A Few n00bish DQ's

1. I just got a Vinator. Now, how do you assemble it? No instrux came with it, wtf?

2. Nothing in my (2 so far) LHBS-purchased recipe kits and instrux mention anything about aerating the wort prior to pitching, so I didn't. I'm sure the beer will turn out okay, but wonder why they never advised shaking 'er up? Wouldn't a more experienced HB'er shake it good without thinking twice? I'm talking kits with LME and specialty grains for steeping. Or rather, specialty grains that they have me boiling for 20 minutes. (I hear that if you ask ten different HB'ers a question you'll get twelve different answers...)

3. Seems Star San is the fave sanitizer here, so I got some after getting my start using Iodophor. I hear rumblings that the sanitizing solution isn't tossed after use, but saved for next go-'round? Is that right? If so, how is it stored?

1) lol.. well, from memory, you have a clear plastic reservoir, you have the white plastic assembly, a spring, the red base and the little plastic screen. You shove the spring up inside the shaft of the white plastic part, try to center the spring as best as you can on the red part and screw it in. If the spring buckles or shifts, just unscrew and try again. When it's in place, snap in the screen and just drop it in the reservoir. When you first pour in the sanitizer, it will float, which seems awkward at first, but just pump it a few times until it's primed and it will sink down and sit in the right place.

2) I think the primary reason they don't mention it is because it's really more of a precaution with partial boils. The water is boiled for a relatively short amount of time, so there is still some oxygen in there and it will probably turn out ok.

You have to understand that extract kits are tailored for beginners. Since there is an infinite amount of instruction they could potentially give you to make the perfect brew, they have to balance it out by making it as simple as possible for a noob to produce a good beer, so they cut out everything but the bare minimum.

3) There are any amount of answers to this question, but yes, it can generally be used numerous times. With StarSan, for example, you can keep it in a bucket or whatever and reuse it until the pH is below 3.5. (measuring test strips) I don't know much about Iodophor, so I can't speak to that.

I forget where I read it, but Iodophor can be reused until the color starts to fade somewhat. Kinda cheap stuff though...I'll keep it in a bucket for a few days and reuse it during that period. Generally after a week, I squirt some more in the bucket to re-color it...besides, it's only a few cents worth whenever I do this.

The center assembly does go together exactly as stated above but it will snap into the base and hold very tightly. I didn't think it would fit at first and then it just snapped into place. It was a very tight fit but it just felt right.

Regarding instructions, I would highly recommend you read How to Brew - By John Palmer. He has great information for all levels of brewing, including a simple extract kit. You can read the entire first edition online for free. I usually have it up on my computer for reference while I'm brewing.