First attempt, brewcraftusa kit question

Hey guys I just got my first brewing kiting was the deluxe starter kit from brewcraftusa it has everything I think I'll need to get started however it does come with a secondary fermenter bucket with a spigot they also expect you to use as a bottling bucket. I feel like I should use it for one or the other and just buy the opposite of what I choose to use it for, thoughts? Also my first ingredient kit is called the Dry Hopped West Coast IPA and calls for an OG of 1.069, from what I understand that may require a yeast starter which seems a little intimidating for my first brew session. Is it possible to do it without a starter? The kit comes with one packet of Safale US-05 would that be enough yeast and an active enough yeast to skip the starter? Thanks for all your help.

Welcome aboard! My first brew was done with the brewcraft kit. They make very nice beers. Personally I would try and brew something a little easier than a dry hopped big IPA like that as your first brew. The brewcraft Rocky mountain amber ale kit is delicious and easy to do. I have brewed it twice and it came out great both times. If you do intend to go ahead on the IPA I think the US-05 will be just barely enough to get you over the hump. I personally would get a second pack of it as it is a cheap yeast.

I just did a gallon batch of west coast IPA

if you are dry hopping then use a secondary if youre not then dont bother, its not needed. Brewing is pretty straight forward and simple. Use what you have and learn how to use it. With the yeast you have straight pitch it between 53f -77f and youll be fine. Follow the instructions I let it ferment at 68 to 70f.

Dont be intimidated and have fun brewing! make sure you keep all your stuff clean and sanitized to avoid infection and spoiling your batch. I write down the steps i take and record any error i made and if the batch is really good i can follow it and make it again. WAit 24/48 hours and youll see the yeast go nuts.

here is a link you can use to read.

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

Hope that helps and welcome to the boards!

Thanks for the responses, I figured a big IPA wasn't the best way to start however it was a great and therefore is the only kit I have right now and I'm wanting to get started as soon as possible haha,very excited to become a home brewer. I think it might be best if I go pick up and easier kit to start with, thanks again for all the help.

You can start with what you have, dont worry to much. dry hopping after is just waiting for the yeast to do its job and settling 10-14 days, then moving it to a secondary if you want and then adding the additional hops for aroma etc. you can even dry hop in the primary as many do.

Just follow the instructions that come with the kit. no need to spend money on another kit when you have one at home already waiting to be brewed.

If you havn't already noticed you'll get conflicting but equally prescient advice here on this forum. I don't disagree with T29 but I don't agree either. For me it was about my personal comfort level. I wanted to get my process down a little before moving on to an intermediate or advanced type style. I figured keeping the variables down at first would allow me to understand the process better. I'm still learning and I use this forum to learn all sorts of things. Go with your gut and have fun with it!

One thing -- do NOT depend on airlock activity as an indication of the fermentation being complete. Use a hydrometer and wait about 14 days then take a reading every day and only after you have 2-3 consecutive days of identical readings should you consider it "done." Then you can rack and dry-hop if you want.
Happy brewing!

Newsman said:

One thing -- do NOT depend on airlock activity as an indication of the fermentation being complete. Use a hydrometer and wait about 14 days then take a reading every day and only after you have 2-3 consecutive days of identical readings should you consider it "done." Then you can rack and dry-hop if you want.
Happy brewing!

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This, dont follow the kit instructions when it comes to when to bottle. At least most kits tell you to bottle after as little as 7 days which is just ridiculous, bottling has nothing to do with time and everything to do with having a stable gravity reading that's low enough to be reasonable for a few days.

Yeah after browsing around the forums the past couple of hours the one thing that I've learned is to definitely not rely on the airlock for anything. The kit came with a hydrometer so I plan on taking plenty of readings. I think I'm going to rundown to the local home brew shop grab another packet of yeast and dive into this tomorrow, updates to follow thanks guys.

I think one packet of yeast is plenty for the brew you have. I'm doing a 5 Gallon batch American IPa and im just using 1 packet of Safale 05. it's plenty.

Keep us updated and let us know how it turns out

T29 said:

I think one packet of yeast is plenty for the brew you have. I'm doing a 5 Gallon batch American IPa and im just using 1 packet of Safale 05. it's plenty.

Keep us updated and let us know how it turns out

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I defer on the yeast to T29 who is an IPA brewer and a US-05 user. I gave my opinion on the yeast based on the 1.069 expected OG before a more experienced brewer chimed in. I'll retract that. Thanks for chiming in T29.

Im fairly new to the brewing scene also. I have never had a problem or stuck fermentation with one packet of yeast. I have used a starter and pitched without and they both have worked out great. The only difference i have noticed is the starter starts to ferment much quicker.

My OG on my last IPA was 1.069 and its looking pretty good so far

One last question, the recipe came with 6lbs Pilsen dry malt extract split into two 3lb bags and 1lb of brewers crystal 56% maltose corn syrup. I was looking through the instructions and they say to only add one bag of the DME after steeping the grains and then to add the other bag and the brewers crystal 15 minutes into the boil, I've never heard of splitting up the DME like that before is it common or should I add it all after steeping the grain?

Doools said:

One last question, the recipe came with 6lbs Pilsen dry malt extract split into two 3lb bags and 1lb of brewers crystal 56% maltose corn syrup. I was looking through the instructions and they say to only add one bag of the DME after steeping the grains and then to add the other bag and the brewers crystal 15 minutes into the boil, I've never heard of splitting up the DME like that before is it common or should I add it all after steeping the grain?

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It's very common. It is referred to as Late Addition. DME will darken as it boils so adding it all right at the beginning will result in a darker beer. This is called the Maillard Reaction. Adding it late is actual the more common practice and will result in the beer being closer in SRM color for the style you are brewing.

Steep the grains and prep the main pot of water and make sure its boiling, make sure you have let the grains steep for however long (30min) then add the steep water to the boiling water then add the DME to the pot and boil and as per instructions, add the rest of the DME into the boil with the crystals.

I just prep the pot of boiling water and once everythings at temp and time is given for the grains to steep, i just add the steeped water to the boil and add all the DME and whatever sugars are given and boil for 60min. If that makes any sense lol

T29 said:

Steep the grains and prep the main pot of water and make sure its boiling, make sure you have let the grains steep for however long (30min) then add the steep water to the boiling water then add the DME to the pot and boil and as per instructions, add the rest of the DME into the boil with the crystals.

I just prep the pot of boiling water and once everythings at temp and time is given for the grains to steep, i just add the steeped water to the boil and add all the DME and whatever sugars are given and boil for 60min. If that makes any sense lol

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We just can't agree on anything can we? LOL

I was re-reading what i wrote lol. My kids are playing and i can't think straight. but what you said is right.

One question about hops before I get started with all of this. The recipe kit was supposed to come with one ounce each of Columbus, chinook centennial, cascade and nugget hops. However it came with an extra ounce of each nugget and Columbus. Then the recipe says to combine all the hops together and weigh out an ounce for bittering, aroma, dry hopping and then two ounces for dry hopping. I don't understand why I would combine all the hops like that and then weigh out the different additions. If I choose to keep the hopes separate what should I use for each edition, for example cascade for bittering or chinook for bittering? I'm not positive which is best for what. Also can I use the extra two ounces got or is seven ounces too much? Thanks guys.

My guess is the extra hops are for dry hopping

Yeah that's the only thing I could think of. Is there any pros to combining all the hops like that?

Well the instructions should say at what time to add each hope type it can say example cascade at 60 min alone and so you throw those in them it an say chinook at 30 min etc then the rest at flameout.

Maybe you can post the directions here and what problems you are having reading them

I hope everyone can see the pictures I'm not sure if it worked I'm using an iPad. The directions don't differentiate what type of hops are used for which addition, they want them all combined then each addition weighed out from the combined hops, I found that strange.

This picture shows how it wants the hops combined.

Maybe this is a bit easier for you to understand. step wise its pretty easy. Its a similar beer i make that tastes great. just foolow the hop additions it says and your good.

http://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/5gal - west coast ipa.pdf

Dools:

I would email Brewcraft USA:

Brian Morton
SW Territory Sales Manager

BREWCRAFT USA, Ltd.
 Office: (360)696-8356 ext 4305
 Cell (503)956-3232
 Fax: (503)914-1711
 Email: [email protected]
 Website: www.brewcraftusa.com

I emailed this guy and he was extremely helpful in giving me instructions on how to do a full boil with an extract kit since that instruction sheet that came in the box only explained partial boil. He responds very quickly and gave me quality information.

or do that ^

But what i think hes asking for is in the new post he made was the 1 oz od cascade and 1/2 oz of chinook it calls for dry hopping. its adding the hops after primary fermentation is completed. hope that helped.

Yeah, I went to their website and the instructions are exactly what Drools posted - no instructions on when to add the hops. I think that's a lousy way to do a kit, myself. They ought to include instructions on when to use the hops.

Just a quick update for everyone I brewed two nights ago with only one or two small problems. My first problem was I added the DME to the boil too quickly and even tho I had the pot off the heat I couldn't stir fast enough to keep some of it from forming big clumps and sinking to the bottom of the pot so I'm afraid I may have scorched it, is the only thing to worry about with this just a slight burnt taste when everything is said and done? And besides a very small boil over for less than a second the only other problem I had was cooling the wort. I made an ice bath in the sink but I didn't expect the ice to melt almost immediately and since that was all the ice I had I was stuck with recirculating cold water constantly and placing wet towels around the pot but it took much longer than expected. Also unknown to me due to my own laziness I realized only when I was sanitizing that the kit only came with a hydrometer but no test tube and no thief so I have no OG readings but I'm not too worried about that. Overall I'm pretty happy with everything and its fermenting away in a closet right now with a very active air lock, thanks again for all the help.

Also I forgot to mention I added the hops per the recipe T29 posted with the exception of the dry hops I'll had when I move the beer to the secondary which his recipe didn't call for.

Congrats getting this brew under your belt. Now be patient and don't go messing with it after the airlock stops bubbling. Give at least two weeks before testing the gravity. You will want to go pick up something to float that hydrometer in and a turkey baster makes a nice thief at a cheap price. Checking final gravity is more important than original gravity so you can know fermentation is done. Cheers on being a brewer!!!