Going to make my 1st Beer this afternoon.

[Knight03]

I have a few questions. Im making a True Brew Brown Ale.Questions
1. It says to boil 1 1/2 gallons of water to make my wort. Can I do 3-4 gallons?
2. It instructs after you reach hard break to boil for 20-30 minutes. Is this right? Or do you suggest longer?
3.It instructs to put 3 gallons of cold water in primary and dump in hot wort. Can I Ice bath the wort and then put in primary?
4. Says to pitch dry yeast. Should I rehidrate yeast with a cup of warm water?
Thanks for all the help.

 

[DaveMcPhee]

I have a few questions. Im making a True Brew Brown Ale.Questions
1. It says to boil 1 1/2 gallons of water to make my wort. Can I do 3-4 gallons?
2. It instructs after you reach hard break to boil for 20-30 minutes. Is this right? Or do you suggest longer?
3.It instructs to put 3 gallons of cold water in primary and dump in hot wort. Can I Ice bath the wort and then put in primary?
4. Says to pitch dry yeast. Should I rehydrate yeast with a cup of warm water?
Thanks for all the help.

1. Sure, but it's going to take much longer to boil. As the kit uses hop pellets (instead of hopped extract) using more water will increase your hop utilization. You decide whether that's a good thing.
3. If you're boiling 3-4 gallons then you'll have to.
4. It can't hurt!

 

[IceFisherChris]

1. Yes you can do as much water as you want. Using more water will likely make it more bitter. I do 3.5-4 gallon boils with my extract kits (sometimes 5) and I think they turn out fine.
2. I'm not sure what your instructions entirely say, but usually the total boil is a certain length of time (60 minutes is about average.) The reason for the timing is because hop additions change as you boil longer. The ten minute span probably won't make a huge difference, but it could alter the hops.
3. Definitely get some ice to help cool the wort. Waiting for it to cool is not fun. You can put some of it in your kettle, and also around it in the sink.
4. I never rehydrate dry yeast. For bread making I do, but not for beer.

 

[mhochman]

Since this is your first batch, I would say stick with the directions. The less you alter, the better you'll be able to analyze your result. That said, I would definitely use an ice bath to cool the wort and I would definitely dehydrate the yeast before pitching. Changing the other factors will produce a beer different than what the recipe intends (which, as was stated above, may be what you want). Plenty of time to experiment and refine with subsequent batches.

 

[Knight03]

Thanks. i follwed the directions to the word for my first time. Im glad i did it out side the hard break was intense. I spilled just a wee bit.

 

[Knight03]

Can my beer be done already? It bubbled like made for2 days. This morning no more bubbles...

 

[mhochman]

It's just easing out of the aggressive/primary fermenting. There's still plenty that's going to happen as primary winds down and secondary ramps up. (don't confuse the term secondary as having your beer in a separate container for conditioning). It's typical for the aggressive fermenting to ease after 2-3 days

All that said, this coming weekend, if it makes you feel better, check the gravity to be sure you're close to target and not stuck. It's common for extract kits to get stuck around 1.020. Your kit instructions probably day to transfer "to secondary" or go ahead and bottle. Many/most around here will tell you to let it sit in primary fermented for at least three weeks before you bottle.

 

[Golddiggie]

Can my beer be done already? It bubbled like made for2 days. This morning no more bubbles...

Extremely unlikely... Leave it in primary for at least 2 weeks... If you want to rack to secondary, you should be ok at that point. Or you can just leave it in primary for 2-4 weeks... Take a sample after 2 weeks (hydrometer and taste) to see where it's at. That's really the only way you'll know when it's finished fermenting (you need to have at least two matching hydrometer readings at least a day or two apart)...