Hello from Richmond, VA

I just brewed my first batch this past Saturday, an American-style porter using extract and specialty grain. I'll probably be limited to partial boils since I'm using an electric stove unless I want to try and brew with a propane burner in the back yard (which doesn't sound too appealing as I don't have a porch and will be at the mercy of the weather).

I do have a couple questions. When I transferred the wort from my brewpot to the fermenter, I used an auto-spihon with the cap on the end of it to avoid picking up as much of the trub as possible. The brewpot is wide (8 gallons), so it looked like I wasted a decent amount of wort at the bottom. Is it actually necessary to keep this trub out of the fermenter, or is it not an issue since I'm going to be using a secondary to help clarify the beer?

As another general question, is it necessary to wait for the hot break before adding hops? Boilover doesn't seem to be an issue since I'm boiling three gallons in an 8 gallon pot.

Welcome! Where in Richmond are you? I'm in the west end but will soon be moving southside.
I transfer everything from the brewpot into the primary, some people don't and they will chime in too. I also do not wait for the hot break to add my hops, I stick to the timer. Once the boiling starts I add the 60 min hops and go from there.

Just a little west of where Parham meets Staples Mill, off of Hungary. It's fifty miles roundtrip to the Weekend Brewer down in Chester, but it's still cheaper than mail order and I prefer going to a store anyway.

I went to the last James River Homebrewers meeting but at the time hadn't purchased equipment yet.

I've been brewing since January but I still haven't gone to a meeting yet.

I'm close to Parham too. I will be a lot closer to Weekend Brewer after I move but still not as close as Flyin' Lion.

You will find a lot of VA people on here.

Here's a photo log of my first ever time brewing. The commentary is mostly for the benefit of friends who have no clue about brewing so they know what is going on.

http://brother-buford.livejournal.com/13977.html

Nice journal, very detailed. You already have more toys than I do.

Welcome to the forum, Bob at the Weekend Brewer is great and very helpful and the people at James River Homebrewers are a fun group too. I work a rotating shift and I have to work late the week the club meetings fall on, so I haven't attended in a while.


Looks like you are well on your way to great beer, cheers.

Welcome fellow Virginian!!!

Welcome ... very nice journal.