Still going, pics and Q's inside

Ok, so I am like halfway thru my first brew ever. Seems to be going as planned. (I need a bigger kitchen and sink!)

So I sanitized my secondary with Star San, and got lots O' Foam and could not get it out for the life of me, so I racked it anyway. Pushed most of the foam out but is it OK that some was left behind?

And also how the hell do you get the plug and bubbler to stay in the carboy?!?! It kept wanting to ease its way up, I had to tape the bugger down. I guess maybe cuz I soaked them in Star San before putting them in?

It is now under my table with a black T shirt on for another 2 weeks. Then I gotta start getting bottles in order.

I used a auto siphon to transfer the beer, it worked pretty good and was easy!

Pics and thanks for the continuing help everyone!

Suds OK?




I've noticed that fermenting beer is YUCKY looking. The crud in my bucket was dag nasty!



Ghetto riggin'

Don't fear the foam!

It's perfectly harmless, and in fact it'll end up being yeast nutrient.

Looks like everything is going just fine.

looks good! First off dont fear the starsan foam, nothing to worry there, I do the same thing, I also get the foam snake when kegging my beers into the starsan-itized kegs. second, is it a solid drilled bung or is it a universal bung? the uni ones are hollow and tend to not spit the airlocks when I have issues I just dry the bung and airlock as well as the bottle lip, helps the stuff stays put, I switched to the hollow universal style bungs and have had no more issues keeping the airlock in place. lastly, the fermentation is pretty ugly indeed, just remember not to scratch the inside of your pail, that can give nasties a place to hide and cause infections in your beer.

If your bung keeps popping out, you can do one of two things.
1) Sanitize your bung early, and let it air dry. If the contact points are dry, it will stay in unless they airlock gets plugged.
2) Use saran wrap to secure the bung. It goes on easy, and comes off easy. Tape works in a pinch, but tends to cause more problems later.

Have you started planning your next brew yet?

^^^^^^ what they said... I just dry the bung and carboy mouth with a clean paper towel.

Thanks guys! And I got the foam snake too! hahaa, I shoudla took a pic it was so funny. I thought it looked like a big dutie tho,

Thanks for the tips on the plug, I think its a uni, its like a off white rubber plug. I wasn't thinking ahead when it came to that piece, but this is all part of the learning process right?

As for my next brew I have another kit standing by. I forget who makes it but it was a pretty expensive IPA kit with lots of hops, which is my fav type of beer. Now that all my gear is clear if I have time tonight I will get everything cleaned up. My turkey fryer burner just came from Amazon so I just need to exchange one of my empty tanks and I'll be in biz, granted the rain stays away.

you can wipe things dry with a clean/unused, fresh paper towel. paper towels that have been kept clean are very sanitary compared to a hand towel. not to mention lint free.