First time Brew fermenting question

So its my first brew (American Bock, from a kit) i followed the instructions and everything seems to be correct, except i never took an original gravity because i dident have the right equipment, will have it by the time the brew is done just have to wait till monday to get to the store.
So i have a fiew questions: it never stated if i should strain my wort before i put it in the carboy ( so i dident, dont know if this is correct but it seemed like a bad idea to remove any of it ). Secondly after about 5 to 6 hours a lot of the sediment floated to the top and almost looks like a nice thick head ( light tan color with a little green in places, i expect the green is from the hops) is this normal? Also i am getting a ton of bubbling in the air lock is this good for such short time? i would post pictures but i am at work currently. If this is answered some place else please send me a redirect and ill go read it. Looked in the FAQ but dident see anything that answered my questions, but im sure in not the only new brewer that has had these questions and prolly overlooked the posts. Thanks for your help
M

If you didn't take a reading to start, one that you take several days after pitching yeast will not be meaningful. I suggest that you simply leave it for three weeks, bottle and let stand for a couple of weeks, and drink.

Everything sounds fine. The yeasties are working away and will settle to the bottom in time. It is possible that vigorous fermenting will pop off your airlock - just clean it up and put it back on, or better yet, put in a blow off tube until fermentation settles. Then put in the airlock for a few more weeks. Now that you have it going you can research for the next 3 to 4 weeks for your next brew.

Welcome to the pastime!

B

Bones99839 said:

Secondly after about 5 to 6 hours a lot of the sediment floated to the top and almost looks like a nice thick head ( light tan color with a little green in places, i expect the green is from the hops) is this normal? Also i am getting a ton of bubbling in the air lock is this good for such short time? i would post pictures but i am at work currently. If this is answered some place else please send me a redirect and ill go read it. Looked in the FAQ but dident see anything that answered my questions, but im sure in not the only new brewer that has had these questions and prolly overlooked the posts. Thanks for your help
M

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Bubbling and the thick head you speak of--called krausen--are both signs of active fermentation. 5-6 hours? That's awesome! You're doing great! Don't worry about it.

Separating the wort from the trub is a tricky tricky thing, cause once the wort is cooled, you are very suseptable to infection. Just pour or rack into your fermenter allowing aeration, and try to avoid as much as the trub as possible.

What temperature is it where you have your brew? Too warm can make it ferment faster but it can also lead you to some undesirable flavors.

Good to see that i dident mess this up or atleast not yet my dad used to homebrew back in the day so i would like to give him an acceptable brew for my first time.
@Jay so if i leave the trub in the carboy untill im ready to bottle it wont make any difference?
@birvine im thinking i want to try an irish red ( im partial to killians any suggestions?)
@steve Thanks i cant wait to give it a good drink or 4

@ RM-MN i have it in my office and it stays about 70 due to my computers and being on an outside wall, i live in ny so its nice and wintery but this week it got up to 50 outside this may be the start of the end of days, hopefuly i will have a good brew to enjoy it.

assuming your first brew is an extract kit, just go by the OG it gave. as long as you didnt add anything extra and your volume is correct, it'll be very close.

Bones99839 said:

@Jay so if i leave the trub in the carboy untill im ready to bottle it wont make any difference?

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No, it's fine to leave all that stuff in there.

In time, the yeast will settle out to the bottom of the carboy, and eventually the beer will clarify and all the sediment will be on the bottom, too. So when you rack the beer off to the bottling bucket (assuming you're bottling), you can just keep the racking cane or autosiphon ½" or so above that gunk. That'll leave most of it behind. Usually I'll move the carboy to the higher elevation (for gravity racking) first, and leave it be for an hour or so while I prep all my equipment. This give time for things to resettle.

Quick question.. in your office? Is it in a sunlit room?

@Jay i have heavy drapes and dark blinds, the room is almost pitch black at noon, and the wife and i never open them so it stays realy dark all day. and yes im going to bottle in 22s to cut down on bottling time.