Newbie Questions

[aaronard]

Hey Guys,

I searched the forums, but didn't really find a direct answer to my questions...

I recently bought a "True Brew Gold Kit 2 Stage" , and a "True Brew Brown Ale" Ingredient kit from my local shop... I've been reading everything I can find... but I'm now thoroughly confused... the Kit came with instructions, along with a book, and then the ingredient kit came with instructions... and I've been reading the internet, and they all seem to contradict each other!

I have:
6 Gallon Glass Carboy
7.8 Gallon Bottling Bucket w/ Drilled and Grommeted Gasketed Lid
Airlock
Stopper (seems to fit the carboy)

1/2" OD Springless Botle Filler
1/2" OD Curved Racking Cane
5' Flexible Vinyl Tubing
Fast Flow Spigot


Where I'm confused is what I'm supposed to use to ferment in. I didn't want to do a 2 stage fermentation for my first time...

The instructions seem to assume that I have two buckets... not a bucket and a glass carboy. I would also think that the "bottling bucket" is used for just that... but it also comes with a lid that has a hole in it for the airlock!


So I'm guessing that if I wanted to do a 2 stage, i would

1.) Use the "Bottling Bucket" for the 1st stage
2.) Transfer it to the "Carboy" for the 2nd Stage
3.) Transfer it BACK to the Bottling Bucket for bottling

Is that correct?

Now if I want to just do 1 stage, is it ok to:
1.) funnel the wort directly into my glass carboy, and let that ferment
2.) Transfer into bottle bucket to bottle?

Or should I...

1.) pour wort directly into the 7.8 Gallon bottle bucket
2.) bottle directly from the bucket?

I'm worried that I might get alot of sludge in my beer if I do that? Should I try to filter that stuff out when I transfer into the bottling bucket?


Also,

I started to test everything out, and the siphoning seems to be a real PITA, I'm thinking about ordering an auto-siphon online, and a funnel to help pour into the carboy?

Thanks,

Aaron

 

[Palefire]

You're absolutely right in your assumptions - if you want to do a 1-stage fermentation, do it in the carboy. Then after 3-4 weeks use the bottling bucket for bottling.

Lots of people here love their auto-siphons, although lots of people have had them break, too. I personally don't use one and have never had trouble. Just attach (sanitized) tubing to the (sanitized) racking cane, insert a (sanitized) turkey baster into the end of the tubing, suck until flow starts. You're good to go.

Oh, also, don't worry about sludge. It's normal, it'll compact itself, and you can rack off of it when you transfer to the bottling bucket.
EDIT: Just realized you meant if you fermented and then bottled from the bottling bucket. You're right - you don't want to do that. Part of the point of fermenting in the carboy and then transferring the beer to another bucket for bottling is to get the beer off of that sludge.

Good luck!

 

[EonBlue66]

After you are done brewing and the wort has cooled down to a temp tolerable to the yeast 65-70 you will use the carboy to ferment in. I wouldn't worry about a secondary for your first brew.
Before your first brew I would recommend writing all the steps down so you have everything clear in your mind what steps are next and so on.

The auto siphon is a great idea they are great to have around.

 

[PT Ray]

You got it except for the last one, don't bottle straight from the bucket. You can but you would have to prime each bottle. Ferment in your carboy, let it drop clear and then transfer to your bottling bucket to bottle.

An auto siphon would be a wise investment.

 

[kappclark]

Welcome to HBT

Auto-siphon makes life easier

You want to do your bottling with a bottling bucket, where u can batch prime..don't forget to **gently** stir the batch when bottling every 7 bottles or so to maintain a consistent concentration of sugar which will give a more even carbonation/conditioning.

 

[pkeeler]

A 5 gal. wort in a 6 gal. carboy is a bit of a tight squeeze. Use a blow off tube or go with the 2 stage fermentation you described.

 

[aaronard]

Wow! Thanks for the quick responses guys.

So for an update. I brewed my first batch last night, everything went well... I think!

I used C-brite to sanitize everything, and kept some of the liquid in a bucket to re-sanitize things as needed.

I got 2.5 gallons of bottled water up to a boil, added ingredients, let it go for about 20 minutes, then added my hops and went 30 minutes from there. I then added 2.5 gallons of bottled water (cooled) to my carboy, and pour the wort in... This only really cooled it to 105F or so, so I took the entire carboy and stuck it in a huge rubbermaid container, and filled that with water/ice to cool it down.

It probably took another 20 minutes or so for it to get to 75F... I then follows the directions on my yeast packet, which was to boil 1/3 cup of water, let that cool, then add the yeast to it. I let that sit for 15min, then poured it into the carboy.


Now here's where I might have messed up... I didn't have a blow-off tube, so I just stuck my airlock on, and went to sleep. I woke up this AM to find foam was bubbling into the air lock... I got online, and found a post where someone did the exact thing I did... So I stole the idea of just sanitizing and sticking my small tube into the air lock.

When I did this, I had to pull the airlock out to get my tube in it... I re-sanitized it, but I think a tiny amount of water that was around the airlock seal got in...The water was bottled water, and everything had been sanitized, but it had been sitting "in the open" overnight... I hope that's ok?

Anyway, so when it calms down, I guess I need to add water back in my airlock, remove the tube and just let it ferment some more?

Oh, also, I took a sanitized turkey baster and drew out some of the wort after it cooled, before I added the yeasts...my hydrometer measured 1.055, where the recipe said it should be 1.045... I then measured just plain water, and it read that as a little high too... so could my hydrometer just be off? Or is it really not anything to worry about?

Thanks!

Aaron

 

[Hang Glider]

Hydro reading - very easy and common issue - Since you started with 2.5 gal, and had top-off water, the two were probably stratified somewhat - a thorough shake/stir would have gotten you a more homogenized sample, and a better reading.

No worries. Most extract kits are spot-on with starting gravities, and the yeast will stir it all up well. Your final won't be stratified.

all that said - how "high" was the plain water reading? adjusted for temperature?

in the future, you may want an easier to use sanitizer, a no-rinse type. Iodophor and StarSan are two to consider. Yep, no rinse. get it wet, splash it around for 30 seconds, pour out the excess, and in goes the beer/wort...

Welcome to your new hobby, and to HBT.
Now that it's in the fermenter, you get to play a new game. Waiting....
....