first brew questions

[johnnync]

I have been making some wine and mead and now will move on to somw beer.

I have a few questions,
1. Says to ferment for 3 weeks.........can i leave it longer if needed and what are the pros and cons
2. can I bottle in clear beer bottles.....if I keep them in the box and dont let alot of light to them?
3. Is head space in the carboy not as big a deal as with wine? I se alot of pics that looks like they are at least a gaooln shy?
4. can I use a 6 gallon for a 5 gallon batch......reason for question 3

I think thats it but im sure there will be more
Thanks!

 

[BlainD]

1) Longer is always better. Will be clearer and the yeast cake will compress giving you a little extra beer.

2) Yes as long as they light stays away clear is fine.

3)Head space is good to have in my experience because during high krausen you might blow the plug and airlock out shooting beer all over the place. Of course that will not defiantly happen but it might.

4) Yes I swear by 6.5 gallon pickle buckets from Jason's Deli.

 

[kapbrew13]

1. 3 weeks is good to allow ferment to complete and yeast to clear hot flavors. My personal experience. You can bottle when FG is consistent for 3 days. Secondary if aging 6+ weeks or adding fruits, woods, or dry hopping.
2. Yes keep out of light. Light + hop oils = skunk juice
3. Yes. Head space gets filled by yeast farts which push out O2
4. Yes. Just use a blow off tube, unless you like spray all over wall and ceiling.

 

[johnnync]

Do I ferment In a bucket or in a carboy?

 

[BlainD]

Do I ferment In a bucket or in a carboy?

It's preference. I always use buckets, but I wouldn't spend the cash on a nice glass carboy.

 

[kapbrew13]

Do I ferment In a bucket or in a carboy?

I prefer better bottles. Lighter and safer when you drop it over a glass carboy. Buckets are fine also. So it's your preference.

 

[Channel66]

If you already have carboys go ahead and use them, I use glass myself for no other reason than the fact that I like them, and how easy they are to clean, I dont really have to move them far though. Headspace is only an issue if you MUST rack to a secondary, then you have a headspace filled with oxygen that is just waiting to ruin your beer. If you keep your beer in the primary and just let it ferment out you will keep a nice co2 buffer in there it wont be a problem. I use 6.5 gallon glass carboys for primary, I have a few 5 gal glass carboys as well that I use to age/fruit/dry hop

 

[AdamPag]

everything that was said, except I only use plastic, glass is just asking for trouble imo

 

[homebrewdad]

Bucket? Carboy? Plastic? Glass?

It's a personal preference thing. I use glass carboys.

I like being able to be sure that my carboy is 100% clean; I'd hate to lose a batch due to not being able to clean out some microbe.

I like knowing that there is a 0% chance that I'll get any off flavors from glass.

I like the "coolness factor" of how glass looks.


Some prefer plastic. They like knowing that they don't have to worry about breaking their fermenter (I have broken one carboy so far). They like knowing that if they have to replace a fermenotor, that it will be cheaper than glass.


Lots of great beer is made in both.

 

[Eckythump]

I prefer glass because it allows me to peek in on the beer every day. I also like shinning a flashlight in there to check for clarity.

Ive also used plastic buckets with no problems, except that I cant watch my beer like the voyeur I am

 

[Doctor_Wily]

is light getting to the brew during fermentation not as big of a deal as when the brew is bottled? Just curious because I see a lot of advice saying if you bottle in clear bottles make sure no light gets to the beer. Obviously a glass carboy is clear vs a bucket.

Cheers!

 

[homebrewdad]

is light getting to the brew during fermentation not as big of a deal as when the brew is bottled? Just curious because I see a lot of advice saying if you bottle in clear bottles make sure no light gets to the beer. Obviously a glass carboy is clear vs a bucket.

Cheers!

You put a shirt/towel/blankt over the carboy except when you peek at the beer. Light is bad for beer in most situations.

 

[Doctor_Wily]

Thanks homebrewdad! That certainly answers my question. BTW, I checked out your blog post with noob info and it was helpful, thanks!

 

[AdamPag]

apparently its not all light, but sunlight or anything that puts out UVA or UVB spectrum light

 

[Eckythump]

is light getting to the brew during fermentation not as big of a deal as when the brew is bottled? Just curious because I see a lot of advice saying if you bottle in clear bottles make sure no light gets to the beer. Obviously a glass carboy is clear vs a bucket.

Cheers!

I put a garbage bag over each of my carboys.

 

[two_hearted]

I put a garbage bag over each of my carboys.

I dress mine up in flanel!

If you ferment in a carboy, make sure it is larger than 5 gal!

 

[johnnync]

Ok so I got my extrct kit.
American wheat from Northern Brewer.
Any tricks for a first time brewer?
Whats the best way to get all the malt syrup out of the container?

 

[cincydave]

Ok so I got my extrct kit.
American wheat from Northern Brewer.
Any tricks for a first time brewer?
Whats the best way to get all the malt syrup out of the container?

First, let it soak in in hot water for a half hour or so, that will thin it. Then after you've poured out all you can, put some hot water in the jug and shake it real good to thin it aeven more and get out all you can.

 

[johnnync]

Thanks cincydave.
Can I use a 6gallon carboy or will I need a blowoff?

 

[Eckythump]

You'll probably be ok with a 6 gallon. Worst case is you join the elite club of roof-beer cleaners.

 

[cincydave]

Thanks cincydave.
Can I use a 6gallon carboy or will I need a blowoff?

I don't use carboys. I ferment in a 7.9 gallon bucket, and even at that, had a 5 gallon batch come out the top once. One thouhgt is to just wrap a piece of aluminum foil around the carboy opening. That way no pressure build up and if krausen exceeds headspace it will just flow out the top instead of possible explosion. Then when the very active fermentation is done, you can put your airlock on.

 

[johnnync]

I brewed the American wheat tonight. After topping up to 5 gallons I took a gravity ready And it came to 1.032 should have been 1.043 is that normal?

 

[kapbrew13]

I brewed the American wheat tonight. After topping up to 5 gallons I took a gravity ready And it came to 1.032 should have been 1.043 is that normal?

yes. Its difficult to mix it properly to get an accurate reading when topping off.

 

[johnnync]

Started this wheat beer last Wednesday, stopped bubbling Saturday.
Seems kinda fast to me. I haven't took a gravity reading yet but does this look normal?

 

[spenghali]

Started this wheat beer last Wednesday, stopped bubbling Saturday.
Seems kinda fast to me. I haven't took a gravity reading yet but does this look normal?

Looks fine to me (it would be pretty unluckily for an infection to show visible signs that quickly).

 

[johnnync]

How long does it take to clear?
this will be 2 weeks on Wednesday and it doesnt look like it has cleared at all?

 

[johnnync]

I bottled the American wheat tonight. Tasted good other than a little watered down. Hoping carbed and chilled will be much better.