First post, just got a beer kit for Christmas & Made my first batch today

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Demaskee

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Hello Gents,

I figured I'd share my good news since you guys can probably relate better than anyone I know.

My awesome in-laws got me a Brewcraft USA home brew setup along with an Amber Ale kit for Christmas. Today I tried my hand at it. I followed the reciepe to the T. The specific gravity was exactly what the manufacturer recommended. It's currently fermenting in a closet at a constant 68 degrees. So hopefully it works out. :drunk:

I had already built a kegorator, so today I ordered a 5 gallon home brew keg (bottling just doesn't appeal to me) to get me going here.

Anyhow, I was curious to know how long you recommend aging an Amber in a secondary fermentor before kegging?

Thanks guys!
 
Well, not a gent but hope you won't hold that against me ;)
An amber shouldn't need much aging, I would do 2-3 wk in primary then straight to keg. I won't get into the whole whether you need a secondary argument, you can read about that for yourself, but the keg essentially acts as a secondary clearing/conditioning vessel anyway. I haven't used a secondary vessel other than a keg in years, but I do have enough spares that I can afford to lager or age my bigger beers in them.
Congrats on your first batch!
:mug:
 
Well, not a gent but hope you won't hold that against me ;)
An amber shouldn't need much aging, I would do 2-3 wk in primary then straight to keg. I won't get into the whole whether you need a secondary argument, you can read about that for yourself, but the keg essentially acts as a secondary clearing vessel anyway. I haven't used a secondary vessel other than a keg in years, but I do have enough spares that I can afford to age my bigger beers in them.
Congrats on your first batch!
:mug:

My apologies,

My other hobby is old school shaving. The forum I cruise for that is most definitely male dominated.

Thank you for the advice! My head is spinning with all the information and youtubing (is that a word) I've been doing today. I can see there is a lot to learn! I'm excited (and to be quite honest nervous) to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.
 
Was going to edit my post but too slow - when I say a couple weeks in primary it's still good practice at the beginning to make sure the gravity is stable before packaging. Also the beer should look pretty clear, no harm leaving it a little extra time for the yeast to clean up and the trub/yeast cake to compact.
 
Okay and now I need to ask what is old school shaving?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Home Brew mobile app
 
Okay and now I need to ask what is old school shaving?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Home Brew mobile app

Haha, using a badger or boar brush and a soap instead of stuff from a can for your lather. The razor is either a straight razor (think Reservoir Dogs/Sweeny Todd) or a double edge safety razor like something off of Madmen.

Both have been a lost art for some time, but now that razor blades have become so expensive, there has been a big resurgence.
 
There is an ongoing thread on wet shaving in this forum. Just do an archive search.

I agree with no secondary and right into the keg. I usually wait 3 weeks in primary. Then if the FG is the same for a few days, I keg, chill, gelatin (read about that too) and force carb. Kegging is the way to go.

I don't always buy from Northern Brewer BUT they have an awesome resource over there. If you go to the learn section, then documentation and recipes, you'll get to their kit recipe section. If you are brewing extracts you need to focus on that area, but you can cruise through the different styles and what they require to make. Another great supplier is Austin homebrew supply, they sell a whole selection of extract and All Grain (AG) brew kits and they ship for free.
As a beginner, I recommend sticking with kits for the first few brews. And don't just brew them, really take the time to look at the ingredients, do some research and learn why they are used in that recipe.
 
I've spent this year doing that with Midwest's partial mash kits. You can make some darn good beers from those kits for about $25 with premium dry yeast,usually US-05. They also have many extract with steeping grain kits. Some just extracts & hops,but quite impressive.
Anyway,they lists the ingredients & how much of each is used. That way,I can buy the grains & extracts separate next time & tweak them in Beersmith2.
For example,I've made the Traditional stout kit,then brewed a robust vanilla porter from tweeking the grain & extract bills.
 
My head is spinning with all the information and youtubing (is that a word) I've been doing today. I can see there is a lot to learn! I'm excited (and to be quite honest nervous) to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

"Why oh why didn't I take the BLUE pill", said no homebrewer ever! Welcome to your new beer-reality!
 
As others have said, I would skip the secondary, leave the beer in primary for at least 2 weeks, then keg it, regardless of what the directions say.

You will be amazed at the stuff you will learn the more "into" the hobby you get. This is a very deep subject.
 
Hello Gents,

I figured I'd share my good news since you guys can probably relate better than anyone I know.

My awesome in-laws got me a Brewcraft USA home brew setup along with an Amber Ale kit for Christmas. Today I tried my hand at it. I followed the reciepe to the T. The specific gravity was exactly what the manufacturer recommended. It's currently fermenting in a closet at a constant 68 degrees. So hopefully it works out. :drunk:

I had already built a kegorator, so today I ordered a 5 gallon home brew keg (bottling just doesn't appeal today) to get me going here.

Anyhow, I was curious to know how long you recommend aging an Amber in a secondary fermentor before kegging?

Thanks guys!
You did not say if the 68° was wort temperature or ambient temperature. Either way that is a fairly high temperature for SA-05 or WY 1056. Just guessing you used one of these two yeasts. If 68° is ambient temperature your wort is over 70°. This is warm enough to produce some off flavors that will not go away.

You may have time to slowly lower the temperature 3° to 4° with a swamp cooler.
 
Wow! Thanks for all the replies. I am definitely going to be skipping the secondary container and going straight to keg.

I believe the kit I used was an All Grain kit. It had nothing but steeping bags (not sure the nomenclature), grains, and powdered DME. I have no preference toward all grain or extracts, it just happened to be the kit I received. I like beers that fall in the range of pale yellow to dark brown, so really I'm open to brewing anything (especially if it is a little resilient to newbie errors). I plan on using kits for the forseable future, but I do plan on eventually venturing out on my own once I start to understand what right looks like.

I will say, the whole time I was making this batch, part of me was bothered because I didn't understand why I was doing what I was doing, other than it's what the directions told me to do. The links Cider sent should help me in understanding the what and the why a little better, so thanks for that.

The ambient temp in the house it a pretty steady 68 degrees, although the closet it's in may be a degree or two colder. I chose it because it's next on an exterior wall and away from any heating vents. Hopefully the batch isn't toast :confused: BTW the yeast I used just says ale yeast from Danstar. On the back where it has the ingredients it says E491. I'm not sure if this means anything to you or not.

Update: Did a little more research and realized I am not using an all grain recipe hence the DME. Still learning :)...
 
Better to be on the cooler end of the 60's if possible. Your beer will increase in temp a bit just from the rapid fermentation process. Storing in the low to mid 60's will help prevent off flavors in what sounds like a standard dry ale yeast. If 68 is the best you can do, then so be it. You'll still make a good beer.

When you get into brewing many styles you can venture into the Belgian beers like Siasons. Siason yeasts, like Wyeast 3711, work best in the 70's to 80's and produce some of those esters which might be unwanted in other beers but a pleasure in a siason. I wait till the summer for such beers because of my home temps. Yes, many of us can't afford temperature regulated fermentation chambers and thus brew according to the season. Lager yeasts like the low 50's or cooler. Thus some folks wait till the fall/winter to ferment a lager.

These are the cool little things you'll learn if you choose to become a student of brewing.
 
Would it be better to ferment it in a place that is colder, but does not have a consitent temperature or warmer but consistent?
 
Ha, well that's up to the fates. I'd say if one area fluctuated but never got warmer than the other constant warmer area I'd take that one. 5 gallons of beer doesn't change temp very quickly.
Right now I have a few little microenvironments around here. I got outside where it's in the single digits. That's right out unless I want beer popsicles. Then the garage is in the mid 30's. That's good for cold crashing a keg but not for fermenting. Normally my kegerator in the garage would be at 39F but it broke down today so now its at the same temp as the garage. Moving on, I have the cellar where it's a constant 55F right now but will hover in the low 60's in the summer. During the summer it is where I ferment most ales. However, a few weeks ago I put a fermenter down there thinking it was still in the 60's. After I had very little fermentation taking place I realized it was in the 50's. So I brought it upstairs in the living area where I keep the thermostats set at 64 during the day and then shut it down to around 60 at night. 64 is the warmest I can muster in the wintertime, and this is where my beer ferments even though the temps fluctuate a bit.

Fermenting too low won't affect flavor. You'll just need to get it a bit warmer so you have a stronger ferment or you'll be waiting a long time for a very slow ferment. Too high is where problems start. Higher than what a yeast is rated at will cause the yeast to produce off flavors that won't go away.

So there you go. You are the master of your beer;)
 
Great information! I'm currently living in Central california near the beach. Right now we're getting weather that tops off in the Mid 70s and can get down to the high 30s low 40s at night. The garage is usually a little colder than the high for the day and based on what you said about temperature of 6 gallons not changing super quickly, I think it may be better to keep it in the garage.
 
That's a big swing. I'm new to brewing too but was told swings that big is bad for the beer.high of even 65 and the dropping to 35 or so will I think change the beer temp. Try a bucket of water and though out the day check the temp. I bet you will see it swinging quiet a bit. Can you put your fermemtor in a tub of water inside to help cool it
 
I believe the kit I used was an All Grain kit. It had nothing but steeping bags (not sure the nomenclature), grains, and powdered DME. I have no preference toward all grain or extracts, it just happened to be the kit I received.

Isn't DME Dark (or dry) Malt Extract? So by definition not all grain?
 
Isn't DME Dark (or dry) Malt Extract? So by definition not all grain?

Yes, this is an extract batch. For those who don't already know, all-grain refers to brewing without using extract by mashing base malts and specialty grains (in most cases) to produce wort.
 
One thing you could check out is something called a "swamp cooler". It is basically a big tub that you put your fermenter in and then fill with water. It is a cheaper way to moderate temps for your beer rather than buying something expensive. It increases that same concept about large quantities of water resisting temp change. The former science teacher (and dork) in me would refer to it as water's high specific heat.
 
One thing you could check out is something called a "swamp cooler". It is basically a big tub that you put your fermenter in and then fill with water. It is a cheaper way to moderate temps for your beer rather than buying something expensive. It increases that same concept about large quantities of water resisting temp change. The former science teacher (and dork) in me would refer to it as water's high specific heat.

As I understand it, a swamp cooler works by evaporation; a towel or tshirt on the fermenter sits in the water and wicks it up. The evaporation draws heat from the beer and cools it. All that said, you're right that just putting your fermenter in a tub of water will protect it from any temperature swings.
 
Interesting. I have a plastic tub large enough to accommodate. I'm still trying to drop the temp down from 70 degs without the tub in the garage. I'll check the temp tomorrow morning and see from there. Thanks again everyone. :mug:
 
I checked the temps on the fermenter this morning and they were at 64-65 degrees :D Hopefully the first 30 hours at 70 degrees didn't mess it up too bad.

I'll be monitoring the temps throughout the day to see if the swamp cooler is needed. Thanks again!
 
I checked the temps on the fermenter this morning and they were at 64-65 degrees :D Hopefully the first 30 hours at 70 degrees didn't mess it up too bad.

I'll be monitoring the temps throughout the day to see if the swamp cooler is needed. Thanks again!

Your beer will be just fine, make a mental note of the swamp cooler for next time , and most importantly welcome to the forum and the addiction!
 
I checked the temps on the fermenter this morning and they were at 64-65 degrees :D Hopefully the first 30 hours at 70 degrees didn't mess it up too bad.

I'll be monitoring the temps throughout the day to see if the swamp cooler is needed. Thanks again!

64° to 65° is perfect. You could still put the fermentor in the tub of water to prevent temperature swings. If are going to do this have the water at 64°.

You are now a home brewer.
 
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