couple questions from a rookie

I am brewing "Brewers best" American Light, The yeast is nottingham "Ale yeast" from Austria the only number I see on it is "e 11 g" couple more questions I came up with. Right now it is in my basement and its 59F according to the themo on the bucket, Is that to cold? Also while boiling it when it was time to add the sugar and the other powder I stired it in. I dont think I was suppose to do that? There was very little sediment when I transfered it to the bucket so I might have goofed up.

Nottingham does pretty well at cooler temps. I usually ferment at around 60F.

+1, notty is a great clean strain at low temps, I try not to let my notty get above 64

jv0021 said:

I am brewing "Brewers best" American Light, The yeast is nottingham "Ale yeast" from Austria the only number I see on it is "e 11 g" couple more questions I came up with. Right now it is in my basement and its 59F according to the themo on the bucket, Is that to cold? Also while boiling it when it was time to add the sugar and the other powder I stired it in. I dont think I was suppose to do that? There was very little sediment when I transfered it to the bucket so I might have goofed up.

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Temp is perfect for a pseudo lager. So you're good there but...

You boiled the yeast though? Not good. Not good at all. Boiling kills the yeast.

Your temp is perfect.

What, exactly, did you add to the boil? dry malt extract?

If ever relax dont worry have a homebrew applies in your brewing times... this is it.

Your fermenting temp is just about perfect for Notty
Stirring in extract is the best thing to do, otherwise it will all settle on the bottom of the brew pot and burn.

You're doing just fine, you really are.

Let your beer ferment in a primary for around 3 weeks. Bottle and store the carbonating bottles in a warm environment (70F) for three weeks, put the beer in a fridge for at least a week after that and then enjoy some of the best beer ever!

I would actually suggest you go to the nearest liquor store, and pick up some really excellent craft beers that you like, or maybe something new that you want to try.

It will keep you busy while you wait for this one to finish, and will also give you some ideas for later.

It's called research, and it will help keep you from messing with your beer.

dadshomebrewing said:

I would actually suggest you go to the nearest liquor store, and pick up some really excellent craft beers that you like, or maybe something new that you want to try.

It will keep you busy while you wait for this one to finish, and will also give you some ideas for later.

It's called research, and it will help keep you from messing with your beer.

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Listen to this man's wisdom, OP. And yes, you are indeed just fine (assuming that you cooled your wort prior to pitching your yeast).

dadshomebrewing said:

I would actually suggest you go to the nearest liquor store, and pick up some really excellent craft beers that you like, or maybe something new that you want to try.

It will keep you busy while you wait for this one to finish, and will also give you some ideas for later.

It's called research, and it will help keep you from messing with your beer.

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Definitely take this advise! somehow i waited to long to brew and just bottled christmas eve and only have about 8 bottles of HB left so I stocked up on craft.
got me some schafley hefe, left hand milk stout nitro, a 750 of chimay red and a 750 of La Fin du Monde.

I am not familiar with that kit but did I read that you added sugar? Would that be the priming sugar?

I actually have and tried both. I like the Nitro better but both are fantastic. La Fin du Monde is the best triple I tried to date. Will be my first time drinking Chimay.

You boiled your yeast? Not good, not good at all if that is the case.

Sorry it took my so long to get back with you guys. I did not boil the yeast I let the wort cool before adding it. The "powder" I added was 1 lb pilsen dme, 8oz corn sugar and 8oz rice syrup solids. they were all in powder form. I added them after 40 mins of boil as the instructions said but I stirred them in, not sure if I was suppose to do that or not. My airlock was 1 bubble every 3 seconds yesterday and 1 bubble every 9 seconds today. I boiled it Wednesday night.

jv0021 said:

Sorry it took my so long to get back with you guys. I did not boil the yeast I let the wort cool before adding it. The "powder" I added was 1 lb pilsen dme, 8oz corn sugar and 8oz rice syrup solids. they were all in powder form. I added them after 40 mins of boil as the instructions said but I stirred them in, not sure if I was suppose to do that or not. My airlock was 1 bubble every 3 seconds yesterday and 1 bubble every 9 seconds today. I boiled it Wednesday night.

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Everything sounds fine. You definitely wanted to add these ingredients during the boil, though you could add them later in the boil since you just want to sterilize things and adding extract early can lead to a darker beer (and adding early may also impact your hop utilization).

Make sure to give the beer enough time to fully ferment - at least 2 weeks, if not 3, before bottling. Don't rely on the airlock as an indication of fermentation - after 10 days - 2 weeks, take a gravity reading and see where things stand and proceed appropriately from there.

jv0021 said:

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Also while boiling it when it was time to add the sugar and the other powder I stired it in. I dont think I was suppose to do that?

...

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If you mean you stirred in the yeast during the boil, then nope your not supposed to do that, it kills the yeast. So, your not likely to get much ferm activity unless it is from something other than the yeast you boiled (usually a bad thing). However, by boiling the yeast you have made what is called "yeast hulls", this is a good yeast nutrient (a good thing).

If it is the case that you boiled your yeast, then you need to pitch again.

jv0021 said:

I am brewing "Brewers best" American Light, The yeast is nottingham "Ale yeast" from Austria the only number I see on it is "e 11 g" couple more questions I came up with. Right now it is in my basement and its 59F according to the themo on the bucket, Is that to cold? Also while boiling it when it was time to add the sugar and the other powder I stired it in. I dont think I was suppose to do that? There was very little sediment when I transfered it to the bucket so I might have goofed up.

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You are fine. I saw your post that you didn't boil the yeast, so all is good. Stirring is actually good. It helps to keep the "powder" as you call it, from settling to the bottom and scorching before it's dissolved into wort.

Stirring during the boil is fine and actually recommended. Once fermentation starts though, no more stirring, ever.

Seriously though, everything sounds fine to me. You just need to sit back and let it do it's thing now. Yeah, that's easier said than done, believe me I was a first time brewer not that long ago and it's tough to just let it sit. I wish more instructions said, "Now that you've added the yeast, seal it up and let it sit for 3 weeks, don't touch it, don't look at it, don't even talk to it for 3 weeks." Too many instructions make you think you will be drinking great beer in a month. It might not be bad beer, but if you just give it some time, you'd be amazed how good it gets by just letting it sit.

I'd advise you to do what I did, start brewing every weekend for the next three months. Then you'll have enough beer to drink that you've brewed, that you'll be more inclined to just let the beer sit and age like it should. Your waistline won't thank you, but your taste buds certainly will.

as long as you did not add the yeast to the boil and only the malt DME and LME you are fine . Stirring is good .Do not let it sit on the bottom or it will burn the sugar , yuk.
Do not add in the little packet of sugar , about a half cup or so as that is your priming sugar . Not a problem as you will only have more ABV but you will need to use some sugar , corn table honey what ever to bottle .

do not use the 2.2 pounds of corn sugar if it calls for that as it is just too thin . Use half corn sugar and half light DME or all DME .

I might add in that I use lots of BB kits and they are pretty good . Kind of hard to mess up a kit or an ale to where you can not fix it or just drink it like it is .