nckid4u
Member
This is my first post on this forum. I have been lurking for a few months as I made the decision to get back into home brewing. I started brewing back in the late 1980's in Nova Scotia using prehopped extract kits (Doric was the name - I still remember it). I did finally make the transition to extract and hops before I moved to the US. That was back in the late 1990's and I have not been brewing since. I bought some basic equipment and an extract kit (a Red Ale kit from brewers best) to ease my way back in.
I made certain I maintained proper sanitation and got my wort fermenting according to the recipe from the kit. My kit used Nottingham dry yeast, two cans of light LME, choclate and caramel grains, and one ounce each of fuggle and golding hops (pellets). Smelled great in the boiling pot. The wort was cooled quickly (sink full of ice water replenished as needed). Everything went very smoothly. I used a couple of drop of antifoam during the boil and had not troubles. I also tossed in a whirlfloc tablet near the end of the boil.
Pitched the yeast and set in my closet at 62-64 degrees for 10 days. I think the antifoam affected the krausen, as it was pretty small, but it fermented out great. SG was 1.049. This kit fermented very quickly, but not violently. I believe I had a leaky lid on the bucket as there was little bubbling from the airlock (although I did not pay much attention to the first few days, so I may have missed the activity). By day 5 things were virtually at a standstill. I took a hydrometer reading at day 7, 9, and 10 and it was consistent at 1.012.
I did not transfer to a secondary plan to go straight from primary to bottling bucket.
The bucket is currently sitting in my basement (I have an old coal chute in my basement that I have reclaimed as storage space. It has a well sealed door that allows it to stay very cold in winter). The temp in there is currently 39 degrees. I plan to leave it in the a couple of days and then bottle. it is remarkably clear now, but the cold crash can't hurt.
I have a bottling bucket that has a spigot and fashion a little elbow onto it to get the intake a little closer to the bottom of the bucket. I also have fashioned my bottle filler onto the spigot with a 1" hose as outlined in a post on here regarding bottle filling hacks. I am very happy with the process so far. I expected more fumbling and bumbling (it is not over yet, so I still have time to muck it up). I may bottle tonight or possibly tomorrow night depending on how well the kids are acting...
I am shooting for a CO2 level of around 2.5 for my Red Ale. I have 5 ounces of priming sugar that came with the kit (my assumption is that it is simply corn sugar). I have it calculated that I only need 4 ounces for my needs. I expect about 3-4 weeks for a good carbonation (will be at 62-65 degrees). It should be drinkable by then. I am bottling into 22 ounce glass bombers. I don't have any specific questions, just wanted to post my experience and see if anybody noticed any glaring omissions or potential problems. Thanks for reading. Comments welcomed.
I made certain I maintained proper sanitation and got my wort fermenting according to the recipe from the kit. My kit used Nottingham dry yeast, two cans of light LME, choclate and caramel grains, and one ounce each of fuggle and golding hops (pellets). Smelled great in the boiling pot. The wort was cooled quickly (sink full of ice water replenished as needed). Everything went very smoothly. I used a couple of drop of antifoam during the boil and had not troubles. I also tossed in a whirlfloc tablet near the end of the boil.
Pitched the yeast and set in my closet at 62-64 degrees for 10 days. I think the antifoam affected the krausen, as it was pretty small, but it fermented out great. SG was 1.049. This kit fermented very quickly, but not violently. I believe I had a leaky lid on the bucket as there was little bubbling from the airlock (although I did not pay much attention to the first few days, so I may have missed the activity). By day 5 things were virtually at a standstill. I took a hydrometer reading at day 7, 9, and 10 and it was consistent at 1.012.
I did not transfer to a secondary plan to go straight from primary to bottling bucket.
The bucket is currently sitting in my basement (I have an old coal chute in my basement that I have reclaimed as storage space. It has a well sealed door that allows it to stay very cold in winter). The temp in there is currently 39 degrees. I plan to leave it in the a couple of days and then bottle. it is remarkably clear now, but the cold crash can't hurt.
I have a bottling bucket that has a spigot and fashion a little elbow onto it to get the intake a little closer to the bottom of the bucket. I also have fashioned my bottle filler onto the spigot with a 1" hose as outlined in a post on here regarding bottle filling hacks. I am very happy with the process so far. I expected more fumbling and bumbling (it is not over yet, so I still have time to muck it up). I may bottle tonight or possibly tomorrow night depending on how well the kids are acting...
I am shooting for a CO2 level of around 2.5 for my Red Ale. I have 5 ounces of priming sugar that came with the kit (my assumption is that it is simply corn sugar). I have it calculated that I only need 4 ounces for my needs. I expect about 3-4 weeks for a good carbonation (will be at 62-65 degrees). It should be drinkable by then. I am bottling into 22 ounce glass bombers. I don't have any specific questions, just wanted to post my experience and see if anybody noticed any glaring omissions or potential problems. Thanks for reading. Comments welcomed.
