Beginning Brewer here seeking tips and advice

[owens14]

Hello fellas, my names Josh and im glad to have joined what seems like a great online community here. Im about to start my first batch of brew tomorrow morning and i was just wondering if you had any tips, advice, or general knowledge youd like to share with me. And if someone has tried the equipment im using before, maybe a heads up on the quality of it.

Me and a friend recently purchased a Beer Equipment Kit made by True Brew as well as a package of their Irish Stout. I was also wondering if anyones made this before and tips for the fermentation process and time to wait for carbonation. thanks for the help guys.

 

[KeithMoonsLiver]

For the first few brews I did I kept my laptop near me throughout the day. Pretty much every question I could think of as I went through things has been asked countless times on the internet and even this board alone.

 

[Skaggz]

Hi Josh, welcome to the forums, and welcome to homebrewing. If the equipment kit you bought is the same one listed on the front page of this site, then that looks like pretty standard gear. Just follow the instructions that came with your ingredient kit, and you should be fine.

Couple things to remember:
*EVERYTHING that comes in contact with the beer from the time you shut the heat off after the boil until it touches your tongue coming out of the bottle must be CLEAN and SANITIZED
*Don't leave the lid on the pot while you're boiling
*Leave enough room in your boil kettle for the water volume to expand and come to a rolling boil. Boil overs are never fun
*Read this site: How to Brew, by John Palmer. Better yet, buy the book. Soak in as much as you can.
*If you're going to be topping off the wort in the fermenter to reach a full five gallons, make sure you mix it throughly before you take a hydrometer sample
*If using dry yeast, it is a good idea to rehydrate it in a small bowl of warm water at least an hour before throwing it in the fermenter.
*Don't be afraid to ask questions
*One little mistake (or even a few) won't totally ruin your beer.
*RDWHAHB
* Aerate your wort the best you can before you throw the yeast in, and then never again
*Be Patient! Despite what the kit's instructions may tell you, leave it in the fermenter for a minimum of 2 weeks. For your stout, probably a minimum of 3 weeks. Even if the hydrometer readings indicate that sugar conversion is done, it doesn't mean that your yeast is done doing their job yet.
*RDWHAHB

 

[bullinachinashop]

Got Star San?????

I like the idea of starting your first brew in the morning as you'll be less likely to be hammered 1/2 way through.

Primary for 3 weeks and then transfer to your sanitized bottling bucket.

Oh yea, did I mention Star San?

Good luck

Bull

 

[owens14]

@ bull my kit came with C-Brite. close enough?

@Skaggz yep that would be the one, only mine has a 7.5 gal bucket instead of the carboy

a couple probably easy questions but i thought while i had you guys here, id go ahead and ask. 1. is there a certain amount of time you need to wait after refridgeration to drink your beer or is it just until it gets cold enough for your taste? and 2. About on average how long do you need to leave bottled beer out to let it cabonate? thanks again for the help guys

 

[msa8967]

My beers usually needs 3 weeks at room temp of 68-70 to reach proper carbing levels. Afetr that, I move them to the basement and chill a few bottles for 2-3 days before sampling. This helps some of the yeasties to settle out.

 

[Skaggz]

After you bottle, leave it out for a week. Then put one of the bottles in the fridge until you feel it is cold enough. Pop it open and give it a try. If it is not carbonated enough, or just doesn't taste right leave the rest out for another 3-4 days and test another one again.

Beer, especially a bigger beer such as a stout, will definitely benefit from conditioning. Both from waiting a few weeks in the bottles before you put them in the fridge, and also cold conditioning for several days or more after you put them in the fridge.

 

[Bob]

C-brite is not the same. Opt for Star-san. Inexpensive and 100% reliable if used per instructions. Most of us clean with something like Oxy-clean and sanitize with Star-san.

To answer your later questions:

1. To your taste.
2. I'm gonna jump Revvy's claim! Yay! Bottled beer must be kept at 70F or above (within reason; don't cook it, but keep it above 70F) for AT LEAST THREE WEEKS (21 DAYS) for good condition. Don't rush it.

The more time you give your beer the happier you'll be with the result. As soon as you get your first batch out of the fermenter, start another batch! That's called "filling the pipeline" and it'll make you a patient, happy brewer.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[owens14]

alright thanks alot guys. youve got me prepared enough to start in the morning, although im sure by 10am tomorrow, ill be on here asking more questions. one last question for the night though, this being my first brew i dont wanna get too complex but if i wanted to add some honey to sweeten my brew some, what time would i add it to the mix and about how much to add a hint of sweet taste without it being completely overpowering?

 

[Bob]

Honey is almost 100% fermentable. Adding it won't really net you any sweet taste.

For your first few batches, please follow the instructions. Don't change anything in the ingredients list. The more you complicate a new procedure, the more variables you introduce, the steeper the learning curve. So KISS for the time being. Brew the recipe as written, try it. If you want a different flavor, brew it again and add an ingredient.

Cheers!

Bob

 

[owens14]

got another newbie question for the day guys. While making my wort only using 1 gallon of water and the ingriedients neccessary in the package, can i use a pot smaller than the recommended 16-20 quarts? i mean it just seems like only boiling a little over a gallon of water i wouldnt need an extra 4 gallons of space. thanks and sorry if this was a dumb question

 

[Skaggz]

You could use a smaller pot if you are only boiling one gallon of water. Remember to take into account that all the stuff you add will increase the volume of the wort as well. It doesn't just magically dissolve and not take up any more space in the pot.

Also, I've never done a one gallon boil (thats kinda small) but it is possible that you may not be able to get all your extract to dissolve into the water. Water will only take so much before it becomes saturated and nothing else can dissolve into it. The risk of this is even higher if you're adding all the ingredients for a five gallon batch into just one gallon of water. If this is the case then some extract may sit at the bottom of the pot and become scorched by the heat.


edit: Also take into account, depending of the diameter of your pot and how fierce the boil is, you can expect to lose about half a gallon of water to evaporation during the boiling process.

 

[Bob]

Make your boil volume as large as you can safely make it and successfully bring to a rolling, vigorous boil on your burner. If you have a 5-gallon pot, boil at least 3 gallons. That is, of course, if your burner can actually bring such a volume to the boil; some stoves can't get that kind of volume much past an insipid simmer, which will never do.

My electric stove will boil 3.5 gallons easily, so that's what I do.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[owens14]

we just added our hops and extracts, we opted for a 5 gallon pot we found for $9.99. @ skaggs, in the recipe we're brewing, Irish Stout by TrueBrew calls for a gallon and a half of water for the wort then 4 gallons of water in the fermenter. at least thats what these instructions said, does that sound right to you guys? thanks again for all the help.

 

[Bob]

Read one message up.

Bob

 

[Skaggz]

What Bob said. (In both posts on this page)

If you only have the resources to do a 1.5 gallon boil, then by all means do that. Your best option would to do a 5.5-6 gallon boil in a large kettle (turkey fryer sized). But if you can meet that somewhere in the middle with what you have, then definitely do that.

 

[winvarin]

Josh. I see by your post that you're in Moore, OK. There are a lot of us brewers in the OKC metro. There's even a club that meets in Moore, at the LHBS where you likely bought the kit you're making today. PM me if you're interested and I will send you the link to the club's website. This is a great online forum but there's still no substitute for standing toe to toe with other brewers, getting immediate feedback on your brews and swapping tips and tricks.

Welcome to the board and the hobby. You'll soon be addicted. I, for instance, am blowing a vacation day on Friday and attempting to brew 2 all grain beers before my kid gets home from school. :rockin:

 

[owens14]

alright i just woke up this morning and there was a pretty good amount of yeast? maybe, in my airlock all around the edges and some gathered at the bottom. is this normal?

 

[owens14]

by the way its enough yeast to where when i was asleep last night, it tipped the airlock over, not completely though, and spilled some water out of my airlock. is this a problem?

 

[jjones17]

Good to go buddy, sounds like your ferment is strongly happening. Posting pics would help

 

[owens14]

heres a pic to give you guys an idea.
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/9886/sany0119w.jpg

 

[owens14]

another quick question. theres a considerable amount of yeast in my airlock right now, would it hurt to pop the top off the airlock and clean it with a sterile qtip then put the top back on the airlock?

 

[Bob]

Meh. I'd just rinse it out and refill it.

Bob

 

[jtlawlor]

I also recommend filling it with some StarSan solution (StarSan mixed with water) if you have some - if not, vodka ... just helpful if any gets back into the bucket (hence less chance for infection)

 

[owens14]

I also recommend filling it with some StarSan solution (StarSan mixed with water) if you have some - if not, vodka ... just helpful if any gets back into the bucket (hence less chance for infection)

alright would plain old rubbing alcohol work as well? also, is it possible to check my abv once fermenting is done? i ask because i didnt take my SG before i began fermenting and i know that one formula requires your SG to measure abv

 

[mattd2]

Don't know about rubbing alc, I have used just water in mine with no ill effect. As for alc content you really need the OG (original gravity) as the calculation figures out how much sugar (the differences in OG and FG) has gone and been converted into alc. However since it was an extract kit you could just use the estimated OG in the recipe as long as you used all the extract and had the correct volume.
Good luck

 

[owens14]

well according to the package my Irish Stout comes in at a disappointing 4.7%. at about 24 hours into fermentation, is there any way i could increase my abv at all? possibly adding some kind of sugar solution?

 

[mattd2]

well according to the package my Irish Stout comes in at a disappointing 4.7%. at about 24 hours into fermentation, is there any way i could increase my abv at all? possibly adding some kind of sugar solution?

Wait for another 13-20 days
What was the recipe est. OG? and estimate FG?

 

[owens14]

Sg was 1.043-1.045 and FG was 1.010-1.012.

 

[winvarin]

Just remember. You're making a handcrafted ale. Not rocket fuel. There are quite a few excellent stouts out there in the high 4% to low 5% range. It's all about balance. If you kick the alcohol out of whack with sugar, you're likely to throw one of the other flavor or aroma components out of whack as well.

RDWHAHB. If that doesn't do the job for you, have 2 and brew again quickly.

 

[owens14]

Just remember. You're making a handcrafted ale. Not rocket fuel. There are quite a few excellent stouts out there in the high 4% to low 5% range. It's all about balance. If you kick the alcohol out of whack with sugar, you're likely to throw one of the other flavor or aroma components out of whack as well.

RDWHAHB. If that doesn't do the job for you, have 2 and brew again quickly.

thats what i was afraid of was ruining the taste but is there any way i could give it a small .3-.7% or so bump without altering the taste too much?

 

[mattd2]

thats what i was afraid of was ruining the taste but is there any way i could give it a small .3-.7% or so bump without altering the taste too much?

IS that FG you listed the estimated or what you actually measured after a days fermentation? If it is your measurement I wuld say it might drop another 2 points or so.

 

[owens14]

it was the estimated one listed on the package of the Irish Stout

 

[owens14]

okay guys my irish stout is about 36 or so hours into fermenting right now and the bubbles have already dramatically slowed down. about to one bubble every 45 seconds. it really slowed after i popped the airlock off and cleaned it. any ideas? because form what ive read fermentation is generally at least a 4-5day process if not weeks. any advice or insight is very much appreciated. thanks for all the help guys.

 

[Skaggz]

Thats normal. Its doing just fine.

 

[owens14]

Thats normal. Its doing just fine.

alright thanks man, i was getting really worried. i thought it might have just started really aggressive and then slowed down but i wasnt sure. about when do you think i should pop the top off it and check it since the bubbles have already slowed that much?

 

[MyNameIsPaul]

alright thanks man, i was getting really worried. i thought it might have just started really aggressive and then slowed down but i wasnt sure. about when do you think i should pop the top off it and check it since the bubbles have already slowed that much?

You could probably pop the top off and check it in another 2 weeks. Until then, just let it be. The more you futz with the lid/airlock, the better chances you have at introducing an infection. The pretty normal rule is 1 Week in primary fermenter, 2 weeks in secondary and 3 weeks in bottles. I just skip the secondary and do 3 weeks in primary. I don't even begin to check the gravity on it until the 3rd week, other than its SG.

 

[owens14]

You could probably pop the top off and check it in another 2 weeks. Until then, just let it be. The more you futz with the lid/airlock, the better chances you have at introducing an infection. The pretty normal rule is 1 Week in primary fermenter, 2 weeks in secondary and 3 weeks in bottles. I just skip the secondary and do 3 weeks in primary. I don't even begin to check the gravity on it until the 3rd week, other than its SG.

alright thanks for the heads up. as you can tell, im an anxious college kid ready to try my first homebrewed beer lol plus being only 18, its alot easier doing this than standing outside a 7-11 looking depressed until someone feels sorry enough for you to buy you some beer. its a sad existence up until 21..

 

[MyNameIsPaul]

I KNEW IT! I had a feeling you were underage by the way you type.

Sorry kid, we don't encourage youngsters in here. What you're doing is illegal. See you in 3 years...<now wheres the banhammer?>

 

[jollytim]

That's one of the Cardinal Rules here... you MUST be 21 to make beer.

Hope it turns out well for you, but you should wait until you are of age.