First Brew: batch 0001

[wstein]

Well I did my first brew tonight, took almost 4 hours from prep time to final clean up. Hope I didn't screw anything up.

 

[Blender]

Sounds good but why not tell us what it was you brewed.

 

[wstein]

It is a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone.

 

[Sephro]

Full extract? Or did you have some grains?

4 hours is about how long it should take for an extract brewday...

As long as you sanitized everything that comes in contact with the post boil wort you should have some great beer in a few weeks

 

[Blender]

It is a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone.

Sounds great. I tried my hand at one but it needs some tweaking as it is not quite bitter enough.

 

[wstein]

it was a partical grain. I steeped the grains about 40 mins while slowly bringing the water up to a boil, then boiled the wort about a hour. Now I have my fermenter sitting in a dark closet in a water bath. I am planning on letting it sit for about 2 weeks and then rack it off to the bottler.

 

[gonzoflick]

Did you order your supplies online or from a LHBS? If your store is local why dont you go any pick yourself up another carboy and an autosiphon so you can rack to it and perform a secondary fermentation. I did a secondary on my first extract brew and it didnt take long.

 

[wstein]

I have a lhbs, and yes I have been thinking of getting a carboy and doing a secondary.

 

[Sephro]

in a water bath??? You mean you have your bucket in a bucket of water? If so why??

 

[Walker]

in a water bath??? You mean you have your bucket in a bucket of water? If so why??

I'm guessing this is for temperature control.

 

[wstein]

that is correct, to try and control the temp at approx 70 degrees

 

[Sephro]

What do you add ice or something to the water?

What is the temp of the room you are fermenting it in?

If you aren't doing anything to the bath it's in there is no point...

 

[gonzoflick]

If you're only lookign for a couple of degrees of temp control you can just wrap a damp towel around your carboy and that should do it. Providing the humidity isnt outrageous.

 

[wstein]

The temps in my house swing between 80 during the day when I am not home and 74 at night. I have monitored the closet temp where I am storing the fermenter and its temp swings with the rest of the house. So I figured a water bath with frozen water bottles covered with towel to try and maintain a constant low 70's temp. I change the water bottles out every evening and morning.

 

[Sephro]

I change the water bottles out every evening and morning.

Now there is dedication!!

Good call BTW. If you can keep it at a constant temp it's better and for that type of beer sounds like you are in the correct temp zone..

 

[wingnut]

Hey everybody! I have always been interested in home brewing but never tried so I think I am ready. but before I start i need to pick up some supplies! Any suggestions on how to from 0 to brew are greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

Wingnut

 

[gruntingfrog]

The most popular response is to start here...

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html


Welcome to the addiction!

 

[Spyk'd]

The temps in my house swing between 80 during the day when I am not home and 74 at night. I have monitored the closet temp where I am storing the fermenter and its temp swings with the rest of the house. So I figured a water bath with frozen water bottles covered with towel to try and maintain a constant low 70's temp. I change the water bottles out every evening and morning.

...or, you could just run your A/C at 72 degrees...

 

[wstein]

...or, you could just run your A/C at 72 degrees...

Yes I could, but you wanna pay the electric bill?

 

[Spyk'd]

Yes I could, but you wanna pay the electric bill?

I pay mine every month!


My thermostat never goes above 75 degrees and this keeps the innermost regions between 70-72. I have pets to consider, so turning the A/C off is not an option as the summers here (this year included) get into the upper 90's with the humidity in the 90's as well. The A/C keeps the moisture under control and protects all my wood.


I have a contention that the A/C works less to maintain a constant temperature than it does to have to cool a major area from a high temperature, especially when the house is closed up. Mine only clicks on once every 3-4 hours for about 5-10 minutes to maintain 75. If I let the house get over 80 degrees, it would run for about an hour and a half to two hours straight to catch up. Not sure how much your saving...


Just my opinion of course!

Cheers!

 

[wstein]

I pay mine every month!


My thermostat never goes above 75 degrees and this keeps the innermost regions between 70-72. I have pets to consider, so turning the A/C off is not an option as the summers here (this year included) get into the upper 90's with the humidity in the 90's as well. The A/C keeps the moisture under control and protects all my wood.


I have a contention that the A/C works less to maintain a constant temperature than it does to have to cool a major area from a high temperature, especially when the house is closed up. Mine only clicks on once every 3-4 hours for about 5-10 minutes to maintain 75. If I let the house get over 80 degrees, it would run for about an hour and a half to two hours straight to catch up. Not sure how much your saving...


Just my opinion of course!

Cheers!

viable logic there.

 

[Willie3]

Oh it's more than an additiction - It's maddening! :cross:

Coo coo! Coo coo! Coo coo! Coo coo! Coo coo!

I'm Coo Coo for Home Brew!!!

 

[wstein]

ok, a quick dumb question here, since I am a noob . When is it proper to move the wort off to your secondary. I have heard wait until there is over a minute between bubbles in the airlock to wait until it has stopped bubbling to a week after you see bubbles in the airlock. What is the general consenses on this. I have been monitoring my brew it is starting to slow down with the fermentation, down to 7 secs between bubbles in the airlock from 3 sec's yesterday.

 

[Spyk'd]

I rack to the secondary after there is only a bubble every 30 seconds or more in the airlock of the primary.

 

[Sephro]

I wait usually 1 week for most ales... I don't time the bubles but if it's pretty active still I would wait a few more days..

 

[user 574]

I wait until the krausen falls to rack. But I primary in a carboy so it's easy to see the progress.

 

[Desert_Sky]

I wait until the krausen falls to rack. But I primary in a carboy so it's easy to see the progress.

Yep, I let the krausen fall, but there is still a slight bit of foam on the top. I figure it will finish out in the secondary, plus it's producing CO2 which will push the O2 up and out of the carboy.