The more I read, the more confused I get lol.

[chirodoccm]

So I am 4 batches into my brewing existance. First two were ok, nothing special as I am sure I hurried the process along too quickly by following the instructions giving with the brew (all extract kits so far). Fermented a 4 days moved to secondary 3 days bottled first batch waited 2 weeks and started drinking. Not bad, but not great either.

Second batch was kegged at about the same time and again, not bad, but feel it could have been alot better, it has gotten better after being in the keg a few weeks. But overall both beers seem to lack "taste" best way i can describe it. Oh well you live and learn.

The 2 I have now fermenting I am following the 3 week primary rule, then plan on kegging each but wow, the amount of information as I am patiently waiting on those 2 brews is astonishing. I don't know if I should try to do everything and adjust everything or just go with the flow and let things happen as they do.

At this point the fermentation is just doing it's thing, not too concerned about that, but then the kegging, wether to let it rest in the keg awhile, set and forget, quick carb, hose length ect ect is alot to take in.

I have just the basic keg set up at this point, 2 kegs with picnic valves as my fridge hasn't been converted and probably won't be, but it hold 2 kegs nicely with tank.

Anyway, just a rant. Hoping to get better as I go along. Planning on using a starter next time, ect ect to make things improved.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I once read about the evils of drinking.

So I gave up reading.

 

[JustinHorton]

I'm finding myself in a simular situation. There is a plethora of information and techniques available. I'm just testing a little of everything until I have enough experience to form my own opinion. A big one I see is there are a lot of people who don't seem to be fond of the secondary. Though I value the opinon of those more experienced, I have not yet closed off any options.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Secondaries uised to be employed as a means of a "Brite Tank" to emulate commercial practices where there is a priority to free up a fermenter for another batch. We homebrewers are not to often restricted this way and it has been found that extended time on the yeast cake has some benifit with respect to reducing off flavors by allowing the yeast to do some housekeeping after they've done with the party.

Thus, the secondary is usually only employed when there is an extremely long conditioning phase and the primary is prone to more gas permeation, thre is to be a second fermentation produced by the addition of fruit, or if iother brewing organisms are meant to play in the drink.

As for the kegging bit, well, once you've wrapped your head around the keg balancing calcs it reduced to various bits of kit.

 

[teetee523]

Same thing happened to me. I did my first brew, a basic extract that came with our brewing kit, and used the instructions that came with the kit and also the Papazian book. I did a few searches using this forum but not a great deal. Ended up with the batch in the 7.5 gallon bucket with the lid/airlock. I was planning on using the secondary like my kit instructions said and the Papazian book said as well, but started reading about the primary/secondary options on the forum. I continued reading many different posts and just got more and more confused, worrying that I did something wrong!

My advice: go with what you think makes sense and use the forum as a guide. If you think using a secondary works, use it. But if you read some posts by Revvy, what he says about not using a secondary makes perfect sense and there has been some updating in the thoughts of using secondary. It really makes sense because the yeast is much better quality nowadays. So I think for my brewing, it made things easier, so I decided to go with it. But if you think that using a secondary is better, I'd go with that.

Either way, starting to homebrew is kind of confusing especially with so much outdated and contradictory information from older books/websites. But I generally go with what makes sense to me. I will say that using the bottling guides on here, especially Revvy's stickie, was extremely helpful and made bottling day a breeze.

Anyways, I can't offer much advice on kegging, but I'm sure if you do a search you'll find something. Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone and it can be confusing when you start, but once you get into it, you'll figure out what works for you. DWHAHB.

 

[frailn]

wow, the amount of information as I am patiently waiting on those 2 brews is astonishing. I don't know if I should try to do everything and adjust everything or just go with the flow and let things happen as they do.

I am three brews into this hobby and feel the same way! I've found myself planning for various recipes and styles as they catch my eye. Then, one day I just got overwhelmed and decided to keep it simple. So, instead of reading up on every style, method, etc...I'm focusing on one thing and seeing if I can perfect it. For me it will be this - how can I create a beer with local ingredients only, not necessarily sourced from the LHBS? And how can I brew if the s**t hits the fan and there is no electricity?

Beer Style - Since I live Kansas City, I'm going to focus on all-wheat beers. Wheat should be more plentiful and easier to obtain than barley.

Ingredients - I'm reseaching sourcing locally grown organic wheat. I just found a small farm in my county that sells 50 lb bags of hard white organic wheat for $30. Hops - planning on sourcing a rhizome of Hallertau to grow at home. Corn sugar for conditioning - still researching a local source for this. Trying avoid any type of sugar that cannot be grown or processed locally.

Yeast - I might be able to get some from the local brewery, but I don't think Boulevard is going to hand out samples readily. And from what I read, they do not bottle condition with their proprietary yeast. 75th Street Brewery might be more lax, since they are a brew pub only. At this point, I'm developing my methods for harvesting from bottles of commercial brew (pacman) in case I do find some barley locally. I am also saving some WLP380 that I top-cropped from my fermenter for all-wheat beers. Seeing how long I can make these last.

Methods - Teaching myself how to malt at home. Looking into no-chill brewing. Looking into making smaller batches that are conditioned in a cubitainer and served like a cask-ale to do away with the need for finding bottle caps or tanks of CO2.

Eventually I hope to try growing some grains and brewing without electricity or gas. That will be the biggest challenge.

So, really, there is still a lot to research and perfecting to go. But, this gives me a focus. Initially I wanted to brew it all, but for me, brewing many different styles that turn out mediocre would not be as fun as dialing into one style/method that I perfect.

 

[GeoGirl]

So glad to have seen this post. I am only in the primary fermenting of my first brew (True Brew Belgian Ale) and am even more confused now than the day I brought the whole kit home. I read 'How To Brew', I read some forums, talked with the gent at the LHBS, and picked the brain of a co-worker who home brews.

Where I am most confused is in the directions that came with the True Brew kit. Why do they say "Allow the beer to settle for 3-4 days after fermentation ceases (no more bubbles in the airlock). Generally, you’ll be ready to bottle a week after beginning fermentation." Where what I read in the forums and other sites say to let it go for a couple weeks?

Yesterday was the end of week 1 and I will be letting it set in primary for longer, but I'm still confused just the same.

 

[chirodoccm]

one of the things that I find difficult, is that I spend the day reading information, and when I go home I want to "DO" something, homebrew related, since both my primaries are full, I think should I rack one to secondary so I can brew another batch. Should I leave it alone and just drink some of my previous less tastier batches. ARRRGGGGGGGG.

Give me a fishing pole and I can be a patient man I promise, give me the anticipation of beer, and I become less so!

 

[frailn]

one of the things that I find difficult, is that I spend the day reading information, and when I go home I want to "DO" something, homebrew related, since both my primaries are full, I think should I rack one to secondary so I can brew another batch. Should I leave it alone and just drink some of my previous less tastier batches. ARRRGGGGGGGG.

Give me a fishing pole and I can be a patient man I promise, give me the anticipation of beer, and I become less so!

I say rack it, and brew another batch. Then, when you get the itch again in a few days, start playing with yeast - grab some DME, cook up small pot of wort and try harvesting yeast from some commercial brews. Or build a stir plate from some radio shack parts.

 

[frailn]

So glad to have seen this post. I am only in the primary fermenting of my first brew (True Brew Belgian Ale) and am even more confused now than the day I brought the whole kit home. I read 'How To Brew', I read some forums, talked with the gent at the LHBS, and picked the brain of a co-worker who home brews.

Where I am most confused is in the directions that came with the True Brew kit. Why do they say "Allow the beer to settle for 3-4 days after fermentation ceases (no more bubbles in the airlock). Generally, you’ll be ready to bottle a week after beginning fermentation." Where what I read in the forums and other sites say to let it go for a couple weeks?

Yesterday was the end of week 1 and I will be letting it set in primary for longer, but I'm still confused just the same.

After reading a gabillion posts here, my first brew kit instructions, brew books, etc..etc.. I decided as a new homebrewer to follow Revvy's advice and let that brew ferment in the primary for a full month before bottling. It took all of the confusion and guessing out of the equation and I ended up with a great beer. I suggest letting it sit for the full month before bottling.

 

[Barnzy02]

Where I am most confused is in the directions that came with the True Brew kit. Why do they say "Allow the beer to settle for 3-4 days after fermentation ceases (no more bubbles in the airlock). Generally, you’ll be ready to bottle a week after beginning fermentation." Where what I read in the forums and other sites say to let it go for a couple weeks?

Yesterday was the end of week 1 and I will be letting it set in primary for longer, but I'm still confused just the same.

trust your hydrometer to tell you when fermentation is finished, not when bubbling stops in the airlock. Just because there are no more bubbles, does not mean the yeast have finished working. This is the reason a lot of people will tell you to ignore the instructions that come with the brewkit.

 

[BigBlueDog]

The quality of your beer can benefit a great deal from patience alone. As has been brought up in any number of threads in this forum, there is still a lot going on in a primary even after active fermentation appears to have ended and even after your hydrometer confirms that fact. Fermentation produces a number of by-products in addition to the flavors and alcohol you're after, so let those yeast clean-up after themselves.

If you're itching to brew more, invest in some additional primary fermenters (buckets are relatively cheap), and get that pipeline going.

 

[unionrdr]

After reading so many thread posts like this,I have to agree that the smoker I drink,the player I get! Learn some patience & trust your eyes,nose,& hydrometer. And last but not least,your taste buds.

 

[jbug440]

The key ingredient is to let your yeast fully ferment your beer and then clean up their byproducts of fermentation. That being said I use a secondary or "brite tank' because I use it to help clear up my beer. I primary for at least 2 weeks before I open my lid or break out my hydrometer. After 2 weeks I check the gravity, 2 days later I check again if its the same reading I rack to my secondary or " brite tank". If its not q consistent gravity I keep checking it every 2 days until it is. After racking 2 secondary I let it sit for another week, I then cold crash for 3 days to help settle any yeast that are in suspension. After this I take one more final gravity reading right before bottling or kegging.Their are many methods on here do what works best for you. Just make sure your yeast have fully fermented your beer before moving it. This is just my opinion and method.

Cheers
Mike

 

[40watt]

I can't say how much I appreciate this community, but ya'll are going to make my head explode.

Everybody agrees that you should read Palmer, and then disagree with him on things like waking your dry yeast with sugar, partial boils, and secondary fermentation.

However, nothing has confused me as much as trying to learn what to do with a recipe kit as far as full boils and late additions of ME.

I'm not worried though. I've only been reading for about a month. I have only brewed one batch, and that has only been in primary for a couple days.

I can be patient, but I get excited. I tend to jump into things head first.

 

[jbug440]

You have to learn to walk before you can run. But most of us just jump right in and swim for it.

 

[KingKegII]

For the earlier posts about trying to get good at one thing, then move to the next, this is great advice. You really need to learn your own system first. Once you figure out the quirks of your system then you can set about tweaking it to make it better. And be careful about trying to make too many improvements at once; try to get one part of your brewday down, then move to the next. For example, you probably want to focus first on cleaning and sanitation. Once you have that down, work on hitting your mash temps (if all grain brewing) or focus on buying high quality, fresh ingredients (if all grain or extract). Next you could focus on fermentation temperature control, etc. You get the point. Most of all, if you're only 5 or 10 brews into the hobby you're still learning your system & the hobby itself; give it time, you'll get better and some of the info you read on these forums or in the books will start to make more sense. Remember, sugar, water & yeast WANT to turn into beer, so most things we do on brewday will result in beer!

 

[GodsStepBrother]

You have to do it one way, stick with it. If it comes out bad then do it the other way. We all have different brewing systems and they all work in different parameters. I might have a stronger burner that burns and darkens beer when I add extract at the beginning of the boil, yet another brewer might have a flame that is spread out more and does not have this problem. That is why there is so much variety when it comes to advice.

I had to realize that I was going to mess up some, but learn from it.

I made a stout that was just amazing the first 2 weeks it was bottled. I put flaked barely, oats, carapils etc… I mean everything I could I got overzealous and literally wanted to see what would happen. This thing was so thick it was like cream. But it was good. Non the less, fast forward a week and the body was going down and it was noticeable. Two weeks later no body and slight tart taste. One month later completely sour a watery. A lot of rationalizing later, I come to realize all those sugars that where un fermentable that where giving this stout body, where being consumed by bacteria and depleting the mouth feel as well as well as adding a sour note. It is not till then that passages I read on how to brew, and stuff I read on here made real sense.

 

[ksbrain]

Only change one thing at a time. Unfortunately, there's a significant lag time between changing one variable and seeing what the results are, but if you get to changing several things at once you'll never know which thing got you the results you want.

However, if all your questions are on kegging, it's simple.

Rack from the fermenter to the keg. Purge the head space with CO2 a few times. Then when you have room in your fridge, put it on gas at serving pressure (generally around 12 PSI at 40 deg. F). Make sure you have enough beer line length of the proper inner diameter (I think it's 6' at 3/16" for 12 PSI).

After two days in the fridge, the keg will be cold. Another few days and it will be "carbonated enough", at least for me to start hitting that thing when needed.

 

[logan3825]

A lot of the information on here seem contradictory because many of the books are outdated. Even information from just 5 years ago can be outdated. Then add in confusing and bad directions that come with most kits and things really get bad.

There really is no one right way to do most things. So sometimes both things can be right.