My first time!

Hey everyone, Chris here. I bought my first kit on Friday and did my first brew Saturday. I did a White Mountin Wit which is made by my local home brew store. Everything is going great so far. The instructions said that my first gravity reading should be 1.046 and my actual reading was 1.040. I dont know if the .006 difference makes a big difference, but I am pretty happy that I got it that close my first try.

I pitched my yeast 14 hours ago and there is A LOT of fermentation going on in there which I am super stoked about.

I think the hardest part so far is the waiting! About 5 days after I put my wort into the secondary fermentor, I am going to start a new batch. I live in an apartment right now, but I am purchasing a home in 4 months so I look forward to making half my garage into an elaborate home brew setup.

Does anyone recommends a home brew book?

Chris

The difference between 1.046 and 1.040 was probably due to all the sugars not getting fully mixed (lighter density on top = lower reading). It is not a problem, the yeast will find the sugars.

Many people don't bother with a secondary. Just leave it at least 3 weeks in Primary (4 is better) then bottle. Instructions that say rack to secondary at 5, 7, 10, or whatever, can be damaging to the beer. Once fermentation is over, the yeast clean up some of the 'off-flavors' it created, such as diecetyl, and when you rack off the cake, you leave less yeast to do the clean-up.

14 hours is good for start of fermentation. Sometimes it can take over 24 hours. There are a lot of things that affect it.

Try to keep the wort/beer as cool as you can (but not below 60 F).

Book?????? I have lots, but it's been a long time since I started. You might want to try Palmer. It's on-line and free. Lots of good stuff.

Hi, Chris. Welcome to the only hobby you'll ever need . There are tons of resources online to learn from like How to Brew by John Palmer (http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html), which I found very helpful when I got started and still read from time to time when I have questions. For print books I really like The Brewmaster's Bible by Stephen Snyder (http://www.amazon.com/Brewmasters-Bible-Gold-Standard-Brewers/dp/0060952164), which has great beginner's info in addition to a slew of recipes from extract to all-grain. And of course you've already found Home Brew Talk which has been my best resource. Welcome to the club and happy brewing!

Did you adjust your reading for temperature?
Example: my hydrometer is calibrated at 60 deg. If my test sample is 72 deg. I have to add .002 to the reading. So if I read 1.040 my actual gravity is really 1.042

menerdari said:

Did you adjust your reading for temperature?
Example: my hydrometer is calibrated at 60 deg. If my test sample is 72 deg. I have to add .002 to the reading. So if I read 1.040 my actual gravity is really 1.042

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I did my first gravity reading at 75 degrees and my hydrometer is calibrated at 60 degrees as well. It sounds like I am a bit closer to where I should be then!!

As far as not using a secondary fermenter, I originally was going too because my kit came with one, but it sounds like most people say not too unless I am doing a weird beer. When I go to bottle my beer, I will first want to remove the yeast cake from the top and then siphon it to my bottling bucket, correct?

Should I get anothe ale pail so I can start another batch or should I use my glass carboy?

Thanks again for your advice!

Chris

clawler said:

When I go to bottle my beer, I will first want to remove the yeast cake from the top and then siphon it to my bottling bucket, correct?

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After 3-4 weeks, your yeast will have all fallen to the bottom, creating a nicely compacted yeast cake. When you bottle, you can just siphon all the nice clear beer from off the top of the cake.

chally said:

After 3-4 weeks, your yeast will have all fallen to the bottom, creating a nicely compacted yeast cake. When you bottle, you can just siphon all the nice clear beer from off the top of the cake.

Click to expand...

Awesome, thank you! I think it's time to go get another ale pail then and start another batch.

chally said:

After 3-4 weeks, your yeast will have all fallen to the bottom, creating a nicely compacted yeast cake. When you bottle, you can just siphon all the nice clear beer from off the top of the cake.

Click to expand...

Awesome, thank you! I think it's time to go get another ale pail then and start another batch.

Chris