First time poster/brewer!

Hey guys, been reading a lot of the threads in this forum for the past couple days, lots of great info. Thanks for that. I also notice a lot of fellow Michigan residents here. Perhaps one day we'll cross paths.

Back story: I got one of those cheapo beer brewing kits in a box about 4 years ago from my parents. My sister bought me a book on Beer brewing, so I thought they were trying to tell me something. I read the book all the way up to the part where they explained AG stuff, man that book was full of info. Anyway the "beer" turned out horrible. It tasted like plastic and was undrinkable. I discarded it. I was done trying to make beer.

Fast forward a few years. I'm 27 now, and I decided that I wanted to try it for real this time with real equipment and real beer ingredients that haven't been thrown around in warehouses for a few years.

Brew Day: I followed the directions, sanitized and cleaned (even sterilized some items), and by 1am (4 hours after I had planned to be finished! ) I had my wort in a warm/dry closet, airlock attached, and so I waited to see if my little yeasty friends were going to do their magic. I woke up the next day and checked around noon. The airlock was going crazy. 1 bubble every 3 seconds, solid, all day. Now here is where I ran across an issue, I gently pushed on the lid of the fermenter and inadvertently sucked some water into the pail. I heard it drip drip drip into the wort. Now, I don't think I used boiled water. Whats the likelihood I contaminated my wort? The other concern I have is that the airlock stopped its incessant clicking before 48 hours had passed. Its down to 1 bubble every 45 minutes or so (estimated... I have better things to do than watch an airlock for an hour)

So, Patience and cross my fingers??

Thanks guys. :rockin:

It's fine. Suck back happens frequently, especially if temperatures change. As to the ferment stopping, depending on what the gravity of your wort was before you pitched, the yeast might have finished the active ferment. Let the yeast clean up for another week or two and then bottle away. Especially during an active fermentation, the yeast actively work to make the wort inhospitable to other organisms that may try to take off in your beer.

I use a 50/50 mix of cheap vodka and tap water in my airlocks so that if there is any suck back the mixture is sterile and ends up being an ABV boost. A little peace of mind goes a long way.

First off welcome...and congrats to brewing again

As for the worries..no worries..that little bit of water will do nothing to hurt the beer..for the future use the sanatizing solution next time..I use star san. second bit of advice..hydrometer..use it next batch..third advive..leave the beer in the fermenter for three weeks no mater what the activity with bubbles is..

thats my best advice,

my last bit, once u bottle or keg this batch brew another fast!!!!

Jay

Thanks guys!

mmb, thanks for the info. I will do so next batch. (Which may be sooner than later!!! )

discgolfin, the hydrometer reading was Original Gravity 1.049/1.050. The instructions said it should be 1.048. I think I am within tolerance.

Also, I have this neat glass carboy I really want to use for secondary fermentation. I know that as a beginner I am advised to not transfer the beer to avoid contamination, and I am really debating on whether or not to do it, but its very appealing what I have read about the secondary cleaning up some off flavors etc., plus I just really want to watch what goes on! How much do those 6.5gal glass carboys cost again....

My last two brews stopped bubbling in the airlock after 2 days. No worries. Leave it alone for 2-3 weeks and then check the gravity. When it is the same for 3 days you can safely bottle. The whole air lock bubbling thing is not a real indicator of fermentation.

Have fun and let us know how things turn out!

Welcome to the addiction. It only takes one decent brew and people are hooked. As far as usung sanitizing solution in the airlock, it is definatly a good choice. However i prefer vodka, just in case there is any suckback at least its adding more alcohol. As far as a secondary in most cases its not going to cause any flavors to mellow out. Time alone does that. Secondaries are used as clearing tanks allowing for the beer to clear up a little more. That and if you plan to leave beer in a fermenter more than a month to allow it not to sit on the trub. As far as contamination it is just a matter of good cleaning processes and as long as you are thorough and use sanitizer you should be fine.

Oh yeah and keep brewing even when you already have some bottled. Brewing takes time and nothing is worse than having to wait long periods of time for the next homebrew.

Welcome back.

I would not worry about contamination. The odd thing is that contamination is more common to old time brewers then new people. Many people rack into a secondary (I do) and many do not. It's a matter of choice.

Just keep things clean and you should have no problems.

I have two 6 gallon primary's and one 5 gallon secondary. I try to keep all active and once a brew has been in a primary for 2 weeks I transfer into the smaller secondary so I can free the 6g up for a new brew.

I wife says "you're like a beer factory" LOL

One thing you will notice - five galons of beer goes FAST and collect bottles.. Take out stock in Oxy Clean (the miracle cleaner).

RedIrocZ-28 said:

Also, I have this neat glass carboy I really want to use for secondary fermentation. I know that as a beginner I am advised to not transfer the beer to avoid contamination, and I am really debating on whether or not to do it, but its very appealing what I have read about the secondary cleaning up some off flavors etc., plus I just really want to watch what goes on! How much do those 6.5gal glass carboys cost again....

Click to expand...

You can use the secondary if you want, just make sure that you sanitize everything that comes in contact with your beer. Beer is pretty strong stuff and fairly hard to damage. Don't let the beer splash to avoid oxidation and you'll be fine.

However, your beer will clean up faster if you leave it on the yeast for a week or two. More viable yeast in contact = faster clean up. Secondary would normally be used for additions, dry hopping, conditioning and bulk aging. Two weeks in primary, two weeks in secondary, three weeks in bottles and you'll have a beer that's hitting its sweet spot.

mmb said:

Two weeks in primary, two weeks in secondary, three weeks in bottles and you'll have a beer that's hitting its sweet spot.

Click to expand...

So what you are saying is that I will not have any of this beer ready for Deer Camp in 3 1/2 weeks? haha


I guess I could just use my bottling bucket or the carboy for another batch of beer. The Carboy though is only 5 gallons and there won't be enough headspace for the Krausen from what I have read, yes/no?

n00b question: Can I just reduce the amount of wort by using less water initially and then add more later at bottling time? Results would be??

RedIrocZ-28 said:

So what you are saying is that I will not have any of this beer ready for Deer Camp in 3 1/2 weeks? haha

Click to expand...

For Bottle conditioning (carbonation) to finish, it takes about 3 weeks @ 70. And if your deer camp is anything like mine, two cases might last a few hours.

RedIrocZ-28 said:

I guess I could just use my bottling bucket or the carboy for another batch of beer. The Carboy though is only 5 gallons and there won't be enough headspace for the Krausen from what I have read, yes/no?

Click to expand...

Or another primary bucket. I've fermented in a 5 gallon carboy but it wasn't pretty. You'll need a blow off tube no matter what and you'll lose beer volume.

RedIrocZ-28 said:

n00b question: Can I just reduce the amount of wort by using less water initially and then add more later at bottling time? Results would be??

Click to expand...

Not recommended. You can do it, but it would introduce other issues like making sure the water is fully mixed into solution, changes in hop utilization in the boil and difficulty in reproducing an awesome batch.

RedIrocZ-28 said:

So what you are saying is that I will not have any of this beer ready for Deer Camp in 3 1/2 weeks? haha


I guess I could just use my bottling bucket or the carboy for another batch of beer. The Carboy though is only 5 gallons and there won't be enough headspace for the Krausen from what I have read, yes/no?

n00b question: Can I just reduce the amount of wort by using less water initially and then add more later at bottling time? Results would be??

Click to expand...

I think you can use a blow off tube for the first few days, and that'll take care of kräusen. I believe 5 gallon carboys are actually more like 5.5 gallons, because they leave some headspace. Either way, be very careful with the glass. I've read some serious horror stories -- glass randomly collapsing in one's hand while emptying, drop-explosions, etc etc. Really mean stuff. I was dead set on glass until reading that -- I'll keep my buckets, thanks. Bottom line, just watch your back and use a carboy carrier, and keep your hands off it as much as possible. If you can get someone to trade you for a Better Bottle, that might be a good move.

Also, like some other folks say, keeping it in the primary for about 3 weeks accomplishes the same thing that putting it into a secondary would, and perhaps faster. I've done a lot of research on this -- as this is my first brew too -- and by all accounts 3 weeks in the primary, 3 weeks in bottles, and 1 week in the fridge are the magic numbers. Of course, everyone has their own magic numbers, but these are the best happy mediums I could come up with (geared toward ales, stouts, porters, etc....if you're lagering or doing a crazy barley wine, these numbers aren't as applicable).

RedIrocZ-28 said:

So what you are saying is that I will not have any of this beer ready for Deer Camp in 3 1/2 weeks? haha


I guess I could just use my bottling bucket or the carboy for another batch of beer. The Carboy though is only 5 gallons and there won't be enough headspace for the Krausen from what I have read, yes/no?

n00b question: Can I just reduce the amount of wort by using less water initially and then add more later at bottling time? Results would be??

Click to expand...

You could use less water and simply leave it at that. Less water in wort = higher ABV. However, the one time I tried this my beer tasted awful.

I would like to avoid horrible tasting beer. So, no go on the less water. Buckets are cheap enough I guess, looks like I'll have to forego a night at the bar and sit home with Guitar Hero to afford another. Beer kits on the other hand... yikes $30-$50. Going to have to get good real quick and move on to AG so I am not breaking the bank for this hobby! lol

One thing I noticed was the Airlock smells very beer like and has a great hoppy aroma. I think that means things are off to a good start!

Thanks for all the advice guys, I know its hard to keep repeating yourself over and over again to the n00bs. But I am soaking it up like a sponge.

RedIrocZ-28 said:

Now here is where I ran across an issue, I gently pushed on the lid of the fermenter and inadvertently sucked some water into the pail.

Click to expand...

Couldn't help but laugh at this. Did exactly same thing four weeks ago on my first batch and totally kacked my pants. All I can tell ya is mine tasted fine at bottling a week and a half ago.

I can't tell you how the bottle conditioning is working yet as Revvy won't let me open one.

RedIrocZ-28 said:

I would like to avoid horrible tasting beer. So, no go on the less water. Buckets are cheap enough I guess, looks like I'll have to forego a night at the bar and sit home with Guitar Hero to afford another. Beer kits on the other hand... yikes $30-$50. Going to have to get good real quick and move on to AG so I am not breaking the bank for this hobby! lol

Click to expand...

Well, around here a local store sells craft beers and they range from $2 on up per bottle. Belgians with ABVs of 7% + can cost a small fortune. For my money $30-50 for 5 gallons is dirt cheap!!!

Cheap is cheap, I agree, but I need to make more money to be able to afford anything. The only reason I jumped on the bandwagon of beer makers is because I got a home equity loan to pay off bills and I allowed myself some fun money (its only fair after dumping money into a house and busting my butt 50 hours a week at work and then up to 40 hours a week on the house TOO! ). After its all gone, I'll likely be right back to being broke again so I won't be able to justify $30/$50 at a time for beer a month and a half from now. lol

I need a better job. Or a raise. Hell, I need both.

Ok, its been a week to the day and I just cracked the lid to take a hydrometer reading. Everything seems to be progressing as planned! I had the initial reading of OG 1.049 (the kit said it should have been 1.044-1.048) And I am under the specified amount of liquid by about 1/4 gallon. The current reading is 1.016 and the instructions said it should be about FG 1.012-1.015.

I stole a sample out of the thief and tasted it. It was not bad at all! It did taste watery though. Is this normal?

The flavor comes out with carbonation and ageing.
And I'll repeat what has been said already, the more time you give your beer, the better the results will be.

Just bottled the beer this afternoon. I ended up with about 40 bottles of beer. Had a lot of trub in the bottom of the fermenter so about 1 1/2 - 2" of the bottom was nothing but "muck" or the yeast cake basically.

Yes I stole a shot glass full of the beer. I am very happy with the results already. It tasted good. Can't wait for it to carbonate!

Happy to report that today I cracked a Homebrew, and I was pleasantly surprised. Its still "green" I can taste that (No cidery taste, no green apple taste, no off tastes to speak of, just the flavors haven't melded together yet). However, I poured a mug and the head rose about an inch abive the beer, and with my impeccable pouring technique, that impressed me right away. I now see that its very easy to get good results even as a first time homebrewer as long as you pay attention to sanitation, sterilization, planning, and not "winging anything." Pay attention to what you're doing everyone and you'll be very happy with your results.

The brew was an English Pale Ale of course, and both my brother and I agreed it tasted vaguely familiar, something like NewCastle. I will let these bottles sit another 3 weeks before I start opening more of them. Thanks for all the advice guys!