Big Qs from a small town first time brewer

[Weatherking011]

Ok so I have all these wonderful questions and by the end of this I will have forgot to ask half of them, but hey, lets give it a shot. Let me start by saying that I apologize for the questions because Im sure you have answered them a million times but Im having trouble finding the answers Im looking for.

Brew:
Completed my first brew yesterday and the crude is a bubblin right now. So im pretty happy with it. I brewed the 1 gallon white house honey ale. One thing that I was a little confused about was that I started with 1.25 gallons and at the end there was less than 1 gallon in the fermentor. Is that normal? One thing that I was trying to be weary of was getting to many hops and such in the fermentor. I was thinking about it and is there a strainer or something that I can put around the auto siphon to keep hops out of the fermentor? Maybe thats not the best way to keep the wort in the fermentor clean. Is there a better way?

Fermentation:
I have heard so many varying things about how long to ferment. Most common being 2 weeks. But I have seen 1 week and I have seen 3-4 weeks. I know it depends on bubbles in the airlock but if someone could clarify some that would be great. Another item that I am a bit hazy on is using the hydrometer to test gravity. Is it necessary? How does that all work? A link to an old thread is fine.

Some fun questions:
I see these contests for the 12.5 gallon fermentor. How does one go about brewing 12.5 gallons of beer? I assume that your not boiling at that point.

Appreciate the help guys. Excuse my grammar

 

[andhou27]

Hello and welcome! First off, I recently brewed a couple 1 gallon batches too and ended up with less than 1 gallon. This is due to boil off and evaporation, probably because i'm used to partial boils and this was a full boil. The trick is to keep the kettle covered and don't boil vigorously. After a few batches, you should have the boil down to exactly 1 gallon. You could strain it, however auto siphoning can be just as effective. Just like the boiling, it comes with practice and you will get better at it. It's okay if you get a little of the sludge in the fermentor; it will settle to the bottom and you won't bottle it. Yes, 2 weeks is a common primary fermentation period. Some people like to keep it in 3 weeks, but it comes down to preference and the style you are brewing. Try both. A hydrometer helps to determine if you are at the gravity to expect to be and will help you calculate the ABV. However, if you are an extract brewer following recipes, this is not necessary as you are learning. However, as you try new styles it would be nice to have. I've never brewed more than 5 gallons of beer, but I'd say a 12.5 gallon batch is a partial boil. And just because you may have a 12.5 gallon conical fermentor, it doesn't mean you have to use all that space!

Have fun!

 

[passedpawn]

One thing that I was a little confused about was that I started with 1.25 gallons and at the end there was less than 1 gallon in the fermentor. Is that normal?

You'll get this figured out later. If you hit your expected gravity, it's OK.

One thing that I was trying to be weary of was getting to many hops and such in the fermentor.

Don't worry if some of the hops and such get into your fermentor. Everyone gets that.

I have heard so many varying things about how long to ferment. Most common being 2 weeks. But I have seen 1 week and I have seen 3-4 weeks. I know it depends on bubbles in the airlock but if someone could clarify some that would be great. Another item that I am a bit hazy on is using the hydrometer to test gravity. Is it necessary? How does that all work? A link to an old thread is fine.

2 weeks for a typical ale is plenty, assuming you are fermenting above 60F. However, you MUST start using a hydrometer. I'm sure someone else here will drop a good link for you on that. Measure your OG (original gravity) then wait till the gravity gets to about 25% of that (your FG final gravity). Yes, the bubbles are a good indicator of fermentation, and when they stop it is a good indicator that fermentation is done. But there are lots of times due to leaky airlock/stopper, change in temps, etc, when the bubbles don't mean anything. Use a hydrometer, know your OG and expected FG, and don't bottle until the beer gets there.

I see these contests for the 12.5 gallon fermentor. How does one go about brewing 12.5 gallons of beer? I assume that your not boiling at that point.

Many brewers here use 15g pots (I use converted sanke kegs, a "keggle") that can easily boil 15 gallons. There are big burners that get it done - you are not going to make a batch like that on your stove. I have an all electric system with 240V electrical elements in my keggles. Big batch = no problem.

 

[passedpawn]

Hello and welcome! First off, I recently brewed a couple 1 gallon batches too and ended up with less than 1 gallon. This is due to boil off and evaporation, probably because i'm used to partial boils and this was a full boil. The trick is to keep the kettle covered and don't boil vigorously. After a few batches, you should have the boil down to exactly 1 gallon. You could strain it, however auto siphoning can be just as effective. Just like the boiling, it comes with practice and you will get better at it. It's okay if you get a little of the sludge in the fermentor; it will settle to the bottom and you won't bottle it. Yes, 2 weeks is a common primary fermentation period. Some people like to keep it in 3 weeks, but it comes down to preference and the style you are brewing. Try both. A hydrometer helps to determine if you are at the gravity to expect to be and will help you calculate the ABV. However, if you are an extract brewer following recipes, this is not necessary as you are learning. However, as you try new styles it would be nice to have. I've never brewed more than 5 gallons of beer, but I'd say a 12.5 gallon batch is a partial boil. And just because you may have a 12.5 gallon conical fermentor, it doesn't mean you have to use all that space!

Have fun!

Good advice, except for boiling with the lid on. You must let the steam exit the pot. Those vapors are removing DMS from the pot. If you cover the pot during the boil, you might end up with a strong flavor of cream corn in your beer. Take my word for it, it can be disgusting and make the beer undrinkable.

 

[andhou27]

Good advice, except for boiling with the lid on. You must let the steam exit the pot. Those vapors are removing DMS from the pot. If you cover the pot during the boil, you might end up with a strong flavor of cream corn in your beer. Take my word for it, it can be disgusting and make the beer undrinkable.

Hmm I didn't consider that, thanks!

 

[wilconrad]

The trick is to keep the kettle covered and don't boil vigorously.

This is not good advice, covering the boil is a no-no as it does not allow DMS precursor to escape your brew and you'll likely end up with off-flavors. The correct way to arrive at a final volume of 1 gal is to experiment with your system until you know the boil-off rate (the amount of water that boils off in your setup per hour) and to adjust your boil volume so that you end up with your intended batch volume at the end of your boil.

a 12.5 gallon batch is a partial boil. And just because you may have a 12.5 gallon conical fermentor, it doesn't mean you have to use all that space!

A 12.5 gal conical is designed for a 10 gal batch size, leaving 2.5 gal of headspace for the fermentation. It is common to do full boils for 10 gal batches or larger; many brewers that brew 10gal batches are using the keggle-based brew stands you'll see described all over this site. e.g. this build or other large stainless kettle-based systems.

 

[Weatherking011]

Thanks guys. I am 8 days into my fermintation and I have a couple questions. After let's estimate 8 hours the wort was bubbling like crazy. But just guessing I wouldn't say it bubbled past 2 days. Is that bad? I have been doing my best to not be a freaked out first timer and I'm still not freaked out but just wondering. It's not a huge deal if I messed up but I don't think I did. I was pretty precise. Either way not a huge deal. Any information would be great

 

[passedpawn]

Thanks guys. I am 8 days into my fermintation and I have a couple questions. After let's estimate 8 hours the wort was bubbling like crazy. But just guessing I wouldn't say it bubbled past 2 days. Is that bad? I have been doing my best to not be a freaked out first timer and I'm still not freaked out but just wondering. It's not a huge deal if I messed up but I don't think I did. I was pretty precise. Either way not a huge deal. Any information would be great

Fermentation (at least the visible exciting part) can go pretty quickly - yes, a day or two isn't unusual. Mine usually go longer than that, but temperature affects it a lot and I ferment very cool, which extends the fermentation.

 

[Cider123]

It is very common to get lots of bubbling for the first few days only. Fermentation is still going on after that. Bubbling is not the best method for determining if fermentation is occurring.

As was mentioned previously, let it sit for 2-3 weeks then check the specific gravity. If the final gravity is the same for 3 days in a row it is safe to bottle. If you made a beer kit, the recipe should give you an idea of what the expected final gravity should be.

 

[Weatherking011]

Ok will do. Cant finish fermentation till Beer bottles get here anyway ha.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

If you're short beer bottles, I get mine from a local bar. Just call them, ask if you can purchase some empty bottles at deposit for home brewing. The hostess/waitress seemed a little confused but the manager just said yea, come on in.
Five minutes later I had 10 12 oz bottles, 5 short 12 oz bottles, and 5 550ml's for two bucks. Score.

 

[AkTom]

I am on my first beer. I brewed my extract kit cooled it quickly, pitched my yeast and put it in my fermentation chamber (refer with a ST 1000 controller). I had oxygenated well so there was lots of foam on top. My chamber was set at 62*. No bubbles at all... No worries though, after 2 days I raised the temp to 64*. Still no bubbles in the air lock, but wonderful small bubbles now on top. I had to go to work and won't be home to see how it's doing for another week. I'm sure it is just fine though. One thing I've learned is temp control is important. Bubbles out the air lock, not so important. Now if it will quit snowing, I may be able to get home next Tuesday and see my Baby!!!
Cheers and happy brewing,
Tom

 

[andy6026]

AkTom has it right - the airlock bubbles are not so important (even though they are extremely soothing). It's very common to either get vigorous airlock activity for the first 2-3 days, or no airlock activity at all. However, in both cases complete fermentation is taking considerably longer. Leaving the beer 2-3 weeks in the fermenter will also give the yeast time to clean up and produce a cleaner, clearer brew.