Tusz
Member
Hey everybody! Just did my first 5-gallon batch tonight! It was quite a change from the Mr. Beer batches I was doing. I used the Octane IPA kit from Midwest [Adj. OG: 1.066], and it was a delicious-smelling brew by the end of it. All-in-all, it was a good time, and I hope to hear my airlock bubbling away by the time I wake up tomorrow. I do have a couple questions though:
-My recipe involves putting oak chips in the secondary. Should I put them in one of my reusable hop bags? Also, am I right in thinking that you rack to secondary when the airlock bubbling rate drops low (~5/min)? My primary is a bucket, so I can't easily see when the krausen is going back into the brew.
-Should I just buy the cheap 10-gallon aluminum pots they sell at the store near my house? I'm dealing with a 3-gallon now, with only an electric range for heat.
-If I buy it, would it be big enough to do 5-gallon BIAB?
-I know that a beer is ready for bottling when it gives the same hydrometer reading several days in a row. My question is, how will I get a sample for a reading if my beer is in a better bottle? I have no wine thief, though I do have an autosiphon if that helps (probably not?).
-My recipe involves putting oak chips in the secondary. Should I put them in one of my reusable hop bags? Also, am I right in thinking that you rack to secondary when the airlock bubbling rate drops low (~5/min)? My primary is a bucket, so I can't easily see when the krausen is going back into the brew.
-Should I just buy the cheap 10-gallon aluminum pots they sell at the store near my house? I'm dealing with a 3-gallon now, with only an electric range for heat.
-If I buy it, would it be big enough to do 5-gallon BIAB?
-I know that a beer is ready for bottling when it gives the same hydrometer reading several days in a row. My question is, how will I get a sample for a reading if my beer is in a better bottle? I have no wine thief, though I do have an autosiphon if that helps (probably not?).