I made some brewers best ale yesterday. I might have added the aroma hops at the start and bittering at the end but I'm not sure. If I did the hops in the wrong order is that bad? I didn't read the instructions well enough and did not realize there are 2 different hops as the bags looked the same.
Brewers best possible mistake
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It should be fine. 
What kind of beer was it?
What kind of beer was it?
Sir-Hops-A-Lot
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Do you know what kind of hops they were?
Many hops are dual purpose. I suspect that your beer will only be different in a subtle way. You'll ending up liking it and not giving it another thought.
Many hops are dual purpose. I suspect that your beer will only be different in a subtle way. You'll ending up liking it and not giving it another thought.
If you look closely at the top right corner of the instruction sheet you will notice that there were 2 ounces of hops with the kit, a 1 oz package for bittering and a 1 oz package for aroma and if you look real closely you would notice that they use the same variety of hop for both so you simply can't use them in the wrong order. Here's a link to the instructions in case you misplaced yours.
http://www.brewersbestkits.com/pdf/New BB Recipes/1011 American Cream Ale Recipe.pdf
They have instructions for all their kits online here.
http://www.brewersbestkits.com/recipes.html
http://www.brewersbestkits.com/pdf/New BB Recipes/1011 American Cream Ale Recipe.pdf
They have instructions for all their kits online here.
http://www.brewersbestkits.com/recipes.html
Sir-Hops-A-Lot
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Too funny. Exact same hop variety and amount!
Yea i was actually at a barbor shop and there was a long wait so i was looking up reviews from people who had done the american cream ale. I read about people commenting on armoa and bittering hops and jumped the gun on thinking i made a mistake. I read the instructions and the packets looked the same but i guess the kits used to have different types of hops a while ago? Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Now i am trying to decide on transfering it to a carboy for 2 weeks or leave in primary for the whole duration. Instructions say carboy but i have read on here alot of people leave in primary.
Sir-Hops-A-Lot
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I always transfer to a carboy. I don't think that it matters a whole lot. The advantage is to get all the trub out of the beer which makes it easier to bottle a clearer, less silty beer.
2 weeks in the secondary is a safe amount of time to leave the beer so the fermenting is all done. You can likely bottle it sooner if the specific gravity remains constant for 2-3 days. You'd need a hydrometer to determine that.
2 weeks in the secondary is a safe amount of time to leave the beer so the fermenting is all done. You can likely bottle it sooner if the specific gravity remains constant for 2-3 days. You'd need a hydrometer to determine that.
I've left all of my brews in the primary for 3 weeks and have always had great results with no secondary. It gives the yeast time to clean up any off flavors and it settles out and makes a very solid yeast cake for easy racking after 3 weeks. My beers have been super clear also.
My brother in law did a Brewer's Best kit that was similar, but the same varietal doesn't necessarily mean they're the same. It was an IPA, with Columbus and Cascade for bittering and Cascade for aroma. The two Cascade packs were the same size, and varietal. But the AA ratings were different (the bittering Cascade were slightly higher).
So they might not have been identical, but couldn't have been that far off. In either case, the differences for the OP's beer should be minimal at the most. And without a side by side tasting, might not ever be able to notice.
How much headspace can I leave in the secondary carboy? It's 5 gallons now once racked it will be a little less. I have a 5 gallon carboy but I think they are actually 5.5 so there will be a bunch of room at the top. With wine, you have to fill it to an inch below airlock.
No worries. I've done 5 and 6 gallon batches, headspace anywhere from a couple to maybe 5 inches. The idea is to transfer before fermentation is completely finished, that way when you transfer and attach the air-lock there is still some fermentation happening to purge the head-space air. That being said, I've often transferred too late for this and never once had a problem. Just make sure everything is cleaned and sanitized well
