Black IPA Kit

Hey all,

Me and my dad are new to home brewing and really want to get an understanding and good feel for everything so to start off we bought a kit seen here,

http://www.brewandgrow.com/brew/ingredient-kits/ales/india-black-ale-brewers-best.html

we wanted to start on a kit to kinda get a feel for it for the first time, and the instructions say to ferment for 4-6 days and then transfer to a glass carboy for 2nd fermentation and dry hop for 2 weeks. Now my question is, is that long enough in the primary because I see a lot of different opinions on this, and is there any advise I can get for a beginner brewer?

any help would be appreciated
thank you!

Yes, you will get opinions for every option. For beginners, I suggest keep it as simple as possible; it will be more fun. You can increase complexity with each brew session. I would let it ferment for a week, then dry hop for another 2 right in the primary.

Thanks for the advice, maybe this time around I will leave it in the primary. I really hope this batch comes out good because I love beer haha, the art and science of brewing really keeps me interested. I eventually would like to get a stainless steel 7 gal conical fermenter but I want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I really invest. I have been doing nothing but research the last week or so.

Kits are good, especially to start with. As you progress you determine how much involved u want to get with it.

You should ferment until you hit your target final gravity. Each recipe could be different and yours could be trying for a higher FG, but 4 days seems very short.

Good luck

First off, remember what they say about opinions being like a$$holes - everybody has one. Here's mine - opinion, I mean.

There's nothing wrong with transferring to a secondary. At the very least it'll result in clearer beer. At the most it'll minimize off flavors and give you a clear stage for late additions and dry hopping.

There's nothing wrong with leaving everything in primary. Your beer won't be as clear but it'll still taste good when you're done.

I would hold off on buying the stainless conical if I were you. Until you have a good feel for the whole process and basic variations you can do everything you need/want in buckets and carboys (either glass or plastic - research that one on here - I'm staying out of it. )

Right now I'd concentrate on learning the process and brewing consistently. Get that part down and the rest will follow.

Thank you for all the advice!

JusBiz said:

Yes, you will get opinions for every option. For beginners, I suggest keep it as simple as possible; it will be more fun. You can increase complexity with each brew session. I would let it ferment for a week, then dry hop for another 2 right in the primary.

Click to expand...

2 week dry hop seems like a long time. 1 weeks is plenty

First off, welcome! Secondly, you will learn this over time but only yeast can tell you when a batch is done. I would recommend leaving the beer in the primary for at least two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, grab a sample measure it with a hydrometer and record the reading.

Two or three days later, grab another sample and record that reading. If the gravity is steady, fermentation is done and you can dry hop. Racking over to a secondary isn't necessary (I do use one consistently) to dry hop. Feel free to dry hop in the primary. I'd recommend leaving the dry hops there for a week. Any more time than that and you'll receive decreasing benefits.

Also, and this important, make sure you have enough yeast and that you can maintain the proper fermentation temperature for at least the first three days.