First Brew, I'm a bit worried!

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tosteen

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Hey guys, so I bought a kit today and started a brew of Honey Brown Ale. I sanitized everything and followed the timetables and directions as best I could. It's 3 AM and we just put the lid on the fermenter and our temp is near the max for Ales, but cooling down. There were some hiccups along the way, but nothing too bad, I think. Still, I feel like I'm having a child or something, and worried as hell that all the time and money spent will be for naught! Should I be? Also, has anyone else felt this way on their first brew?
 
We were all in the samp position as you with the first brew.I used to check my fermenter twice a hour,keep your fermenter in range of your yeast and dont bottle till steady gravity.
Awise man once said Relax Don't Worry Have A Home Brew....or local craft brew.
 
Someone will be right by to tell you to relax and dont worry and have a homebrew (RDWHAB). Having a temperature in the upper ranges of recommended is not a problem when it's right after pitching. The yeast needs to get started (lag time) and as long as it's still cooling you will probably end up with a primary fermentation at a correct temperature. Lag times can range from 4-72 hours, so just put your worries aside.

Edit: Looks like I was beaten to the post.
 
I've been brewing for 11 years, and I still check my fermenter atleast once a day.....RDWHAB!!!
 
Jim1234 said:
Welcome to the addiction!!!!!

Haha it feels like one! I just hope that yeast is doing its share of the work, for all the stress that went into it!
 
I was a wreck after my first brew and the yeast didn't kick in for 48 hours. I thought I screwed up bad. With hind sight I learned more patience and that brew turned out pretty good. Welcome to your new lifestyle. Just make sure after you bottle it you let it age a few weeks before drinking it. Green beer is bad. Im sure it will work out fine and I sil check my fermentor twice a day.
 
'don't worry relax and have a home brew' is not just a saying, it's a quote from a book called the joy of home brewing. When I read it I swear I was going to choke him if he said it one more time! Haha.

Welcome to home brewing. My one piece of advice would be patience, you're looking at about a two month process here, at least, try your best not to rush it or skip any steps!

Good luck!
 
Welcome! I'm sure everything will be fine and your brew will be delicious!
 
Everything's coming along fine, airlock activity has slowed down and temps are lower also...we're planning on taking FG readings soon and bottling this weekend! I've been thinking about the next batch (probably a little too forward for my expertise), but what about a pumpkin spice for the fall? Is this too ambitious for a newcomer?
 
So you brewed this on the 9/3 and talking about bottling it 9/8? Do yourself a favor and give it till at least the 15th and then take a gravity reading and another a few days later, if they are the same and at the predicted final gravity you can bottle. But I'd probably give it even another week after that. It will help clear the beer and allow the yeast to clean up some of the off flavors they produced.
 
Haha I'm also new too brewing and have a coopers kit here in aus. I think mines going well but still can't help but check it every few hours and tell everyone about it :) missus is a bit over the updates but I'm sure in a few weeks she'll be happy. Lager this time thinking a wheat beer next..
 
I'm with dan on this one. No way you should be bottling it after what a week and a half. Let it age at least another week I'd probably give it two more weeks. You don't want to drink green beer. You have to give it time to mature or it will be grassy and natty
 
I agree, I'd say best to give it a bit more time. Though I do remember how hard it was to wait with my first few batches!! I generally leave mine in primary for 2 weeks minimum (though the odd 12-13 day slips in sometimes depending on the recipe and my schedule!).

+1 on the relax, don't worry...... almost couldn't get through the book with that saying on every page!
 
I'm so glad I didn't read that book. I would have burned it... Great saying and im sure the book is full of good info but really on every page he says that... Yea I would have thrown out in the fire.
 
Meh. It wasn't every page. More often, he just says you should have another one. With the speed I read through it, I would have been blitzed had I had another each time he suggested that I do so. :drunk:
 
Having a temperature in the upper ranges of recommended is not a problem when it's right after pitching. The yeast needs to get started (lag time) and as long as it's still cooling you will probably end up with a primary fermentation at a correct temperature.

Pitching that warm isn't going to ruin your beer, but it's better to pitch cooler. A warm pitching temperature may kill some of the yeast. This may put your pitching rate slightly lower than what you want and it could cause some off flavors.

An 11-gram sachet has a little bit more than enough viable yeast for a ~1.050 beer. There's a chance that any problems that result from pitching warm could be insignificant.

Fermentation is exothermic. Pitching warm will slow down cooling the wort to the temperature you want.

Don't worry about it for this batch. If your beer tastes a little funny, you can try pitching cooler next time.
 
I'm also in my first batch now. Recipe says to bottle this weekend and gravity is about where it should be. I can't decide if I'm going to take another reading and bottle if it is the same, or wait another week or two as I've seen so many recommend. Since it's my first batch and I don't know the difference between beer in a fermenter for two weeks and three weeks can I really be disappointed? Decisions, decisions.
 
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