Hoping to my first tomorrow...

But have a couple of questions..

My initial shipment came in but didn't include the mesh bag or airlock it was supposed to. (they are on there way and will be here tues or wed.)

I figured that the lack of the airlock isn't that great of a deal.. I'll just rig a blowoff tube. I briefly tried to put one of the included hoses into the rubber stopper drilled for the airlock and it didn't fit.

Should I mcGyver an blowoff tube or just wait for the airlock? (FWIW if i decide that i'm brewing tomorrow anyway any suggestions to wait might be ignored )
also.. any suggestions on blowoff tube rigging are appreciated


secondly..
the small amount of hops that came with the german hefe kit that i'm planning on doing first are pellets for bittering.

if I dump them in the wort with no bag will they settle to the bottom during cooling and/or will I be able to avoid them when i rack into the primary (6.5 gal class carboy)?


and lastly..
when racking into the primary.. if I leave the tube opening near the top of the carboy and let the wort fall from the top and splash in will that provide enough oxygenation for the yeasties to grow on??

TIA.

I'm pretty pumped about tomorrow!!

Will

You are right on track!
The blow off tube will work great. As a matter of fact, you may want to do that for every primary fermentation.

The hops will settle to the bottom of the pot and even if you get some into the primary it won't hurt anything.

Yes. Splash the wort as much as possible when siphoning into your primary. Be sure the wort is cooled before you do this though. I also put a stopper in the carboy and shake the dickens out of it. If you are using dry yeast this step isn't as critical.

Enjoy your brew day!

EDIT: I missed the part about the tube not fitting in the stopper. I used a piece of rigid plastic tubing the diameter of a racking cane. It slips into the stopper and your soft tubing will fit onto it. If you can't find rigid tubing, measure the diameter of your carboy opening. My 6 1/2 gallon carboy is 1" and I use about 3 feet of 1" tubing. It slips into the opening and makes a tight seal. You can get this tubing at Lowes or Home Depot. This method works great because the tube won't ever clog. Just put the end of it into a bucket of sanitizer solution. See pic.

gotcha.. i'll have to check out the racking cane and see if it will fit through the stopper..


i also have one more question that i forgot to ask..

My kit came with a carboy tap/autosyphon and a racking cane.

How do you use them both together? or do you?

thanks for the reply rich!

will

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/AUTO-SIPHON_P818C55.cfm
If it looks like this one you will sanitize the racking cane, plunger tube, and hose. Do this with everything apart. When you are ready to transfer, slide the racking cane all the way into the plunger tube. Attach the hose to the curved end of the racking cane and you are ready to go. Place the auto siphon into the primary and the tubing into your secondary fermenter. Slide the racking cane up and it will suck beer into the plunger tube. Then push the racking cane back down and beer is forced into it and the siphon will start. It usually takes me 2 or 3 tries to get it flowing. Make sure the hose is in the bottom of the secondary so the beer isn't splashed when it is transferred. Keep the auto siphon off the bottom of the carboy and out of the muck so you don't transfer trub and gunk into the secondary.