Some general getting started questions...

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adamhimself

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What's up everyone?

So, I finally received everything today! This is the kit I ordered from Midwest Supplies. I have to say I am most pleased with my order and the way it was handled. If you consider how much everything weighed and the time it took to get here, then the shipping cost wasn't bad at all. I think the only thing that could make this kit better would be an additional airlock as it only has one.

Anyways, I have some basic newb questions that I need to ask to reassure im doing things right.

Does the LME need to be refrigerated? I know the yeast should be. Is there a good way to tell the yeast is good in quality. The kit had Munton's Brewer's Yeast in a small yellow package. For some reason, I expected more and I thought it was going to be liquid.

It came with some sort of sanitizer (LD Carlson Company 'Easy Clean', No Rinse Cleaner)... is this sufficient for my first batch or should I do some sort of other cleaning/sanitization process since its brand new gear?

It came with hop pellets, grains, and some sort of muslin bag (I think). Is it better to use the bag for both pellets and grains or just drop 'em in and then filter via a strainer.

I have heard arguments both for and against primary and then secondary fermentation. I have the gear to do both, so should I do both? Or just give primary only for the first go around?

Is there a website or video on youtube that shows how to use the autosiphon properly and easily? :)

And finally... what is something good for soaking beer bottles in to remove old labels?

I think I could figure this all out on my own, but this is kind of my way in learning and truly understanding something.

Thanks guys...

I will post some pics of my gear once I get things going.
 
Well as a nOOb myself can not answer alot, but I racked first batch to a secondary just so I could get primary clean for second brew. :mug:
 
Does the LME need to be refrigerated? I know the yeast should be. Is there a good way to tell the yeast is good in quality. The kit had Munton's Brewer's Yeast in a small yellow package. For some reason, I expected more and I thought it was going to be liquid.

I don't refrigerate my extract. I've used both LME and DME and don't think refrigerating would do anything other than making your extract colder.

Almost all yeast you will get will be great to use unless it is past its "expiration" date. Keeping the yeast in the fridge will insure that it is in prime condition, but you won't know until you pitch (or make a starter, which is a good practice no matter what).

It came with some sort of sanitizer (LD Carlson Company 'Easy Clean', No Rinse Cleaner)... is this sufficient for my first batch or should I do some sort of other cleaning/sanitization process since its brand new gear?

I used Easy Clean for my first few batches, but I don't remember it being a no-rinse sanitizer. It will be absolutely fine, but I'd invest in some Star San or Iodophor when you run out of the Easy Clean.

It came with hop pellets, grains, and some sort of muslin bag (I think). Is it better to use the bag for both pellets and grains or just drop 'em in and then filter via a strainer.

If you're using some specialty grains, I'm sure that's what the bag is for. Usually you'd just dump the hop pellets in when your recipe tells you. Definitely don't want to be boiling those grains loosely in your wort. I don't strain my hops out, really doesn't seem necessary to me.

I have heard arguments both for and against primary and then secondary fermentation. I have the gear to do both, so should I do both? Or just give primary only for the first go around?

You're right, there are a few opinions on this. I used to use a secondary, but now I just let my beer sit in primary for at least a month and bottle from that. Do a search on primary vs. secondary for some better info.

Is there a website or video on youtube that shows how to use the autosiphon properly and easily? :)

Dunno about videos, but it's really simple. Stick the bottom of your autosiphon a few inches into what you're siphoning from (at least six inches is preferable) and pump quickly a couple of times until it starts going on its own. Don't worry about messing anything up. Autosiphons are made for this kind of thing.

And finally... what is something good for soaking beer bottles in to remove old labels?

Oxiclean. That's it. Best product known to man. Works great for cleaning the krausen/caked-on hops out of your primary too.
 
x2 on the oxyclean... The hottest you can get your tap water with some oxyclean and let them soak for a few hours.. Most labels will fall off or will easily peel off. (MOST labels)
 
Good Luck on your first brew. The Irish Red from Midwest was the 1st kit that I made. I was so happy with the results, I drank all of them in 2 weeks after they were ready. My advice to you is to start another kit as soon as you can after this one, so that you can get your "pipeline" started.
 
Thanks for all the help guys.

I double checked the cleaner and it does say on there "No Rinse Cleaner"

But, to me, it seems like you would want to rinse it out so no chemicals get left behind that could affect taste. Right?
 
No rinse sanitizes are meant not to be rinsed... theoretically you are un-sanitizing when you rinse. I rinse anyway and haven't had any problem so far, but I am using artesian well water.

I don't have an auto-siphon... I was going to buy one, but my LHBS guy talked me out of it and explained how to siphon without one.

Basically you fill up the full thing with sanitizer (I actually use water after sanitizing my siphon hose) if you hold the two open ends up together nothing pours out. You then clamp off the "out" end (you could put a sanitized finger over it.)

Put the "in" end down into your bucket. Un-clamp and empty the water into a extra container, switching to your secondary or bottling bucket when the beer gets to the out end (you can clamp here too so that you don't make a lot of mess.)

Not sure how well I explained that, and you already have to equipment, so maybe you won't bother. I find this is fairly easy, and it means sanitizing one less thing.

Have fun and welcome to the obsession!
 
Here is a video from midwest that will help you w/ the siphon.

+1 on the oxiclean. Can buy the real stuff or the knock-off wal-mart brand. Both work great.

Use the bag to steep the grains. Follow the instructions you got w/ the kit, but the rule of thumb I use is to steep the grains for 20 minutes @160 degrees, then pull it out of the water, bring it to a boil, and add the hops. Think of it as a big ass teabag.

I won't begin to touch the pros and cons of secondary fermentation here. You can make a great beer either way. In fact, half of the time, I only find myself using a secondary if I am bored and feel like playing with my beer.

And a tip for a new brewer: when you open your primary, there will be a LOT of crud in there. You'll be positive that it looks worse than any pic you've seen on the site, and you'll convince yourself that you messed something up and you'll need to dump the batch and start over...... Your beer is fine. Fermentation is gross. Over time you'll learn be more worried when you don't see all the crud.

Hope I could help, enjoy the hobby.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for all the help guys.

I double checked the cleaner and it does say on there "No Rinse Cleaner"

But, to me, it seems like you would want to rinse it out so no chemicals get left behind that could affect taste. Right?

Great choice using midwest check your local homebrew sply for additional airlocks probadly cost you all of two bucks.Welcome fellow texan to
home brewing!!
"beware" it can be very addicting:mug:
 
STOP! Your EasyClean is a No Rinse CLEANER, not a SANITIZER. Take your chances if you'd like, but I'd recommend picking up some StarSan or Iodophor before you brew.
 
STOP! Your EasyClean is a No Rinse CLEANER, not a SANITIZER. Take your chances if you'd like, but I'd recommend picking up some StarSan or Iodophor before you brew.

I've already started. I am just going to have to roll with it.

Its taking forever to get the temp for steeping grains up to 155 on an electric stove.

I am going to make an order to AHS later for their Texas Bock and to get an additional airlock. I will nab some Star San off there.
 
Alright, so I think I made it through ok. I did make a few rookie mistakes. I let it boil over once or twice. I went through it without sanitizer. I took my cleaner to be sanitizer and halfway through someone pointed that out. So I just went with it.

Electric stoves take FOREVER to get something to boil. I was doing 3 gallons (2 gallons of water added at end.) In the future, I am going to do 2 gallon boils so it doesn't take as long. I would also like to note that the grains reminded me of sunflower seeds in the way they smelled.

My starting gravity was 1.043 and that is spot on with the directions I received. I was trying to get the airlock in on my ale pail and it was squirting water down into the fermenter. So, not to self... don't add water UNTIL you have the airlock on and secured. Another note to self: Get another carboy. This plastic pail is too much ghetto rigging.

The directions said either to put the yeast in lukewarm water or just sprinkle over the wort. So, I just sprinkled it over the wort. It looked like it was almost going to life and eating the sugars right before my eyes. I was so stoked. I pitched the yeast at a temp of about 68 degrees.

There appeared to be quite a bit of sediment and I expected the beer to be much more red than brown. It was very cloudy. We shall see.
 
Alright just ordered my 2nd beer and it is to be....

Texas Bock!

I also nabbed another airlock and some star san.

I was also thinking... if my grains were steeped for too long... what would happen?
 
A couple of things to note.

1. Your beer will most likely be fine, but why leave things to chance. Pick up that StarSan for your next batch and always remember you must first CLEAN then you must SANITIZE.

2. The electric stove will take quite a while to get up to temps, next time you see a turkey fryer on sale pick it up! You can then brew outside and do full boils, your brew will thank you for it!

3. Good job on that OG, the fact that you did a partial boil and still hit your OG on means you really mixed that wort up well, so it should be nice and aerated for your yeasties.

4. Use StarSan or cheap Vodka in your airlock, I use Vodka so if I get suckback or dripping it doesn't matter.

5. On that order with AHS pick up some FermcapS, that will kill your boilover issues and keep you from having to use a blowoff tube in place of your airlocks. Do a search for blowoff tube and you'll see why this is important.

6. Dry Yeast, I always rehydrate it. It "proofs" your yeast to ensure that it's viable, kind of like a starter for liquid yeast.

7. Don't worry about the sediment, the 3+ weeks that it's going to be sitting in the bucket will take care of that. It'll all fall to the bottom. (You were going to leave it for at least 3 weeks right?)

8. Don't worry about steeping the grains too long, it's not going to hurt anything. Just don't steep them too hot or boil them! I do mine for 30mins at 155 usually.

9. Don't know if I said it yet but; Welcome to the Obsession!

10. If you've got any more questions, feel free to ask!
 
A couple of things to note.

1. Your beer will most likely be fine, but why leave things to chance. Pick up that StarSan for your next batch and always remember you must first CLEAN then you must SANITIZE.

2. The electric stove will take quite a while to get up to temps, next time you see a turkey fryer on sale pick it up! You can then brew outside and do full boils, your brew will thank you for it!

3. Good job on that OG, the fact that you did a partial boil and still hit your OG on means you really mixed that wort up well, so it should be nice and aerated for your yeasties.

4. Use StarSan or cheap Vodka in your airlock, I use Vodka so if I get suckback or dripping it doesn't matter.

5. On that order with AHS pick up some FermcapS, that will kill your boilover issues and keep you from having to use a blowoff tube in place of your airlocks. Do a search for blowoff tube and you'll see why this is important.

6. Dry Yeast, I always rehydrate it. It "proofs" your yeast to ensure that it's viable, kind of like a starter for liquid yeast.

7. Don't worry about the sediment, the 3+ weeks that it's going to be sitting in the bucket will take care of that. It'll all fall to the bottom. (You were going to leave it for at least 3 weeks right?)

8. Don't worry about steeping the grains too long, it's not going to hurt anything. Just don't steep them too hot or boil them! I do mine for 30mins at 155 usually.

9. Don't know if I said it yet but; Welcome to the Obsession!

10. If you've got any more questions, feel free to ask!

I second the turkey fryer kit.I know you have an academy store in lubbock
iif you do not want the fryer kit pick up just a burner $40.00
 
I picked my fryer up for $30.00 at Target of all places on Black Friday. I use the pot for turkeys, and my keggle for full boils. I can do a 12gal batch in that thing if I want to, with the help of the FermcapS of course. Oh and I use weldless fittings on my keggle from bargainfittings.com.
 
I picked my fryer up for $30.00 at Target of all places on Black Friday. I use the pot for turkeys, and my keggle for full boils. I can do a 12gal batch in that thing if I want to, with the help of the FermcapS of course. Oh and I use weldless fittings on my keggle from bargainfittings.com.

You got a hell of a deal!
 
r/t your wanting a carboy vs. a bucket, maybe think about it a little more. IMHO, there are more advantages to buckets than carboys, but there are threads already about that. The biggest downside to the bucket is that you can't see what's happening. But, buckets are easy to clean, easy to fill/empty, easy to stir, and they block u/v light. Carboys look neat, but are generally the opposite of what I described above. Glad to hear your brew went well. This stuff gets pretty fun.
 
r/t your wanting a carboy vs. a bucket, maybe think about it a little more. IMHO, there are more advantages to buckets than carboys, but there are threads already about that. The biggest downside to the bucket is that you can't see what's happening. But, buckets are easy to clean, easy to fill/empty, easy to stir, and they block u/v light. Carboys look neat, but are generally the opposite of what I described above. Glad to hear your brew went well. This stuff gets pretty fun.

I have both bucket,several glass carboys.The bucket is easier to clean but after several batches the plastic absorbs the odor of the beer that was in it.The carboy's are a pain to clean but glass does not absorb any odor that is
my main reason i prefer them or buckets.
 
So, I just took a look at my bucket to see how its doing. The airlock is bubbling now (little more than 24 hours in). I didn't open it and don't intend to until about 7-8 days in so I can take the gravity.

The temperature is hovering around 70 degrees in the closet and I know the floor is much colder. I assume that is ok for fermenting? should I make it colder and if so, then how?
 
I try to keep my brew room at about 70F (or 21C) - not saying that is right, just what I do... I think that is nearer the low end of the range that ale yeast likes. I find it is a good temp, and it doesn't eat my electrical bill. I stand to be corrected by somebody who is more expert than I am.

I would suggest putting something under it if the floor is colder. I have a couple of squares of insulation board ends that I have under my fermenters. In a pinch (read under my secondaries) I use a couple of layers of cardboard.

Good luck! The waiting is the harderst part.
 
Alright I tossed a folded up towel underneath it so its not sitting directly on the floor. The temp was about 68 degrees. I turned up the heat in my apartment because even the apartment was reading about 65-68 degrees in the apartment. I think this should help out a little.

I opened the lid to check it and just have a look since im curious. It smelled like beer, alcohol, and this indistinguishable smell. It was like a sweet/sour smell. Everything looked normal, no weird bubbles, no lumps, nothing gross, and it looked like it had a small head of foam across the surface. It looked similar to foam youd find in a beer!

I assume thats all right.
 
It will get a little grosser... fermentation is messy... when you are done you will have ring 1/2 inch or more around the top....perfectly normal. And the odd smell is probably the yeast working away, but that is a guess (100% n00b who never opened her fermenter early guess.)
 
Thanks Lady Brewer. I really appreciate it.

The airlock isn't bubbling that much anymore. I guess I am roughly a little less than 48 hours in. The ambient air temp in the closet is 70 degrees F. The bucket is now sitting on the towel as previously mentioned. I put a tad more water in the airlock cause it looked like some had evaporated or gone down.

I will also use vodka/brandy/star san in the next batch.
 
So, I took a look today to make sure everything was moving along fine and I noticed what looked like little chunks (no more than the size of a dime, if that) floating on the top and little bits and pieces of stuff. This isn't the beginning of contamination/infection is it?

What should I look out for?
 
Got pics? It's hard to judge without pictures.

That said, when the krausen (the foamy layer on top of your beer) has fallen, it will often leave floating islands of bubbles. This is normal and nothing to worry about.
 
That indistinguishable smell...i think i know what youre talking about. Regular muntons yeast has a strange smell to it. IMHO, i would recommend steering clear of muntons regular yeast in the future. Ive used it twice and been dissappointed with its performance both times. Just my .02. Welcome to HBT btw!
 

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