getting ready for 1st brew

[sepe]

I've got my ale pails and ingredients lined up. I've got a pre-hopped John Bull wheat beer kit 1.8kg and the no hop John Bull wheat syrup 1.6kg. I've got an approximate 1lb of corn sugar and the yeast I'm going to use is Windsor yeast. I've started the sanitization process and I've taken some temp. readings in the kitchen and the basement. The basement is sitting mid 70s and the basement is coming out at about 62-64.

I was thinking about leaving it in the primary for 3 weeks before racking into the bottling bucket. I've got 40 grolsch bottles that will be cleaned and sanitized that the beer will be going into when ready.

A few questions...does the basement sound like a better place(no sunlight at all and stays in the low-mid 60s) and my yeast satchets are 11g, I was reading on How to Brew by John Palmer and it says to use 2 satchets and then says to use 7-14g of yeast...just use the one 11g pack? Use the yeast straight from the fridge or at room temp?

I'm looking to get this going tomorrow afternoon. I've been searching better instructions that what was included under the cap of the John Bull pre-hopped kit. Thanks in advance.

 

[Jamo99]

Basement sounds like a good spot. Pitch one packet of yeast that you've brought up to room temperature. You don't want to shock the yeast with a huge temperature swing. Just get them a little closer to your pitching temp's range. 1lb of corn sugar is a bit much to add. i'd hold out and only put 5 oz in at bottling for a 5 gallon batch.

 

[stever]

your yeast will produce some heat so plan on your wort fermenting 3-4 degrees higher than your ambient temp. Also what strain of yeast? if you look up the data sheet you will find our your min/max temps to ferment at. My basement is 63 and my wort ferments at 66-68 depending on activity.

you only need one packet of yeast per 5 gallons

 

[Arneba28]

Three days in primary? Do you have a hydrometer? You might want to wait atleast a full week in primary especially if you dont have a hydrometer. Then go get a hydrometer. I have only had 1 beer finish out in 3 days and it wasnt a kit beer. All the kits that I have done have taken at the least 5 days to finish out.

 

[sepe]

primary for 3 weeks...not days. yeah, I have a hydrometer, thermometer, auto siphon...I'm set on equipment...for now(hope to keg once I get into it a bit more)

I wasn't going to use all of the corn sugar...I believe it is calling for around 4 oz.(my dad use to brew Mr. Beer...he had a 7.5 gallon fermentor and would use several pounds of table sugar...I'd rather have something that tastes good than what he did)

thanks jamo...answered my question about the yeast. all of the things I've read, none have said to even refridgerate the yeast(I'm sure I've missed something along the way as I've been reading almost non-stop for a week or 2) and none had said to pitch at room temp or straight from the fridge.

stever, it is a danstar windsor ale yeast...range is 64-70 F.

 

[Ooompa Loompa]

The 4 oz of corn sugar it calls for is most likely for priming at bottling time.

 

[sepe]

Yeah, I was going to add 4-4 1/2 oz to the bottling bucket prior to bottling. Got everything in sanitization right now.