Just another New guy!

New brewer here with new brewer questions!

Brewed my first batch on Thursday evening (American Wheat Ale) from Northern Brewer.

I followed the instructions as closely as possible and used a yeast starter.

I put the fermentor in the basement overnight, and when I checked on it in the morning, the stick-on thermometer on the side read 58 degrees. I moved it upstairs to my bedroom closet and the temp (on the fermentor) raised to 62-63 degrees. I also submerged a glass thermometer in a glass of water next to the fermentor and it reads 65-66 degrees.

Here are my concerns:

• its been about 32 hours and i have no signs of fermentation
• did my initial low temperature hurt me?
• which temp reading should I trust?
• am i in a good temp range for this ale?
• and lastly...when do you make the decision to repitch (i did not get an OG reading)

THanks for all of the help! I'm sure a lot of this is just due to beginner's anxiety!

Hi and welcome to a great hobby.

The airlock isn't a great indicator of fermentation. The initial temps were a bit low, but that wouldn't harm the yeast. It would just slow down the fermentation. That is a reasonable explanation for why you don't see lots of burping in the airlock. You may also have a leak around the lid that allows the gas to escape without traveling through the airlock.

I'd sit back and give this baby about three weeks to finish fermenting.

Oh, and the temp variable is likely due to differences in the liquid. Fermentation generates heat so the center will be warmer and the outside of the pail will be close to room temp.

Turns out it was all beginner's anxiety. Thank you for the advice and pointers. I will remember these in the future. My carboy is all kinds of active now! Can't wait to get this beer bottled in a few weeks and get another one brewing!!!

Good to hear that all is well.

Now you enter the most challenging phase- waiting for it to be ready.

Ah, the relief of strong krausen. It's kind of like waiting for the first scream from your kid when they enter the world. Even if you don't realize you were holding your breath, there's a deep sigh afterward.

No kidding! Like Tom Petty says....the waiting is the hardest part! Looking for a great extract recipe for an IPA for my second brew. Any suggestions???

The recipe database here on Homebrewtalk is rather extensive. Here's the IPA section: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/

Several people have posted clone recipes for their favorite commercial beers. I'm partial to Bell's Two-Hearted: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/bells-two-hearted-ale-clone-close-they-come-91488/

Thanks! I've been looking at heavenscent IIPA. Just wondering if I need to change anything if I can only do a 2.5-3 gallon boil.

snowblind5150 said:

The recipe database here on Homebrewtalk is rather extensive. Here's the IPA section: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/

Several people have posted clone recipes for their favorite commercial beers. I'm partial to Bell's Two-Hearted: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/bells-two-hearted-ale-clone-close-they-come-91488/

Click to expand...

The Bell's Two-Hearted sounds delicious, but being a beginner, I'll have to stick to extract recipes for now.