About to start first ever brew...have some questions..

Ok, before I start, I should state that by first brew, I mean my first kit, I'm a beginner and learning as I go so I'm starting simple.

I bought a Blonde Lager kit by Festa Brew. I have a bucket for primary, which I don't have an airlock for, plan on just placing the lid on top, and a glass carboy for a secondary with an airlock. I plan on leaving in the bucket for 4 days then transferring to the carboy. First question, is this too short of a time frame?

Next question is that I have a room that I'm going to place the bucket in with a temp of around 19 degrees celsius, or 66 degrees. I'm then going to put the carboy in a cooler spot, around 53 degrees. I understand with a lager, a cooler spot is ideal, would it be ok to leave it in the 66 degree spot for the whole time, or should I perhaps leave it at 53 the whole time??

Lastly, I plan on kegging into 5 gal corny, should I take it apart as much as possible to clean and sanitize, or just worry about the inside and cap?

Thanks ahead of time!

"I plan on leaving in the bucket for 4 days then transferring to the carboy. First question, is this too short of a time frame?"

Use a hydrometer to tell when fermentation is just about finished, then rack to the secondary if you really want to (I never do with lagers). If you don't have a hydrometer, at least wait until the krausen drops then move to your secondary.

"I understand with a lager, a cooler spot is ideal, would it be ok to leave it in the 66 degree spot for the whole time, or should I perhaps leave it at 53 the whole time??"

The easy answer is yes and yes. Start it in the warmer spot, wait until fermentation gets user way, then move it to the cooler spot.

"Lastly, I plan on kegging into 5 gal corny, should I take it apart as much as possible to clean and sanitize, or just worry about the inside and cap?"

If you can, you need to pull the posts out and check/clean/replace the rubber seals everywhere you find them. I think there should be 5 o-rings total (1 lid and 2 on each post). Pull and clean the dip tubes then sanitize everything and you should be good to go.

i'm also a beginner nate, but i'll tell you what i do. I'm also currently brewing a festa kit, the cerveza one actually. I know that the instructions say you can bottle after something like 8 days, but one thing i've come to learn in to be patient. That said, my cerveza has been in primary for 2 weeks now. I've got in a bucket with an airlock. For the cost of a stopper and airlock, why not go buy one at your local store...i paid maybe 5 bucks for the proper stopper and airlock. suggestion though, take your lid with you so they can match the correct stopper to the hole. you however said you're leaving the lid on, am i to assume there's no cut hole in it? i can comment on the problem of leaving the lid on, but i do believe the gases need to escape...hence buying the airlock!

back to my cerveza, 2 weeks so far in primary, transferring a plastic carboy for another 2 weeks, then kegging. I keep the brew belt on in both primary and secondary, then transfer to keg, so can't comment on your temp issues.

keg cleaning, better safe than sorry right? i take mine apart, put all the parts in a bucket and soak in sanitizer for 15 minutes or so. i also use the water/sanitizer mix that's left in the keg to clean the lines again. I reassemble the keg and components, hook up my lines and run it through the keg lines/spout.

you never asked about carbing the keg, but my favourite method is set the full keg in the fridge for a day or 2 to bring down to temp, then i take the extra co2 cannister and apply 30psi for about 10 minutes...i rock the keg as i do this. following that i put it back in the fridge and connect the other co2 tank that's already set at the proper psi and let the keg sit for a day or so.

again, i'm new at this also, but thought i'd toss it up there!!

let me know how the festa works out, i'm interested in trying more flavours!!

Thanks for the reply's!

In terms of the airlock, when I bought the kit at my local store, the owner was pretty convincing that I didn't need the airlock for the bucket as my lid doesn't currently have a hole in it and cutting one would make more work than it's worth. Don't get me wrong, if the airlock is more beneficial and will result in a good brew then I'd be all for going out and grabbing a lid with a hole and an airlock. I've read quite a bit about just having the lid on, not tightly sealed, but sitting on and from what I've read it appears to be ok to do.

In terms of the primary, is it possible to leave it in too long? I'm guessing not considering some people don't use a secondary, like RiverCityBrewer mentioned.

Carbing, I have a decent grasp on what I'm going to do.

I'll let you know how it turns out, I plan on grabbing a red ale next week too.

natebomb said:

Thanks for the reply's!

In terms of the airlock, when I bought the kit at my local store, the owner was pretty convincing that I didn't need the airlock for the bucket as my lid doesn't currently have a hole in it and cutting one would make more work than it's worth. .

Click to expand...

I guess it's ultimately your choice. I wouldn't leave mine loose just incase the cat got curious! If you change your mine, the whole in the bucket is as easy as slapping a cutting bit on your drill and 4 seconds later you have a hole! My last bucket didn't have the whole and the guy at the brew store cut one in before i left, therefore i knew exactly which stopper i needed.

Since you say you do not have a hole in the lid, I would definitely leave the lid on loose otherwise the lid can blow off with a lot of force and make a huge mess... ask me how I know.... (it made for a very unhappy wife).

As far as leaving them in too long, I have forgotten about beers and left them on the primary yeast cake for over a month with no ill effects to the beer.

drill a small hole and put a grommet in (30 cents later) you can slide an airlock in the grommet.

--done