Newbie questions...

[mdineenwob]

Hi All,

I'm a first timer here. I took a class and bought a kit at my LHBS and did the boil today and have a few questions.

1. Per the instructions the OG should be 1.035 to 1.040. My OG was 1.044 at 76 degrees. Is that acceptable? What is the effect of having the OG too high? How could I lower it in the future? More water?

2. When I was cutting the yeast packets with scissors the top of the packet fell into the bucket. My wife then reached in and grabbed with her fingers. Is that going to cause a problem?

3. The instructions say the airlock should be moving within 12-24 hrs but I'm only 6 hours out and it's already chugging away at a once per second rate.

I know, RDWHAHB but it's nerve racking the first time! (that's what she said).

Thank you in advance for your help! I've been reading this site for a few weeks and find it to be a very educational resource!

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Hi All,

I'm a first timer here. I took a class and bought a kit at my LHBS and did the boil today and have a few questions.

1. Per the instructions the OG should be 1.035 to 1.040. My OG was 1.044 at 76 degrees. Is that acceptable? What is the effect of having the OG too high? How could I lower it in the future? More water?

2. When I was cutting the yeast packets with scissors the top of the packet fell into the bucket. My wife then reached in and grabbed with her fingers. Is that going to cause a problem?

3. The instructions say the airlock should be moving within 12-24 hrs but I'm only 6 hours out and it's already chugging away at a once per second rate.

I know, RDWHAHB but it's nerve racking the first time! (that's what she said).

Thank you in advance for your help! I've been reading this site for a few weeks and find it to be a very educational resource!

#1-if it was an extract batch and your volume was correct then your OG will be what the package says. Sometimes when you add top off water the wort and water do not mix well and your sample could have been more wort and thus the higher reading. Also the OG is a general guess and if you are close then don't worry. A too high OG ( yours isn't) can throw off the balance of the beer and it will raise the alcohol %.

#2- no, most likely no issue at all but I would be sure to nicely instruct her that she cannot be doing that. Just be happy she was helping you and not bitching about your new hobby. Some of us are lucky like that.

#3-yeast do what they do and nothing can 100% predict what or when. Pitching a bit too warm may cause em to get active quicker but it can also cause bad flavors in your beer. If your temp is right don't worry about it.

 

[mdineenwob]

The instructions said to "vigorously stir" after pitching the yeast, which I did.

That seemed odd to me because all the YouTube clips I've watched have said to just pour the yeast in and let them sit on top.

Also - the instructions had me put the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water to activate. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

 

[muthafuggle]

The instructions said to "vigorously stir" after pitching the yeast, which I did.

That seemed odd to me because all the YouTube clips I've watched have said to just pour the yeast in and let them sit on top.

Also - the instructions had me put the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water to activate. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

All of that is pretty much preference. If you want to see the lengthy debates about hydrating or not hydrating dry yeast, a quick search will yield hundreds of posts passionately claiming that one is correct and the other isn't. I've done both, and both sprinkling in dry or mixing in rehydrated yeast work just fine.

Welcome to the hobby! You're miles ahead from talking a class and having a supportive SWMBO, you have the basics down- its all about refining your technique and finding new and interesting things to brew from here!

 

[Atonk]

While you do have to be careful with your beer, it's amazing what it can go through and still come out totally fine.

 

[slow6i]

What Atonk said. Im a newbie too. 2nd batch in the fermenter right now. The thread below kind of put my head at ease.

Someone said to me once, "You shouldnt believe everything that you think." It seems that applies to home brewing also... who woulda thunk?

Read - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

 

[MaynardX]

1. Hydrometer reading are steadied at 60 deg, so with a 1.044 OG at 76 deg, would be a 1.046 OG, seeing that your hydrometer, thermometer and volume readings are accurate. Check to see if one of these are off. Yes, more water will lower OG.

2. It might, but don't worry about it. A quick yeast start usually takes over any bacterial infection.

3. The only thing I would be worried about here is over pitching yeast, but its hard to do as a homebrewer, especially with a kit. Im sure you are fine!

"I know, RDWHAHB but it's nerve racking the first time! (that's what she said). "

Just as you said, "RDWHAHB"!

"Thank you in advance for your help! I've been reading this site for a few weeks and find it to be a very educational resource!"

Yes this sight is kick arse!

 

[RM-MN]

I've had potential contamination in my last two brews. One of them had a fly commit suicide in the cooled wort and the other I dropped the entire packet of yeast into the cooled wort and retrieved it with my fingers. On both of these the yeast took more than 24 hours to show signs of active ferment because I had chilled it to under 70 F. and put them in a 62 degree room to ferment. Neither show signs of infection. Yours is unlikely to be infected either.