1st Brew, 1st mistake - Spilled yeast, bugs, etc

[ocelot_ark]

Little advice, please? I started my first brew last night. I did a partial mash of the Austin Brewhouse Belgian White. I have no idea why I ordered a partial mash kit for my first beer, but I think I did everything correctly. Just a few things I wanted clarification on:

1) I made a counter-flow chiller to cool down my wort. It really seems to do a great job of getting it down to 80 degrees. My FLOW, however, is pretty slow. It took about 30 minutes to drain the full 5 gallons through the CFC. Is there anything I can do to speed up the flow rate to get it down to 15-20 minutes?


2) When I brought my carboy inside I noticed a little gnat floating on top of the beer. Is this something I should be concerned with? Should I fish it out somehow?

3) I used the liquid yeast recommended by Austin HB. It said to shake the yeast, so I did. Well, I didn't realize that it would kind of act like a soda and erupt when I opened the lid. I wasn't expecting this so I think I lost roughly 1/5th of my yeast into the sink. Is this something I should worry about?

4) The kit instructions didn't say anything about a yeast starter, but I've seen them mentioned here. Should I have done one? I can do them going forward now that I know, but is it necessary on the liquid yeast ABHS uses?

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

1) Not sure since I just cool my wort using two sinks and some ice water. However, 30 minutes seems like a long time to me.

2) You're probably better off just leaving it as is. You may disturb things or introduce an infection trying to fish the gnat out. Chances are, the gnat probably won't introduce enough unwanted bacteria to mess up your beer. I imagine it will settle down to the bottom of your carboy with the trub that will form down there. At least the little guy will die happy.

3) Nothing to worry about now- you probably got plenty of healthy, active yeast in your wort to do the trick.

4) Yeast starters are great things- but I've gotten good beer with and without them. As a general rule I always use them now. Even with a fresh pack of liquid yeast. It allows peace of mind that you've pitched plenty of healthy yeast. Plus signs of fermentation show up quicker when you use a starter. Certainly for higher OG beers a starter also noticeably improves the quality of the beer you end up with... as underpitching can stress out your yeast.

Congrats on getting started. It's awesome that you started with a partial mash. It is way more fun than pure extract, in my opinion. You'll be on to all grain before you know it!

 

[Zamial]

1) I made a counter-flow chiller to cool down my wort. It really seems to do a great job of getting it down to 80 degrees. My FLOW, however, is pretty slow. It took about 30 minutes to drain the full 5 gallons through the CFC. Is there anything I can do to speed up the flow rate to get it down to 15-20 minutes?

Bigger chiller ID tubing and a march pump?

2) When I brought my carboy inside I noticed a little gnat floating on top of the beer. Is this something I should be concerned with? Should I fish it out somehow?

We now have your "secret ingredient"...

3) I used the liquid yeast recommended by Austin HB. It said to shake the yeast, so I did. Well, I didn't realize that it would kind of act like a soda and erupt when I opened the lid. I wasn't expecting this so I think I lost roughly 1/5th of my yeast into the sink. Is this something I should worry about?

Rule #1 - RDWHAHB

4) The kit instructions didn't say anything about a yeast starter, but I've seen them mentioned here. Should I have done one? I can do them going forward now that I know, but is it necessary on the liquid yeast ABHS uses?

Starters are always good, better with a stir plate. I have yet to use a starter but plan to as soon as I get my mason jars and stir plate finished (DIY section)...*hint

People have been brewing beer for...lets just say a REALLY long time. The odds that you screwed up you 1st batch are pretty slim.

Grats on the brew! Welcome to the addiction! Now, it is time for the hardest part..."the wait". In order to aid with the "let it be" thinking, start planning your second batch!

 

[ocelot_ark]

Thanks for the responses, guys. That definitely puts my mind at ease about those issues. I came pretty close to the recipe's OG (1.048) at 1.046. Hopefully it'll settle up as well as it started!

After yesterday I have no real desire to brew anything else...for about 3 weeks! haha- as soon as it gets kegged I'm going to start on a Texas Bock. I'm already obsessed (I should be working!).

 

[Morkin]

A counterflow for your first brew? You are pretty ambitious! Most people start with partial boil extract versions first....

 

[ocelot_ark]

A counterflow for your first brew? You are pretty ambitious! Most people start with partial boil extract versions first....

Yeah, I know. I tend to dive into new hobbies. I was looking at the process and decided, since I could build one, that I should just go ahead and embrace it.

I got home a little while ago to find this:

That's the 6.5 gallon carboy. I pitched the yeast around 10pm last night. At 7 am it showed no signs of fermentation. Got home at 6pm and the airlock is now bubbling pretty steady (3-5 seconds) and there's plenty of foam on top. This makes me feel a lot better about things!

 

[EO74]

Relax dont worry have some kind of brew! Since this is your first welcome to the ADDICTION,really its an addiction!my only advice would be to keep a dry packet of yeast in your fridge just in case. I screw somthing up on every batch and i mean every an my beers come out great so RDWHAHB