1st Brew Jitters !!

[redrider736]

OK, Its took me over a yr to get to this point were I have the materials to brew my 1st all-grain brew.

Little history on my side of things, Joined this Board over a yr ago and just been lurking on here trying to read and learn as much as I can.
I wanted to jump into all-grain from the start, and have built a DIY single Keggle as my HLT & BK, I converted a 48q cooler as my LT (Batch Sparging) and plan to Bottle first and move into kegging at a latter point.

I guess I still have a bunch of questions going into my 1st Brew, and wanted to ask them here.

I have already made my 1st mistake in that I bought a brew kit and the grain bill was already ground (I asked for it to be un-ground) I am not ready to build my own recipe and thought a kit was the way to go ?

The kit is a 5 Gallon Batch "Mild IPA"
Grain Bill
8.5lbs pale US 2-row
1lbs Munich
8oz Crystal

Hops
.75oz Chinook @ 60min
.40oz Amarillo @ 15min
.50oz Cascade @ 1min

Using a Northern Brewer Pale as my Fermentor, and using Wyeast American Ale 1056 with a starter.

SO here comes my questions !!!

1. I have read that I should have a 1.25q/lb malt for my water needs, but the kit is way higher than the 1.25. They are calling for 17q @ Strike and 17q for Sparge ???

2. I plan to use Welders Oxygen and a .5 micro stone filter to Oxygenate my Wort, but I am not sure how long to do this for ??

3. How long do I need to keep it in the Primary Fermentor for ?? Do I need to move it to a Secondary or can I Bottle after the Primary??

4. How much Priming sugar do I need to add when I am ready to Bottle ??


Sorry for the LONG READ !!!! Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

ThX Ryan

 

[MedicMang]

Hey man. Good luck on your first brew. Ill answer your questions to the best of my ability.

1. I would go ahead and use the 1.25qt/lb rule. Thats what i use and its never done me wrong. I then mash out with a gallon at the end of the mash, vorlauf, then drain. Usually after that you will use about 3-3.5 gallons to do your sparge. Make sure to stir stir stir. That helps with efficiency.

2. I just shake the crap out of my carboy to aerate. I have heard people using O2 for anywhere from 2-20 min. Look up another thread to find what you think is right.

3. This is a matter of preferance and space issues. I started by doing a secondary after primary was done. And by done, i mean, Check your gravity readings and have 2 consecutive days at your final gravity. If the gravity changed, its not done yet. Do not use your airlock as a fermentation measurment tool. It means nothing. I have been leaving my beer in primary for about a month, then straight to bottling as of recently. Really you can do what you want, just make sure your beer is done fermenting before you do anything. Many fine threads debating over this topic.

4. Tip on this. DO NOT USE CUP/TBSP MEASUREMENTS! WEIGH IT OUT! If you are using corn sugar(priming sugar) to prime it, go with 1 oz (weight) per gallon of finished beer. So if its a 5 gallon batch, use 5 oz.

Also many of these questions have been answered all over this forum. Thats how i learned it. Hope things go well for you. Relax. Don't worry. Have a hombrew.

 

[silvery37]

Pure oxygen for 60 seconds will give you proper oxygenation. This is at a flow rate of 1 liter per minute.

 

[redrider736]

Hey man. Good luck on your first brew. Ill answer your questions to the best of my ability.

1. I would go ahead and use the 1.25qt/lb rule. Thats what i use and its never done me wrong. I then mash out with a gallon at the end of the mash, vorlauf, then drain. Usually after that you will use about 3-3.5 gallons to do your sparge. Make sure to stir stir stir. That helps with efficiency.

2. I just shake the crap out of my carboy to aerate. I have heard people using O2 for anywhere from 2-20 min. Look up another thread to find what you think is right.

3. This is a matter of preferance and space issues. I started by doing a secondary after primary was done. And by done, i mean, Check your gravity readings and have 2 consecutive days at your final gravity. If the gravity changed, its not done yet. Do not use your airlock as a fermentation measurment tool. It means nothing. I have been leaving my beer in primary for about a month, then straight to bottling as of recently. Really you can do what you want, just make sure your beer is done fermenting before you do anything. Many fine threads debating over this topic.

4. Tip on this. DO NOT USE CUP/TBSP MEASUREMENTS! WEIGH IT OUT! If you are using corn sugar(priming sugar) to prime it, go with 1 oz (weight) per gallon of finished beer. So if its a 5 gallon batch, use 5 oz.

Also many of these questions have been answered all over this forum. Thats how i learned it. Hope things go well for you. Relax. Don't worry. Have a hombrew.

ThX for the above advice ! I was set to use the 1.25q/lb as it was mentioned in many threads.
I guess my only other concern is my Grain Bill that was ground for me ?

 

[MedicMang]

Why are you worried about the crush? Does it look nicely ground? If so then use it soon. If the grind looks like crap then see if someone with a mill can mill it for you again. The finer the better mostly. You don't want to go too fine though, may get a stuck sparge.

 

[redrider736]

Why are you worried about the crush? Does it look nicely ground? If so then use it soon. If the grind looks like crap then see if someone with a mill can mill it for you again. The finer the better mostly. You don't want to go too fine though, may get a stuck sparge.

I have read, and it was stressed on this Board that the biggest loss in BH efficency was not grinding your own Malt Bill, and secondly I spent the $ up front on a Mill and wanted to use it Next Brew I guess !!

Any issue with the kit being 2months old ? Its been stored in my Kezzer.

Here are 2 pics I took from the Malt Bill.

 

[BrewerBear]

Fresher is better, but I wouldn't worry about it as you already have it. I have used kits that i had for at least that long and the beer turned out fine. Good luck and enjoy,just don't stress it and have a good time.

 

[MedicMang]

Welp. You have the answer right there. It does look like you got a crappy grind. Go ahead and grind it again to the setting you want. Won't hurt any. You should be fine. Worrying about stuff like this is what gets people in trouble. Don't stress. It will turn out great. I promise.

 

[Bithead]

Mill the grain again so you can be sure it's to your liking. Jitters will disappear after a couple batches. Just jump in there and work through it. Most mistakes will be non-fatal. Get to brewin' and have fun!

 

[redrider736]

Just wondering about a Yeast starter. I understand how to make a Starter, but there are a few parts that I am not sure on still ?

How far ahead can/should I make it ??
How long do I keep it on the Stir Plate for ??
Do I keep it at room Temp til I pitch it ??

 

[Bricks41]

I typically make my starter 24-48 hours in advance.

I don't use a stir plate but from what I've read you keep it on pretty much until you are ready to pitch.

I keep my starter at the same temp my batch will be fermented because yeast already had time to learn to ferment at that temp. Wouldn't hurt to use some nutrient too.