My first brew day

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brewer_sam

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Hello BrewHeads! Well, I'll be brewing for the first time ever today! The recipe of choice is the Irish Draught Ale from Northern Brewer. The crushed grains smell sooo good. I feel fairly confident in the procedure, the only thing that has me questioning is the way I'll be cooling my fermenting bucket.

I live in Central Florida where the temp right now hovers around 75. For right now I'll be fermenting my bucket in a swamp cooler. I have some ice that I've frozen in bottles and tupperware that I'll toss in to cool. I also have some powerheads that I'm not using right now from my fish tank to toss in the cooling water to keep the water circulating if that's necessary. My goal is to try and hit the lower part of the yeast temp range of 62ish.

I'll keep y'all posted. Time to have some fun.

:mug:
 
sounds like you have thought it through! good luck, use good sanitation and enjoy the serenity of brew day!
 
Did you get the dry yeast or liquid yeast?

For the liquid yeast, note that 62 is the lower limit of the fermentation, while 64 is the lower limit for the dry yeast. Below these temps, your yeast are going to start to hybernate, and you are going to have trouble fully fermenting your wort (low attenuation/stuck fermentation).

Swamp coolers can be very hard to control the temps over time. You don't jsut throw in 32 degree ice and, voila, you get a 62 degree ambient temp. I think having the expectation that you are going to hit and maintain 62 is a little idealistic. Even though it will be 3-5 degrees warmer than the ambient temp within the wort itself, if I were you I'd aim more towards an ambient temp near the middle of the ideal range, rather than the lower part, just to be safe.

I'd plan on about 66 for the liquid yeast or the dry yeast, if it were me. Even with the most violent of fermentations, you would still only hit about 71 within the wort for a max of about 2-3 days, which is still within the ideal range.

Just my 2c. You are still going to avoid off flavors as long as you are within the ideal range, and this way you won't risk being too cold.

Good luck!
 
TopherM said:
Did you get the dry yeast or liquid yeast?

For the liquid yeast, note that 62 is the lower limit of the fermentation, while 64 is the lower limit for the dry yeast. Below these temps, your yeast are going to start to hybernate, and you are going to have trouble fully fermenting your wort (low attenuation/stuck fermentation).

Swamp coolers can be very hard to control the temps over time. You don't jsut throw in 32 degree ice and, voila, you get a 62 degree ambient temp. I think having the expectation that you are going to hit and maintain 62 is a little idealistic. Even though it will be 3-5 degrees warmer than the ambient temp within the wort itself, if I were you I'd aim more towards an ambient temp near the middle of the ideal range, rather than the lower part, just to be safe.

I'd plan on about 66 for the liquid yeast or the dry yeast, if it were me. Even with the most violent of fermentations, you would still only hit about 71 within the wort for a max of about 2-3 days, which is still within the ideal range.

Just my 2c. You are still going to avoid off flavors as long as you are within the ideal range, and this way you won't risk being too cold.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I picked up the liquid Wyeast. Yup, I figured I wouldn't be able to hit 62 with the swamp cooler based off my location. My logic was if I aimed for it and it came out a few degrees warmer then at least I would have a nice safe temp that the yeast could operate in. With my job I get a discount on GE's 5cuft chest freezer but I wanted to get through my first batch before investing in something like that.

Thank you for the extra info, I will keep it in my notes.
 
You might want to periodically stick a (sanitized) long stem thermometer through the airlock hole into the wort to see what kind of deltas you're getting between actual and ambient. Initially, the yeast will raise the wort temp above ambient. Once active ferment is done, they will cool down and you may need to raise the temps. Do you have an aquarium heater available if you need to add heat? (Of course, you're already doing more than I did on my first batch, so perhaps I should just shuffle off into the corner and suck my thumb...)
 
william_shakes_beer said:
You might want to periodically stick a (sanitized) long stem thermometer through the airlock hole into the wort to see what kind of deltas you're getting between actual and ambient. Initially, the yeast will raise the wort temp above ambient. Once active ferment is done, they will cool down and you may need to raise the temps. Do you have an aquarium heater available if you need to add heat? (Of course, you're already doing more than I did on my first batch, so perhaps I should just shuffle off into the corner and suck my thumb...)
Click to expand...

Thanks Will, I might just do that. I'm waiting on UPS to deliver my probe thermometer actually *taps foot for the delivery guy*

I do have a heater but it is actually in use so I won't be able to utilize that but I don't think I'll have an issue with heat in Florida, lol.

Update: Just added my hops to the wort about 15 minutes ago and just boiling out right now. All I can say is that the smell of the hops is so amazing and I know this beer won't really have much hop aroma but that package sure smells good! I think my next batch will be a slightly hoppier beer.

Cheers guys, smells great in the apartment at the moment.
 
There's no way your yeast are going to sleep at 62 unless they are super flocculant or hot fermentors like a Saison yeast (they're not) 62 in the beer is a great place to shoot for all ales for a clean taste.

If your humidity is low, you can get away with just evaporative cooling. Wet a thick towel or some tshirts, wrap around your fermentor, and point a fan at it. If I cool my beer in my chest freezer down to 58, I can keep it below 60 for a few days. If I don't, I can maintain 62 no problem as long as I don't let the towels dry out.
 
Thank you all for the helpful information. Well, I have my first batch in the books. Everything is looking good so far (as far as one can tell) and she is happily sitting in the swamp cooler now, only time will tell.

I took a hydrometer reading (after mixing to 5gal, before adding yeast) and got what looked like 1.050 without adjusting for temp.

Now to sit back and let the yeast have their mega party while I sit back and enjoy a beer!
 
Update: Looks good so far! First signs of bubbling out of the lock was this morning, and the temp is sitting happily around 64+/-.

The bubbling makes me think of Ghostbusters with the pink slime. :ban:
 
Update 2/9: I took my first SG reading today after brew day on 2/1. The SG came to be 1.010. My plan is to now just let it sit for another week or two and proceed with bottling.

Of course, I also had to taste what was brewing away.
First off the smell was great. But what do I know, this is my first beer as as long as it isn't infected I'm ecstatic. Room temp and un-carbed this beer tasted pretty darn good. It still tastes like it needs to mellow out a bit but by golly gee I'm liking it so far.

I'm going to have to start thinking of my next beer for when I get these into bottles! Crap, and I'm going to need more bottles! I also need to invest in a wine thief. I have a hydrometer and test jar but no way to get it into the jar and I am really dubious to just sticking the entire tube into the beer to collect some. So instead I just StarSan'd the hydrometer and stuck it right into the beer, that should be okay.
 
brewer_sam said:
Update 2/9: I took my first SG reading today after brew day on 2/1. The SG came to be 1.010. My plan is to now just let it sit for another week or two and proceed with bottling.

Of course, I also had to taste what was brewing away.
First off the smell was great. But what do I know, this is my first beer as as long as it isn't infected I'm ecstatic. Room temp and un-carbed this beer tasted pretty darn good. It still tastes like it needs to mellow out a bit but by golly gee I'm liking it so far.

I'm going to have to start thinking of my next beer for when I get these into bottles! Crap, and I'm going to need more bottles! I also need to invest in a wine thief. I have a hydrometer and test jar but no way to get it into the jar and I am really dubious to just sticking the entire tube into the beer to collect some. So instead I just StarSan'd the hydrometer and stuck it right into the beer, that should be okay.
Click to expand...

Don't you already have that planned? Ask your friends for some pop-off-bottles. You may have to show them the difference between the pop-off and twist off so you don't get a bunch of unusable bottles.

I don't have a wine thief, I have a turkey baster. A little slower but it works. I do have a test jar but it is so big that it takes too much beer to float the hydrometer so I just use the plastic tube the hydrometer comes in. After I read the hydrometer I either throw the sample away or drink it. I usually drink it as it tells me a bit about the flavor I can expect.
 
Newbie here lol I just found dozens of ads on my local Craigslist. Meeting a Guy to buy 75 "Grolsch" 11.5 bottles for. 50 a piece.
 
Good luck! my first batch is fermenting still, got another week before tasting...
 
We have self-service recycling dumpster thingies here in Lincoln. I go there and drop off my recycling and rummage around the brown glass dumpster (I only reach my hands in, not get inside fully). Founds 5 22oz. bombers and two cases of good 12oz. bottles too. Just be careful of broken glass and bring a first aid kit (cut myself once already).
 
derek81 said:
Lol that's a great idea, dumpster diving!
Click to expand...

yeah, but it's really not much different than getting them from buddies. Sometimes those guys don't rinse them and there's mold growing in them by the time you get them, etc. Besides, I'm cleaning/sanitizing them anyways and after a few cases worth I won't need too many more with proper drinking rates :drunk:
 
Update 2/13: Took a third SG reading, after a 2nd sg reading on 2/9 at 1.010, and it is holding at 1.010 so it looks like everything is starting to settle down. Took another taste sample and it tastes nice. Probably will leave this sitting in the primary for a third week and then proceed to bottling.

I think I'm going to try to concoct a raspberry wheat beer next so I can play around with adding fruit to a secondary. My current beer is not going to see a secondary. And again, thanks for all the tips and information.
 
Here is a pic of the sample, nice color so far.

beersample.JPG
 
I'm going to be honest here and say idk what im doing with reading the hydrometer. I could read the alcohol content it was 5.5 the wort was 76 degrees.
 
If it's a triple scale hydrometer it should have a few different measuring units around the neck of it. One should be potential alcohol, one should be the specific gravity of the current wort, and the third might be brix.

After you get your wort to the specific volume you are targeting, mix it up real well to get the wort and the top off water to mix. And like what you did, take the reading before you add the yeast. Look for the measuring side of the hydrometer that will give you the SG and write that down. After a week or so take another reading to see how much sugar has been used up by your yeast. Wait a few more days and take another sample. If the 2nd sample and 3rd sample are the same then the main fermentation is basically done but it is always nice to keep it longer so the yeast can work on the more complex sugars that are still left in your wort. Hope this helps a little bit. Best of luck!
 
Brewing yeasts can process simple sugars,but not the long chain sugars that give color & flavor. But they will clean up their own fermentation by products after FG is reached. Usually the same 3-7 days it takes to settle out clear or slightly misty.
Anyway,use the side if the hydrometer marked with longer lines that are numbered 10,20,30,40,etc. Thes are below the line marked 1.000,the SG of water at 60F. The smaller lines between the numbered ones are 2,4,6,8. So the 2nd line below the "10" line would give 1.014SG. And that's reading through the meniscus,where the liquid curves up where it touches the body of the fermenter.
 
I have the two other measurements written down at home. I wont be home till Friday
 
Update 2/23: Hey guys!! I just got finished bottling my first batch! Everything went quite smoothly! Bottling wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, in fact it was quite relaxing getting to see my labor and patience being put into bottles. Now they are sitting in my closet, hopefully carbing up. I tasted another sample and again it was pretty good!
 
Update 3/3: I tried my first beer ever last night! I put one in the fridge a couple of days ago after they have been bottled for a little over a week to condition up. All I can say is wow! This ale came out a little darker than I expected but that is probably because I steeped the grains for 30 minutes and not the 20 minutes that the instructions said. Either way, it tastes amazing and can't wait to let it sit a little longer and try it when it has aged that much more.

Now I can finally RDWHAHB!
 
Congratulations on a brew well done. The most common reason that extract kit beers turn out darker than anticipated is the extract undergoing the Maillard reaction as you boil the wort to isomerize the hop oils. Some of this darkening can be avoided by only putting in part of the extract at the beginning of the boil and the rest for only the last 10 minutes. The early addition is supposed to help with the bittering but without all the extract undergoing the full boil your color will remain lighter.

Now that you have completed one brew, what brews do you plan to do next?
 
I'm thinking my next brew will be a wheat beer or an ipa of some sorts. I did do a late DME addition as well.
 

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