Introduction, Newbie from Northern VA

[Maniacmcgoo]

Wanted to stop by and introduce myself. Picked up a kit last week from LHBS in Northern va. Brewed my first kit last week as well. It did not go well. Added the priming sugar to the wort during the boil. Then I pitched the yeast with too warm of wort. The first night my bucket blew its lid redecorating the room. Got worried about being able to properly sanitize it so I transfered it to the Carboy that came with the Kit and it's been there since wednesday morning. Took a hydrometer reading as I was transferring and was shocked that I was sitting at 1.019 so shortly after starting. OG was 1.072 IIRC, wrote it down but don't have it with me. It's currently covered and sitting next to the house thermometer to keep a constant temp. plan to take another reading next week to see if the gravity has changed.

Friday my fiancee wanted to try her hand at "helping" make a brew so I found the recipe to a clone of my favorite brew and she and i went to a local shop to get supplies and spent a good friday standing over a brew pot drinking beer from local breweries. This beer was a heavier type beer for the holiday season. So after the boil (which went smooth thankfully). I chilled and pitched the yeast. 5 hours later nothing so i aerate it (pour into sanitized bottling bucket then pour through the spigot back into the fermenter. I wait and low and behold its starts bubbling away happily. 6 hours later I have my 2nd blow off. I'm thinking... Seriously? Decide to hell with the airlock and take a growler fill with hot water and some sanitizer shove a rubber hose into the fermenter and the other end into the growler and let it be. No more blow outs so far. Hopefully, I can let this sit for 3-4 weeks and get it ready for the bigger games of the football season.

 

[unionrdr]

I wouldn't transfer back & forth so soon in the fermentation cycle. Easy way to get infections. Aerating the wort before pitching the yeast is safer. Then leave it alone in primary for 10-14 days before taking an FG test sample to see how close to done it is. And starting with a blow off rig is always cheap insurance against an airlock launch!

 

[Maniacmcgoo]

I wouldn't have transferred the first one if not for the ungodly mess that was made by the first blow out. Was worried that i couldn't sanitize thoroughly enough so I transfered to something i knew was sanitary.

The second brew I wasn't getting anything so i felt like it needed to be aerated because I kept seeing comments about needing to aerate which i hadn't done to the second brew. Haven't touched the holiday brew since I put the overflow tube on early sunday morning which was when the top popped off.

Thanks for the tips. Did not expect so much Krausen that it would clog the airlock with two consecutive brews. Now I know better lol

 

[Sheldon]

Welcome to the obsession. I usually use a blow off set up when OG is over 1.065. I have learned that its easier to do this than clean up the ceiling, walls and carpets

If you want to meet other local home brewers, there are several clubs in the NOVA area depending on where you are located.

Cheers,

Sheldon

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah. Some yeasts can be real beasts when rehydrated or a starter is made. They shorten lag time & can get them working feverishly quite quickly. So starting with the blow off is always a good idea. But I've also found over the course of time that getting the wort & top off down to 60-65F (depending on the type of ale yeast anyway) starts them off quickly but slowly with rehydrates or starters. I haven't needed a blow of in some time now. Curious little fact I learned.

 

[flars]

The temperature of a 1.072 wort, at an ambient temperature of 68°, will probably rise 8°F during the first few days of active fermentation. Warmer ambient temperature could let the wort temperature rise even further.

I suspect blowing the lids on your fermentor is due to the wort being to warm causing super active fermentations. You need to invest in some method of keeping the wort in the low to mid range of the optimum fermentation temperature for the yeast being used.

Look at the various types of swamp coolers. Tubs of cold water. Tray of water with a wet towel over the fermentor and a fan to accelerate evaporation rate for cooling. Tub of cold water with ice filled plastic soda bottles.

 

[j1n]

Where in NoVA are you?

Flars is prob right about the very active fermentation cause of the temp. After my first 2 batches i got a chest freezer and a stc1000 temp controller to control fermentation temps.

 

[Maniacmcgoo]

I'll have to look into the cooler ideas before I brew my next batch. I'm near Centreville, VA

 

[seanldalton]

Welcome to the hobby! Don't stress the mess -- the walls and ceiling of my partially finished basement are still decorated by the mess made by the vigorous fermentation of one of my first batches.

And MyLHBS is a good one - Derek and his crew know their stuff, and are very open to newbie questions. Cheers!

-Sean in Alexandria

 

[DrunkleJon]

Welcome to the hobby/obsession. Blowoffs are a common occurrance. I find sometimes its easier to put a little less in the fermenter bucket which will keep them down to a minimum. Keeping the fermantation temps in range is in my opinion the best way to get the best beer. Use a swamp cooler, spare fridge, or something and remember that it can take up to 72 hours to see any signs of fermentation. Sometimes the active part is done before you even see it. Sometimes the lid of the bucket has a leak and you never see it. Gravity is everything for how the fermentation is going, not the airlock.

This is a good place. Good people here. I learned much here and try to help out in return. Do not be ashamed to ask any questions you have, and share what you learn and practice your patience.