New to brewing

[Raven_BC]

I figured I would just post so I can feel like I'm participating in the forum. I was given a kit for my birthday with a brewers best IPA recipe. So with my love of beer I jumped right in and brewed it while barely reading up on brewing at all so i thought it would be good to share my mistakes

1) When they tell you soak the LME to make it easier to pour and it has a nice paper label on the can. TAKE THE LABEL OFF!!! While I was pouring in the LME which came out nice a smooth cause it had soaked in hot water, the label also shredded and fell into the wort! I spent the rest of the boil getting bits of label out!
2) ICE bath means ice bath. i.e. get lots of ice. I did it in my kitchen sink without a lot of space but enough. But I ran out of ice it's amazing how fast ice melts when you have 3.5 gallons of freaking hot wort! (My second batch I did in the laundry tub with a ton of ice) Batch 1 cool time 60 minutes, batch 2 40 minutes.
3) Glass carboys are fragile! So if you have concrete or tile floors be careful. I had mine slip from my hands about 2cm from the floor (Kaboom!) thank god it was empty but what a mess!
4) Brew to your kit to avoid boil overs, i.e. 4.5 gallon in a 5 gallon kettle is probably not a great idea, I was cleaning up that mess for awhile.

On the positive side I've bottled batch 2 which was the Extract version of the Centennial Blonde Ale, samples tasted great and it looks pretty good so far. I've sampled the IPA will bottle this week after 3 weeks, sample tasted pretty bitter without as much aroma as I would have liked but still good.

Below are my FG samples of each!

 

[AkTom]

Welcome. Live and learn. Sounds like you’re doing good. Keep on reading.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I figured I would just post so I can feel like I'm participating in the forum. I was given a kit for my birthday with a brewers best IPA recipe. So with my love of beer I jumped right in and brewed it while barely reading up on brewing at all so i thought it would be good to share my mistakes

1) When they tell you soak the LME to make it easier to pour and it has a nice paper label on the can. TAKE THE LABEL OFF!!! While I was pouring in the LME which came out nice a smooth cause it had soaked in hot water, the label also shredded and fell into the wort! I spent the rest of the boil getting bits of label out!
2) ICE bath means ice bath. i.e. get lots of ice. I did it in my kitchen sink without a lot of space but enough. But I ran out of ice it's amazing how fast ice melts when you have 3.5 gallons of freaking hot wort! (My second batch I did in the laundry tub with a ton of ice) Batch 1 cool time 60 minutes, batch 2 40 minutes.
3) Glass carboys are fragile! So if you have concrete or tile floors be careful. I had mine slip from my hands about 2cm from the floor (Kaboom!) thank god it was empty but what a mess!
4) Brew to your kit to avoid boil overs, i.e. 4.5 gallon in a 5 gallon kettle is probably not a great idea, I was cleaning up that mess for awhile.

On the positive side I've bottled batch 2 which was the Extract version of the Centennial Blonde Ale, samples tasted great and it looks pretty good so far. I've sampled the IPA will bottle this week after 3 weeks, sample tasted pretty bitter without as much aroma as I would have liked but still good.

Below are my FG samples of each!

Congratulations on the brews. You had beer in the fermenters, sounds pretty successful!

Definitely be careful with glass carboys, as you have learned. A lot of people buy milk crates and put some padding in there to assist in carrying them. The other option is going to PET carboys.

As far as the kettle, I have a 10 gallon kettle and my starting boil volume is 7.5 gallons and I've had a few close calls with that even. 4.5 gal in a 5 gal kettle, you are correct, is not a good idea.

Congratulations on the brews. It only gets better from here.

 

[mongoose33]

Welcome!

Two suggestions:

1. Every time you brew, try to do something better than last time. This process of continuous quality improvement will reward you handsomely over time.

2. After reading all the stories of injuries and worse from broken carboys, I resolved I would never use one. There are plastic fermenters out there that are inexpensive and will not cut your forearms to bits should you break a carboy while holding it. The Fermonster is great--big enough to reach inside to clean (soft cloth only!), can be had with a spigot (yes!), and you can see what's going on in there. Get a carboy strap and you're all set.

Enjoy!

 

[Lefou]

Swap out your glass for a Speidel or BrewDemon instead.
I have glass for now, and would like to go stainless eventually.

 

[ncbrewer]

After reading all the stories of injuries and worse from broken carboys, I resolved I would never use one.

This
IMO safety is more important than the technical advantages of glass.

 

[Morrey]

Swap out your glass for a Speidel or BrewDemon instead.
I have glass for now, and would like to go stainless eventually.

Stainless is a good suggestion plus is easier to sanitize meaning less chance for hidden nasties. Even a no frills Brew Bucket is a really nice FV.

 

[Brewpup506]

I figured I would just post so I can feel like I'm participating in the forum. I was given a kit for my birthday with a brewers best IPA recipe. So with my love of beer I jumped right in and brewed it while barely reading up on brewing at all so i thought it would be good to share my mistakes

1) When they tell you soak the LME to make it easier to pour and it has a nice paper label on the can. TAKE THE LABEL OFF!!! While I was pouring in the LME which came out nice a smooth cause it had soaked in hot water, the label also shredded and fell into the wort! I spent the rest of the boil getting bits of label out!
2) ICE bath means ice bath. i.e. get lots of ice. I did it in my kitchen sink without a lot of space but enough. But I ran out of ice it's amazing how fast ice melts when you have 3.5 gallons of freaking hot wort! (My second batch I did in the laundry tub with a ton of ice) Batch 1 cool time 60 minutes, batch 2 40 minutes.
3) Glass carboys are fragile! So if you have concrete or tile floors be careful. I had mine slip from my hands about 2cm from the floor (Kaboom!) thank god it was empty but what a mess!
4) Brew to your kit to avoid boil overs, i.e. 4.5 gallon in a 5 gallon kettle is probably not a great idea, I was cleaning up that mess for awhile.

On the positive side I've bottled batch 2 which was the Extract version of the Centennial Blonde Ale, samples tasted great and it looks pretty good so far. I've sampled the IPA will bottle this week after 3 weeks, sample tasted pretty bitter without as much aroma as I would have liked but still good.

Below are my FG samples of each!

Still trying to figure out how to read my hydrometer. Sorry for the slight derail on your thread but in picture #2 what would that reading be? That’s where my first batch is at on week 3 and I’m curios what gravity reading it is because my friend took the OG while teaching me how to brew but never told me how he read it. Thank you

 

[Morrey]

In the example of picture #2 as you referenced, I'd read that at 1.013. Each line or graduation in this hydrometer is .002, and you are a little bit over the 1.010 line. The beer/wort will try to form a little "lip" like a volcano and climb the side of the hydrometer for the lack of a better explanation. Don't read it there, but envision the line the hydrometer is reading if it was flat and not forming this little lip on the hydrometer.

1.013 is a very typical finishing gravity (aka FG) so this is pretty legit. If you take a pic of your hydrometer, we can all help you with a reading.

 

[Raven_BC]

In the example of picture #2 as you referenced, I'd read that at 1.013. Each line or graduation in this hydrometer is .002, and you are a little bit over the 1.010 line. The beer/wort will try to form a little "lip" like a volcano and climb the side of the hydrometer for the lack of a better explanation. Don't read it there, but envision the line the hydrometer is reading if it was flat and not forming this little lip on the hydrometer.

1.013 is a very typical finishing gravity (aka FG) so this is pretty legit. If you take a pic of your hydrometer, we can all help you with a reading.

I had read it as 1.012-1.011 as I thought you are supposed to read it based on where the meniscus, now after reading up on this more, it is at the level of the liquid. Having the advantage of other pictures it is actually 1.012. Now I wish I had taken pictures of the OG to confirm my original readings. We continue to learn.