First Brew Today

So I brewed my first batch today, an Irish Red Ale kit from Northern Brewer. Everything went pretty well besides breaking my thermometer and having to run to WalMart at 10:00 to get one. The biggest problem that I had was leaving the trub behind in the pot while I was pouring it into the fermenter. So pretty much I got all of the trub in the fermenter (had to clean out the strainer a few times and the wife was getting tired holding it.) Can anyone recomend a good strainer, and will leaving all that trub in the fermenter be a problem? Thanks for the help.

You might want to try swirling the wort once chilling. This should bring a lot of the trub to the middle of the brewpot. Then just siphon from the edges. You can still use a strainer if you'd like, but perhaps with a lot less clogging.

Check out Kaiser's Whirlpool FAQ: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/whirlpool-big-how-7682/

GT

I wouldn't worry much about the trub... it will settle out during fermentation and you have another chance of filtering when you go to bottle...

Another thing I am wondering is about my yeast. Since it was my first time doing anything I didn't really have my timing down. I rehydrated my yeast a little early and it had to sit on the counter for a while (covered of course) and I am wondering if that would have been too long. I poured the slurry into the fermenter but some of the yeast was left in the glass. I know RDWHAHB but it is so hard not to worry about these things your first time.

you will be fine. I typically don't rehydrate dry yeast, but it's not wrong to do so assuming you rehydrated with sterile water?

I boiled some water and then cooled it and then poured the yeast into it. Waited about 20 minutes and then stired the yeast around and then it was probably like an hour or so (give or take) before it got pitched.

Well it seems that I at least didn't kill some of my yeast by leaving it sit out too long. The airlock is bubbling. I am at about 24 hours in and I am getting about a bubble every 30 seconds or so. Is that pretty normal?

Bubbling is no indication of fermentation going on... bubbling rates vary... I've had beers that bubbled 1-2 times per second, and others that were slower like 3-4 times per minute...

Your beer should be fermenting... just be patient, give beer the time it needs to ferment and take your gravity readings to find out if fermentation is done... don't pay attention to your bubbles...

I know bubbles are no indication of fermenting but for a new brewer it sure is nice to see. Went and looked at the bucket this morning and it was bubbling like crazy. Had to put it into a bucket of water to cool it down a bit as it was getting close to 68 degrees which is close to the high end of the temp. range.

Bubbles in the airlock are almost always an indication of fermentation.

LACK of bubbles does not mean that fermentation is not occurring.

david_42 said:

Bubbles in the airlock are almost always an indication of fermentation.

LACK of bubbles does not mean that fermentation is not occurring.

Click to expand...

This ^

10char

What type of yeast were you using that you had to cool it down at 68? The fermenting wort is pretty resilient most times you don't have to worry about temp unless it is extemely hot or cold, or you are laggering. I have had rapid fermentation at 75 degrees before. Just remember what CP always says relax and have a home brew, if there is no homebrew around craft will work just fine. Good luck.

Over 75 will get you banana beer.

Can't remember the yeast off the top of my head but the ideal temperature range was 57-70. Been trying to keep it in the mid 60s during the first week. Been doing pretty good so far between putting it in a cool water bath adding ice and even taking it out for a while because it was getting a little too cold for what i was wanting.

Which leads me to a question. If I am fermenting and it is at say 68 degrees, is it going to cause any problem putting it into a cool water bath and bringing it down to say 62 or 63. Just wasn't sure if quick temp changes cause off flavors.