Beginning First Beer Home Brew Tonight - Tips?

Hey guys,

I'm a new member, and I spend most of my time browsing the Mead forum. I recently decided to branch off into brewing some beer, so I picked up a starter pack from my LHBS today (Brewer's Best Cream Ale).

I picked up the supplies (carboy, cork, airlock, etc) to go with the kit, and I'm going to start in an hour or so.

Just wanted to know if there are any tips for using this BB pack specifically, or any general tips for a first brew.

Thanks!

BB kits are easy to use. I've made 2. I'm wanting to try the cream ale. Let us know how it goes!

The best tip I can give you is to follow directions and Have Fun!

Take your time and DON"T PANIC

you will make beer and you will not make poison. take your time be patient and have fun.

Have fun brewing your first beer........and enjoy drinking your last commercial brews. :cross:

Have fun and sanitize anything and everything that touches post boil wort.
Go slow, post questions as you go if possible.
Someone is always on here to answer in a short period of time.

I agree! Follow the directions, be very thorough in your sanitizing and what you do with equipment post boil and post questions as they come up while you're brewing!! People will respond! Enjoy! Have fun! And make a great beer!

Cheers!

Tonight was my first brew, too. My advice is this:

Make sure you have the proper yeast...lol

Good luck with the brew!

Sollozzo said:

Hey guys,

I'm a new member, and I spend most of my time browsing the Mead forum. I recently decided to branch off into brewing some beer, so I picked up a starter pack from my LHBS today (Brewer's Best Cream Ale).

I picked up the supplies (carboy, cork, airlock, etc) to go with the kit, and I'm going to start in an hour or so.

Just wanted to know if there are any tips for using this BB pack specifically, or any general tips for a first brew.

Thanks!

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1. Be meticulous in sanitizing procedures

2. Don't trust airlock activity as indication of fermentation completing

3. Don't open lid for at least 2 weeks

Hopefully you enjoyed your first brewing experience. Use this as a first hand access to knowledge and it's a bonus if your beer comes out great. Hope it all went well.

Okay so my friend and I just got done brewing. We did a 5 gallon batch of melomel first, then took a whack at the BB Cream Ale.

We sanitized everything thoroughly in the sink. Sink was sanitized first, then we soaked all of our tools in there. Also sanitized the carboy beforehand.

Followed the directions carefully, but we have one main concern.

When we transfered the wort to the carboy, there was a lot of sediment that was suspended in the liquid. We left the heavy sediment in the boiling pot, but I was expecting everything to dissolve into the wort and it just didn't. Should we be worried about this or will that sediment just settle in the carboy over time?

I'll keep you guys posted and definitely post a review once we drink.

Thanks for all the advice!

It will settle that is the trub. Congrats on your first brew.

Woohoo welcome to the obsession that will take over your life

That sediment and stuff will settle out during fermentation.

Sanitation, OCD record keeping and patience are your greatest allies!

Hope your cream ale goes well and welcome again to the community!

How important is it to rerack to a secondary? I was planning on letting it sit in the primary for 3 weeks, then bottle and sit for 3 more weeks, then drink. I don't have an extra carboy that isn't being used. I could siphon it out into a large pot, clean the carboy, and pour back in. But if fermenting in a secondary doesn't provide a whole lot of benefit I don't want to go through the trouble.

Sollozzo said:

How important is it to rerack to a secondary? I was planning on letting it sit in the primary for 3 weeks, then bottle and sit for 3 more weeks, then drink. I don't have an extra carboy that isn't being used. I could siphon it out into a large pot, clean the carboy, and pour back in. But if fermenting in a secondary doesn't provide a whole lot of benefit I don't want to go through the trouble.

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Yeah secondary is nice when you have a spare vessel to rack into, the idea of siphoning into a pot temporarily is too dangerous, too much chance of infection.

Your plan is good 3 weeks in fermenter then bottle. Cool upright bottles for 3-6 weeks gives you clear beer and a tight yeast cake at the bottom

When you can get a 2nd vessel it's great to have - rack off for secondary conditioning, then have the ability to bulk prime for bottling which makes bottling a lot easier.

Hardest this for me as a newer brewer is getting freaked out about airlock activity! I've been making a lot of cider and that is instant gratification as far as airlock activity! It's taken some getting used to with beer tho as it seems much slower.

Mirkin said:

Yeah secondary is nice when you have a spare vessel to rack into, the idea of siphoning into a pot temporarily is too dangerous, too much chance of infection.

Your plan is good 3 weeks in fermenter then bottle. Cool upright bottles for 3-6 weeks gives you clear beer and a tight yeast cake at the bottom

When you can get a 2nd vessel it's great to have - rack off for secondary conditioning, then have the ability to bulk prime for bottling which makes bottling a lot easier.

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I disagree, I have 6, 5 gallon carboys, none of which get used for anything besides 4 gallon batches and the occasional bulk age/dry hop.

Secondary is most often entirely unnecessary, the majority of people here will agree. Transfer to a second vessel and back into the primary is just opening you up for a chance of oxygenation. Just keep it in primary for 3-4 weeks, rack to bottling bucket, bottle, wait, drink, rinse, repeat.

Skip the secondary - double your pipeline!

Thanks again for all the info guys.


Quick question. We cooled our wort down to 85 degrees F before pouring it into the carboy. We then added about 3 gallons of spring water to the carboy, which was cold (don't have exact temp). We then immediately added the yeast, which had been sitting in clean water at room temp for about 15 mins. Could the temperature difference between the wort and spring water cause any complications for the health of the yeast? At the moment, I have airlock activity, but it's very limited. About one bubble every 20-30 seconds.

Most of your bubbles right now are probably atmospheric. (Temp changes) you'll know when it's co2 production. you'll also get a krausen foam forming on the surface. Sit back...have a cold one and enjoy the ride. 85f isn't too hight for yeast to be pitched in.

write down everything. Note temperatures, amounts, filtered water vs. Not, gravity readings, fermentation temps, airlock activity, ingredients, everything you do. Then if it doesn't turn out exactly like you expect, next time change one thing and keep doing that until you're happy. If you don't write stuff down you (1) have no way of knowing what you did right, (2) won't be able to reproduce it in the future and (3) will have no way of troubleshooting something that went wrong.

The hardest thing is waiting 4 weeks to find out how you did

Take your time, read the directions, sanitize everything, read the directions again, relax, start brewing, read the directions again finish the brewing. Make sure the wort is the right temperature before pitching the yeast. Control the fermentation temperature for at least a few days. Low to mid sixties is best. Patience, check for final gravity after 5-7 days minimum. 3-4 weeks is better. Bottle the beer and condition for 3 weeks at 70 degrees, cool one and test it. If it is ready cool more and enjoy. If it is not ready wait another week. Patience is the hardest part for beginners.

Channel66 said:

I disagree, I have 6, 5 gallon carboys, none of which get used for anything besides 4 gallon batches and the occasional bulk age/dry hop.

Secondary is most often entirely unnecessary, the majority of people here will agree. Transfer to a second vessel and back into the primary is just opening you up for a chance of oxygenation. Just keep it in primary for 3-4 weeks, rack to bottling bucket, bottle, wait, drink, rinse, repeat.

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I use secondary to further clarify my brew and do majority of the conditioning before bottling, then use my primary as bottling bucket. Each to their own, I have a very sanitary process but excessive trub from my boil, so I want to reduce the time in contact with the trub, but still ferment/condition for a total 4 weeks before bottling.

Racking to a secondary is certainly unnecessary, except as a process refinement when desired.

I made great extract and partials for years with only one primary, priming sugar into the bottles, then got a 2nd vessel to rack into for bulk priming, really improved my process!

When I started doing all grain BIAB the amount of trub was much greater and the increased sediment in bottles bothered me for appearance not taste reasons, so adding a new step of secondary cold conditioning for 2-4 weeks solved that without risking the trub tainting the beer.

All I originally intended to say is that it's a good option to have, it's certainly not necessary for good tasting beer.

Congrats. My biggest piece of advice to any first timer is learn from my mistake and keep fermenting temps under control. My first was way to hot and I poured some out just to get rid of it.

For the first few times I think its very helpfull to read the instructions 2 times PRIOR to starting the brew. Follow the step word for word in your head, that way you can ask a question or call the LHBS for more information prior to starting the batch and dont have a high pressure oh what now moment. Also, double check the kit for proper items before you begin, just in case.

Other than that, relax and drink some mead.

As everyone says, follow instructions on everything... Until you get to fermentation. 3-4 weeks in primary should be real good for average gravity beers then bottle and let condition at about 70f for 3-4 weeks. Lower condition temps will take longer to condition out. High gravity beers will also take longer, some 6 months or longer to really come into its own.
So patience Grasshopper, you will have great beer!
BTW we all know you are going to chill a couple early to try it..all noobs do (I did.. and still do sometimes)
Welcome to the obsession.

Might have a problem. My airlock is going balls. Foam was coming out through the top of the airlock. I thought I left enough room for ferment but evidently I was mistaken.

Is it okay to take off the top to the airlock, and just let the foam spill out? I have the carboy sitting in a tub to catch any foam or liquid that spills over.

Do you have any foodgrade tubing? Just put the tube through your cork and place the other end in a container of some sort filled with water. Blow off tubes are usually used the first two to three days because of such intense fermentation.

hehawbrew said:

do you have any foodgrade tubing? Just put the tube through your cork and place the other end in a container of some sort filled with water. Blow off tubes are usually used the first two to three days because of such intense fermentation.

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+1

hehawbrew said:

Do you have any foodgrade tubing? Just put the tube through your cork and place the other end in a container of some sort filled with water. Blow off tubes are usually used the first two to three days because of such intense fermentation.

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I found another thread that suggested doing that, and it included pictures. Unfortunately I don't have the required tubing. Plus I'm not using a 3 piece airlock. Any alternatives?

You can remove the airlock, it is called open fermentation. Enough pressure internal to prevent nasties from getting in.
Having said that, it needs to be watched and the airlock replaced as soon as you can.

If you don't want to buy another bucket for bottling you can go to your local super market and ask the baking department for a few buckets they usually will give them to you for free. Just remember be patient and give the yeast time to do there thing

For my first 48 hours I just placed a ziplock bag loosely over the top - the CO2 should keep enough positive pressure to prevent contaminants from getting in...

Thinking ahead, I'm trying to decide if I should bottle or keg.

I can afford to split a keg kit with my buddy, and we know of a few places to pick up CO2 tanks locally. The problem is I don't have a spare fridge. I can buy one off craigslist, but I drive a 4 door Mazda 3 so I have no way to get it to my house.

There are obviously kegs smaller than 5 gallons. Can I fill one small keg at a time so that I can store it in my kitchen fridge, and leave the rest of the brew in the carboy until the keg is empty?

You should really bottle/keg the whole lot at once, maybe split between small keg as you say and the remainder into bottles.

Personally I wish I had a keg set up.

Mirkin said:

You should really bottle/keg the whole lot at once, maybe split between small keg as you say and the remainder into bottles.

Personally I wish I had a keg set up.

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So then I'll probably just keg it all at once in a 5 gallon Cornelius. Gotta buy a keg kit now. Was looking on amazon and found one that came with everything except the CO2 tank for $159.99. Any suggestions on where to find something cheaper, or is that as good as it gets?

I casnt believe everyone forgot the biggest bit of advice. Do not forget your towel. Boilovers can be messy.

If you are getting into kegging do your research on prices. I bought some of my equipment from BeerElements http://www.bvrgelements.com/category/Keg/

My biggest item was balancing the cost at my LHBS vs paying shipping from an online vendor. I recently got into HB and kegging saves a lot of time but I still bottle half the time.

Good luck on your search.

You could always get a tap a draft system it's like 70 bucks and they easily fit in your fridge I have one and love it. It comes with 3 1.5 gallon containers so you only have to bottle .5 gallons worth of bottles

Thegreatestgray said:

You could always get a tap a draft system it's like 70 bucks and they easily fit in your fridge I have one and love it. It comes with 3 1.5 gallon containers so you only have to bottle .5 gallons worth of bottles

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That seems like a steal.

Couple questions.

1. Do I still have to use priming sugar if I keg, specifically in that Tap-a-Draft system?

2. Can you immediately drink your brew (after a night of refrigerating) with that system?

3. Is it absolutely necessary to use a bottling bucket, or can I siphon into the Tap-a-Draft kegs directly from the primary carboy?