Getting ready for first batch

My girlfriend got me a homebrewing kit from a local supply store. It's not an out-of-the-box kit, the guy that worked there basically pieced together the kit from the stuff on his shelf, including the ingredients that I would need to make the first batch. My girl knows nothing about brewing beer and she picked a recipe out of a brewing magazine for a Racer 5 clone.

I love Racer 5 so that's not a problem but the fact there are no instructions at all with the kit is leaving me a bit overwhelmed and slightly confused.

(I just realized this will probably be a long post - sorry!)

The kit contains:
5 gal carboy
6.5 food grade bucket with a hole for a spigot
auto siphon
sanitizer
3' piece of soft plastic tubing
1' long piece of hard plastic tube with something on the end that I don't really know how to describe
carboy cap
hydrometer
what looks like a sock - is this a grain bag?
bottle brush
bottle caps & cap tool

Also included are all the ingredients to make 5 gallons of Racer 5.

I've been doing a ton of reading here and elsewhere over the last few days and I think I have a handle on the basic process but I have a few questions.

From what I can gather, the recipe for making Racer 5 is a little advanced for a first brew but I think if I put enough time and effort into the project I can do it right the first time (someone correct me if I'm way off base with that assumption). I'm good at cooking following directions, figuring stuff out, noticing when something doesn't make sense which all seem to be good home-brewing skills to have.

The recipe (shortened for brevity):

6 lbs DME
4 different types of malt in the form of crushed grains, totaling about 3 lbs
dextrose
6 different types of hops
liquid yeast

The recipe in the magazine assumes a level of knowledge about brewing that I do not yet possess.

"Mash in at 145* then ramp temp to 152* for conversion. Mash out to 170*. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times specified. Ferment at 68*" is what it says.

Ok, my questions:

- Why do I have both a carboy and a food grade bucket? The recipe does not say anything about a two-stage fermentation process. Do I need the carboy for this recipe?

- What does "mash in at X" mean? How do I ramp the temperature? What does "mash out to X" mean?

- What does an airlock look like? I have something that I think might an airlock but I'm not sure.

- The recipe says to steep the grains, which is pretty straightforward. I will need a thermometer (any recommendations for a style that works well?). I have also been reading up on mashing hoping to figure out what "mash in" and "mash out" mean but it's really only confused me.

Thanks for any help... there is a lot to learn about this new hobby of mine!

The mash in temp is what you first strike your grains and extract with. You heat your water and add the grain and or extract at that point for the specified time. At that point you raise the heat up to 152 and hold it there for the amount of time specified. At the point you either add water at 170 degrees to stop the process this is mash out.

As for the carboy and the bucket different strokes for different folks. Usually you need 6.5 to start because you will not have enough head room for fermentation. If the airlock gets stopped up you could explode you glass carboy and get hurt or make a big mess. If you want to use the 5 gallon carboy use a blow off tube into a bucket of starsan mixture. I recommend taking back the 5 gallon carboy and see if he will let you swap it for a 6.5 . I use a thermopen. It is the fastest most accurate one made.

Please post a picture of your airlock.

Sounds like you got an "Extract with steeping grains" kit. No mashing required.

Pick up a copy of "How to Brew" by Palmer. You will refer to it again and again.

And, hang on to that girlfriend! She sounds like a winner.

frazier said:

Sounds like you got an "Extract with steeping grains" kit. No mashing required.

Pick up a copy of "How to Brew" by Palmer. You will refer to it again and again.

And, hang on to that girlfriend! She sounds like a winner.

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You are right about that!!!! Thumbs up

Posting from my phone so these are very simple:

Bring water to ~150 and steep your grains in the grain bag (sock) for 20 min. Remove.

Bring water to a boil and add about a pound of your extract, stirring well to prevent clumps and scorching.

Add hops according to the hop schedule. Where it says @## min, it means ## minutes from the end, so @60 means "with 60 min left in the boil". Your boil time is however long your first hop addition says (60 min standard).

After your last hop addition, turn the flame off and add the remaining malt extract, stirring well.

Cool your wort to 65ish degrees, pour into your bucket, and top off to 5 gallons. Pitch yeast, seal the bucket, put your airlock in, and wait! The waiting is the hardest part.

Check out www.howtobrew.com it's the free 1st edition, it will go into more detail and is a quick read

kvess said:

The mash in temp is what you first strike your grains and extract with. You heat your water and add the grain and or extract at that point for the specified time. At that point you raise the heat up to 152 and hold it there for the amount of time specified. At the point you either add water at 170 degrees to stop the process this is mash out.

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Unfortunately the recipe does not give a time for any of those. It says exactly what I posted above.

Do I boil the wort for 90 minutes *after* the mashing in/out?

As for the carboy and the bucket different strokes for different folks. Usually you need 6.5 to start because you will not have enough head room for fermentation. If the airlock gets stopped up you could explode you glass carboy and get hurt or make a big mess. If you want to use the 5 gallon carboy use a blow off tube into a bucket of starsan mixture. I recommend taking back the 5 gallon carboy and see if he will let you swap it for a 6.5 . I use a thermopen. It is the fastest most accurate one made.

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I would rather use the carboy than the fermentation bucket but I was worried about the size of the carboy too. I will see if I can exchange it for the correct size.

So the chilled wort goes from the kettle, into the bucket (for aeration and yeast pitching), and then into the carboy for fermentation? And back to the bucket for bottling?

I'll get the thermometer today at the HBS store. Thanks for the info!

Please post a picture of your airlock.

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Pick up a copy of "How to Brew" by Palmer. You will refer to it again and again.

Click to expand...

Is the print version different from the online version? I've read the online version (most of it, anyway - the parts that seemed relevant).

And, hang on to that girlfriend! She sounds like a winner.

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Already part of the plan. She's awesome.

More questions...

The recipe calls for various different weights of hops. I have hop pellets.

- I've seen threads here where people said they wanted to avoid using hop pellets. They wanted whole hops. Why? What are the advantages/disadvantages?

- If a recipe calls for 0.2 oz of hops, is that whole hops or hop pellets? Is there a difference? I would imagine that the pellets are much more concentrated than whole hops.

I would guess that you have a partial mash kit, because 3 lbs. of gain is quite of bit just for steeping. Do you know the types of grain in the kit? If any of them are 2-row or pale malt then you have a partial mash kit. The Palmer book will explain this, but here's what I'd do.
Basically you heat up 1.5qt of water per lb of grain to mash. In your case heat 4.5 qt water to about 160F and then add the grains in the bag. Check the temp and heat it to get to 152-154F if necessary. Maintain this temp for 30-40 minutes. When finished, add another 2-3 gallons of water and heat this to a boil. Then add your malt extract and hops according to the schedule provided. You'll only need to do a 60 minute boil. When done, cool the wort to 68F and transfer that to a bucket or carboy. Then add water to get the total volume to 5 gallons. You can add tap water if you think it is "clean" enough. Some people are against this. They boil water for 15-20 minutes, allow to cool, and use that as their top-off water. Then pitch your yeast, install your lid/stopper and airlock, and wait.
And you use the dextrose for priming sugar when bottling the finished beer.

Edit: I forgot to mention you'll need to aerate the wort in your fermentor somehow. You could just shake the heck out of it, and that should be good enough.

Pellets vs whole is a personal preference. Pellets are a little more likely to clog something but not by much, I've used both interchangeably.

The weight doesn't matter, 1 oz is 1 Oz whole or pellet. You'll just have a much smaller volume of pellets

Also, the print book is 3rd edition which has updates, but the online version will still make you beer

LovesIPA said:

More questions...

The recipe calls for various different weights of hops. I have hop pellets.

- I've seen threads here where people said they wanted to avoid using hop pellets. They wanted whole hops. Why? What are the advantages/disadvantages?

- If a recipe calls for 0.2 oz of hops, is that whole hops or hop pellets? Is there a difference? I would imagine that the pellets are much more concentrated than whole hops.

Click to expand...

Whole or pellet hops will not make a huge difference. You will extract a little more bitterness from pellet hops. Just follow the recipe. And put your hops into the bag that you used to steep your grains.

Pellets are more convenient, and maybe just a little stronger per ounce than whole. You'll be fine, but.... I think you'd better tell us what hops you have, and we can try to construct a reasonable hopping schedule for your brew.

Cheers!

slarkin712 said:

I would guess that you have a partial mash kit, because 3 lbs. of gain is quite of bit just for steeping. Do you know the types of grain in the kit?

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Yes, the full ingredient list is:
2.0 lbs dried malt extract
0.33 lbs 2-row pale malt
1.66 lbs wheat malt
0.625 lbs crystal male (15* L)
0.42 lbs dextrose
0.21 lbs carapils malt
6.1 AAU Chinook hops (90 min)
8.7 AAU Cascades hops (60 min)
0.3 oz Centennial hops (dry)
0.3 oz Amarillo hops (dry)
0.2 oz Cascade hops (dry)
0.2 oz Tomahawk hops (dry)
Wyeast 1272
0.75 cups corn sugar

If any of them are 2-row or pale malt then you have a partial mash kit. The Palmer book will explain this, but here's what I'd do.
Basically you heat up 1.5qt of water per lb of grain to mash. In your case heat 4.5 qt water to about 160F and then add the grains in the bag. Check the temp and heat it to get to 152-154F if necessary. Maintain this temp for 30-40 minutes. When finished, add another 2-3 gallons of water and heat this to a boil.

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Ok, what about the mash-in, ramping, and mash-out temperatures in the recipe?

Then add water to get the total volume to 5 gallons. You can add tap water if you think it is "clean" enough. Some people are against this. They boil water for 15-20 minutes, allow to cool, and use that as their top-off water.

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I was planning on using spring water from the grocery store. I have no idea what's in the water here and I've read that boiling doesn't remove all the potentially flavor-altering minerals.

And you use the dextrose for priming sugar when bottling the finished beer.

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The recipe lists two different quantities of dextrose. Is one of them for priming and the other goes into the mash?

Edit: I forgot to mention you'll need to aerate the wort in your fermentor somehow. You could just shake the heck out of it, and that should be good enough.

Click to expand...

Exactly what I was going to do.

slarkin712 said:

Whole or pellet hops will not make a huge difference. You will extract a little more bitterness from pellet hops. Just follow the recipe. And put your hops into the bag that you used to steep your grains.

Click to expand...

Good idea, I will do that.

frazier said:

Pellets are more convenient, and maybe just a little stronger per ounce than whole. You'll be fine, but.... I think you'd better tell us what hops you have, and we can try to construct a reasonable hopping schedule for your brew.

Cheers!

Click to expand...

I posted all the ingredients above.

Thanks for the replies!

1) The mash-in is the step where you heat up your water to a 5-10F above your target temperature. Like I said, heat ~5qts water to 160F and then add you grains in a bag. This starts the mash, where enzymes in the malt convert the starches to sugars. After you add the grains stir it up and then check the temp. If it is below your target temp then add heat from your heat source. I don't think the ramping is necessary. Neither is the mash-out. Just let your grains mash for 30-40 mins and then remove the grains, add some more water and start your boil.

2) Spring water will work great. You could even chill some of this in the fridge for your top-off water after the boil and it will help speed the cooling of the wort.

3) So it looks like the dextrose goes into the boil. I'd probably add it with 30 minutes left. The corn sugar is for bottling.

I'd look on this forum for a good tutorial on partial mashing, as it will probably give you better/more thorough instructions than I've provided. Good luck!

I stopped by the HBSS today and asked the owner a lot of the same questions.

He said to basically ignore the mash steps and just steep the grains as directed. The mashing is for the all-grain version. So I can eliminate that step altogether.

I got the 6.5 gallon carboy no problem. I plan to do my primary fermenting in it. All I need for that is the cap and airlock, right?

I also picked up the Palmer book which seems to contain a lot more than the online version. Thanks for the recommendation.

The thermopen was about $100. I just got a cheap one instead. When I begin to take this more seriously I will upgrade.

How does this sound for a set of directions:

1. pour one gallon of water into pot
2. heat to 152*
3. insert grain bag
4. cook for 45 minutes
5. remove grain bag
6. add another gallon of water
7. bring to boil
8. add 6 lbs DME gradually
9. add 0.42 lbs dextrose
10. add 0.51 oz Chinook
11. wait 30 minutes
12. add 1.74 oz AAU Cascades
13. continue boiling for 60 minutes
14. Put kettle into sink of ice water
15. Pour wort into carboy
16. shake vigorously
17. top off carboy
18. add dry hops
19. pitch yeast
20. close, seal, and airlock carboy

I'm going to do a yeast starter as well.

Am I forgetting anything?

You have to wait to add the dry hops. Wait until primary fermentation is done, and the beer seems "stable". Probably two weeks post-pitch is good. You don't want all the yummy aromas getting pushed out through the airlock!

Also, look into hooking up a blowoff tube.

Cheers!

I don't do a "secondary". I just let it sit in the primary for the same time as both primary and secondary and if I have dry hops I add 7 days prior to bottling. And your directions look on point. ur swmbo's sis has my 6 pack variety of a simcoe hops and Canadian 2 row smash, an epic hop pale ale which I'm sure u love and a cranberry apple cider which is 10.1% booze give me a call when u give them a try

First batch is fermenting right now. Everything seemed to go according to plan except when I was heating the water to 152 to steep the grains I broke the thermometer, sending tiny balls of lead all over the top of the stove and into the water. Thank god I hadn't put the grains in the water yet. I'll let you know how it turns out in a couple weeks!

Thanks for the help Jon.. I ended up not boiling the water I used to top the carboy off.

I loved the smell of the wort but my girlfriend hated it. She got home from work and immediately ran outside. I had to run the kitchen fans and light incense before she would come back into the house.

Probably not lead balls in the thermometer, but good to get them out just in case.

Ooooh, bad sign dude. If GF is going to retch and run every time you brew - I dunno, that's storm clouds on the horizon. Hope she gets used to it!

She's going to have to get used to it... either that or chip in for a propane boiler.

The airlock bubbled like mad for about 2 days then started to taper off. It's been a week and now there are no bubbles at all. Is this normal? Is it done fermenting?

Take a hydrometer reading. Airlock bubbles are not an accurate indicator of whether or not fermentation is complete. Take a hydrometer sample 2-3 days in a row, and if the gravity is stable then it is done fermenting. At that point you could add the hops for dry hopping. If you plan on using a secondary, transfer the wort on top of the hops in the secondary fermentor (a secondary is not necessary).

Check your hydrometer reading and compare it to your recipes FG. Most likely if it has been a week you are ready to move to secondary.