Well, that was interesting...

First brew in the books as of an hour ago. And it was ... an experience.

I was as prepared as I could have been, I think, other than underestimating how much time it would take from start to finish. Oh, hey, work. Yes, I'm coming in late tonight.

My biggest issue (other than my brew pot not being as big as advertised) was my boil. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't seem to get a good boil going over the 60 minutes. I'd get it going, then add an ingredient and do some stirring, and it would die down. Then it would boil back up a few minutes later. I'm thinking my stove might not have the stuff to keep a strong boil (brand new apartment that I'm in, so I didn't know if its power. First task: brew stinky beer!)

To compensate, I played with the lid: on, slightly on, a little less slightly on. I wanted to get a nice "rolling boil" but it'd either be ferocious or a like a soft, little kitten. I never got a happy medium, in my mind. What kind of effect would that have on my beer?

Another thing: I seemed to have a LOT of foam when I poured my wort into the fermenter. I went through a very fine mesh strainer. Is that the No. 1 culprit? It was so foamy that I could barely read my reading through the bubbles. I sort of had to guess at the OG (which was right on the dot, per the recipe). Maybe I should have waited for the bubbles to cease?...

Thanks in advance, beer lovers.

Welcome to the hobbie.
Now that you've got your feet wet you will just keep on learning.

In my early day of brewing i never had a problem leaving the lid on the kettle
a little to get a good rolling boil.
But some will tell you that this can create DMS in the beer.
Basically this is an off flavor you want to boil off and evaperate and not fall back into your beer.

Foam is something we all deal with, It will settle out given enough time
but you want to be careful with a ready to be pitched wort.
Don't leave it sit around to long uncovered
it is very vulnerable to infection at this point.

Happy Brewing..

Tim

A good ferocious boil is great for the hot break. Foam is also a food thing in the transfer, helps to oxygenate the wort. Just be sure it's cool enough.

drhookmec said:

Welcome to the hobbie.
Now that you've got your feet wet you will just keep on learning.

In my early day of brewing i never had a problem leaving the lid on the kettle
a little to get a good rolling boil.
But some will tell you that this can create DMS in the beer.
Basically this is an off flavor you want to boil off and evaperate and not fall back into your beer.

Foam is something we all deal with, It will settle out given enough time
but you want to be careful with a ready to be pitched wort.
Don't leave it sit around to long uncovered
it is very vulnerable to infection at this point.

Happy Brewing..

Tim

Click to expand...

Thanks, Tim. I was pretty timely with cooling the wort and then putting it into the FV. I hit about 72 degrees and then put it right now. (I did hesitate putting it into the FV, though, because my funnel is kinda sad and I only had my set of hands ... but I did it.)

As for the foam, is there is a way to settle it when I need to get my OG?

PoppinCaps said:

A good ferocious boil is great for the hot break. Foam is also a food thing in the transfer, helps to oxygenate the wort. Just be sure it's cool enough.

Click to expand...

I believe I moved it over at 72 degrees. I just had trouble reading the OG with the foam, as well as topping off the FV. Do I compensate for the foam, or put the water right up to my top-off line?

drhookmec said:

Foam is something we all deal with, It will settle out given enough time
but you want to be careful with a ready to be pitched wort.
Don't leave it sit around to long uncovered
it is very vulnerable to infection at this point.

Click to expand...

I've been pitching right on the foam after aeration.... Is that wrong?!?!

To get the OG I use the container that the hydrometer came in. I draw the sample with a sanitized turkey baster and add wort until it overflows a little bit and pushes the foam out.

As far as the boil I got myself a turkey fryer set up with the burner and the large stock pot. Makes boiling much quicker. I saw them on sale at Wal Mart the other day for $34. I had the same issue with my electric stove.

Welcome to the hobby. I am drinking a pint from my first batch as we speak. You wont be disappointed.

That's good it's a sign you have a well aerated wort.

Yeast love oxygen..

The foam is not a problem. If you let the sample sit for a while the foam will go away.

You want to take your gravity reading at 60 degrees. I usually put my sample in the fridge while I am transferring and adding the yeast.

You will want to ferment the beer in the low to mid sixties. When the fermentation is at its height it will increase the temperature of the wort by 5-10 degrees.

Search swamp coolers for fermentation temperature control.

Also you need to get your OG now. After the yeast start fermenting the beer you would be somewhere between Original Gravity and Final Gravity.

Don't rush things. Kit instructions are notorious for having short timing. Do a primary for 3-4 weeks then check the gravity over 3 days, if there is no change it is OK to bottle. Then store the bottles at 70 degrees for about 3 weeks, cool one for at least 24 hours and give it a try. If it is not carbed wait another week.

JDSanders said:

To get the OG I use the container that the hydrometer came in. I draw the sample with a sanitized turkey baster and add wort until it overflows a little bit and pushes the foam out.

As far as the boil I got myself a turkey fryer set up with the burner and the large stock pot. Makes boiling much quicker. I saw them on sale at Wal Mart the other day for $34. I had the same issue with my electric stove.

Welcome to the hobby. I am drinking a pint from my first batch as we speak. You wont be disappointed.

Click to expand...

Ah, overflow. That would definitely solve the problem. Thank you!

Congrats on the first brew! You will learn a lot with each successive batch. Take notes on all your procedures and remember sanitation and patience are crucial

kh54s10 said:

The foam is not a problem. If you let the sample sit for a while the foam will go away.

You want to take your gravity reading at 60 degrees. I usually put my sample in the fridge while I am transferring and adding the yeast.

You will want to ferment the beer in the low to mid sixties. When the fermentation is at its height it will increase the temperature of the wort by 5-10 degrees.

Search swamp coolers for fermentation temperature control.

Also you need to get your OG now. After the yeast start fermenting the beer you would be somewhere between Original Gravity and Final Gravity.

Don't rush things. Kit instructions are notorious for having short timing. Do a primary for 3-4 weeks then check the gravity over 3 days, if there is no change it is OK to bottle. Then store the bottles at 70 degrees for about 3 weeks, cool one for at least 24 hours and give it a try. If it is not carbed wait another week.

Click to expand...

I'll keep the temperature in mind. Right now it is fermenting in the mid-60s. I took the OG around 70 degrees, probably. Why is cooler better for that?

Unibrow said:

Congrats on the first brew! You will learn a lot with each successive batch. Take notes on all your procedures and remember sanitation and patience are crucial

Click to expand...

Thanks! I took some pretty good notes. They probably could have been better — especially toward the middle/end of the boil — but I'm pretty sure I wrote down all the vital information.

How big is your bung hole? Er, what size fermenter?

RCBIV said:

I'll keep the temperature in mind. Right now it is fermenting in the mid-60s. I took the OG around 70 degrees, probably. Why is cooler better for that?

Click to expand...

The hydrometer Is calibrated to read at 60f. I believe you add 2 gravity points for each ten degree spike. But the adjustments should be on a piece of paper that came with the hydrometer.

3PegBrew said:

How big is your bung hole? Er, what size fermenter?

Click to expand...

6.5 gallon glass carboy.

daveooph131 said:

The hydrometer Is calibrated to read at 60f. I believe you add 2 gravity points for each ten degree spike. But the adjustments should be on a piece of paper that came with the hydrometer.

Click to expand...

Okay, thanks. Good to know. I'll make sure to read that piece of paper before my next batch.

Congrats in your first brew !!! To answer your first question about the boil .... The biggest effect will be with hop utilization I'm assuming you did extract and a partial boil. This would also effect your boil off rate. Their are other factors it affects but those are the two I would look at first. The foam you speak of is normal and due to aeration as it went through the strainer and splashed into the fermenter. This is a good sign. Once it starts to ferment you will get foam again but that is the Krausen which is a byproduct of the active ferment pushing proteins , hop oils etc out. Don't be alarmed by that foam it's also normal.

Aschecte said:

Congrats in your first brew !!! To answer your first question about the boil .... The biggest effect will be with hop utilization I'm assuming you did extract and a partial boil. This would also effect your boil off rate. Their are other factors it affects but those are the two I would look at first. The foam you speak of is normal and due to aeration as it went through the strainer and splashed into the fermenter. This is a good sign. Once it starts to ferment you will get foam again but that is the Krausen which is a byproduct of the active ferment pushing proteins , hop oils etc out. Don't be alarmed by that foam it's also normal.

Click to expand...

The boil is what I'm worried about at this point. I didn't measure it, but I don't think I got down to the post-boil level I should have. I did a partial mash and then added the DME in the final 15 minutes. So what you're saying is, the weak boil will most likely effect the hops more than anything else? Perhaps my bittering hops not so bitter? I am also dry hopping in a secondary, so would that make up for hop utilization late in the boil?

Thanks for the feedback.

RCBIV said:

The boil is what I'm worried about at this point. I didn't measure it, but I don't think I got down to the post-boil level I should have. I did a partial mash and then added the DME in the final 15 minutes. So what you're saying is, the weak boil will most likely effect the hops more than anything else? Perhaps my bittering hops not so bitter? I am also dry hopping in a secondary, so would that make up for hop utilization late in the boil?

Thanks for the feedback.

Click to expand...

Yup you got it. Alpha acids in the hops need a vigorous boil to fully extract the potential. Dry hopping unfortunately will not effect bitterness it only adds to aroma. Chances are even with a mild boil you will be fine. Until you step up to a full boil regardless of the boil intensity you will not get full hop utilization anyways due to increased wort concentrations of malt ( sugars). I'm assuming you didn't do a full 6.5-7 gallon boil for a 5 gallon batch.

Aschecte said:

Yup you got it. Alpha acids in the hops need a vigorous boil to fully extract the potential. Dry hopping unfortunately will not effect bitterness it only adds to aroma. Chances are even with a mild boil you will be fine. Until you step up to a full boil regardless of the boil intensity you will not get full hop utilization anyways due to increased wort concentrations of malt ( sugars). I'm assuming you didn't do a full 6.5-7 gallon boil for a 5 gallon batch.

Click to expand...

Correct on the 6.5-7g boil. My brew kettle didn't even match its advertised capacity

So, maybe, at the best, my brew won't be as bitter as I'd like?

Well, it's the first go-around. Now I know better, and every beer from here on out should be better for that.

Another thing: When I drank it after I took my OG, it tasted watery (at least in my mind). And since I have never drank beer at that stage before, I have no idea if that's normal or if that's way off. Or it may not be watery; maybe I am just foreign to that taste, since the beer I drink is ... well, beer.

Taste it again in about a week or two and see if it's still "watery".

Cordane said:

Taste it again in about a week or two and see if it's still "watery".

Click to expand...

I plan to drink this one quite a bit, or at least sample it, so I know how it matures over its lifecycle.

Update: 22 hours after transferring to the FV, I have bubbles from my blow-off tube every 3-4 seconds. The beer has turned DARK, but krausen and trub has started to form.

Also, it was fermenting around 64-65 degrees — a couple degrees lower than expected.

RCBIV said:

Correct on the 6.5-7g boil. My brew kettle didn't even match its advertised capacity

So, maybe, at the best, my brew won't be as bitter as I'd like?

Well, it's the first go-around. Now I know better, and every beer from here on out should be better for that.

Click to expand...

Great way to look at it perfection doesn't happen instantly it's experience great notes even better sanitization and alot of mistakes you learn from that will make you a better and better brewer as you progress. Don't worry so much about mouthfeel being thin or watery as once you carbonate after fermentation is complete will change that.

Aschecte said:

Great way to look at it perfection doesn't happen instantly it's experience great notes even better sanitization and alot of mistakes you learn from that will make you a better and better brewer as you progress. Don't worry so much about mouthfeel being thin or watery as once you carbonate after fermentation is complete will change that.

Click to expand...

Good to know! Thanks for the help.

This brewing beer stuff is becoming addicting. I'm at work wondering what the ol' boy is doing now...

Addicting is an understatement.

UPDATE: About 43 hours into fermentation, there is a party going on inside my 6.5g carboy. The yeast are dominating my FV. The blow-off tube is bubbling constantly in the StarSan solution as well (although I know that doesn't mean everything).

The only thing is my fermometer dropped to the 60-62* range. I did drop the temperature yesterday in my house because I expected the fermometer temp to be in the 67* range, but it was actually in the 64-65* range. This should make sense why it dropped. I bounced it back up about two degrees, so hopefully the FV will stick in the 63-65* range. I figure that's a good spot for it, right?

RCBIV - I hope you used bottled water - the well water in the Iron Works has well... iron in it.

Most electric stoves can't boil 5 gallons of water/wort. yoiu are lucky to get 3 on a burner. I've done 5 gal by using 2 pots - although generally I don't bother.

Sounds like your beer is doing well. The samples will taste different all the way out to well when you finish the last bottle I woudln't worry much about the watery flavor.

The FV will go up as much as 5deg from the heat of the fermentation. So if the house/apt is at 60, you might get 65 at the fermentor, assuming that the fermetor at about the same 'heat level' as the registar. I know in my house my furnace control is on 2nf floor and the 1st is about 10 deg colder.

RCBIV said:

Good to know! Thanks for the help.

This brewing beer stuff is becoming addicting. I'm at work wondering what the ol' boy is doing now...

Click to expand...

I visit mine every day. Like a kid in a candy store.

ACbrewer said:

RCBIV - I hope you used bottled water - the well water in the Iron Works has well... iron in it.

Most electric stoves can't boil 5 gallons of water/wort. yoiu are lucky to get 3 on a burner. I've done 5 gal by using 2 pots - although generally I don't bother.

Sounds like your beer is doing well. The samples will taste different all the way out to well when you finish the last bottle I woudln't worry much about the watery flavor.

The FV will go up as much as 5deg from the heat of the fermentation. So if the house/apt is at 60, you might get 65 at the fermentor, assuming that the fermetor at about the same 'heat level' as the registar. I know in my house my furnace control is on 2nf floor and the 1st is about 10 deg colder.

Click to expand...

Oops.

The water tastes great, so I went by the "if it tastes fine, it's fine" adage. Maybe I should have looked into it a little more? (But hey! Maybe iron will be my secret ingredient! ).

The temperature on the fermometer seems to be about 3-5 degrees cooler than what the thermostat says it is. I'm hoping to keep it in the mid- to low-60s to compensate for the temperature changes.

BlainD said:

I've been pitching right on the foam after aeration.... Is that wrong?!?!

Click to expand...

It should still work, but a re-hydrated slurry will work better. A starter even better still.

Closing in on 72 hours in the FV and things look good. It's still bubbling away about once per second. The temperature is ~64*, which is where I'm hoping to keep it.

My only question: I noticed some condensation toward the neck of the carboy. Is this normal?

RCBIV said:

Closing in on 72 hours in the FV and things look good. It's still bubbling away about once per second. The temperature is ~64*, which is where I'm hoping to keep it.

My only question: I noticed some condensation toward the neck of the carboy. Is this normal?

Click to expand...

If the temp inside the carboy is higher than the ambient temp outside the carboy (and it is) it's unavoidable.

RCBIV said:

UPDATE: About 43 hours into fermentation, there is a party going on inside my 6.5g carboy. The yeast are dominating my FV. The blow-off tube is bubbling constantly in the StarSan solution as well (although I know that doesn't mean everything).

The only thing is my fermometer dropped to the 60-62* range. I did drop the temperature yesterday in my house because I expected the fermometer temp to be in the 67* range, but it was actually in the 64-65* range. This should make sense why it dropped. I bounced it back up about two degrees, so hopefully the FV will stick in the 63-65* range. I figure that's a good spot for it, right?

Click to expand...

You might be a homebrewer if...

You lower the temperature in your house so the yeast are happy.

markmc40 said:

You might be a homebrewer if...

You lower the temperature in your house so the yeast are happy.

Click to expand...

Now that is a very funny truth !!!! my wife and i have thermostat wars over this exact reason.

markmc40 said:

You might be a homebrewer if...

You lower the temperature in your house so the yeast are happy.

Click to expand...

Luckily, I'm in a new apartment and the girlfriend hasn't moved in (but soon). So for now I can get away with murder if I want to! Murder being changing the temperature, of course...

... and murdering some beers in my belly.

RCBIV said:

The blow-off tube is bubbling constantly in the StarSan solution as well (although I know that doesn't mean everything).

Click to expand...

Actually, you have it backwards. If you see bubbling, then you are definitely fermenting. But...if you have no activity, that doesn't necessarily mean it is not still fermenting.

DWavs said:

Actually, you have it backwards. If you see bubbling, then you are definitely fermenting. But...if you have no activity, that doesn't necessarily mean it is not still fermenting.

Click to expand...

Yes! Thanks for that.

Which makes me wonder: Would it be a good rule of thumb to check the gravity once the bubbling stopped, and then two days later to see if it's stable? I'm still trying to figure out WHEN to test gravity for first time DURING the fermentation.