Tips for my first batch

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s2cmpugh

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Good day everyone! I'm picking up this home brew http://www.weekendbrewer.com/beginnerpage.html kit this weekend withe the hopes of brewing the Bavarian Style Hefeweizen. After that I want to try some stouts and then some ales. From all the reading I've done on here, it seems THE most important thing is clean, sanitize, clean, sanitize, etc.

I keep my house b/t 76 and 80 during the summer, so will my yeast have any trouble feasting on the sugars?

Should I follow the kit instructions for time duration of fermentation or let it go longer?

I'm a little confused about the bottling bucket, and how much beer to fill the bottles with...do I need the bucket, and what's the deal with the siphon?

Gotta say, I'm super excited about this and would like to have a brew cycle going so I always have something fresh and ready to go.

Any tips for a noob would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!
Cris P.
 
Welcome, Cris.

First, the house temp is a little high for the yeast and may ferment too quickly leaving some off flavors. If you can keep it in a water bath to bring the temp down, it will help.

A Hefe doesn't usually need a full 3 weeks in the carboy. I would start taking your final gravity measurements after a week. If you have the same FG for 3 days, your fermentation is done and you can bottle.

Did you get a bottling wand with your bucket? If you stick the wand in the bottle, fill the bottle to the top, when you remove the wand you will have a perfect fill. I have been told you want the fill to be about the length of the end of your thumb (from the tip down to the first knuckle) from the top.

The bucket is a good to have. I use mine and do my fills over the door of my dishwasher (Thanks, Revvy) and it keeps the mess down when filling.

Are you talking about an auto-siphon? They are great for getting your beer from one place to another, like from your carboy to your bottling bucket or from your boil pot into your carboy. Trying to siphon using your mouth is unsanitary and has the potential to infect your beer....

I hope some of this was helpful! Have fun with the hobby, it is GREAT!
 
Good day everyone! I'm picking up this home brew http://www.weekendbrewer.com/beginnerpage.html kit this weekend withe the hopes of brewing the Bavarian Style Hefeweizen. After that I want to try some stouts and then some ales. Hefeweizens & Stouts are Ales From all the reading I've done on here, it seems THE most important thing is clean, sanitize, clean, sanitize, etc. In addition controlling your fermentation temps is probably the most important thing you can do to make good beer.

I keep my house b/t 76 and 80 during the summer, so will my yeast have any trouble feasting on the sugars? I'd suggest keeping the temps in the low 60's (ambient) so that your beer ferments in the mid 60's.

Should I follow the kit instructions for time duration of fermentation or let it go longer? I let all my beer sit 3-4 weeks in the primary, no secondary.

I'm a little confused about the bottling bucket, and how much beer to fill the bottles with...do I need the bucket, and what's the deal with the siphon? You rack (with the siphon) the beer out of the fermenter in to your bottling bucket with the priming sugar mix in there. Fill the bottles to the top, then when you pull out the bottling wand you'll have the proper headspace.

Gotta say, I'm super excited about this and would like to have a brew cycle going so I always have something fresh and ready to go.

Any tips for a noob would be GREATLY appreciated.

Read this & this to start. And welcome to the obsession!
 
I use mine and do my fills over the door of my dishwasher (Thanks, Revvy) and it keeps the mess down when filling.
SHEER GENIUS!

Welcome to the boards! First and foremost, take your time with what you do. LaurieGator is right, the temp may cause your yeast to do their thing too fast but something else that may work for you is keeping the primary in your basement (if you have one). That should keep it a little cooler and allow things to move smoothly along.

Also, sanitize and clean (etc) is something to live by. If you have bottles that you rinsed, soaped, cleaned, and threw in the dishwasher, go that extra mile and sanitize them as well.

*edit* People also have their own styles of doing things with beer such as wyzazz only using a primary. That is by no means wrong of him (or her) to do. It's just the way s/he does it. I personally use a primary and secondary. It's all about what works best for YOU.

Use common sense, enjoy yourself, and relax... anyone care to finish that thought?
 
you really should try and find a spot where you can maintain a constant temperature between 60-70 degrees. Fermentation temps are super important. I usually let my fermentations go for no less than 2 weeks and usually no more than a month. You can successfully skip the secondary altogether. Especially, for a hefe.
 
Thanks for the fast replies everyone! I'm picking the kit up this weekend at the store since it's only about 20 mins. from my house.

As far as temps go...For those in the mid-atlantic states, you know it's been really really hot here, and keeping the house in the mid 60's is impossible (HVAC can't keep up when it's over 100 outside). I don't have a basement, but I do have a crawlspace where it is nice and cool. Obviously the crawlspace is outside under the house, so has anyone done this before? Would leaving the bucket right next to a vent/register inside the house help things maybe? I could try the water bath, but I don't know how stable I could keep the water temp. at.

For those that looked at the link with the kit, does it seem to be a pretty decent kit to keep my going for a while?

Thanks!
 
The kit looks pretty good I'd pick up a good no-rinse sanitizer like Iodophor or StarSan (my preference) to keep things sanitarty! You'll want to keep those temps down however you can, if you search for "Swamp Cooler" you'll get a lot of ideas.
 
Good day everyone! I'm picking up this home brew http://www.weekendbrewer.com/beginnerpage.html kit this weekend withe the hopes of brewing the Bavarian Style Hefeweizen. After that I want to try some stouts and then some ales. From all the reading I've done on here, it seems THE most important thing is clean, sanitize, clean, sanitize, etc.

I keep my house b/t 76 and 80 during the summer, so will my yeast have any trouble feasting on the sugars?

Should I follow the kit instructions for time duration of fermentation or let it go longer?

I'm a little confused about the bottling bucket, and how much beer to fill the bottles with...do I need the bucket, and what's the deal with the siphon?

Gotta say, I'm super excited about this and would like to have a brew cycle going so I always have something fresh and ready to go.

Any tips for a noob would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!
Cris P.

I was gonna do this in chunks but I think I will not need to...

You should search for blow off tube. Doing a wheat beer they notoriously need one. better to have it in place than to wish you did!!! BTW they are really cheap and easy to make...

I really do not think there is a "most important thing" as they all are important; But for your 1st brews get used to cleaning, sanitizing and hitting temps + times correctly.

Those temps are pretty high. most fermentation likes to be at roughly 65 degrees. fermentation temps can be hotter than ambient temps. if you have a basement I would check the temps there, if not then check out the DIY section for a swamp cooler basically a trash can that has water in it that you swap frozen water bottles in and out to control temps.

The directions will rush you to bottle your beer, The same story is told by the gurus here. "Fermentation is done when you get the same hydrometer reading 2 days in a row. It is not done when the airlock stops bubbling or after X days/weeks."

The bottling bucket makes life easier. you can use a small chunk of the tube on your siphon to attach it to the "bottling wand" or you can put the wand into the end of the siphon line for bottling. As for the head space when bottling the wand fills from the bottom of the bottle up, when you press the release down.(this will make sence when you see it.) everyone I know fills the bottle up right before you would spill and then removes the wand. (the wand will stop filling when it looses contact with the bottom of the bottle.) The space the wand was taking up creates the perfect head space in your bottles.

The siphon is a HUGE deal. After you pitch the yeast you want to expose the beer to as little oxygen as possible to avoid off flavors. That means you need to gently siphon the beer from one vessel to another and avoid splashing.

The brew cycle as you put it is commonly called a pipeline do yourself a favy and plan another brew day 2-3 weeks after this one. Don't wait until you taste the 1st batch before brewing the second it will never last that long...

The last bit of advice is try the search feature, 90% of things have been covered and that can save you and others ALOT of time!

but the BIGGEST thing that I can not stress enough is RDWHAHB!!! :mug:

BTW welcome to the addiction!
 
Fellow Richmonder here, I'm in Midlothian. That's the kit I got from Weekend Brewer, but I got the glass carboy instead, and added the carboy hauler (straps that help to carry it). You are starting with the same beer kit I did. I made that 1st batch in July. It turned out great. I was able to keep my fermentation at 68-70. The instructions they provided aren't great, so use what you learn here. I did 4 days primary and 9 days secondary, and then it's been bottled for just over 2 weeks.

It seems these experienced brewers here are recommending 3 weeks in primary and no secondary. If you are like me, you'll want to get that 1st batch bottled sooner.

For my second brew I've gotten a separate primary bucket. You may want to do the same so you have your bottling bucket available for when you have more than one batch fermenting at the same time. Be careful tightening the spigot in your bottling bucket . I couldn't get a good seal and the spigot broke. Consider a backup spigot too.

My second batch is in primary in a tub of water. I change out frozen water bottles to keep the temperature lower. I think the Hefe can handle a little higher, but you will want to keep it cooler than 78. This will get you under 70.

Good luck!
 
One other thing... The Weekend Brewers instructions said to pour the priming mixture on top of the beer before bottling. Instead pour that in your bottling bucket first and then siphon beer into that to mix without aerating.

Read John Palmer's How To Brew. Free online, but only 10 bucks on Kindle for 3rd edition.
 
Thanks for all the help everyone! So far I've picked up on this:

1. I need to keep the fermenter cooler, so I'll do the put the bucket inside another larger container filled with water and frozen bottles/ice, etc. to keep it cool.

2. I think I've figured out the whole primary vs. secondary. Are some people letting it sit in the primary bucket for 3 weeks, then transferring using the autosiphon into a bottling bucket (with your primer sugar mixed in), then straight into bottles for a few weeks?

3. What's the real purpose of the secondary fermenter (any additional ingredients added)? Is it b/c the primary bucket is also used as bottling bucket?

Fellow Richmonder here, I'm in Midlothian. That's the kit I got from Weekend Brewer, but I got the glass carboy instead, and added the carboy hauler (straps that help to carry it). You are starting with the same beer kit I did. I made that 1st batch in July. It turned out great. I was able to keep my fermentation at 68-70. The instructions they provided aren't great, so use what you learn here. I did 4 days primary and 9 days secondary, and then it's been bottled for just over 2 weeks.
I may have a lot of questions since you are so close by. How did your first batch of hefe turn out? What's the taste like?
 
I use a secondary for big beers that need bulk aging and oaking. It gets the beer off the yeast for that extended period of time so there is no fear of autolysis and the off flavors it can create.

A secondary isn't a "bad" thing in most cases, just something I choose not to use. I like to keep my beer on the yeast for 3-4 weeks it gives them a chance to clean up the mess they made in my beer. That and I don't have to possibly expose my beer to any nasties by racking again.
 
1. I need to keep the fermenter cooler, so I'll do the put the bucket inside another larger container filled with water and frozen bottles/ice, etc. to keep it cool.

This method works great. I have one of these swamp coolers in my brew closet. You can keep the overall temperature down easier if you soak a t-shirt in water and cover the top of your fermentation vessel, going around the blow-off tube or airlock. The evaporation will cool the beer more effectively.
 
I may have a lot of questions since you are so close by. How did your first batch of hefe turn out? What's the taste like?


Anytime...

Hefe turned out great. Hint of bananas and clove, but very subtle. SWMBO was impressed, and my Dad enjoyed it too. I've got a couple of 22oz. Bombers in the fridge for tonight! Trust me, you will get hooked on this hobby! I'll start brew #3 tonight, and I'm already considering what will come after that. I'm trying to find an easy extract recipe for Pumpkin Ale, to have ready by end of Oct.

Enjoy your trip to Weekend Brewer!
 
I should also suggest you pick up a few extra packs of dry yeast for backup/emergency.

I made a mistake on my second brew and added the yeast to boiling water to try to rehydrate. Of course this killed the yeast and I had no backup. Now Ill always have a pack or two in the fridge.
 
A man is lost in New York, and asks a cabbie, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"

The cabbie says, "Practice, practice, practice!"

Yeah, it's an old joke. But when you asked about bottling and how to use the siphon, it came to mind. Do a couple dry runs with water (Ha!) to get the feeling for where the tubes go, how to hold on to what, where the leaks are (so you can fix them before you're losing beer), etc. etc. etc.

When you pick up your kit at the LHBS, disassemble the three-piece airlock and ask the guy to cut you a lenth of plastic tubing to fit the inner stem. It should be long enough to reach the floor, where (once you start fermenting) it will be in a jar of sanitizing solution. Nobody ever regrets rigging up a blowoff tube, but many regret not doing it. After high kreusen has subsided, you can reassemble the airlock.

No worries!
 
take your time and plan on brew day being something like 5-6 hours. there will be alot of sanitizing before hand and then cleaning up of where you brewed as well as cleaning up materials/utensils/items used. the first time I did it I don't think I wasn't done until 3 am and I didn't plan on that happening.

the time to brew will become less and less with the more batches you do when you find out where to cut corners or erradicate 'down time' waiting for certain things to happen (like time for water to boil).

and yes read Palmers book (try library before you make plunge to actually buy). don't read into ALL of the things in the book as it will pry make your head spin with all the things you can do and worry about. jsut read and re-read the quicky section on how to do your first batch....then read the rest of the book while you patiently (or pry impatiently) wait to be able to bottle

p.s. I've yet to secondary, so IMHO I would follow the 3 weeks in primary and then off to bottling.
 
So it sounds like I need a blowoff tube brewing the hefe. I'm assuming the guys at the LHBS will be able to rig one up for me?

Everything else I think I understand, but this secondary fermenter is a bit confusing. What's the idea behind it? It seems as though you do this:

1. Use the fermenting bucket for a few weeks
2. Transfer to the secondary fermenter (carboy) for how long? Does this reduce the yeast content after transfer?
3. Then transfer to the bottling bucket and begin to bottle?
4. Let beer sit in bottles for a week or so before chilling and consuming?
5. Should I be concerned about the level of carbonation?

That seems like a lot of transferring and opens up to a chance of spilling, bacteria, or in my case, making a mistake.

Or I could be WAY WAY over thinking it....

Thanks,
Cris P.
 
So it sounds like I need a blowoff tube brewing the hefe. I'm assuming the guys at the LHBS will be able to rig one up for me?

Everything else I think I understand, but this secondary fermenter is a bit confusing. What's the idea behind it? It seems as though you do this:

1. Use the fermenting bucket for a few weeks
2. Transfer to the secondary fermenter (carboy) for how long? Does this reduce the yeast content after transfer?
3. Then transfer to the bottling bucket and begin to bottle?
4. Let beer sit in bottles for a week or so before chilling and consuming?
5. Should I be concerned about the level of carbonation?

That seems like a lot of transferring and opens up to a chance of spilling, bacteria, or in my case, making a mistake.

Or I could be WAY WAY over thinking it....

Thanks,
Cris P.

If you have a 3 piece airlock you can just use the siphon tubing pushed over the middle part of the airlock for a blowoff.

OK, I'm just going to throw this out there: DON'T SECONDARY you don't need to bulk age this beer. Give it 3-4 weeks in the primary then 3 weeks in the bottle, it'll be aged enough that it won't be green, and nicely carbed at that point.
 
Putting together a blow-off tube is easy peasy, just get a few feet of tubing (I forget the diameter, just ask the dudes at your LHBS for a size that will fit over the end of a racking cane). If you're fermenting in buckets you should have a hole already good for an airlock; if you're fermenting in carboys make sure you grab a stopper, too. Stick one end of the tube in the fermenter through the gasket or the stopper, and run the other end out into a pitcher of water to create a closed system.

Don't secondary a hefeweizen. You want it cloudy, and in reality you can probably bottle within 10 days or so. You won't need the usual 3 or 4 weeks primary for that beer to be great. All mine have been grain to glass in about 10 days (kegged of course, bottling will slow the process down some.)

Good luck and have fun, and if something seems screwed up, RDWHAHB.
 
So it sounds like I need a blowoff tube brewing the hefe. I'm assuming the guys at the LHBS will be able to rig one up for me?

Everything else I think I understand, but this secondary fermenter is a bit confusing. What's the idea behind it? It seems as though you do this:

1. Use the fermenting bucket for a few weeks
2. Transfer to the secondary fermenter (carboy) for how long? Does this reduce the yeast content after transfer?
3. Then transfer to the bottling bucket and begin to bottle?
4. Let beer sit in bottles for a week or so before chilling and consuming?
5. Should I be concerned about the level of carbonation?

That seems like a lot of transferring and opens up to a chance of spilling, bacteria, or in my case, making a mistake.

Or I could be WAY WAY over thinking it....

Thanks,
Cris P.

Typically, the secondary fermenter is used to age the beer for longer periods of time and to make the beer clearer when finished. There are also uses for it when brewing with fruits and other flavorings as well but that's for later :) Your beer doesn't need the secondary. Have fun!
 
I have another question. Can I boil 3 gallons of water, put that into my fermenter, then boil another 2 gallons while adding my extract, then pout that into fermenter and mix well? It would save me some space and hassle from finding a large big @ss pot.

If I don't do a secondary...how will I make sure none of the yeast that has settled at the bottom comes out when I transfer into a bottle bucket OR bottle straight from the fermenter?

Thanks!
 
I have another question. Can I boil 3 gallons of water, put that into my fermenter, then boil another 2 gallons while adding my extract, then pout that into fermenter and mix well? It would save me some space and hassle from finding a large big @ss pot.

If I don't do a secondary...how will I make sure none of the yeast that has settled at the bottom comes out when I transfer into a bottle bucket OR bottle straight from the fermenter?

Thanks!

Yes, you can use multiple pots to boil water. Just remember to cool it before you put it in the fermenter!

The racking cane has a "button" on the bottom of it that keeps it out of the trub on the bottom. In other words, it sits just above the yeast to siphon the beer. A little bit of yeast getting in won't hurt it anyway, you just don't want big globs of it getting in your bottles.
 
I have another question. Can I boil 3 gallons of water, put that into my fermenter, then boil another 2 gallons while adding my extract, then pout that into fermenter and mix well? It would save me some space and hassle from finding a large big @ss pot.

If I don't do a secondary...how will I make sure none of the yeast that has settled at the bottom comes out when I transfer into a bottle bucket OR bottle straight from the fermenter?

Thanks!

Don't bottle straight from the fermenter. Transfer with the racking cane (or auto-siphon) to bottling bucket with priming sugar added to the bottling bucket. Mix well, then bottle from the bottling bucket. You leave behind most of the yeast sediment when you transfer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket.
 
So could I boil 2 gallons that has my wort, then add 3 gallons of cold water to bring the temp down faster?

Why can't I cool inside the fermenter before adding yeast?
 
You can put boiled & cooled water in your fermenter, then add your wort to that and just make sure you top off to your final volume. I would however cool that 2 gallons down as much as you can in a water/ice bath.

You can cool in your fermenter but it won't transfer the heat/cool nearly as well as a metal pot. What do you have for a primary fermenter? If it's a carboy or better bottle I don't recommend pouring a hot liquid in there because it can melt/crack. If it's the standard Ale Pale it'll be fine.

Edit: That kit has an Ale Pail primary fermenter, it'll take the heat just fine. If you have a freezer you could also freeze the boiled & cooled water in ziplock bags, drop that in to the fermenter and pour your wort on top of that. It should bring your temp down pretty fast that way.
 
I like that ice idea! Do I need to santize the inside of an unused plastic bag or just pour in my boiled water...freeze...then dump into fermenter?
 
I would sanitize the bag, then dump in the cooled water, freeze and drop it in to the bottom of the fermenter, then pour my wort on top of that.
 
Sounds good. I'll use the no rinse and let it air dry while my water is boiling, then freeze.

Could I just freeze a couple gallons of spring water, unsealed from the store?
 
If you use StarSan or Iodophor you don't need or even want to let anything air dry. When it's wet it's sanitary, when it dries there is a chance of contamination. The residue of sanitizer isn't enough to create an off-flavor in the beer.

You can use the spring water, but you have to boil it first to sanitize it.
 
Sounds like you just need to build an immersion wort chiller. It'll cool your wort/boiled water down under 80 in about 15 mins...much less time and effort than boiling water, sanitizing bags, putting water in bags, placing in freezer, waiting for them to freeze...you get my point. If you were only going to brew one time, fine, do it that way. You won't want to go through all that every time you brew though. With a wort chiller you just place it in the boiling water (this sanitizes it) when the boil is finished, turn on the cold water! Pretty easy...plus you only have to build it once. With the ice bags you will be filling them every time you brew. Just my suggestion though...just do a search for immersion wort chiller in the search function up top...it'll tell you how to make one with parts easily obtained from your local hardware store!
 
Or just sit the pot in an ice bath in the sink! Won't cool it off as fast but much easier than the ice bags...have fun whichever method you choose!
 
Chris, did you get over to Weekend Brewer yet? How'd it go? I hope you found everything you needed and are a bit more comfortable. Be sure to let us know how the first brew goes. As they say here, RDWHA....wait it's your first batch, just have a beer!
 
Hey Mike! Yeah I went by and picked up my kit and ingredients. I didn't start brewing today, but plan to this week sometime. The guy at the brew store was very nice and helpful. I also decided to go for the larger bottles to take up less space around the house and purchased a pot while I was there.

He told me to use spring water from the store for a better taste too and to use the secondary. How long did you keep yours in the primary and did you take hydrometer readings to determine when it was done or just watch the bubbles?
 
Great. Good luck! My Hefe was in primary for 4 days and secondary for 9. Watched the airlock and took readings.

Bottled up my 2nd brew last night. It's an Oktoberfest style ale. Tasted a little bland, but I hope it matures nicely in the bottle.

Third brew is in primary. I think I'll leave this one alone ther for 3 weeks to see how that does wihtout usinge secondary. I think I'll just use secondary when I need two batches fermenting at once.

I am out of ingredients and need to brew. I guess I am off to WB this week.
 
...

Third brew is in primary. I think I'll leave this one alone ther for 3 weeks to see how that does wihtout usinge secondary. I think I'll just use secondary when I need two batches fermenting at once.

...

I leave all my "normal" brews in the primary and have had no issues as far as I can tell. I only use a secondary if I am adding additional ingredients like fruit of spices or when I dry hop (and sometimes not even then). The fewer times you transfer your brew, the fewer chances there are to contaminate it (and the less work you have to do).
 
Well everyone I think I'm ready. I did have to use pliers to tighten up my valve on the "ale pale" so it wouldn't leak anymore.

question...Where do I put the sanitized water inside the air lock? I'm a bit confused on it?

Also, I'm using StarSan as my sanitizer. Does everything have to be dry BEFORE any beer touches it or can I just shake out as much as I can in my equipment and then the beer can touch it without any ill effects?

Thanks!
Cris P.
 
question...Where do I put the sanitized water inside the air lock? I'm a bit confused on it?

I usually put vodka in my airlock. That way if there is suckback all it does is up the ABV! :)

There are two types of airlocks out there, mainly. There is the S-shaped one, and the one that looks like a bullet shape inside a bigger bullet shape. Either should have a lid and little lines in it marking the fill level. Examine it closely in good light, you should see where you need to fill.

Also, I'm using StarSan as my sanitizer. Does everything have to be dry BEFORE any beer touches it or can I just shake out as much as I can in my equipment and then the beer can touch it without any ill effects?

Nah, doesn't have to be dry.
 
Well everyone I think I'm ready. I did have to use pliers to tighten up my valve on the "ale pale" so it wouldn't leak anymore.

question...Where do I put the sanitized water inside the air lock? I'm a bit confused on it?

Also, I'm using StarSan as my sanitizer. Does everything have to be dry BEFORE any beer touches it or can I just shake out as much as I can in my equipment and then the beer can touch it without any ill effects?

Thanks!
Cris P.

Careful tightening up that valve, I broke mine last weekend!

As mentioned above, there are 2 types. Look for the lines...

StarSan takes 30 seconds of "wet" contact time (that means bubbles or liquid) to kill everything, and you don't want to let it dry. If you let it dry you increase the risk of contamination. Don't Fear The Foam!!!
 
What I did was tighten it about 1/4 turn until it fully stopped leaking. Doing it that way, I hopefully avoided breaking it. And there is NO way you can hand tighten those things and expect it to seal up good, especially with 5 gallons of water pressure pushing on it.

My airlock doesn't look S-shaped, but is three peices. I'm sure my mind is making it more complicated than it needs to be.

To be clear...StarSan will NOT kill my beer, yeast, or produce off flavors if some is still inside the bottles, tubing, or buckets/fermenters?
 
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