Did my first batch ever today...

Went pretty well...but I've Got a few questions.

I did the vanilla caramel cream ale recipe here. I gotta say I didn't know what beer smelled like being made... boy was that a surprise. HOPS! I tasted my sample from the hydrometer and it didn't smell or taste too great.

Also, I used a WYeast activator pack popped the inner pack and pitched it about 2.5 hours later into 70* wort, but it hadn't expanded much at all. Should I be worried?

After correcting for temperature, my OG was about 1.0073.... still no airlock activity about 4 hours later, not that I'm worried about that just yet.

Congrats on your first brew.

The Wyeast pack should have been expanded, but the fact that it didn't doesn't mean anything yet. It's probably going to take a bit longer for your fermentation to start. I wouldn't start being concerned until about the 72 hour point.

A hydrometer sample is interesting to drink, but doesn't always correspond to the finished product.

Good Luck.

Well, it's true that some people (my kids especially!) find the smell of boiling wort unpleasant, especially once you add the hops! The taste is also, well, not really beer-like, is it? It will get better- I promise.

Your og that you read was probably more like 1.073, not 1.0073. I don't know the recipe, but that seems kind of high to me. Was the sample mixed thoroughly before you tried the sg?

The yeast question comes up often. If you didn't do a "starter" for liquid yeast, it might take a while to really get going. It might take up to three days to start. That's ok, but many people worry about it until it gets going! If you get a chance, do a search for "yeast starter" here on the site and it'll explain more about it.

I'm having trouble figuring this hydrometer thing out. The sample was about 75* and the hydrometer read 1.055



I stirred that thing like crazy!

Mine came with instructions which really helped, because I guess most don't! Mine says on it that it's calibrated for 60 degrees, which mean 60 degree distilled water reads 1.000. So, you read where it is, and then use a software program or a chart to "adjust" it for your temperature of 75 degrees. Using my software, your 1.055 at 75 equals 1.057.

Thanks Yooper... My hydrometer came with nothing. Its been in the fermenter 12 hours and still nothing, which I guess is somewhat normal.

Would there be any harm in throwing in another packet of yeast say Sunday evening (60 hours after first pitch) if there's no activity before then?

Check the wiki:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Hydrometer

Yeah, I'm getting 1057 as your corrected OG as well, which is a tad low for this recipe, but not a problem.

There's no harm in repitching, except the $7 for another smackpack. It probably won't be necessary, though. I expect you'll see activity soon.

From what I've heard, you might want to tone down the vanilla extract in that recipe, unless you want it very forward in the flavour.

I had the same reaction at first to unfermented wort; I've started to love it, though, as a promise of beer to come.

Congratulations on your first brew! With an OG of 1.056-1.057 you can expect to make a beer in the area of 5-5.5% ABV assuming you bottom out in the 1.013-1.018 range. Not too shabby if you ask me.

Congrats on first brew, and good work getting the gravity up.

Thanks for the feedback!

Still no airlock activity, but since my OG aparently is promising I'll spend the extra $7 and repitch. The more I think about it, the more I feel like the last one didn't react at all after I smacked it.

Thanks again fellas!

WE HAVE FERMENTATION!!!

I've got a bubble every 2-3 seconds going now! Just as I was heading out to get some more yeast today I decided to check one last time.

My first lesson of homebrewing - Patience is EVERYTHING

Awesome! It's pretty exciting isn't it. You'll always remember your first.:rockin:

This is exciting... there's still a bubble every second and some damn good smells coming off that thing!

Good thin'g I'll be busy with school and finals for the next 2 weeks to let this guy sit.