Just got my equipment....and a big surprise

So my intermediate equipment kit arrived today from Michigan Brewing Co / Things Beer (quick shipping time but poor communication from them). Ordered it early Monday morning and got it this afternoon via UPS. It looks like I have everything but I have a few concerns.

1. The thermometer they sent was a liquid crystal thermometer, ie, the kind you stick on your fishtank. Is this normal?

2. I thought I was getting an extract kit but instead I got some bags of dry malt and 2 kinds of hops, Cascade and Columbus. This is my first homebrew so I was expecting something else. (I did receive a grain bag with it)

I would like to post the recipe, MBC Mackinac Straits Pale Ale Facsimile, so that I can get the OK from the gurus here. Is this the right forum to post the recipe?

Thanks in advance....

Post away. In the future, it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

here is the recipe for MBC Mackinac Straits Pale Ale Facsimilie

5 1/2 lb light dry malt
3/4 lb Munich malt 10L
1/2 lb Crystal 60L
1 oz Columbus hops (60 min boil)
1 1/4 oz Cascade hops (end of boil)
6 tsp. Gypsum
2 tsp. Burton water salts
Wyeast 1272 or Whitebread Ale dry yeast
grain bag
3/4 cup priming sugar


I did pick up a 22 quart stainless steel brewpot today at Walmart. The recipe calls to boil 1 1/3 gallons of cold water but at the end of the recipe it says if you have room to boil 3 gallons or more. I do not have a wort cooler so I would be using cold water in the bath tub.

You should read Palmer's chapter on Brewing your first specialty grain beer. It'll provide the detailed instructions you need. Then ask any questions you have here.

Looks like you're off to an all grain start. You might want to set that aside until you complete a couple extract kits. At any rate you need a better thermometer,. Get a dial thermometer.

Genghis77 said:

Looks like you're off to an all grain start.

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I thought the first item was supposed to be DME...if not that's not enough grain for even a light beer.

HurricaneFloyd said:

here is the recipe for MBC Mackinac Straits Pale Ale Facsimilie

5 1/2 lb light dry malt
3/4 lb Munich malt 10L
1/2 lb Crystal 60L
1 oz Columbus hops (60 min boil)
1 1/4 oz Cascade hops (end of boil)
6 tsp. Gypsum
2 tsp. Burton water salts
Wyeast 1272 or Whitebread Ale dry yeast
grain bag
3/4 cup priming sugar


I did pick up a 22 quart stainless steel brewpot today at Walmart. The recipe calls to boil 1 1/3 gallons of cold water but at the end of the recipe it says if you have room to boil 3 gallons or more. I do not have a wort cooler so I would be using cold water in the bath tub.

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Looks mighty tasty! Did they send the 1272 yeast with it?

Then, that sounds like a good start with a partial grain. Guess I got my wires crossed there. He could still use a real thermometer. I don't have much use for those LCD type mylar stick ons.

Looks ok. A lot of gypsum. Does it say to add the gypsum and salts before or after steeping the grain?

Dry extract, liquid extract, both work, both have their supporters and detractors. I use liquid extract more, but a bag of DME is always good to have around for priming, yeast starters or kicking the gravity of an ale up a bit.

I suspect the LC thermometer is for the side of the fermenter. This is one of about 5 ways to monitor the temp. It works.

yes, they sent the 1272 yeast with it, it was packaged with a gel freezer pack to keep it cool and it is now in the fridge.

also, it says to add the gyspum and Burton water salts after steeping.

so, the "fishtank" thermometer is going to be ok for now? I'll buy a new one later if I can hold off, I'd rather not spend any more $ at this time.

floyd, here is a set of instructions for your 1st brew from my local HBS web page. see ifit helps any.

http://www.defalcos.com/firstbatchofbeer.htm

I don't think you will want to boil that fishtank thermo. Find a restaurant supply shop and you can get a decent thermometer for a couple bucks.

thank you for the link.

A few more questions before I start tonight. Can I use an oral thermometer or a meat thermometer instead of going out and buying a new one? Off the top of my head I can't remember how low or how high the temp's go on these types of thermometers.
Can I use the plastic fermenter bucket to sanitize my equipment in or should I use a rubbermaid bin or the bath tub? MBC sent me some kind of santizer powder so I won't be using bleach.
It seems like the different books and recipes I read differ in what to use as the primary fermenter. Should I use the plastic bucket or the glass carboy as the primary fermenter?
The yeast I have is already liquid so can I just dump it in straight from the fridge?

A no on the oral thermometer (I've never seen one that can reach 170F), and a maybe on the meat thermometer. You need to measure temps around 140 - 180F or so.

you can get a 'candy' thermometer for 4 bucks at walmart...

I got my candy thermometer for 5 bucks at Stop and Shop. I found it to be accurate within +-4*F, or 2 hash marks, so it works fine for me. I also use a regular meat thermometer for lower temps, since it goes down to 80*F, which my candy doesn't. the tape thermometer is for your fermenter bucket, as others have stated.

And you really should do a starter on the yeast... I realize it is too late, but at least warm it up slowly before you toss it into your pre-beer mass.
At least:
After you add your malt extract to your water take, after it goes through hot break, take a ladle full and put it in a bowl, cover it, cool it, add the yeast to this for 30-40 minutes, or until your wort is cool enough to pitch into.

catfish said:

And you really should do a starter on the yeast... I realize it is too late, but at least warm it up slowly before you toss it into your pre-beer mass.
At least:
After you add your malt extract to your water take, after it goes through hot break, take a ladle full and put it in a bowl, cover it, cool it, add the yeast to this for 30-40 minutes, or until your wort is cool enough to pitch into.

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Why is it too late? I plan on starting tonight when I get home from work.
If I take out the yeast and bring it up to room temp before I start shouldn't I be ok to mix that with the ladle full of wort? Will the temp of the water that I add to the fermenter before adding in the wort effect the yeast?

From my understanding, those fishtank style of thermometers are to be stuck on the outside of your carboy to help monitor fermentation temps.

HurricaneFloyd said:

Why is it too late? I plan on starting tonight when I get home from work.
If I take out the yeast and bring it up to room temp before I start shouldn't I be ok to mix that with the ladle full of wort? Will the temp of the water that I add to the fermenter before adding in the wort effect the yeast?

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A true starter should go for a couple days, is what I think he meant. basically, it is a mini batch of brew w/o any hops or other additives-just malt water and yeast. The process that he listed is instead of making the starter, since you plan on brewing tonight. It is similiar to the process that I follow every time I brew, except I use dried yeast. You might be even better served by boiling up some water and DME first thing, getting it cooled (below 80*F), and then adding your yeast, and letting it set through the whole brew process.

Truble said:

A true starter should go for a couple days, is what I think he meant. basically, it is a mini batch of brew w/o any hops or other additives-just malt water and yeast. The process that he listed is instead of making the starter, since you plan on brewing tonight. It is similiar to the process that I follow every time I brew, except I use dried yeast. You might be even better served by boiling up some water and DME first thing, getting it cooled (below 80*F), and then adding your yeast, and letting it set through the whole brew process.

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But I thought the Wyeast products don't need a starter, you can just pour those in. howtobrew.com says to do a starter for the 50ml but not the 170ml because the 170ml already has more yeast cells. Of hand I don't remember how many ml my yeast pouch is but I know it is Wyeast.

Even for the larger packs and tubes you can buy nowadays, it's still a good idea to make a starter. The more yeast, the better. Plus, if you yeast is towards the older end of the spectrum (or they were mishandled, etc), they might not have enough healthy cells to get the jobs done.

Since I only have used dry yeast so far, I can't comment on that, though I think that most people who use liquid also use a starter. That said, others have pitched it in straight with successful results. I have never been steered wrong by Palmer, though, so I am sure you will be ok. The way I look at it,though, is that starters, and even hydration/proofing serves an important purpose beyond getting the cell count up-it assures you that they yeast you are going to pitch is viable. Better to know what you have before you pitch. Some do, some don't. Since I like to hydrate the dried before I pitch, I just take it that one step further, and it gets my batches going much quicker, and I am satisfied that I am pitching viable yeast. All FWIW

Plus, by using a starter, you can pitch yeast that you are sure is not contaminated. You don't need a starter, but, after cleanliness, it is the number one thing you can do to improve the quality and decrease the contamination rates of your beer.

catfish said:

At least:
After you add your malt extract to your water take, after it goes through hot break, take a ladle full and put it in a bowl, cover it, cool it, add the yeast to this for 30-40 minutes, or until your wort is cool enough to pitch into.

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So if I do a starter this way, will I see activity after the 30-40 minutes? And if so, that proves the yeast is OK? What if I don't see any activity?

Also, can anyone answer my prior questions regarding sanitizing in the primary fermenter bucket (I read in palmer that this was ok, again, I will be using a one step sanitizer) and whether to use the glass fermenter or plastic fermenter for the primary?

Again, thanks to everyone for your assistance! Sorry to be such a pain.

HurricaneFloyd said:

So if I do a starter this way, will I see activity after the 30-40 minutes? And if so, that proves the yeast is OK? What if I don't see any activity?

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I'm not sure you will see a whole lot of activity this way...maybe a little foaming.

HurricaneFloyd said:

Also, can anyone answer my prior questions regarding sanitizing in the primary fermenter bucket (I read in palmer that this was ok, again, I will be using a one step sanitizer) and whether to use the glass fermenter or plastic fermenter for the primary?

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Yes, it's fine to sanitize this way, but it forces you to get everything sanitized and set aside before you start using the primary. IMHO it's best to have a separate bucket to hold the sanitizer, so you can just toss things in as you need them. Also, if you're using iodophor, ten minutes or so will begin to stain your bucket, which isn't that big of a deal, but kind of hard to get past mentally. You didn't say what size your carboy is. If it's 6.5 gallons, then use it for the primary...if it's five gallons then that's your secondary.

Just nearly finished the first day of the first batch, I'm currently at about 78F so I'm waiting for it to cool a little bit more so I can add the yeast starter (which is currently foaming like you said it would EP!)
I took a reading with the hydrometer, accurate temp is 60F, current temp was 74F and the reading was 1.060. Is this good? I tried toconvert it but since this is the first time I'm doing it I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. According to The Bible, it says to add .002-.003 for every 10 degrees over the accurate temp so I think I'm looking at a reading of approx. 1.063 - 1.0645. Again, haven't added the yeast yet since the bucket is still about 78F.

My apartment stinks....

HurricaneFloyd said:

My apartment stinks....

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stinks! are you mad man!?!?!?! that's the smell of heaven to us
brewers!!!!

DeRoux's Broux said:

stinks! are you mad man!?!?!?! that's the smell of heaven to us
brewers!!!!

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That's easy for you to say, based on your gallery it looks like you brew in your garage!

That's because our wives kicked us out of there. Since we now have more room our system's got bigger. We still hang our heads over the brew pot though. Sniff..Sniff...Yeah Baby!