Getting Started

[Crew]

Hello everyone, I'd like to introduce myself, I'm Crawford. You can call me Crawford, or Crew, I have tons of nicknames.

I have always had a passion for beer, but never really thought that I could make my own. I was over at a good friends parents house a few weeks ago when he was visiting them and he gave me a beer that he and his dad had brewed together over the July 4th weekend. That Belgian Blonde was delicious, and it was only their 1st attempt. I figure, if they can do it, so can I.

I bought a true brew starter kit, and unfortunately opted for a plastic carboy instead of a glass one. I have heard that they are the same as far as the beer goes, but if I'm brewing beer, I want it to look official, and glass seems like a cleaner look.

My current and first beer is an October themed Pumpkin Spice Porter. It's a kit that my local store had, and I think a kit would be the best way to start. I would really like to get away from the kits, but I think my first three beers will be kits until I am more comfortable. I also bought the joy of home brewing by Charlie Papazian, and have been reading that heavily.

My first beer should be ready to go into the carboy either tomorrow, or wednesday.

I want to name my "brewery" something that relates to baseball and/or the braves. Do you guys have any ideas? My brewery ideas so far are...

Sandlot Brewers (nickname for a baseball diamond)
755 Beers (hank aarons homerun count)
Double Header Brewery (two games in one day, or a larger head on a bad pour)
Tomachawk Hops Brewery (play on tomahawk chop, with hops)


My first beer is called "Pennant Race"

 

[LieutenantDan]

Should've Stayed In Milwaukee Brewery

 

[Erroneous]

Welcome to the hobby and obsession! As far as the carboy goes, don't worry about it just be sure you don't scratch it. But I think in time you'll want to get more carboys anyway since you can have a bigger pipeline and store them for ageing. Are you doing extract for now or all grain? Also there is nothing wrong with kits; they are the same thing as a recipe only a little easier to order so nobody will look down for that.

 

[Crew]

hahaha, funny idea Dan.

The kit I have is a malt extract kit I think, syrupy stuff added after the wort started to boil. It was the stopper for my bucket was bubbling like crazy for the first day, 2nd day was a little slower, today was even slower.. i've heard that the kraausen (spelling) the foam stuff that forms after you pitched the yeast, once that stuff settles, you can transfer it to the secondary fermenter, which is the carboy for me..

Is that normal? My brew schedule right now is as follows..
Cook on stove
Ferment in bucket until bubbles in the stopper are very slow
transfer the brew to the carboy for secondary ferment for 10 days
bottle and let sit for 10 days with priming sugar
drink

I have been reading the book, but it seems like everywhere I look, I see a different process on how to brew beer.

 

[dantheman13]

Get "How To Brew" by John Palmer. That is the New Testament of homebrewing.

 

[djfriesen]

I would recommend getting a hydrometer to be sure that fermentation has finished up. You can always err on the side of caution, but knowing that fermentation has stopped (constant hydrometer readings) will help your process in the long run. Your times seem a little short in my mind, especially for a porter. Typical minimums times are around 3 weeks in primary, to let the yeast clean up after themselves a little. Then rack to secondary for the pumpkin spice addition for around a week, then bottle condition for around 3 weeks. Obviously, you can cut these times shorter, but the general consensus is that the longer you wait, the better your beer.

 

[Crew]

Im not sure what racking is but I keep seeing it everywhere..

I transferred to secondary today as my fermentation had started to slow and from what I have read, the secondary is mainly to clear up the beer by removing it from the primary where dying yeast cells are beginning to settle.

It was in the primary for 4 days at 74F and I was planning on having it in the secondary for 2 weeks.. too short?

I work in a lab, so my hydrometer is about as good as it gets, I don't think it's wrong.

 

[Crew]

I googled racking, and apparently thats what I just did. I made sure everything was sanitized. I use starsan.. and wow that foam looks like its going to make the beer taste like soap.. so I manned up and ate a spoon full of the stuff.. no flavor, that's pretty cool.

I also was extremely careful about not agitating the beer more than I had to, hopefully that will keep oxidation and infection to a minimum

 

[moorerm04]

Welcome to the board! I am a noob as well! There is tons of awesome info on here and I van garuntee that if you have any questions there will for sure be answers to them! There are pretty many folks on here that never rack into seconday, that includes myself. I have completed three batches thus far and only did my first batch with secondary fermentation. I find that 3-4 weeks in primary has produced for me better results, and the best part is you get to skip a step.