Disaster?

OK....attempted my first home brew yesterday and I'm not so good with instuctions so I think I may of messed things up.

First...When cooling the wort I put in a gallon of cold water and then topped the last four gallons with room temp water....was at about 78 degrees when I put the yeast in.

Second...I didn't hydrate the yeast. What do you gusy think?


I'm using tte Muntons IPA kit with the two cans. I added the 1kg of sugar to the wort and first gallon of water to get the extra ABV as per the instructions but 1kg is alot of sugar, right?

AFter I bottle, it says to let it sit for two days in a warm place and then move to a cool place....how cool of a place do I need to use? Refrigerator cool?...or under the house crawlspace cool? THX

1. You're fine - that's a little high for a pitching temp, but I've pitched that high with no problems.

2. You're fine - dry yeast should be rehydrated, but it'll work fine just sprinkled on, well, dry.

3. Yup, that's a LOT of sugar. Next time, get a kit that's all-malt and doesn't ask you to add any table sugar. Try the Brewer's Best kits, which include steeping grains - you'll get a MUCH better end product. Or, there are lots of kits available from Northern Brewer, Austin Homebrew, and other online suppliers that are of MUCH higher quality than the "kit and a kilo" kits like you used.

4. After bottling, let the bottles sit at room temp (70&#176 for two to three weeks. If you fridge 'em, the yeast will go dormant and you'll have flat beer. Give the beer time to condition (at LEAST two weeks after bottling, ideally three) and it'll be a lot better.

I was thinking about using a secondary...should I wait till it stops bubbling so frequently? How long should I leave it in the secondary before bottling?

Instructions say to leave it in the fermenter for 7-8 days before bottling. THX

leave it until your bubbling stops. you don't want to ruin a good fermentation just because the directions give you a certain time frame. those people don't know what they're talking about

Most folks around here recommend the 1-2-3 method: 1 week in primary, 2 weeks in the secondary, 3 weeks in the bottle (at those 70 degree temps) then refrigerate and drink!

I never make it 3 weeks before trying one, though- usually sooner. Still, it's best after about 3 weeks in the bottle.

Polock Joe said:

AFter I bottle, it says to let it sit for two days in a warm place and then move to a cool place....how cool of a place do I need to use? Refrigerator cool?...or under the house crawlspace cool? THX

Click to expand...

What? There's a cool place in Phoenix? There isn't here in Mesa!

Welcome to the Forums, Joe!

steve

skou said:

What? There's a cool place in Phoenix? There isn't here in Mesa!

Welcome to the Forums, Joe!

steve

Click to expand...

I've been in PHX for too long so I consider this "cool"....

Well, considering I was born in Mesa, back when Eisenhower was President... (I probably got you beat.)

But, I haven't lived my whole life here.

steve

Oh, back to the subject at hand, about 3 weeks, at 70-ish temps, should do it. If you want to advance from box kits, let me know. I'm currently sitting at home, sampling a customer's first few beers. (Working at LHBS has it's advantages!)


First-born PA was GREAT, until SWMBO spilled the glass, and now, I'm working on a Connection IPA, which is also great. Az Steam beer, up next!

steve