What did you learn this week?

I usually use 6.5 gallon buckets and never have to really worry about it. This was my first time using the carboy and a lesson was learned. Thankfully I got to it in time before it went Kaboooooooom!!!!

 

What yeast strain was that?

 

Double check the tubing you get will fit the bottling bucket spout before mixing beer and priming sugar.

 

Using a 6.5 gallon carboy for 5 gallon batches is a good idea, but regardless, if I'm brewing something new and don't know what to expect, I automatically use a blow off tube. It's really only needed for the first couple days though.
I just had a 1.071 OG finish in 2 days, down to 1.016. Of course pitching a 3.2b cell starter had a lot to do with it!

 

I learned that a wine thief would come in real handy when taking gravity readings xP

 

That my beer looks, smells, feels and tastes a whole lot better after 5 weeks in the bottle VS 3 weeks in the bottle; Clarity! Smoothness! Carbonation! Lacing!

 

I learned that I like a carboy for fermenting over a bucket for no other reason then I'm a noob and like to see what's going on.

 

I learned not to pour hot starter wort into a glass growler and then put said glass growler outside in the snow to cool. Apparently glass growlers don't care too much for such a drastic temperature change (at least mine didn't). Not the worst thing in the world, but I lost 4oz of DME and a nice growler and had to start again.

Cool the wort in the metal pot and THEN pour it into the glass growler.

 

Lets see....
I learned that I prefer the taste of my naturally bottle conditioned beer to the bit that I force carbed in a Tap a Draft.

Wait for the bottles to condition....wait for the bottles to condition.

A spray bottle full of sanitizer solution is uber handy to have on the brew day.

Taking specific gravity readings is more accurate to get ABV than the, "I feel pretty buzzed, it must be good" method.

Don't freak out if you make a few mistakes during your brew, there is still a pretty good chance that it will turn out pretty damn good anyway.

I think that's it for this week.

 

i learned that fedex employees are lazy pieces of ****... i was home all night and they didnt attempt to deliver my 20g boilermaker kettle because of "delivery restrictions"... which means the dude wanted to go home and didnt feel like finishing his route because it was already 5:30pm...

if something gets put on a truck at 6:15am and is no more than 15 minutes door to door... please tell me how in the hell it can't be delivered in 12 hours...


this is a pointless drunked rant because of starting my night at final fridays for kicking the kegs at new england brewing company...but im angry because im brewing sunday and i want my new kettle. now i have to see if i can possibly pick it up at the depot tomorrow... lazy ass people...

 

I learned that no matter what, there will always be something I forgot to buy when it's time to brew. This time: an adequately-sized grain bag.

 

A couple weeks ago, I tasted my first wheat beer on the very first possible "serve date".

It was decent, but harsh.

Today, I opened the second bottle in that batch. OMG, what a difference.

It was amazing.

Note to self... Patience is a virtue. Wait at least 3 weeks, preferably more, and the beer will be much better.

 

Last night I learned that I need to dial in my KAB6 before brewing on it. Had the tank and regulator freeze up on me and restrict flow down halfway through my boil. It should still be a damn fine beer though.

 

I learned today to not forget that if you use a stir plate for a starter that the stir bar pitches right in with the yeast.

 

I learned last week to not forget about the stir bar when you pitch your yeast. Guess I will order a few extra.

 

Learned that just because you've got a higher gravity beer doesn't mean that it will explode through the blow off. The krausen is comfortably resting a good half gallon from the top of the carboy. A little disappointed... :-/ it looks so cool when others have a full carboy and blow off tube

 

I've learned that after brewing for 2 yrs and 30+ batches that I'm still learning. Like home grown hops don't always taste or smell like store bought hops and that I need to add a crap ton more of them.

 

i get that "cool" effect because i use a small carboy.

if you have a gallon, or more, headroom in your carboy then the blow-off tube is insurance.

if you are using a 5 gallon carboy (or in my case a 1 gallon carboy) the blow-off tube is an absolute requirement.

 

I learned that I CAN brew beer! REAL beer and not just in my Mr. Beer Kit. Just brewed a Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout and it is in the LBK fermenting right now.

 

that is very cool

congrats

 

i learned to always have kegs on the backup... apparently theres a surprise party today at my house and my kegerator is nearly empty... had to fill it with some off style stuff (maple wheat, elderberry ale, etc..)

 

After bottling my first ever batch today using a siphon from the bottling bucket, I learned (or rather decided) that my bottling bucket will soon have a hole drilled in it and a tap inserted.

 

I learned that when buying your first 3 ball locks from a Craigslist stranger, after dark and in a garage with only one ceiling light, make sure you look them over well and check ALL 3 for pressure and not just 2 of 3.
After filling one at home the next day with hot oxy clean and shaking it up, I hear a hissing sound that wasn't from either post or the lid. It was coming from the side. I looked closely and saw a piece of duct tape over a small pin hole about an inch down from the top. I believe its fixable with a small stainless bolt a rubber washer or o-ring and nut but I'm still pissed at myself. Lesson learned.

I'm also learning how to build my own keezer since I picked up a new GE 7 cu ft freezer from HD last week for $158 delivered! You won't believe how many hours I've spent on here in the last week reading threads and watching YT vids about this project. Tons of useful info!

 

i bottle out of a stock pot... are you using an auto-siphon, or the old fashioned gravity fed kind with a racking cane, hose, and bottling wand?

 

This week, I learned to keep sparging until I have enough volume pre boil instead of following Beersmith 2 which was set up by a rookie (me). My 4 gallon batch ended up bein 3 with a loss yet to trub. Probably will end up with a 2.5 gallon batch from 8 pounds of grain...

Also, I learned tht my 5 gallon glass carboys look like they could easily be used as a primary for 5 gallon batches. I will use blowoff tubes, but there are everal inches to spare at the top. This means I can have 3 batches going at a time now!!

 

i use one gallon carboys for one gallon batches, and blow-off tubes, i currently have multiple batches going.

blow-off tubes are our friends.

 

I learned to stir your beer and priming solution if you leave it for any length of time in the bottling bucket or else you will end up with a growler full of very nicely carbed beer and a bunch of very flat beers. Thankfully I bought some carbonation drops and here in about another week I'll crack open a hopefully carbed hefeweizen.

 

The old fashioned kind. Starting the siphon and then trying to attach the wand is far too fiddly. An auto-siphon might be a better bet.

 

I learned that leaving my homebrew bottles in the fridge for 2 weeks makes them soooo much better

 

Found out on my 2nd partial mash that I def need some better mash temp control.

 

i do it the old fashioned way, too.

do you have any hose clips, they are a godsend

 

today, we opened the first batch where is was ridiculously OCD about not touching the bottles for 4 weeks before putting them in the fridge.

a pilsner-urquell.

omg... definitely worth the wait

 

I learned today that after taking a fg reading and cleaning the hygrometer to be sure the bottom cap is on and just not having the little piece of foam in there. The hg will push out the foam and end up on the floor in a million pieces.

 

I have a bucket clip to hold the cane in place. If I didn't then I think I would have to grow an extra pair of arms!

 

i would suggest you get a couple hose clips, and an auto-siphon. even if you have a bottling bucket with a spigot you need to get the beer in there.

 

I learned how much even a few days can make to both carbonation and taste. Had a really bad day, and couldn't resist the urge to check out a bottle of my first brew, a Witbier. Definitely delicious! A bit overcarbed (first-timer racking problems), but yummy! Kept it fairly low on the temps (60-62) during primary, and with the wb-02, that led to a lot more clove, with nearly zero banana flavor. what does that mean? it means it's called a "Holiday Belgian Wit" now.

Also took my first hydrometer reading for my hoppy wheat, and it was delicious as well! Not as hoppy as I'd hoped, particularly on the aroma side, but hoping a dry hop of an ounce of NZ Nelson Sauvin (and maybe a little more cascade, have a half ounce sitting in the fridge) will fix that. Won't get to bottle it until the 18th, and I'm out of town Friday and Saturday, so I'll probably put those in on before I leave.

Also found out there's a drug store across town that stocks not only extracts, but a TON of different 1-lb and 3-lb packages of malts and grains, along with a bunch of different hops and yeast. Means it's a 10 minute drive to the nearest LHBS, rather than 45 minutes. Dangerous

And lastly, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, found out a friend of mine is a former homebrewer, meaning he has a ton of stuff I can borrow and use. Thing I'm most excited about in that pile? a wort chiller! No more 20-lb bag of ice for each batch!

 

I've learned that a little bit of Fermcap, in the boil & in the carboy, works wonders for keeping things under control.
Mess avoidance keeps SWMBO happy.

 

I learned that finally getting a wort chiller absolutely rules. UNTIL you notice that the fancy sink you have in your kitchen, that you thought was cool when you bought it, now sucks because that awesome wort chiller you just got won't hook up to it. Thank goodness for long garden hoses

 

Ha! I did the same thing this weekend, twice!

 

FYI That's true they need an adapter to connect to the sink. The good news is that the adapter is cheap. Look up: Wort chiller faucet adapter (ebay for 5-8 bucks)