First brew Day

[acesb422]

I just got done with my first brew today. After doing a good amount of research and taking notes it was time to just do it. I think everything went OK. but I am still worried about the outcome.

The problems I had during the brew is that i didn't know how to go about the sanitization process. I used bleach and water, waited the correct time, even used rubber gloves after dumping the solution. But what do you do with counter tops and do you wrap stuff in plastic wrap while it is not in use??? I guess how far do you really need to take this step even when following all instructions???

Another big issue i had was getting the water that i had boiled from my tap water to cool to a decent temp before i did anything with it. It is really cold here and i had pots outside i had them in the garage and it never cooled off. I was really worried after I put the mort in the ice bath to cool and the water that i had dumped in my fermentation bucket was still warm to the touch on the outside of the bucket like an hour and a half later!!! Is that bad to dump your yeast in to that high of a temp??? I am however happy to say that I just went to check on my airlock and it is bubbling slowly. Of course I have only been done for like 3 hours or so.
Hopefully all turns out well. Plus, I forgot to strain it as i poured it from my pot is that going to hurt anything????

 

[cerberus9]

I'm not an expert by any means, but I'd say it's not prefereable to dump your yeast in a batch that is too hot, as it could kill the yeast (I think). The fact that your airlock is bubbling is a good sign, as it shows that the yeast is working, so I think you'll be OK. For what it's worth, I've used non-boiled tap water in all of my batches, and I haven't noticed any thing bad that I could attribute to the water.

With respect to the the sanitation, I usually keep one or two containers of sanitizer available when I brew, and soak any miscellanous equipment in them (instead of laying them on the counter). I think if you wipe your counters really thouroughly with sanitizer, you should be OK. I don't think straining is a big issue. The only negative side effect of *not* straining is that the hops or other trub could foul any siphon lines you might use (e.g. to transfer to secondary or bottling bucket). I brewed a batch this morning and didn't strain it... you might even get some "dry hopping" effect going...

I hope this helps... like I said, I'm fairly new to all this as well.

 

[TheJadedDog]

Congrats on your first brew day!

As far as sanitation goes, you just need to worry about your equipment, not your counters (as long as they are clean). I typically mix up a batch of sanitizer and have it at the ready for brew day. I use it to soak any small items and sanitize my fermenter. Bleach and water are okay, but I'd recommend Iodophor or star san, both are excellent products that do not require rising.

In terms of chilling your wort and pitching your yeast, it is not advisable to pitch your yeast at temps over 80 or so. Ideally you want the temp to be in the high 60s low 70s when you pitch. The bubbling airlock means you probably didn't kill your yeast, but in the future you may want to invest in a chiller to help get your temps down.