TheseFilthyHands
Member
I'm going to be making my very first brew next Tuesday evening. It's an Irish Red. I was hoping to maybe get a little advice and possibly some things to look out for and avoid doing.
Beginners advice.
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PantherCity
Well-Known Member
Sanitation is key. Buy some Star-san and use it as directed. The powder cleaner/sanitizer that comes with some beginner kits is worthless.
Also buy some good dry yeast. Do you have a local homebrew shop? they should be able to help you on your way.
Good luck, brewing can be a very rewarding experience.
Also buy some good dry yeast. Do you have a local homebrew shop? they should be able to help you on your way.
Good luck, brewing can be a very rewarding experience.
I did my first brew this summer. What seemed to help was writing down my steps so I can check them off as I go. Fortunately... nothing went wrong. I have had subsequent brew days where a step was not going as planned, forcing me to improvise. In this situation, it was good to have my "game plan" written out to come back to after dealing with my issue.
Another thing I do is to get sticky notes and label them with the addition time of the ingredient. I then set the ingredient(s) on the note. I started doing this after I missed putting in some maltodextrine at 60 minutes and found my mistake with 15 minutes left. I also forgot my little pill of yeast fuel in that brew. Luckily, everything turned out ok.
I also try and get everything set up before I start brewing. All ingredients out, kettle, burner... etc. That way I don't have to worry about finding my stir paddle mid brew.
Sanitation!
Another thing I do is to get sticky notes and label them with the addition time of the ingredient. I then set the ingredient(s) on the note. I started doing this after I missed putting in some maltodextrine at 60 minutes and found my mistake with 15 minutes left. I also forgot my little pill of yeast fuel in that brew. Luckily, everything turned out ok.
I also try and get everything set up before I start brewing. All ingredients out, kettle, burner... etc. That way I don't have to worry about finding my stir paddle mid brew.
Sanitation!
mtjohnston
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Like everyone else said, sanitation can't be stressed enough. I usually fill a pot up with the no rinse cleaner solution, clean everything, rinse it, then rinse again in that. I then lay everything out on paper towels, instead of dish cloths.
Be careful, if you have any animals, to sweep an hour beforehand and quarantine the area off, that way all the hair and dust settles.
Lastly, I find it helpful to keep my laptop, iPhone, or some device that I can search the web on, incase I get stuck, or do something wrong. Many mistakes can be fixed in the brewing process, but everything will change the flavor.
Be careful, if you have any animals, to sweep an hour beforehand and quarantine the area off, that way all the hair and dust settles.
Lastly, I find it helpful to keep my laptop, iPhone, or some device that I can search the web on, incase I get stuck, or do something wrong. Many mistakes can be fixed in the brewing process, but everything will change the flavor.
KevinW
Well-Known Member
Great advice so far!
First off, don't worry too much about the little details. Sanitation being the exception of course! If you read enough here you will find that some of us homebrewers have made some really bad blunders and still turned out drinkable if not decent beer!
Things that may help make your day easier:
Check your thermometer(s) ahead of time to make sure they work, a few degrees off is not a big deal (test it in boiling water) and if you don't have one, get one! Digitals are good and cheap!
Make sure you have a good measuring cup/jug/bucket to be fairly accurate on your volumes.
A cheap scale that measures in gram/oz is handy to have!
A cheap timer (dollar tree) is very helpful.
Plan ahead on how you will cool the wort after the boil!
Oxyclean free (don't use on aluminum) is a great cleaner NOT a sanitzer and I believe someone already mentioned Star San as the sanitzer (great stuff) and don't worry about the foam.
Good luck and have fun
First off, don't worry too much about the little details. Sanitation being the exception of course! If you read enough here you will find that some of us homebrewers have made some really bad blunders and still turned out drinkable if not decent beer!
Things that may help make your day easier:
Check your thermometer(s) ahead of time to make sure they work, a few degrees off is not a big deal (test it in boiling water) and if you don't have one, get one! Digitals are good and cheap!
Make sure you have a good measuring cup/jug/bucket to be fairly accurate on your volumes.
A cheap scale that measures in gram/oz is handy to have!
A cheap timer (dollar tree) is very helpful.
Plan ahead on how you will cool the wort after the boil!
Oxyclean free (don't use on aluminum) is a great cleaner NOT a sanitzer and I believe someone already mentioned Star San as the sanitzer (great stuff) and don't worry about the foam.
Good luck and have fun
Just1pepsi
Well-Known Member
*Edited as this got way too long - Condensed version:
Clean all your tools/instruments - then sanitize them. I've used powdered brewery cleaner and it worked fine, I now use starsan for sanitizing -- DONT FEAR THE FOAM.
Pre-determine where the five gallon mark is on your primary and mark it with a pen or tape or something
If I use dry yeast I'll "proof" it in the measuring cup usually during the long part of the boil to start prepping it, if I'm using liquid, I'll smack the pack before I ever start the boil to give it enough time to get going.
Have ice on hand for the ice bath if you plan to cool the wort that way, my method will get it down to ~60 in about 30 minutes.
-set covered boil pot in sink on top of a bed of ice.
-pack ice around the pot and keep doing this until the wort gets down to 100deg F
-Pre chill 3 gallons of top-off water in the freezer before starting the boil, add it to the 100deg F wort
-Enjoy pitching at ~60deg F.
oh, make sure the wife, kids, live-in, mother in law, whoever will not need access to the kitchen during the brew day if at all possible.
Clean all your tools/instruments - then sanitize them. I've used powdered brewery cleaner and it worked fine, I now use starsan for sanitizing -- DONT FEAR THE FOAM.
Pre-determine where the five gallon mark is on your primary and mark it with a pen or tape or something
If I use dry yeast I'll "proof" it in the measuring cup usually during the long part of the boil to start prepping it, if I'm using liquid, I'll smack the pack before I ever start the boil to give it enough time to get going.
Have ice on hand for the ice bath if you plan to cool the wort that way, my method will get it down to ~60 in about 30 minutes.
-set covered boil pot in sink on top of a bed of ice.
-pack ice around the pot and keep doing this until the wort gets down to 100deg F
-Pre chill 3 gallons of top-off water in the freezer before starting the boil, add it to the 100deg F wort
-Enjoy pitching at ~60deg F.
oh, make sure the wife, kids, live-in, mother in law, whoever will not need access to the kitchen during the brew day if at all possible.
beergolf
Well-Known Member
Good tips so far.
Sanitize well.
Write out a timeline of when things are supposed to happen and check them off as you do each step. Read this over and over to familarize yourself with the steps.
If it is a kit throw out the directions after pitching the yeast and let the beer ferment for 3 weeks in the primary. Bottle and let them sit for three weeks. Then the most important step............................. enjoy a good homebrew.
Sanitize well.
Write out a timeline of when things are supposed to happen and check them off as you do each step. Read this over and over to familarize yourself with the steps.
If it is a kit throw out the directions after pitching the yeast and let the beer ferment for 3 weeks in the primary. Bottle and let them sit for three weeks. Then the most important step............................. enjoy a good homebrew.
OP
OP
TheseFilthyHands
Member
What would you suggest for a good dry yeast?
Thanks for all of the advice. I do have a local homebrew supplier. I already picked up some star-san and I'm going to get a different cleanser.
Good advice about the animals. I have four large dogs. They'll be staying outside until I'm finished.
Brewed my first batch a few weeks ago -- so my two cents.
#1) Budget some time. Sure the boil may only be 60 minutes, but you'll need sanitation time, prep time, cooling time, cleanup time, etc. Plan ahead, prepare your work areas, have all the tools you need ready and sanitized. It sucks when you forget a tool, have to go find it, then sanitize it. My first brew took 3-4 hours from start to closet
#2) Be patient. Everything will be new so take your time -- don't get in a hurry and ruin 5 gallons of beer. Wort takes time to cool, yeast takes time to rehydrate (if you use dry), temperatures need to be managed. All of this will drive you crazy if you are impatient.
#3) Like everyone else said -- sanitize everything. I just did bleach/vinegar as a 30 minute soak while the wort was boiling.
#4) Get a hydrometer. Learn to use it. Record your numbers. You'll regret it if you don't!
Other than that, good luck! I'll be bottling for my first time this weekend. Can't wait to enjoy it!
#1) Budget some time. Sure the boil may only be 60 minutes, but you'll need sanitation time, prep time, cooling time, cleanup time, etc. Plan ahead, prepare your work areas, have all the tools you need ready and sanitized. It sucks when you forget a tool, have to go find it, then sanitize it. My first brew took 3-4 hours from start to closet
#2) Be patient. Everything will be new so take your time -- don't get in a hurry and ruin 5 gallons of beer. Wort takes time to cool, yeast takes time to rehydrate (if you use dry), temperatures need to be managed. All of this will drive you crazy if you are impatient.
#3) Like everyone else said -- sanitize everything. I just did bleach/vinegar as a 30 minute soak while the wort was boiling.
#4) Get a hydrometer. Learn to use it. Record your numbers. You'll regret it if you don't!
Other than that, good luck! I'll be bottling for my first time this weekend. Can't wait to enjoy it!
I'd also recommend an infrared thermometer. Instant readings + no contamination risk.
I picked up one on sale for about $15 bucks -- makes life much much easier.
I picked up one on sale for about $15 bucks -- makes life much much easier.
You can't go wrong with Safale US-05. It's probably the most commonly used one too, so it shouldn't be hard to find. If you get to the homebrew store and they don't have it, ask for a good alternative.
iaefebs
Well-Known Member
Wash those Filthy Hands.... may be subliminal but your user name sure seemed to bring out a lot of sanitation posts.
OP
OP
TheseFilthyHands
Member
Haha! I didn't even think about my name when I created my profile. I actually drive a desk so I'm a pretty clean mofo
Watch for boilovers!!! Keep an eye on the kettle until the boil starts, use Fermcap-S, and have a spray bottle filled with water so you can knock down the beginnings if any boilovers.
Seriously, it is a major, major pain in the @ss to clean a boilover off of the stove and, if you're a married guy, SWMBO will likely kick your butt if it happens.
Seriously, it is a major, major pain in the @ss to clean a boilover off of the stove and, if you're a married guy, SWMBO will likely kick your butt if it happens.
nunyafnb
Well-Known Member
+1 to everything that's been said already, and here are a couple other tips:
It's usually a pretty good idea to use bottled water for your first few batches so you can rule that out later in case there's any off flavors, and regular spring water is just fine.
Another excellent tool is a sprayer filled with your star san/water mixture for quick sanitizing. Not only on brew day, but long after as well. Just don't mix it up with your water sprayer for knocking down your boilovers! (actually it probably wouldn't even hurt if you did use it for that on accident).
Another thing that I can't stress enough is the benefit of a brew partner. It's awesome to be able to have someone to help with the process, double check the directions while you're adding things to the boil and etc., as well as enjoy the fruits of your labor with after the beer is ready!
It's REALLY hard to mess up a batch of beer as long as you practice good sanitation. Seriously. This is key to understand, because even if you make a mistake on a brew, it's normally not a huge deal.
Most importantly, RELAX!!! Read through the directions in the kit a couple times and get used to the order of brewing steps, and maybe even watch a couple intro vids on youtube to see how easy the process is. Have some homebrew (a good microbrew will suffice on your first batch, but after that, it's against the law to not have some homebrew while brewing in the future! ) on hand to make the process even more enjoyable.
Enjoy your first brew and welcome to your new addiction!
Oh, one more thing...
Pick up another bucket fermenter and brew another beer a couple weeks or so after your first batch. Reason being: One of the hardest things in the world in this hobby is being patient waiting for your batch to be conditioned and ready to drink. (This is especially true if you made a mistake and don't follow my earlier tips about relaxing!) If you brew another batch while waiting for your first one to finish, you'll not have as much lag time waiting when you finish drinking the first batch. In the future, you'll discover the necessity for a "pipeline" of finished brews helps majorly with the patience.
It's usually a pretty good idea to use bottled water for your first few batches so you can rule that out later in case there's any off flavors, and regular spring water is just fine.
Another excellent tool is a sprayer filled with your star san/water mixture for quick sanitizing. Not only on brew day, but long after as well. Just don't mix it up with your water sprayer for knocking down your boilovers!
(actually it probably wouldn't even hurt if you did use it for that on accident).Another thing that I can't stress enough is the benefit of a brew partner. It's awesome to be able to have someone to help with the process, double check the directions while you're adding things to the boil and etc., as well as enjoy the fruits of your labor with after the beer is ready!
It's REALLY hard to mess up a batch of beer as long as you practice good sanitation. Seriously. This is key to understand, because even if you make a mistake on a brew, it's normally not a huge deal.
Most importantly, RELAX!!! Read through the directions in the kit a couple times and get used to the order of brewing steps, and maybe even watch a couple intro vids on youtube to see how easy the process is. Have some homebrew (a good microbrew will suffice on your first batch, but after that, it's against the law to not have some homebrew while brewing in the future!
) on hand to make the process even more enjoyable.Enjoy your first brew and welcome to your new addiction!
Oh, one more thing...
Pick up another bucket fermenter and brew another beer a couple weeks or so after your first batch. Reason being: One of the hardest things in the world in this hobby is being patient waiting for your batch to be conditioned and ready to drink. (This is especially true if you made a mistake and don't follow my earlier tips about relaxing!) If you brew another batch while waiting for your first one to finish, you'll not have as much lag time waiting when you finish drinking the first batch. In the future, you'll discover the necessity for a "pipeline" of finished brews helps majorly with the patience.
TriggerFingers
Well-Known Member
+1
These are exactly the things I did last saturday for my first brew and it went flawlessly.
1) Also, get an extra bucket (I use a 3.5 Gallon Food Grade Bucket) and fill it with star san+water and dunk everything you might need sanitized (and keep it handy when you are cleaning up too).
2) Oh, and read Palmer's book and have it handy (i used it for step by step on how to rehydrate the dry yeast). Yeast took off for about 3 days and now the bubbler has quieted down.
3) If you are using bottled water, keep some extra on hand. Also, put some of it in the freezer a few hours ahead of time (like 2 gallon jugs) not to freeze it, but get it super cold. That way after your ice bath you can pour your warm wort into the sanitized primary and add very cold water to get it to pitching temp quickly.
