Preparing for first brew

So for Christmas I received a home brewing equipment kit including 2 buckets, a better bottle carboy, hydrometer, thermometer, auto siphon, and such as well as an immersion chiller. I'm planning on brewing an extract kit IPA first in the next week or so. My first question is aluminum vs stainless...ha ha, kidding, I know it's been done. I have a 30qt aluminum pot with my turkey fryer.

anyway, I purchased a digital thermometer that keeps temperature trends and put it in the basement. So far the reading has been from 60 to 62 degrees. It seems right on the cusp of acceptable fermentation temp from what I've read. Should I utilize a brew belt for an IPA while fermenting or will the temp be ok?

Thanks, trying to read up as much as I can before I get started. Sooo much to know.

Welcome to the board

Your temp should be fine. Remember that fermentation can raise the temp of your brew as much as ten degrees above ambient.

60-62 is perfect for some beer types and yeasts. by adding a brew belt you increase the temp 5-8deg and that puts you in a whole new range for yeasts and flavors.

I'd say your Fermentation location is as perfect as it gets!

OK...hold on a min. My last name is Hamm......where u at in Del?

Hammy71 said:

OK...hold on a min. My last name is Hamm......where u at in Del?

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northern delaware, the newark area. you?

ok, so I picked up an IPA kit and it says to boil 2.5 gallons of water and then add water at the end to get to 5 gallons. Is this considered a partial boil? would it be better to do a full 5 gallon boil from the beginning?

Newark - that's close to at least one other member here that I know that lives up that way.

Keep an eye out for the MD brewday threads down in the gatherings area if you want to come down and brew with us and learn and (more importantly) get your drink on with a couple HBT guys.

If you have the capability to do a full boil, go for it. I started out with partial boils and made some fantastic beers.

A full boil will give you better hop utilization.

So if you really like IPAs, and the kit is an extract + hops kit go for it. It will be more bitter and hoppier than the partial boil expected by the kit.

If it's a pre-hopped kit, then there will be no change at all.

JHamm said:

northern delaware, the newark area. you?

ok, so I picked up an IPA kit and it says to boil 2.5 gallons of water and then add water at the end to get to 5 gallons. Is this considered a partial boil? would it be better to do a full 5 gallon boil from the beginning?

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I live in Colora, MD (Cecil county), just down the street. Yeah, if you have a pot big enough to do a full boil than go for it. Of course you'll loose some to evaporation. You can either start out with more or better yet since it's your first go around, just top off your fermenter to reach the 5 gallon mark.

Welcome and Cheers!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to say "Welcome to the addiction". If you like good beer, you'll be in with the rest of us...

Hammy71 said:

I live in Colora, MD (Cecil county), just down the street. Yeah, if you have a pot big enough to do a full boil than go for it. Of course you'll loose some to evaporation. You can either start out with more or better yet since it's your first go around, just top off your fermenter to reach the 5 gallon mark.

Welcome and Cheers!!

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Awesome. I grew up in Rising Sun. small world

So I suppose I'll do the full boil which, from what I'm understanding at this point, will raise the IBU?

Have to go out and get propane to oxidize? the pot and start trying to clean and sanitize everything. Hopefully start brewing this or next weekend.

Thanks everyone for the welcome. A lot of useful information here and I look forward to joining in as I learn more. Happy New Years!

JHamm, I would only use your turkey pot if it will be dedicated to brewing and is clean. No oil on it if it has been used, it will kill the head of the beer.

A six gal pot won't allow you a true full boil I don't think. To end with 5 gals, you'll need to start w at least 6 gals of water to account for boil off. I would think this would cause boilovers. If it were myself, I'd start with about 5.5 gals and still keep a close sye on boilovers. That should get you to about 4.5 gals or less, possibly more depending on your environment. Then just top off with water. This still way better than diluting 2.5 gal wort with 2.5 gal water.

If you go full boil, reduce hops by around 20-25%. My 1st was a kit IIPA, full boil, turned out pretty good. Welcome aboard

Another DE guy checking in! I'm in N. Wilmington.

I too was going to try and brew my first extract this weekend, but my pot which I found on craigslist from a woman in Glasgow ended up being all pitted and corroded, something I couldn't tell until i got it home and cleaned it up. oh well.

Any of you guys know who I might call to get a cheap keg from around here? Sorry for the mini-hijack

Cheers to brewing in 2010!
Jay

FoeKillerCreek said:

JHamm, I would only use your turkey pot if it will be dedicated to brewing and is clean. No oil on it if it has been used, it will kill the head of the beer.

A six gal pot won't allow you a true full boil I don't think. To end with 5 gals, you'll need to start w at least 6 gals of water to account for boil off. I would think this would cause boilovers. If it were myself, I'd start with about 5.5 gals and still keep a close sye on boilovers. That should get you to about 4.5 gals or less, possibly more depending on your environment. Then just top off with water. This still way better than diluting 2.5 gal wort with 2.5 gal water.

If you go full boil, reduce hops by around 20-25%. My 1st was a kit IIPA, full boil, turned out pretty good. Welcome aboard

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Yeah, I bought the turkey fryer specifically for brewing so it's a new pot, which is 30 qt (7.5 gallons) so I think I'll be ok. I'll have a fan or something on standby for possible boil overs. thanks for the tip.

whoneedsabeer said:

Another DE guy checking in! I'm in N. Wilmington.

I too was going to try and brew my first extract this weekend, but my pot which I found on craigslist from a woman in Glasgow ended up being all pitted and corroded, something I couldn't tell until i got it home and cleaned it up. oh well.

Any of you guys know who I might call to get a cheap keg from around here? Sorry for the mini-hijack

Cheers to brewing in 2010!
Jay

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Send a PM to claphamsa, he might be looking to get rid of his kegs since he bought some new kettles with thermometers and sight glasses.

You could talk to him at the MD brewday in a few weeks if you come on down (see gatherings thread for details).

ok, so update on the basement temperature trend. today I went downstairs and it's showing a temp of 58 degrees so the range has been 58 to 62 over the past few days. It is really windy today and yesterday (like 50 mph winds overnight). Would fermenting an IPA in that range still be ok or should I utilize a brew belt or at least a blanket wrapped around the fermenter? I haven't actually started yet but just trying to have all my ducks in order before beginning. Thanks.

What kind of yeasties are you pitching in there? I seem to remember in John Palmer's book a list of a lot of different yeasts, and their optimum temp ranges.

There's also the heat that's given off during fermentation, which will raise your temps some. Do you have one of those sticky thermometers that adhere to the side of the carboy?

The wind caused a pretty big dead branch to break off of one of the trees above my driveway early this AM, and dented the roof of the car. Stupid wind.