Oh NOOOOO! Please tell me I didn't mess it up.

This is my first brew.

I am making Praire wheat from a brew house kit.

I sanitized my 6.5 gallon carboy and EVERYTHING else the beer would have touched using starsan.

I added 1 gallon of spring water, the packet of ph buffer, and then poured in the wourt, about 30 minutes later I sprinkled the yeast in there.

I started about 6 o'clock on friday night the temperature of the beer was 69-70*, the very next day I woke up and my airlock was whistling there were millions of bubbles in the beer, but only about an inch and a half of foam on top and the temp had climbed to about 75*, last night I noticed my airlock was slowing down but still steady bubbling and the temp was 72ish*. I woke up this morning and it was flat, no foam, no bubbles in the beer and the air lock was bubbling about every 6 seconds. Right now as I type the airlock is bubbling every 15 - 17 seconds, there is no foam and the temp is back down to 70*.

I know it may be too soon to start worrying, but I was under the impression it would bubble for 7-10 days. It hasnt even been 3 days and mine seems to be done (whic I know is wrong)

Do any of you guys see a problem here?

Thanks in advance. I have spent tons of money on this already and dont want to throw out my first batch.

You didn't mess up. Sometimes fermentations happen quickly. You should take a specific gravity reading to see if you are near your target to see if it is really finished. It probably still has a little way to go, so you should leave it in the fermenter a little longer.

-Steve

Your yeast fermented VERY quickly since your temps were high. It's probably close to finishing up. Take a gravity reading in a few days...

Thanks fellas!

It smelt amazing last night, my whole computer room was filled with the aroma. It still smells great, just more of an alchohol smell now. : )

Sorry if its a really common topic and you guys answer them all the time. I am no stranger to forums, I did search, just couldn't see anything like mine.

Thanks again.

I wouldn't take a gravity reading. It did exactly what is suppossed to do. Just leave it sit for three weeks and get ready to drink some good homebrew.

our standard answer is: RDWHAHB
it's a common thread topic because losing a home crafted brew is a scary thought. I believe a similar post was what got me to HBT.

What does RDWHAHB mean? I have seen it mentioned a few times already.

mrk305 said:

I wouldn't take a gravity reading. It did exactly what is suppossed to do. Just leave it sit for three weeks and get ready to drink some good homebrew.

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Should I leave it in the carboy for 3 weeks?

I was told from a friend (who doesnt brew often) to take it out next weekend. Ide rather take your guys word for it.

jerimiah said:

What does RDWHAHB mean? I have seen it mentioned a few times already.

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Relax Dont Worry Have A HomeBrew

I see hahaha. Thanks. I will when its finished for sure.

jerimiah said:

Should I leave it in the carboy for 3 weeks?
I was told from a friend (who doesnt brew often) to take it out next weekend. Ide rather take your guys word for it.

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If you are use a secondary, (which is not needed you can usually rack after 7-14 days and allow it to clear.) I use a secondary because I cold crash the beer in my keggerator for a week and the large primary carboy can not fit into it, and I want to use the primary to start another beer.
If you are moving straight from the primary to bottling, you do want to wait at least two weeks if not three to four.
Yeast do more than just ferment the wort to beer, they also clean up off flavours and condition the beer to be a great beer.

Ill be racking it to another bucket with a spout, for bottling.

Wait a total of 3 weeks from pitching your yeast until you rack it. Then rack it to the other bucket and bottle it.

I agree with the 3 weeks until racking. It would probably be good earlier, but even better with a little patience.
Do not expect to see alot of bubbling as the days go by. Like others said, there is more going on than just the fermentaion.

Ive noticed that its changing colors. It started as a dark brown and while fermentation was at its peak it turned a light orangish color, now it is half and half, looks like ice tea on top and orange juice on the bottom, very weird. But the bottom half looks very cloudy. I am sure it is just the yeast and wort particulates settling at the bottom right?

I cant quit looking at it when I am at home. The smell of it is soooo sweeet. I think about it and talk about it all day at work. I am obsessed!

jerimiah said:

I am sure it is just the yeast and wort particulates settling at the bottom right?

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Yep what you are seeing there is your yeast cake on top of trub.

Yeast cake? Hmm. sounds about right. Its the real thin sandy looking layer right?

What is trub? The darker stuff.

I apologize for the million dumb questions. I am just now trying to learn all the terms and lingo, and have a full understanding of the process. This is something I plan to do for a very long time.

You're good...

Hey jerimiah I'm a nOOb from utah as well, where you located?

jerimiah said:

Ive noticed that its changing colors. It started as a dark brown and while fermentation was at its peak it turned a light orangish color, now it is half and half, looks like ice tea on top and orange juice on the bottom, very weird. But the bottom half looks very cloudy.

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Fermentation is a weird lookin thing alright. Sounds like ya did everything right. Sounds like your fermentation finished pretty quickly, the yeast can produce up to 10 degrees F. of their own heat, doing something to keep this in check can really help to keep things to stay on the time table your are looking for though. Don't worry though, you definately didn't ruin things, and you're no where near "batch pitching" status.

I found (and I don't have the budget to do proper fermentation temp control yet) that all I have to do is set the carboy on my basement floor for the first few days of fermentation. This drops it by about 7-8 degrees ( I live in Western Michigan though). If you try this and you're using a plastic fermenter, be careful of moiseture issues! This could lead to an infection. Anyways, after the first few days when things are calming down a bit, I move it up off my floor to the workbench and things kind of even out. You may notice a few fruity or banana notes from the heat spike, but they will likely be minimal and also probably go away with a bit of time. Sounds like ya did great overall for your first brew!

Trub is the goop that collects on the bottom. It's composed of hot break, (proteins that precipitate out when your wort boils), cold break, (proteins that precipitate out when you cool your wort), hops, and yeast, (both dead and dormant yeast). If you filter your wort before putting it in the fermenter, the hops, hot break, and cold break might not be there as much.

It's fun to watch!

Stoopidwon said:

Hey jerimiah I'm a nOOb from utah as well, where you located?

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I live in clearfield. If your from southern Utah and aren't familiar with it, its about 15 minutes south of Ogden.

livErD69 said:

Fermentation is a weird lookin thing alright. Sounds like ya did everything right. Sounds like your fermentation finished pretty quickly, the yeast can produce up to 10 degrees F. of their own heat, doing something to keep this in check can really help to keep things to stay on the time table your are looking for though. Don't worry though, you definately didn't ruin things, and you're no where near "batch pitching" status.

I found (and I don't have the budget to do proper fermentation temp control yet) that all I have to do is set the carboy on my basement floor for the first few days of fermentation. This drops it by about 7-8 degrees ( I live in Western Michigan though). If you try this and you're using a plastic fermenter, be careful of moiseture issues! This could lead to an infection. Anyways, after the first few days when things are calming down a bit, I move it up off my floor to the workbench and things kind of even out. You may notice a few fruity or banana notes from the heat spike, but they will likely be minimal and also probably go away with a bit of time. Sounds like ya did great overall for your first brew!

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Thanks man. I have lurked this forum and a few others, and have read online and picked peoples brains for a few months now, all the while I have been acquiring the equipment I need. I wanted it to be perfect, I hate failure, haha. I have a glass carboy, and have it on a table right now, ill have to try it on the floor next time.

I am just totally relieved that it seems to be turning out correctly. The part I regret is not looking into checking the gravity. I need to buy one for the next batch. I just hope it is stronger than Utah beer (3.2%).

What excites me is my wife is actually excited about this. She detests beer, doesn't enjoy the flavor at all, she likes the girlie mixed drinks, but shes been in my office looking at the brew sending me text message updates while I am at work. Haha, shes actually excited to try it out.:rockin:

Just be ultra careful if/when you put the glass carboy on the cement floor. Plenty of people have cracked/shattered them doing just that.

Oh man that would piss me off. Haha.

Actually i live in North Ogden, we'll have to share some brews when ready....stoopid waiting process

That sounds awesome man.

Woah....ALL Utah beer is 3.2%??

Sweet god almighty....I think the terrorists have won.

yeah unless you go to the liquor store or smuggle it from wyoming or idaho - youre pretty much drinking piss water. : (

shortyjacobs said:

Woah....ALL Utah beer is 3.2%??

Sweet god almighty....I think the mormons have won.

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There fixed it. : )

As time goes on it gets more and more clear. Its starting to look very very d'lish. I would post pictures if I could, 12 more posts. : )