Back in Business

[iron57]

Well Ladies and Gents,

After a 10 year brewing hiatus, I am back into it. I did not have too many batches under my belt, and got to the level of partial extract boils with steeping grains. Thanks to the magic of a Birthday, I have a great glass carboy based starting kit.

So, I had planned on the same routine from 10 years ago. And then...

...Santa brought a nice stock pot capable of a full boil, as well as an immersion chiller.

So, my dilemma was to go with what I used to know, or get to brewing with the new gear. I did my research, and thanks to HBT here, I got the confidence to say awww, F-it! I made a brown ale recipe up with grains and DME pieced together from a few examples, books, and with BeerSmith (trial mode). Mixed up Star San for the first time ever, and went to work.

Brew day was yesterday, and besides the inevitable spills here and there on the kitchen floor, things went well with the new gear and procedure. Today, things are bubbling along nicely. The theoretical SG of 1.058 was missed just barely (1.056), so it looks good there too!

Anyway, just a big thanks to the regular posters here. I was able to become much better informed which gave me the cojones to go for it on this first batch back. Also based on this information here I plan on a three week primary before bottling, again a departure from the knowledge I had 10 years ago.

I already can't wait to see how this one turns out! Even if it sucks, this sure is a great hobby that I have missed. Thanks again!

 

[iron57]

One thing I wished I had researched further -- blowoff tubes. Yikes, almost had a mess. Caught it as it going through the airlock, and hastily sanitized and fashioned one from my racking tubing and jug of star san. Fermentation is still going strong today!

What a great hobby!

 

[unionrdr]

And don't forget to use a hydrometer,it'll tell you what's really going on. And welcome back!

 

[iron57]

Another thing I wished I had researched -- StarSan and countertops. Ooops. Nice little stain for the wife to enjoy. Looks like the brewery expansion budget has been frozen, pending one island countertop.

 

[ncbrewer]

Another thing I wished I had researched -- StarSan and countertops. Ooops. Nice little stain for the wife to enjoy. Looks like the brewery expansion budget has been frozen, pending one island countertop.

The people at Northern Brewer told me Star-San should not stain countertops, and I've never had it stain mine. It's possible you might be mixing it too strong - worth checking. And welcome back. I had a 16 year break in brewing and just got back to it this year. This forum has helped me a lot, too.

 

[Jester]

I have ruined a few countertops with StarSan. I have leaky bottles so it would leave a small ring on the counter from where the bottle sat. I even had it etch a half moon shape into the edge of my stainless sink. I now keep a little aluminum foil wrapped around the bottle to keep any from ruining any other surfaces.

 

[iron57]

Thanks! This forum has really sped my return, and I feel more confident about this batch than some of the ones I made before my hiatus, when my pocess was well practiced.

Also, after further investigation, I think the countertop stain came from excess Star San that dribbled from my measuring syringe, and subsequently got smeared around. To make matters worse, it most likely sat there a good 2hrs or so as well. Definitely an acid wash with a bleaching effect, just like the jeans we all are ashamed to admit we owned many moons ago.

Some positive news from this, a propane burner is in my future so that the brewing operation can be relocated to the garage.

 

[ncbrewer]

I have ruined a few countertops with StarSan. I have leaky bottles so it would leave a small ring on the counter from where the bottle sat. I even had it etch a half moon shape into the edge of my stainless sink. I now keep a little aluminum foil wrapped around the bottle to keep any from ruining any other surfaces.

Yes - When Northern Brewer said it should not stain countertops, they were talking about in the diluted form. Hope I didn't mislead anybody.
I imagine it depends on the countertop material, too.