brewing my first batch

this is my first batch i have been around brewing for a while and understand it for the most part. it will be a extract brew(cant wait to get to all grain) American Pale ale kit by brewers best. Im changing the recipe a bit from the directions. I put it all in to beersmith and it said my bittering would be a little bit low. the recipe calls for a 2.5gal boil, anything wrong with boosting that to a 3gal boil takes the ibu's from a 35 to a 38.9. i know this is my first batch and im already experimenting, but if i have the ability why shouldnt it oh the the the bitterness ratio is .784 with the 3 gal boil, ps beersmith is awesome, will have to purchase this when the trial is up. tried the free one that worked on mac and it sucked, whipped out my netbook and got beersmith, man i knew i would find a good use for a pc one day BREW COMPUTER!!!! a buddy and i are undertaking the brewing together, makes things cheaper for the both of us as we want to get to all grain asap, this site is awesome and i went from having no idea about all grain to having a good understanding of how to do it, but first things furst lets get the first few batches under our belts.

Totally do the larger boil. Bigger boil = better hop utilization. I at a minimum do a 3 gallon boil. If my stove didn't suck so much, I would do full boils.

i have a 4 gallon pot so 3 is all i feel safe using, also how long should i leave it in the fermenter? i was figuring 10-14 days, i know its after ferment finishes but how long after that? then how long in the bottle i was figuring 3 weeks or would 2 be suficient.

Longer is better. Slower is better. Three weeks primary, three weeks bottle conditioning minimums.

masterchief1112 said:

i have a 4 gallon pot so 3 is all i feel safe using, also how long should i leave it in the fermenter? i was figuring 10-14 days, i know its after ferment finishes but how long after that? then how long in the bottle i was figuring 3 weeks or would 2 be suficient.

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That usually depends on the brewer. But there is always the 1-2-3 thumbrule. 1 week primary, two weeks secondary, three weeks bottle conditioning. This is assuming you plan to use a secondary fermenter. Just remember to take your gravities to check if fermentation is complete.

Personally, I usually do 7-10 days primary and then a month in the secondary.

Good luck to you and your brew. Its a fun and addictive hobby. Cheers!

I'll just echo what others have said. Do as high volume of a boil as you can, just ensure to adjust your recipe accordingly. Also, personally, I normally do 2-3 weeks in the primary and at least 2 weeks in the secondary for clearing. To each his own.

WrongCoastBrewery said:

That usually depends on the brewer. But there is always the 1-2-3 thumbrule. 1 week primary, two weeks secondary, three weeks bottle conditioning. This is assuming you plan to use a secondary fermenter. Just remember to take your gravities to check if fermentation is complete.

Personally, I usually do 7-10 days primary and then a month in the secondary.

Good luck to you and your brew. Its a fun and addictive hobby. Cheers!

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The 1-2-3 is an older rule, but still works if that's what you want to do.

many, many of us now just leave it in the primary for 4 weeks (or more), then bottle and leave it 3 weeks.

Temperature Control is also important. Pitch your yeast lower than 75F, and keep it at 65F if you can (assuming ales), at least for the first week. There are many methods for that - from temp control on an old fridge to swamp coolers or other ice-chest rigs.

good luck!

my basement is a consistent 63-66 degrees almost all year. its a little warmer today so its up to maybe 65 right now it will get down to 60 sometimes. only a primary planned for this one. may pickup a carboy is a 5 gal carboy sufficient or should i go 6.5 for secondary

masterchief1112 said:

my basement is a consistent 63-66 degrees almost all year. its a little warmer today so its up to maybe 65 right now it will get down to 60 sometimes. only a primary planned for this one. may pickup a carboy is a 5 gal carboy sufficient or should i go 6.5 for secondary

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If you are using the carboy for a secondary, go with the 5 gal size. Helps to keep the oxygen out of it. If for a primary, go with the 6.5gal.

Welcome to a wonderful obsession!

I know "rules of thumb" are very useful when starting out, but keep in mind that every brew is different. I have a Big Hefe that is just now beginning to settle down after an active fermentation that lasted two and a half weeks. It went from an OG of 1.064 to 1.010; I have had other brews finish much earlier. Rely on your measurements and above all else, patience for the best result.

this is going to be one of very few extract batches as i want to jump head first into all grain. i have a connection at sabco that can get me kettles for next to nothing. pretty much anything i need from them at cost. extract looks fun and all but no real control over the beer and its costly!

finished the brew and stashed it in the fermenter, nice and aerated, got a OG of 1.054 right in the range. pitched the yeast and stashed it in the basement. finished about 4 this afternoon just got home and took a peek at the fermenter no action but i dindt expect any. will see how this works. OH and why is it no one has ever said oh by the way when you add your bittering hops watch the f*** out it wil foam like crazy. didntboil over but damn near. wort tasted good when i pulled a sample so we shall see. put the order in for a keggle at sabco here in toledo.

masterchief1112 said:

finished the brew and stashed it in the fermenter, nice and aerated, got a OG of 1.054 right in the range. pitched the yeast and stashed it in the basement. finished about 4 this afternoon just got home and took a peek at the fermenter no action but i dindt expect any. will see how this works. OH and why is it no one has ever said oh by the way when you add your bittering hops watch the f*** out it wil foam like crazy. didntboil over but damn near. wort tasted good when i pulled a sample so we shall see. put the order in for a keggle at sabco here in toledo.

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Don't worry if you don't see any airlock activity, it's most likely fermenting. Leave it for about 72 hours and take a hydrometer reading, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Not worried about it at all. Know all about how long it can take to show physical signs of fermenting. Its also 65 degrees where its at. Low and slow is the sAy to go I hear.

got some airlock activity. only thing im worried about is its about 60-59 degrees down there at night and 63-65 during the day is that too big of a flctuation for the yeast?

bubler hasnt bubbled for a while so i took a hydrometer sample. 020, not quite there yet, thinking about a secondary would now be a good time to swap it over, estimated fg is 012-010

okay so ferm is going a little slow, its still bubbling, never got very many bubbles out of the airlock like maybe one every fer secs now its about one a minute. 2 days agon the gravity was 020, starting was 055. a buddy recomended giving the yeast a little boost or repitch to speed things up or should i just let things run their course, no this sint a "stuck ferm ?"

masterchief1112 said:

okay so ferm is going a little slow, its still bubbling, never got very many bubbles out of the airlock like maybe one every fer secs now its about one a minute. 2 days agon the gravity was 020, starting was 055. a buddy recomended giving the yeast a little boost or repitch to speed things up or should i just let things run their course, no this sint a "stuck ferm ?"

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Let it go.

I had my Pumpkin Ale stuck at 1.020 after about 2.5 weeks in the primary. I transferred to secondary and it finished at my expected FG of about 1.015 after two weeks in the secondary. I wouldn't re-pitch now, you might get some unwanted flavors....

okay ill pick up a secondary this week and rack it, possibly bring it up out of the basement and let it get a little warmer, at one point it had a good 3 inches of krausen it receeded and it was 1 week friday ill leave it be until this friday and rack to a secondary.