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[nlavon]

Just joined up and got here via a Google search for rec.crafts.brewing. I live in Takoma Park, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., and used to brew about 20 years ago. I got tired of constant cleaning and sanitizing so I gave it up. But now that I retired, I have the time for such things, so hopefully, the second time around is the charm. About a third of what I brewed went down the sink but the ones that did work were great, and that is what I am keeping in mind. I am going through the books and articles to reacquaint myself with brewing techniques. Hope to keep it simple and fun and I don't have anything to prove to anyone. So, bottoms up!

 

[Psylocide]

Welcome from SD.

Biggest things to remember for a successful brew is (probably in this order):

1. Cleaning/Sanitation

2.Treat tap water with Campden tablets to remove chlorine/chloramines

3. Brew proven recipes to begin with

4. Temp Control during fermentation (I use wet towels wrapped around the carboy and a fan, no need to get super fancy for most ales)

5. Research, research, research.

 

[unionrdr]

What style of brewing do you use? All extract, extract with steeping grans? partial mash? I use spring water for all my brewing these days. Some form of temp control is a priority. As is starters for liquid yeast, or simply re-hydrating dry yeast for better performance, like shorter lag times.

 

[nlavon]

Welcome from SD.

Biggest things to remember for a successful brew is (probably in this order):

1. Cleaning/Sanitation

2.Treat tap water with Campden tablets to remove chlorine/chloramines

3. Brew proven recipes to begin with

4. Temp Control during fermentation (I use wet towels wrapped around the carboy and a fan, no need to get super fancy for most ales)

5. Research, research, research.

I see that Cleaning and Sanitation are still top of the list. Thanks for the tips.

 

[nlavon]

What style of brewing do you use? All extract, extract with steeping grans? partial mash? I use spring water for all my brewing these days. Some form of temp control is a priority. As is starters for liquid yeast, or simply re-hydrating dry yeast for better performance, like shorter lag times.

I used to brew with liquid extract from the cans. Most of what I made was drinkable. A few batches went down the drain. I tried mashing grains once and it was an all-day fiasco that went nowhere. I don't want to make this harder than I need to.

I have seen some excellent advice on yeast re-hydration and temperature control. My father in law built a wort chiller out of copper tubing and a garden house that I still have. I just wonder how the copper tubing gets cleaned after being in a basement for 20 years.

But I think I start off slowly cooling the wort in the sink (with ice if needed) before putting in the fermentation bucket. I still need to visit a shop to pick up equipment, so slow and steady before the first batch. Thanks for the reply!

 

[unionrdr]

Definitely use ice in a bath to chill the hot wort down to pitch temp while you work on the chiller. You could try soaking it in PBW solution to loosen the crud, then scrub lightly to clean it. Then rinse well & dry.
Otherwise, use cold tap water in the sink once or twice to bring the temp down quickly to 120F or a lil less. Drain the sink, re-plug it & fill to the top of the sink with ice with the kettle in it. Then top off the ice around the kettle with cold tap water. You can chill it down to 75F or so, then top off with, spring water, RO or distilled water in the fermenter to recipe volume. This will take the temp down to 64-66F very quickly.