First Batch Tomorrow

[vrodbrad]

Good day all, Well tomorrow will be my first batch so wish me luck that everything goes right. but I know I will have fun. (having a buddy come over and help for he wants to learn.) I will be making a American cream ale extract kit. The instructions that came with the kit are not real clear in my opinion, so i got the BeerSmith 2 program and put the information in that and it made it whole lot clearer to understand.
So here is my questions,
1. The instructions say to steep the specialty grains for ten minutes at 160 degree's. That does not seem like a long time. When I was up in Washington last week One of the brewing masters told me I should steep for 30 min at 155. so which is better 10 or 30 or go with my own and do 20 minutes.

Any and all suggestions will be welcome

 

[vrodbrad]

Oh and I just remembered my other question. Should I crush my grains before I steep them, or leave them the way they came in the kit. Does crushing them help the process of adding flavor or will add unwanted tannins.

 

[Begin2Brew]

I would agree with the brewmaster and go 30 min at 155. My advise is to start early, plan everything out, don't stress out if something goes wrong and most of have fun, you're gonna make beer!

Oh and crush those grains!

 

[diptherunner]

If it's a kit, the grains are probably already crushed. Just look carefully at them. Did this all come together? Or, did you build it from a recipe?

 

[sok454]

I've done 2 batches so far and I can tell you... write out exactly what you are going to do and make a plan. Have everything sitting out so you aren't scrambling. I failed to do this the second batch and feel like I didn't do as well.

 

[vrodbrad]

Thanks Guys, For the beer it is a kit so will take a look at the grains. I know the corn has crushed down. I will make sure I have everything out before I start, right down. And Most of all Have the Fun doing it. Have a good day all.

 

[vetbrewer]

I know your nervous but you'll do just fine and make a great tasting brew,

 

[jpeebs]

Here's some things I take out with me when i'm brewing; (note: I brew outdoors. Indoor brewing probably won't require all of this) Ice, something big enough to fit ice, water, and brew pot in (I use a storage container for cooldowns), can opener, knife or scissors, kitchen timer, oven gloves, lighter, bottle opener (drink while you brew!), spoon for stirring, and the one thing you should never leave your home (or the galaxy!) with, a towel. Hope that helps a bit!

 

[vrodbrad]

Well, I brewed my first batch yesterday, and here is how it went. The brew portion went flawless, When I checked the sg reading it was reading 1.123. Could not figure out why it was reading so high. but after clean up and i sat down it hit me. I measured it out the extra water that would bring it up to 5 gal. I measured it with only three gallons. (Thank god the BeerSmith 2 program had adjustment tool in it so I new were my actual sg was.) and it is saying it is 1.064 which is the target sg i was hoping for with. When I went to put the the bung on it fell into the carboy, and now it is down sitting at the bottom of the beer. (at least it was sanitized when it fell in) hopefully it does not cause any problems. it came with a number 6 1/2 bung which is what the kit said it fits that carboy. and the bung had that number on it. i just went to set it on with out even pushing on and next thing i know it slid right down the whole. luckily i had a number 7 and it fit perfect. So all in all it went pretty good. When i got home last night from work it was fermenting like it is suppose to woo hoo.

 

[Mrinny]

Wow Congratulations!

Keep us posted.

 

[vrodbrad]

Well, Day 3 and everything is going fine. getting a bubble from air lock about every 3 seconds. nice showing of krausen or how ever you spell it. The hardest part is the waiting has many have said. It is tormenting like by buddies say, so now instead of saying it is fermenting it is tormenting.

 

[vrodbrad]

Well, I just transferred to secondary. the reading on the sg is now at 1.010. started at 1.064. Was able to get the bung out that fell in with no problem. So now in 14 days will bottle. Patience is not a virtue. lol

 

[stevedore]

The waiting is tormenting me too. I have two primaries going (1 gal and 5 gal) and still another week before the first gets bottled. I'm already researching recipes to come up with my next 1 gal batch. Just trying to fill in the time in between.. patience is not my strongest suit either.

Luckily I have a couple bottles of locally brewed IPAs in the fridge to keep me sated.

 

[vrodbrad]

Well, I bottled my batch today. will be ready just in time for Christmas. Got 48 bottles out of it and two glasses. even though it was flat tasted good. wife said it tasted kinda of like a Budweiser but alot better (flat budweser taste bad in my opinion) so with how this tasted should be even better after the carbonation period and conditioning period.