getting ready to start

I have everything ready for my first batch!
I am using a new bucket and some used equip. I bought from a neighbor (he will be helping me, too)

Today I bought what I thought was sanitizer, but now Im having doubts. Its called "Easy Clean". Its a white powder, mixed 1tbs/gal, no rinsing required. They did not have the one step he recommended.

Is this suitable to use as sanitizer? I have read threads for and against it. Its all I got (besides bleach) so I use it or wait. I planned to do it in the morning, before super bowl.

???

Eager to get started!

sounds like a cleaner not a sanitizer. i would wait till you got the right stuff.

Sorry, I tend to agree with Tipsy D. I know how much fun that first batch is, but it would be really disappointing to have something infected. If you were close to me, I'd give you some Starsan for tomorrow.

Somewhere on the labeling it should say exactly what the "active ingredients" are. Look for this ingredient list.

OK.. I did a bit more research. Looks like you could use it as a sanitizer and do your first batch. It can't be labeled as a sanitizer, but it would probably work as one.

Quote: Oxygen based cleanser/sanitizer so no rinsing is required. Great at removing stains from carboys and equipment. The ONLY cleaner/sanitizer you need for bottles, corks, caps and all your other equipment. 1 tablespoon per gallon of WARM water makes the solution. Then just wash and drain.

Why can't it be labeled as a sanitizer..

Quote: In the U.S.A., the word sanitizer is a legal term defined by the Environmental Protection Agency. In order for a product to be called a sanitizer in promotional literature or on its packaging, that product must be approved by the EPA, assigned a registration number, and have an open file maintained with the EPA. Unless a company would like to invest an enormous amount of capitol in this process (or use another company's product through a process called "sub-registration"), they may not call their product a sanitizer. If you purchase a bottle of bleach from the grocery store, unless it shows an EPA registration number on the front of the label, it is not a sanitizer. However, it will certainly be a good cleanser (although somewhat hazardous, not environmentally sound, and it will require rinsing).
Is Easy Clean (One Step) a sanitizer?
Read the above question and draw your own conclusions. Easy Clean (One Step) has been used with excellent results since 1992. For best results, Easy Clean (One Step) requires a 30 second contact time.

I believe them, go for it.

Thanks for the replies!

I guess there is only one way to find out for sure! :rockin:

In the meantime, I made an online order for star san. Sounds like that is the stuff people like best.

My first batch is an Irish stout from a kit. "Brewing difficulty: easy"
Meanwhile, I will be working on my bottle collection!

I would like to see photos. When you ferment beer.

astropunk said:

My first batch is an Irish stout from a kit. "Brewing difficulty: easy"

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I've brewed this kit and I'll agree with them, the brewing is easy. What they don't tell you is the waiting for it to get good is hard. Let it sit in the fermenter for 3 to 4 weeks before you even think of bottling (I wish I had had this instruction in the kit) and use the hydrometer to see if it is ready to bottle (the same reading 3 days apart). Then after bottling the wait gets even harder. You can and probably should open one in about a week just to see what it tastes like but if you can wait a month or more for the next one you will see what it should taste like. Mine got much better as time went on.

Its on the boil...so far, so good! It was easy to this point.

RM-

I do not have any bottling equip yet...but I do have a corny keg and co2 system I was going to use, and a 2nd fridge. any recommendation of how long to wait using them?

My plan was: primary (in a bucket) for 5-7 days, secondary in a glass carboy for 6-8 days, then keg. Does that sound right?

FWIW, just leave it in the primary till it's done. How do you know when it's done? When you get a consistent hydrometer reading over a couple of days.

I find the beers I brew are at their best when they're at least 4 weeks old. I'm not saying it's the way you should do it - it just works for me.

OK, first batch fermenting!

I learned a few lessons, and made 2 mistakes. Hopefully they turn out to be small, but we'll see.

First major mistake: All was rolling smooth, got to within 5 mins of the end of boil and went to add the aroma hops, and the bag was empty. Turns out I mixed the order of the 2 hops packets, and added the aroma hops to the boil, and bittering hops at the end. Damn...hope it doesn't ruin the flavor.

Second mistake: I made the incorrect assumption that putting the wort pan in the snow would cool it rapidly. I was wrong. It took forever to get it down to 70degrees, and that was only after I had moved it several times, mixed it with the cold water in the primary and put the whole primary in an ice bath. During all this shuffling and moving around, I really hope kept it all sanitized.

I was trusting a digital thermometer with a remote sensor. Turns out, trust in those is solely dependent on a good battery. When I was getting readings of 150degrees and climbing with my wort in the snow, I panicked - hence all the mixing and moving around. +1 for an old fashioned thermometer.

Now the waiting begins.

astropunk said:

Now the waiting begins.

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'Tis only the start of the journey. You sir, I'm certain, have made a very drinkable beer regardless of a couple of mis-steps.

Now then grab a brew, relax, and enjoy the Superbowl! Cheers.

Trace

I'd try to wait 4 to 6 weeks in the primary and then keg it but I know all too well how hard it is to wait that long. An Irish Stout takes a long time to work all the flavors together to make a great beer. Mine got really good in about 3 months but I had followed the instructions to ferment it for a week and then bottle. It wasn't ready to bottle then and that cost me lots of time in the bottle to get good. Before I finished the last bottles I was getting so much head it would overflow the glass no matter how carefully and slowly it was poured.

Well, there is definite activity! Lots of bubbling in the airlock.

After reading a bit more, I think I may have changed my mind and will let it sit in primary for at least 4 weeks...that is if I can stand it.

Any idea what to expect of the outcome from my switching the hops packets?????

astropunk said:

Any idea what to expect of the outcome from my switching the hops packets?????

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The difference will be the final bitterness and aroma but the degree or either will be impossible to know without knowing the type, durations and amounts that were switched (i.e. if you switched 1oz of cascade for 1 oz of cascade, there would be no affect.) I think BeerSmith (or similar) will tell you the difference in estimated IBU's but if you post the hop types, amounts and boil durations, I'm sure you'll get some more specific estimates.

It was .5oz aroma hops and 1oz of bittering hops. The packets themselves had info on % but I have since thrown them out.

No worries, tho. Im drinking whatever comes out of that bucket!

astropunk said:

It was .5oz aroma hops and 1oz of bittering hops. The packets themselves had info on % but I have since thrown them out.

No worries, tho. Im drinking whatever comes out of that bucket!

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It's be good beer. Just a little less or more bitter than the recipe called for. But delicious nonetheless.