IPAddict
Active Member
My girlfriend got me a 1 gallon all grain kit from Brooklyn Brewshop. I've never brewed before, but always wanted to. My old neighbors would do it pretty regularly, and my cousin used to as well. My neighbors would let me watch, and I've seen the Brewmasters series as well as the Good Eats episode on brewing. I've read stuff on here and read the book associated with the kit I have. That's gives you an idea of my knowledge of brewing; not much at all and no actual experience. So I have a lot of questions.
First off, here's what I have.
What was included in the kit:
This includes a 1 gallon glass carboy, racking cane with cap, thermometer, airlock, cbrite sanitizer, carboy stopper, tubing and clamp, and ingredients for their IPA.
The book:
It has an intro, goes over the equipment included and what you'll need to get yourself, has a bit on beer styles, a section that goes over the process of making beer, and a bunch of different beer recipes.
What I picked up:
Hydrometer, io-star sanitizer, wine theif, bottle capper, bottle caps, and a funnel. The rest of the equipment needed I already have in the kitchen.
So I read the book for this kit a bunch of times and I really think I got the basics down pretty well. I've found some threads on here about 1st brews with this kit. Seems to be the general consensus is that these kits are very basic and are a great way to get started brewing. Since they're very basic, people seem to frown upon some of the directions given with the kit. I've looked around here, and compared some things I read here to the directions from the kit. So naturally I have a heap of questions.
Ok, here are the questions:
I got the wiki/faq bookmarked and I'll be using the search bar plenty. I know that my brew will most likely turn out just fine and taste good. I'm not really worried about that. I'm taking this seriously and unless I have some godawful experience when doing this, I'm assuming I will upgrade to a 5 gal system when my situation allows (limited space, time, and money right now). Before I start this, I would like to make sure I have a clear understanding of it. While I should be satisfied with the final result, I'd like to minimize any error. I'd like to start this off right. So, any advice?
Any feedback, advice, and comments are much appreciated, thanks!
First off, here's what I have.
What was included in the kit:
This includes a 1 gallon glass carboy, racking cane with cap, thermometer, airlock, cbrite sanitizer, carboy stopper, tubing and clamp, and ingredients for their IPA.
The book:
It has an intro, goes over the equipment included and what you'll need to get yourself, has a bit on beer styles, a section that goes over the process of making beer, and a bunch of different beer recipes.
What I picked up:
Hydrometer, io-star sanitizer, wine theif, bottle capper, bottle caps, and a funnel. The rest of the equipment needed I already have in the kitchen.
So I read the book for this kit a bunch of times and I really think I got the basics down pretty well. I've found some threads on here about 1st brews with this kit. Seems to be the general consensus is that these kits are very basic and are a great way to get started brewing. Since they're very basic, people seem to frown upon some of the directions given with the kit. I've looked around here, and compared some things I read here to the directions from the kit. So naturally I have a heap of questions.
Ok, here are the questions:
- Book says for the mash, you use 1 qt of water per 1 lb of grain. Is that true?
- For the mash, what's the best way to manage the water amount? How do I make sure there's enough, but not too much? The book says to add 2 oz at a time if it starts to look too dry or if the temp gets too high (past 150 deg F). What if adding water to cool it will make the consistency have too much liquid? I don't have a good understanding of this.
- When sparging, the book says to pour water through the grains 2 times only. Is this correct?
- How would I know how much water to use for sparging based off how much I have from steeping the mash?
- If I were to use whole hops, the book says to add about 25% more weight in the recipe, is this true? More? Less?
- Side question: do whole (fresh) hops need to be "opened up" or milled? Or would they just get thrown in as is? Is it a good idea to do that with pellets? Should I break those up?
- Book says to cool the wort to 70 deg F after the boil. Then it says to replace the ice/water used to cool it, to make it cool faster. Is 70 deg F what we want to start fermentation or keep going down?
- I bought a wine thief, but it doesn't fit in the carboy. To get a sample for the hydrometer, can I use a turkey baster or similar item if it's sanitized? How much liquid do I need to get a proper reading? Filled up close to the top?
- I've heard of a refractometer. What's better, that or a hydrometer?
- Priming sugar. They say to use 3 tbsp of honey. Is 3 tbsp pretty standard? Does the sugar ingredient impact the flavor at all? Is plain granulated sugar better, as to not really give of a flavor? Something else?
- What's the amount of bottling sugar per amount of beer? The book says if it's "too sticky" to add more water. Should I be very cautious about adding too much water?
- Book says in 1 gal batches, to use 1/2 the yeast bought for a 5 gal batch. Is that true? If so, why wouldn't it be 1/5?
- After adding the yeast, it says to cover the top with your hand and shake
to wake up the yeast and promote activity. Should I be using my hand, or a cap instead? The sanitizer says to avoid contact with skin, so if I use my hand, should I be wearing a glove? Sanitize the glove? Does skin contact not matter after the sanitizer's been diluted (meaning it's now a solution)?
- When fermenting, should I use the tubing in a dish of sanitizing solution and then the airlock? Or just the airlock?
- When using the airlock, does it matter if it's filled with water instead of sanitizing solution?
- How does an airlock release co2 since it has a lid on? Does the lid just pop off? Or does it not release enough co2 at that point to be an issue? This logistically confuses me.
- When/after fermenting, the yeast that has settled (the trub), is that yeast dead?
- When bottling, should I mark beforehand where 12 oz is (or 22 oz, or whatever volume the bottle is) and fill to there? The book says to stop 1" from the top. Is that ok, even though bottles come in different shapes (long necks vs the short fat ones)?
- When setting the filled/capped bottles in a cool, dark place, what temp is ideal? Should I cover them with a blanket or something?
- The book says it's ready 2 weeks after bottling. Is this correct? More? Less? Any way to tell?
- Determining the life of a bottled beer: how long will it last? How should you store it to last the longest?
- I bought another sanitizer (Io-star) from the local hombrew shop (a shopkeep and a customer recommeded this over starsan). What should I do with the c-brite? Use it for the airlock? Get rid of it? Hold on to it?
- At what point to you need to sanitize items that come into contact with your "beer"? When it's considered wort (after the sparge)? After it's been boiled? Sometime else?
- What's the best way to sanitize? Do I just let it soak, no scrub or anything like that? Directions on the bottle just say to give it 1 minute of contact time, so not long.
- What's the best place to do the sanitizing? Fill a sink? Fill a tub? Fill a bucket?
- Does a spray bottle of sanitizing solution actually come in handy? Or should I just ignore that?
- Side question, do mash paddles need to be sanitized? If so, before and after use, or one or the other?
- Should I be wearing gloves at the point where I need to be worrying about sanitation?
- Does no-rinse sanitizer have any effect on the taste (even a slight one)? Any other effect? This is assuming there might be just a tad in the bottle, although I highly doubt there will be any at all.
*Including the question # with your answer would be appreciated, thanks
*Feel free to include links to any thread you'd consider suggested reading
I got the wiki/faq bookmarked and I'll be using the search bar plenty. I know that my brew will most likely turn out just fine and taste good. I'm not really worried about that. I'm taking this seriously and unless I have some godawful experience when doing this, I'm assuming I will upgrade to a 5 gal system when my situation allows (limited space, time, and money right now). Before I start this, I would like to make sure I have a clear understanding of it. While I should be satisfied with the final result, I'd like to minimize any error. I'd like to start this off right. So, any advice?
Any feedback, advice, and comments are much appreciated, thanks!