First extract brew, Questions!

[Wiesty]

Hey everyone!
First post here on the forums. I've made one batch from a mr. beer kit before, and was unimpressed, so I've decided to take it up a notch and will be trying out an extract brew this weekend. I'll be making a pumpkin porter (that time of year...) from Brewer's Best. Now I just have some questions which hopefully people can answer....

1) Is regular tap water ok to use to top off the wart as long as it has been boiled/cooled previously?
2) Is secondary fermentation necessary with extract brewing? If so why?
3) Should the wart be removed from the heat source when hops are being added? I've read varying opinions on this...
4) I've recently gotten my hands on some some classic 450ml Grolsch bottles. They are quite old but will clean up nicely. How can I test the rubber washers to make sure that the carbonation will not leak from the beer? I could order new ones, but they won't be here in time for brewing.
5) Are the dark brown plastic bottles I got with my Mr. Beer kit alright for bottling? The batch I made didn't seem very carbonated, but I am unsure if it was the bottles or not enough priming sugar.
6) What do people recommend for priming sugar? Is plain white sugar alright?

More questions to come maybe....Trying to be very thorough so I don't mess this batch up!

 

[Yooper]

1. It depends on your tap water. My cottage has tons of iron in the water. It tastes great, but it wouldn't make good beer. If your water tastes good, and doesn't have heavy metals in it, it'd be fine.

2. I don't do secondaries on very many beers. It's not necessary for most beers, unless you want to oak age or something.

3. No.

4. I don't know. If they are water tight, they are probably airtight. Try turning them over to see if that seems like a better seal.

5. Yes, those are fine if the lids seal tightly.

6. Yes, that's fine. Corn sugar or table sugar is fine.

 

[harleybug88]

On #4. Put in a teaspoon of vinegar and a little bit of baking soda. Give it a little shake, then put it under water.

If you see bubbles, then you'll know you have leaky washers.

 

[RM-MN]

Your beer doesn't need to be rushed to get it into bottles. It could stay in the fermenter for a month or more if that would get you the new rubber washers for your Grolsch bottles.

 

[Wiesty]

Thanks everyone for the great answers! I will try out some of these techniques!

I have a couple of glass carboys, and also a plastic fermenter with a spigot. I'm guessing it's probably easiest to just ferment right in the container with the spigot and bottle right from there, or should I go with the glassware? Thoughts?

 

[RM-MN]

The plastic container with the spigot is indeed for bottling but you need to reserve it just for that because you need to get the priming sugar well mixed with the beer prior to bottling and if you ferment in that bucket you will stir up all the trub and most of it will go into the bottles. Ferment in another container and when the beer is done you mix some priming sugar (weighed) with some water and then rack the beer into the bottling bucket on top of the priming solution to get it mixed. With a bit of care you will leave almost all the yeast and hops in the first container and get nearly none in your bottles.

 

[Sudz_Makenzie]

When preparing to bottle your beer, prepare your priming sugar (corn or table ) and pour that into the bucket with the spigot once it's cool. As you siphon the beer into the bucket, gently mix the beer and priming sugar using a sanitized spoon or paddle stirring from the bottom up being careful to not splash or introduce oxygen. It's important to get a thorough mix to maintain consistency for carbonation. Cheers

 

[HB_in_Subic]

The plastic container with the spigot is indeed for bottling but you need to reserve it just for that because you need to get the priming sugar well mixed with the beer prior to bottling and if you ferment in that bucket you will stir up all the trub and most of it will go into the bottles. Ferment in another container and when the beer is done you mix some priming sugar (weighed) with some water and then rack the beer into the bottling bucket on top of the priming solution to get it mixed. With a bit of care you will leave almost all the yeast and hops in the first container and get nearly none in your bottles.

Also you cannot trust the seal of the spigot to not allow nasties into your ferment..