First brew underway...I'm scared

Well i started up a batch of pale ale today, and everything went great except for a real mild boil over. I then hurried up and cooled it in the sink, and poured it into my fermenter. It was still warm, not really hot, but warm when i threw the yeast in. How hot can the yeast survive, it was just regular dry ale yeast. Cause if its not bubbling tommorow, i might get worried. thanks

It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to start bubbling. Don't worry unless it's been longer than a few days. Next time get a thermometer and don't pitch until you get it under 80*F at least, although I've pitched yeast at 80 and it turned out just fine.

I'm sure it will be fine. First brews are always the biggest learning experience. It'll just get easier and less scary from now on.

Congrats on the first brew!

-Steve

welcome to hell buddy!



suprisingly thats the same thing I say for marriage, new pets and kids!

Thermometers and Hydrometers are your friend! Hot, warm, cool, are all relative terms but instruments (usually) don't lie.

...all of the above. I'm not sure how far you are from your LHBS, but it's also a good lesson - always keep a pack or two of backup dry yeast sitting around. I keep Safale 04 and 05. I don't use them typically, but in a pinch, they'll do...

But don't sweat it for a few days. Beer is pretty amazing - it's not like it wasn't most likely an "accident" historically anyway, right?

OK, so this morning I went and checked it, and it has a real small layer of foam looking stuff on the top, still not bubbling in airlock. what i was wondering is, there is a layer proably a quarter inch high on the bottom of something, is that the yeasT? cause i thought ale yeast was supposed to float? Thanks

Bottom is called trub, top is called krausen, airlock means nothing, sounds like it is starting to go. RDWHAHB and watch the show!

skyzo said:

OK, so this morning I went and checked it, and it has a real small layer of foam looking stuff on the top, still not bubbling in airlock. what i was wondering is, there is a layer proably a quarter inch high on the bottom of something, is that the yeasT? cause i thought ale yeast was supposed to float? Thanks

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Yup, sounds like the yeast are doing their job and getting ready for a show. If you have it in a bucket - LEAVE IT ALONE! Dont keep opening the lid to see if its doing its thing - you risk infection. Just relax and let the yeasties do their thing. (They are good at what they do)

If its a carboy, then you get to watch the show. Its kinda neat! After several batches, I did my first BEER ferm in a carboy. Apfelwein doesnt count
-Me

Lemme put it into perspective for you, and save you a lot of "new bewer nerves"...Which we call noobitus.....

Beer has been made for over 5,000 years in some horrific conditions, and still it managed to survive and be popular, like in the desert....It was even made before Louis Pasteur understood germ theory....

If beer turned out bad back then more than it turned out good..then beer would have gone the way of the dodo bird, New Coke, or Pepsi Clear...

It is very very very hard to ruin your beer....it surprises us and manages to survive despite what we do to it...

I want you to read these threads and see..

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/has-anyone-ever-messed-up-batch-96644/

Yeast IS hardier than most newish brewers wanna give them props for...I mean You can't say that THIS YEAST was stored "properly" and yet, they managed to make a batch of beer with it.

45 million year old yeast ferments amber ale

If we can make beer with that....even the tiniest viable glop in a barely smacked pack, is going to work as well.

And this thread to show you how often even a beer we thnk is ruined, ends up being the best beer you ever made, if you have patience....
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

Just read those, realize how reziliant our beer really is, and relax.

without thinking i pitched dry yeast into +90. left by the open window by morning it was 75 degrees and active. ive heard this can produce off flavors but im not that experienced, only a year and a half at it.

alright thanks guys. i still see no bubbles in airlock after 24 hours, but there is about a quarter inch of krausen on the top, and every once in awhile these huge bubbles come up the surface and pop. i thought the the "trub" wasnt supposed to show up until like a few days though, mine already had trub after only 12 hours of being in the fermenter.

skyzo said:

what i was wondering is, there is a layer proably a quarter inch high on the bottom of something, is that the yeasT?

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To expand on the trub comment... Trub is a collection of malt particles that are not filtered out during a mash and debris from the hops if you do not filter between the boil vessel and the fermentation vessel. I'm assuming the first brew was not AG (no mash) and most likely used hops (hop residuals).

Nothing to worry about. After fermentation, the yeast will "go to sleep" and WILL settle to the bottom, but not until what should be noticable fermentation activity.

skyzo said:

alright thanks guys. i still see no bubbles in airlock after 24 hours, but there is about a quarter inch of krausen on the top, and every once in awhile these huge bubbles come up the surface and pop. i thought the the "trub" wasnt supposed to show up until like a few days though, mine already had trub after only 12 hours of being in the fermenter.

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Well, it is not uncommon to see 2"-4" of trub in the fermentor and sometimes it will settle as you're transferring it from the kettle. It all depends on your method of brewing and whether you strain your wort and what extra junk you add to it, etc, etc, etc. It gets left behind when you bottle and/or secondary, etc. This is good food for your yeasties which will be all over the place no matter if they are lager or ale strains.

And to answer your next question, "Replace the airlock with a blow-off tube" eventually (If not with this batch, with one of your next ones)your krausen will be spewing through your airlock and/or blowing the stopper or lid off.

OK so sweet, so the trub is no big deal. ive just got the jitters, im paranoid somethings gonna go wrong. I have a clear vessel, so i can see the process, and the krausen has bubbles that are constantly popping and forming, so id assume thats yeast activity. Its just weird the airlocks not doing anything. i thought for sure id have killed the yeast cause i just had a mind blank, and threw the yeast in when it was still quite warm to the touch.

skyzo said:

OK so sweet, so the trub is no big deal. ive just got the jitters, im paranoid somethings gonna go wrong. I have a clear vessel, so i can see the process, and the krausen has bubbles that are constantly popping and forming, so id assume thats yeast activity. Its just weird the airlocks not doing anything. i thought for sure id have killed the yeast cause i just had a mind blank, and threw the yeast in when it was still quite warm to the touch.

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Hmm, in a carboy, I would expect the airlock to be bubblin, but it's not a big deal if it's not, sounds like it's going anyway.

First off, congrats!!!

I know my first time I had to call my son-in-law over to "hold me hand" so to speak...after my 5th brew I was WAY ahead of him.

I always recommend a new brewer should brew with an experienced brewer. If not only to reduce the stress level, but to be there to answer any curiousity questions...hence the reasoning behind "Teach A Friend how To Brew Day"...

Good luck.

COLObrewer said:

Hmm, in a carboy, I would expect the airlock to be bubblin, but it's not a big deal if it's not, sounds like it's going anyway.

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Its in a plastic food grade bucket, im a college student(no money) and so everything was on a budget, and a carboy will be coming, but for this first brew ithe bucket will have to do. there might be a small leak or somethin.

OK thanks all, im a bit more confident now , hopefully everything goes good.

skyzo said:

Its in a plastic food grade bucket, im a college student(no money) and so everything was on a budget, and a carboy will be coming, but for this first brew ithe bucket will have to do. there might be a small leak or somethin.

OK thanks all, im a bit more confident now , hopefully everything goes good.

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OK, that explains it, most buckets won't seal enough around the lid, which is fine, the beer protects itself with a layer of CO2. Brew on!:rockin:

OK guys, one more question. How much regular cane sugar should I use for priming?? No stores around here have any corn sugar (stupid rural town), and my home brew shop is out and said they dont have a new shipment coming for two weeks. Its around a 5 gallon batch. I heard 2/3 cup, but that was for corn sugar, is this any different for regular sugar?
Thanks

SavageSteve said:

I'm sure it will be fine. First brews are always the biggest learning experience. It'll just get easier and less scary from now on.

Congrats on the first brew!

-Steve

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You forgot 'Expensive' in your list of things to come

Skins_Brew said:

You forgot 'Expensive' in your list of things to come

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Shhhhhh... that part is a secret!

-Steve

OK so I checked on the fermentation for the first time in a few days to see how things are doing. When I opened up the lid, I saw that the krausen had lowered to about only a 1/4 of an inch, but it was more of a brown color. I also noticed a slight (very slight) smell of what seemed to be vinegar amongst the beer smell. Is that normal?

skyzo said:

OK so I checked on the fermentation for the first time in a few days to see how things are doing. When I opened up the lid, I saw that the krausen had lowered to about only a 1/4 of an inch, but it was more of a brown color. I also noticed a slight (very slight) smell of what seemed to be vinegar amongst the beer smell. Is that normal?

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I don't know. I don't open my fermenter and check it so often.

Seriously, I really don't know. I wait until it's time to do something, and then check the SG. When I check the SG, I taste the beer. After two weeks in the fermenter, it tastes like flat warm beer. So, if it's been less than two weeks since you brewed (and it seems like it's only been a couple of days), then don't bother worrying about the sight and the smell.

The smells could be from all the co2 sitting on top of the beer, it could be the smell of the fermenting wort (krausen), it could just be a by-product of fermentation, etc. I have no idea. There is probably all kinds of stuff going on in there that I've never seen, since I don't open the fermenter until the beer is done.

But walk away from it and take an SG next week if you want to. That would be fine. Otherwise, wait two weeks from brew day before you even open it again.

skyzo said:

OK guys, one more question. How much regular cane sugar should I use for priming?? No stores around here have any corn sugar (stupid rural town), and my home brew shop is out and said they dont have a new shipment coming for two weeks. Its around a 5 gallon batch. I heard 2/3 cup, but that was for corn sugar, is this any different for regular sugar?
Thanks

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You can try a health food store for fructose but there may not be one of those there either?