit from my LHBS .5lb Cara Malt, .25lb Wheat Malt (steeped at 150F for 30 mins). Then started 60 min boil, added 5lb Briess LME, 1oz. Northern Brewer hops (45 mins for boiling), 1oz. Crystal hops (10 mins finishing hop), 1 clarifying tablet (10 mins), Safale US-65 Dry Yeast pitched at 80F. Took an OG reading, 1.050.
Some problems I ran into... I completely forgot to oxidize the new aluminum pot and just went straight into steeping. Also scorched the bottom of the kettle since I did not stir the LME well enough before I put the heat back on. I brewed outside on a sunny windy day and don't know how much evaporation took place since I ended up with closer to 4.5 gallons. It took waaaaay longer than I wanted to get down to 80F (around 50 mins). I added 2 gals of cold water to the kettle when the boil was done, then put in a bath tub since the kettle wouldnt fit in the sink. I also used a strainer when moving from the kettle to the primary, but not sure if that was necessary.
This post ended up being longer than I thought. I had counted on having some blunders on the first batch, but I have seen signs of bubbling in the airlock about 10 hours after so this must be a good sign! Let me know any advice you all may have.
Cheers
I used a Cream Ale kit from my LHBS .5lb Cara Malt, .25lb Wheat Malt (steeped at 150F for 30 mins). Then started 60 min boil, added 5lb Briess LME, 1oz. Northern Brewer hops (45 mins for boiling), 1oz. Crystal hops (10 mins finishing hop), 1 clarifying tablet (10 mins), Safale US-65 Dry Yeast pitched at 80F. Took an OG reading, 1.050.
Some problems I ran into... I completely forgot to oxidize the new aluminum pot and just went straight into steeping. Also scorched the bottom of the kettle since I did not stir the LME well enough before I put the heat back on. I brewed outside on a sunny windy day and don't know how much evaporation took place since I ended up with closer to 4.5 gallons. It took waaaaay longer than I wanted to get down to 80F (around 50 mins). I added 2 gals of cold water to the kettle when the boil was done, then put in a bath tub since the kettle wouldnt fit in the sink. I also used a strainer when moving from the kettle to the primary, but not sure if that was necessary.
This post ended up being longer than I thought. I had counted on having some blunders on the first batch, but I have seen signs of bubbling in the airlock about 10 hours after so this must be a good sign! Let me know any advice you all may have.
Cheers