first batch is now in the fermenter

Brewed a 5 gallon batch using an extract kit yesterday. First time. It was fun. Somethings for the next time

1) it was really helpful and fun to have someone working with me
2) need a better way to cool the wort than ice in the sink. Sink was too big. My boil pot is thin walled. That worked in my favor for cooling but not for bringing to a boil and keeping it there
3) need a longer thermometer
4) when racking be really careful of the gunk in the boil kettle
5) use a blow off hose

I'm sure there will be more when moving from the primary to the secondary and eventually into the bottles.

Make a worth chiller it will cost you between 30 and 40 box and believe me you won't regret it! And btw gratz for tour first batch !

Congrats!!!

Remember this day as the addiction overtakes your life.

Thanks. It was fun. We had cigars and beer and pizza and texting the friend who introduced us to brewing and my wife complaining about the smells and taking pictures.

I've seen the wort chillers and it is on the list after a better boil pot.

Congrats,first brew is always the best one!
#1 Lots of people are doing No Chill.Meaning put your hot wort in a very sanitized bucket and pitch yeast the next day when its cool.This will most likely become my new way.
#2 Thermometers are cheap
#3 Suck every bit of the "gunk" into your primary if you want.It will settle before racking to your keg/bottle bucket.Some say it even makes for better beer.And get a wilserbrewer bag for the hops.It keeps the "gunk" out of your wort.
#4 unless you adding fruit/spice/wood chips ETC.Forget the secondary.Its not needed.Leave in the primary till your ready to bottle

Are you cooling in the sink with just ice, or ice in water? Wort will cool faster with ice and water. Also helps to have the lid cracked and gently stir with the boil spoon to keep the warm wort moving along the cool kettle side.

To speed the cooling fill the sink with cold water. As soon as the water begins feeling tepid, drain and add ice and then more cold water.

Congratulations. Keep at it. Expect a ruined batch or two... and keep coming back to Homebrewtalk.com Lots of experienced brewers on here that are willing to help newbies like you and me.


Most important of all ... HAVE FUN!!

Welcome to your new addiction. Sounds like your having fun and in my opinion that's what it's all about. Congrats on your first brew.....

Shoot. add #7 ice and water. What about adding salt to the salt and water? Seems to help when making ice cream.

flars said:

Are you cooling in the sink with just ice, or ice in water? Wort will cool faster with ice and water. Also helps to have the lid cracked and gently stir with the boil spoon to keep the warm wort moving along the cool kettle side.

To speed the cooling fill the sink with cold water. As soon as the water begins feeling tepid, drain and add ice and then more cold water.

Click to expand...

Are you using any form of fermentation temperature control? Most first timers miss this step and it is critical for good beer.

Welcome to the addiction. Another good idea is to start a brewlog. Capture all of the variables; yeast used, pitch temp, SG, FG, steps taken with yeast preparation (hydrated dry yeast, made yeast starter, etc.), any deviations from the original recipe, fermentation temperature. This will help you troubleshoot any future issues or help you repeat good brews.

I used salted ice water in the sink for my first batch. Dude at the store swore I needed a wort chiller ($55) or I'd waste 30 min to an hour trying to cool it down. Took all of 15 mins by stirring, and spinning the kettle in the salt/ ice/ water solution. I learned the spinning trick when I used to impress friends by cooling a can of beer from room temp to ice cold refreshment in 30 secs to a minute.

I'm fermenting in a dark & quiet room in the basement where the temp is pretty stable in the 65-70*F range.

I have the recipe/instructions with notes and times. I like the idea of recording temps at the various stages. I can see how that will be helpful.

I really do appreciate the comments and feedback. Thanks.

#8 cover the beer fermentation carboy with a t-shirt.
#9 blow off tube even if you think you have the headspace in the carboy.

I did try the chill-less and pitched the yeast on the second day. Time will tell.

dkeller12 said:

Are you using any form of fermentation temperature control? Most first timers miss this step and it is critical for good beer.

Click to expand...

This. I am pretty sure that was the major factor that killed my first beer. Now using a chest freezer with temp control as a fermentation chamber.

Also, sanitize, sanitize, sanitize, and then sanitize some more. LOL

I'm using air temp in the basement to control fermentation temp. It works because I can keep the room in the basement fairly stable temp wise but I am going for a tighter temp control system in the future.

10) sanitize, sanitize, sanitize, and then sanitize some more

Down here in the south my tap water can hit 90F in the middle of summer. I use an immersion chiller to start pulling the heat out.

Once it's at 110F or so I switch over to a 10 pound bag of ice in a cooler with a cheap Harbor Freight fountain pump and recirculate ice water through the chiller. Works pretty fast. Could probably cool the whole batch with 20 pounds but haven't tried that yet.

Make an immersion chiller. You'll love it.

Congratulations on the first batch!

All the Best,
D. White