Newbie - Am I going wrong already?

[jowens]

Hello all,
I just got my first batch in the fermenter, and did a few things wrong and would like to get your opinion on what I'm in for.

1) I used Muntons English Bitter recipie and took the package's suggestion to use hopped spraymalt instead of sugar. The resulting wort was sweet but really bitter, will this bitterness subside somewhat or am I in for a really bitter brew?

2) When applying the airlock, I pushed to hard and it pushed the rubber gasket into the brew. I tried real hard to just relax, and let it be, and have a store bought brew, but just couldn't relax worrying about the air seal not being good enough and ... so I applied sanitizer to my arm, air dried it and then fished out the gasket. What problems should I look for because of this?

3) The fermentation started out well, with lot's of bubbles the first 36 hours, but now there is only about one a minute or two. The stick on themometer on the bucket reads 77f(25c), and this is the coolest spot in the house. What problems will this cause? What do other people do to control temperature? A seperate fridge is not an option at this point, I need cheap and easy

Thanks,

I am in Wichita, KS, Howdy all!

 

[Accoustiknoyz]

Hey Newbie. I'll share a story that might help. At a friends house we made a mostly grain bock beer and put the fermenter in the dining room with a thermometer on the side. Bob calls and says Oh man the beer's gone crazy and its about 80 degrees cause the sun shined on it. I said PUT IT IN THE FRIDGE Bob! But the next day Bob calls and says MAN I think we killed it. I said, What's it doing? and he said NOTHING I think it's DEAD, its 50 degrees. Take it out of the fridge and leave it in the garage (maybe 70 degrees). So we waited 3 weeks for one single bloop from the airlock. Never saw a one.... but we bottled it and in 3 more weeks found it was the best one we ever made. Your beers gonna be alright or just make another one!

 

[Evan!]

1. Unfermented wort always tastes weirdly bitter, because of the complete lack of alcohol and carbonation. When it's done, it should taste better.
2. You should be okay. It usually takes more than that to infect a batch...
3. Take some empty 2L plastic soda bottles and fill them with water, then freeze them. Put your fermenter into a large container of water---such as a bathtub in a guest bedroom you're not using, or a utility sink with a stopper, or a big rubbermaid-esque horse feed containers with the rope handles that frat boys like to use for kegs. Fill it about 3/4 of the way up the carboy with water, then drop in a few of the frozen bottles. If you keep circulating frozen bottles (say, if you have 4 bottles, you use two, then when they thaw, you put them in the freezer and take the other two out to use), then you can keep a constant temp. If it gets too cold, take the bottles out. Pretty cheap and easy. That's what I'm doing right now for my Stone VE clone. Temp was up to 77 or 78 because the fermentation is so bloody vigorous, so I put it in my util sink this morning with some frozen ice packs that come with yeast shipments.

 

[Yooper]

Welcome to HBT, and to the "pushed the rubber gommet through the hole" club. I've done it, and many of us have! I bought another little grommet at the homebrew store and it's never happened again!

Your beer will be better if you use malt extract and not sugar- so you'll have a great chance of making good beer. I wouldn't put sugar in my beer as it can thin and dry out your beer and even leave a cidery taste.

If you click on my gallery, you can see how I handle the hot temperatures. I made a swamp cooler out of an igloo icecube cooler. Like Evan! said, I just change out the frozen water bottles once or twice a day.

Again, welcome!

 

[jowens]

Thank you for your replies... I feel like a nervous nelly. After reading all the books and Basic Brewing podcasts, I figured I was mentally prepped, but no. The wait is killing me... I keep wanting to pop the lid and take a hydrometer reading.... or ... or something .... (Trying to relax in Wichita).

 

[Yooper]

Thank you for your replies... I feel like a nervous nelly. After reading all the books and Basic Brewing podcasts, I figured I was mentally prepped, but no. The wait is killing me... I keep wanting to pop the lid and take a hydrometer reading.... or ... or something .... (Trying to relax in Wichita).

Oh, I know how you feel!!!!! We always want to do something. The only thing you can really do to "help" right now is to try to keep the temperature at 70 degrees or so.

But STEP AWAY FROM THE BEER! Don't touch! Walk away. Take up knitting. Stop staring at it. Stop thinking about it.

Better yet, start another batch. Then you won't have time to think (too much) about the first batch!

Welcome to the obsession!

 

[FlyingHorse]

What do other people do to control temperature? A seperate fridge is not an option at this point, I need cheap and easy

You can also wrap a wet towel or t-shirt around the bucket or carboy, and blow a fan over it. The evaporation will keep your beer 5-6 degrees below ambient room temp.

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Now I know why most Americans use shrinks. First thing - go buy the book "Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy" or get the movie for a quick version. The message on the back of the guide says "DON"T PANIC". We'll start there. Firstly the airlock is there to allow gas (mainly carbon dioxide) to escape and not let bad stuff (read wild yeast) in. A fermenting brew will have a layer of CO2 on top of it. This gives a good first protection. But a tight fittinh lid / airlock is not essential. I know numerous brewers who cover have thrown the lid away and use clingwrap over the top (mostly secured by the rubber ring that seals the fermenter lid). You put ONE pin prick hole in the clingwrap to allow the gases out. Secondly the old sanitized arm in the beer trick went out with Maxwell Smart. Assuming the grommet sank to the bottom, you get full marks for your efforts. It shouldn't affect the beer unless you let in those pesky wild yeasts. I doubt the grommett would have any impact at all on the brew at all. Lastly, play around with this thing as much as you want. Learn all your mistakes early in the piece. I find that even following every precaution I can think of, I still only get about a 60% strike rate meaning after all the bottling, waiting and anticipation, I still am not happy with 4 in ten brews (usually throwing out two). Only know Witchita through that Glen Campbell song (Witchita Linesman) but it doesn't matter where you are, you are now in the brotherhood of home brewers. And remember "DON'T PANIC"

 

[turfguy1969]

your beer will rock. I found that the rubber gasket i pushed in (and stayed in the primary) actually made my taste buds more sensitive while drinking the finished product. Weird, but I kept looking for the rubbery taste, and kept tasting the malt, hops, etc. The beer you make will taste better than anything you've had before because you are doing it!

 

[Eastside Brewer]

Brewers Panic!! It is a legitimate disease and the only cure for it is to call "dial a brew buddy" and have them talk you down off the ledge and most importantly they will tell you to just leave it alone!! I have dumped many a batches because of Brewers Panic, now I just leave it alone.

Just my .02


Eastside.........

 

[Ryanh1801]

First off welcome to HBT. This is what I use to keep my stuff cool. My house is at around 75 this keeps it at around 65, just add frozen jugs of water to it everyday.