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avaserfi

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Saturday when I was visiting my folks in Dallas I went to Homebrew HQ and walked away the proud owner of their fancy pants deluxe brew kit (plastic carboys). It came with a Thomas Coopers Brewmaster IPA and 2 lbs of DME as well. I was originally planning on making up YooperBrew's DFH 60 minute clone as my first batch, but since I had the kit and zero experience and/or anyone around I know of who could help I decided to try my luck with the kit first. The clone will be next. Everything went well, I think? I used bleach, water and vinegar as a sanitizer after washing all my gear.

The concoction measured with an OG of 1.056 (there is no recommended OG or FG as far as I can see) and is sitting in a dark closet at 72 degrees or so. When I took the gravity reading I tasted the concoction out of curiosity. It was hoppy and far more malty than I expected. Then I remembered sugar is food for yeast :drunk:. I think it will ferment well, hopefully no infection gets me!

Thanks for all the help and recommendations, I am sure I will need more in the future!
 
Anything that touches the beer must be sanitary. This means it must be boiled or sprayed with a sanitizer like Starsan. You do need to buy some Starsan at the brew supply. Ask about how to use it.
 
Anything that touches the beer must be sanitary. This means it must be boiled or sprayed with a sanitizer like Starsan. You do need to buy some Starsan at the brew supply. Ask about how to use it.

The creator of Starsan actually said that 5 gallons of water, 1 tablespoon of bleach and 1 tablespoon of vinegar was a perfectly suitable no rinse sanitizer. Check out Basic Brewing podcast:

March 29, 2007 - Sanitizing with Bleach and Star San found at this link.

I didn't just make up the solution I used. I trusted a professional :D.

I boiled all the water I used (wasn't sure if I needed to or not), sanitized all my gear and my 6 gallon carboy which is where the brew is sitting in primary.
 
It sounds like you did good. Congratulations.

Homebrew HQ is a great HBS. I usually avoid going on a Saturday though, as they can sometimes get so busy you can hardly move around.
 
It sounds like you did good. Congratulations.

Homebrew HQ is a great HBS. I usually avoid going on a Saturday though, as they can sometimes get so busy you can hardly move around.

It was pretty busy there, but I got all the help I needed. Everyone really seemed to know their stuff.

It looks like I have some signs of fermentation. There is a very slight, light brown, foam that has been developing. Right now it is extremely thin, but hopefully with some time I will have a nice krausen on my hands.
 
There seems to be a pretty nice krausen on the brew and the air lock is bubbling steadily. I measured the temp in the closet and it is about 72-74 degrees, but carboy measures in at 78-79 degrees. I presume this higher temperature is caused by the exothermic reaction caused by the yeast. Since there is a large amount of liquid it is unlikely that the temperature will drop to the recommended 70 degrees. Is this going to cause issues with the final brew? Not really much I can do (I think) if it will effect final product, but I figure if there is an issue I can just let the brew age a little longer in the bottle.
 
There seems to be a pretty nice krausen on the brew and the air lock is bubbling steadily. I measured the temp in the closet and it is about 72-74 degrees, but carboy measures in at 78-79 degrees. I presume this higher temperature is caused by the exothermic reaction caused by the yeast. Since there is a large amount of liquid it is unlikely that the temperature will drop to the recommended 70 degrees. Is this going to cause issues with the final brew? Not really much I can do (I think) if it will effect final product, but I figure if there is an issue I can just let the brew age a little longer in the bottle.


From everything i've read (i'm still a noob myself), you want to get that to a slightly cooler place. Mid 60's seem to be ideal. I don't think that is dangerously warm but it'd be better to move it somewhere that is in the low to mid 60's so the wort itself is in the mid to upper 60s. Good luck! :mug:
 
From everything i've read (i'm still a noob myself), you want to get that to a slightly cooler place. Mid 60's seem to be ideal. I don't think that is dangerously warm but it'd be better to move it somewhere that is in the low to mid 60's so the wort itself is in the mid to upper 60s. Good luck! :mug:

I don't have a cooler place to put the carboy, sadly. I picked the coolest closet where the brew would be the least disturbed by light or vibrations. Are there any suggestions for relatively inexpensive cooling solutions? Being in an apartment I don't have many good options.
 
I don't have a cooler place to put the carboy, sadly. I picked the coolest closet where the brew would be the least disturbed by light or vibrations. Are there any suggestions for relatively inexpensive cooling solutions? Being in an apartment I don't have many good options.

I stick my carboy into a cooler, and put some water in it. Then add a frozen water bottle. You don't want the fermenter over about 70 degrees. Mid-60s is better.
 
I stick my carboy into a cooler, and put some water in it. Then add a frozen water bottle. You don't want the fermenter over about 70 degrees. Mid-60s is better.

Any specific cooler recommendations? I could go out tomorrow and pick up a cooler if they can be had locally.

When you do this do you just leave a floating thermometer in? What temp do you shoot to keep the water at?
 
I stick my carboy into a cooler, and put some water in it. Then add a frozen water bottle. You don't want the fermenter over about 70 degrees. Mid-60s is better.

That's what I intend to do with my next batch, tho the basement is a lot cooler now than last month. I plan on getting a small rubber bin to do this and to possibly put a fish tank heater in if it gets too cold in my basement.
 
Any specific cooler recommendations? I could go out tomorrow and pick up a cooler if they can be had locally.

When you do this do you just leave a floating thermometer in? What temp do you shoot to keep the water at?

Just use anything that'll fit your carboy in, and is obviously water tight. Pick up a couple of those 32oz Soda bottles and fill em with water and freeze them. Fill the container up with enough water so that it doesn't cause the carboy to float around. Then toss in one of the froze bottles and monitor the temps of the water. If you just use one of those stick on thermometers on this new container that should be good enough. Keep it in the low to mid 60's and you'll be all set.
 
Just went to walmart and picked up a cooler, the only one that they had which would work, actually. Probably not going to use this as a permanent solution, but until I manage to find a cooler online that I can order (nothing local) it is my best bet.

Anyone have any suggestions for a good, cheap, cooler that can hold a 6 gallon carboy with a 3 piece airlock on top? I am all ears!
 
One more question (yeah yeah I know). I just checked on my brew and it seems as if the krausen has fallen quite a bit, maybe 70%. The temp of the water in the cooler is 62 degrees. The airlock is still bubbling, just curious what caused the krausen to fall.

I have been browsing online for a good cooler, but am not really coming up with much...
 
The thing with yeast is that they don't like quick temperature changes. If you dropped the temp from 75 to 62 quickly then they may think it is time to go dormant. That said don't worry too much for your first beer. It may not be perfect, but it is still beer.
 
The thing with yeast is that they don't like quick temperature changes. If you dropped the temp from 75 to 62 quickly then they may think it is time to go dormant. That said don't worry too much for your first beer. It may not be perfect, but it is still beer.

Those temperatures are the external to the carboy temperatures. The carboy hasn't changed that much, but it has. I guess I didn't realize that the yeast going dormant would result in the krausen shrinking.
 
One more question (yeah yeah I know). I just checked on my brew and it seems as if the krausen has fallen quite a bit, maybe 70%. The temp of the water in the cooler is 62 degrees. The airlock is still bubbling, just curious what caused the krausen to fall.

I have been browsing online for a good cooler, but am not really coming up with much...

You're beer is ruined. Send it to me for proper disposal!


Seriously, chill out man. Krausen falls when as fermentation slows. The krausen gets built up while all the yeasties are going wild and as they slow the krausen shrinks. RDWHAHB man. I repeat, RDWHAHAB!
 
Here's my solution:
4189-DSCF0001.JPG


I took off the (hollow) lid of the 60 quart Ice Cube cooler and made a new lid out of foam insulation. It's three layers deep, and there is a hole for the airlock. It's probably overkill, and you don't need a lid, though. But I can even lager in it in my basement. It has wheels, so I can wheel it where I want- warmer, cooler, by the drain to dump the water, etc. When I'm not using it for fermenting, I put the old lid back on and use it for a cooler.
 
That cooler is the hot setup for new and older brewers if you don't have a fridge. It does not take up much space and you can see at a glance what is going on. I would put my remote temperature sensor in there too and could keep track of the temperature from another room. This should be put in the sticky section so people can find it.
 
You're beer is ruined. Send it to me for proper disposal!


Seriously, chill out man. Krausen falls when as fermentation slows. The krausen gets built up while all the yeasties are going wild and as they slow the krausen shrinks. RDWHAHB man. I repeat, RDWHAHAB!

I wasn't worried about the beer being ruined. I just wanted to learn. Besides, I have no home brews to drink...yet!

Here's my solution:
4189-DSCF0001.JPG


I took off the (hollow) lid of the 60 quart Ice Cube cooler and made a new lid out of foam insulation. It's three layers deep, and there is a hole for the airlock. It's probably overkill, and you don't need a lid, though. But I can even lager in it in my basement. It has wheels, so I can wheel it where I want- warmer, cooler, by the drain to dump the water, etc. When I'm not using it for fermenting, I put the old lid back on and use it for a cooler.

Great idea, I will get around to doing that. It would be really nice to be able to lager in the future.

Looks like you have the same cooler as well. It is a pretty nice one, I just wish the entire bottom was flat. On mine the point where the wheels are mounted is at a 45 degree angle, but the carboy seems to fit pretty well despite this.

Thanks!
 
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