First Brew, How'd I do?

[Matt3989]

Okay, so I brewed my first batch two nights ago. I figured I'd share how it went so others can learn from my mistakes and maybe some vets can chime in with advice.

First of all, it was a Brewers Best Robust Porter kit. I mixed up some starsan and had it sit in a new 5 gallon bucket. I cleaned all of my equipment in it, then siphened it into my 6.5 gal carboy, swished it around and pour it out. I filled that same bucket again and just set my siphen, theif, stirring paddle, thermometer, and hydrometer in it. I also cleaned a big stainless steel pot with pbw and then rinsed it with starsan solution.

I poured 3 gallons of distilled water into the pot and brought it up to steeping temps (only 3 gallons because the IBUs of the kit were calculated for a 2.5 gallon wort/mixed with 2.5 gallons of water and I didn't want to end up with an overly hoppy porter), then I steeped my specialty grains in this for twenty minutes.

First error, pouring my grains into the bag *over* the water, a lot of small bits and pieces fell through the bag into the wort.

Now I brought the water to a boil, added my extract and my bittering hops. Let it boil 30 mins, stirring throughout, added my flavoring hops and let it boil for another 25 mins, then my arroma hops for the last 5 mins.

Mistake #2, using and overly big pot, I think I had more boil off then intended.

Next, I stopped the boil and added 3 gallons of cool distilled water, then put the whole pot in a trashcan with ice and water. It cooled down to around 85 and I took out a sample for my hydrometer and then siphoned the rest into my carboy.

Next Mistakes:
#3, I took my gravity at 85* instead of 60* and I got 1.047 it was supposed to be between 1.051-1.055

#4,I almost lost my stopper in my carboy, is a #6.5 stopper right for a 6.5 gallon glass carboy?

#5 I didn't know I was supposed to aerate my wort after I was done.

After one day I had lots of activity in my beer though, so my yeasties must be doing some work.

Now for a couple of questions:
how do you guys take accurate temps while it's boiling? just holding the thermometer down in the pot?

Is there a tool to stir things up inside the carboy? so I can mix my yeast up better after I add them.

Any Sanitation tips you can give me would be appreciated too.

 

[Bheher]

Awesome looks like a successful brew day!
1. The bits of grain will settle out of the beer in the fermenter, so no worries.
2. Your pot looks like a fine size, just track you pre boil and post boil volumes.
3. Taking gravity and adjusting for temp is fine.
4 and 5 lessons learned

You dont need to take a temperature while its boiling, water always boils at 212 (unless your at high altitude)

To mix the yeast in just rock the carboy back and forth.

 

[Jaehnig]

Okay, so I brewed my first batch two nights ago. I figured I'd share how it went so others can learn from my mistakes and maybe some vets can chime in with advice.

First of all, it was a Brewers Best Robust Porter kit. I mixed up some starsan and had it sit in a new 5 gallon bucket. I cleaned all of my equipment in it, then siphened it into my 6.5 gal carboy, swished it around and pour it out. I filled that same bucket again and just set my siphen, theif, stirring paddle, thermometer, and hydrometer in it. I also cleaned a big stainless steel pot with pbw and then rinsed it with starsan solution.

I poured 3 gallons of distilled water into the pot and brought it up to steeping temps (only 3 gallons because the IBUs of the kit were calculated for a 2.5 gallon wort/mixed with 2.5 gallons of water and I didn't want to end up with an overly hoppy porter), then I steeped my specialty grains in this for twenty minutes.

First error, pouring my grains into the bag *over* the water, a lot of small bits and pieces fell through the bag into the wort.

Now I brought the water to a boil, added my extract and my bittering hops. Let it boil 30 mins, stirring throughout, added my flavoring hops and let it boil for another 25 mins, then my arroma hops for the last 5 mins.

Mistake #2, using and overly big pot, I think I had more boil off then intended.

Next, I stopped the boil and added 3 gallons of cool distilled water, then put the whole pot in a trashcan with ice and water. It cooled down to around 85 and I took out a sample for my hydrometer and then siphoned the rest into my carboy.

Next Mistakes:
#3, I took my gravity at 85* instead of 60* and I got 1.047 it was supposed to be between 1.051-1.055

#4,I almost lost my stopper in my carboy, is a #6.5 stopper right for a 6.5 gallon glass carboy?

#5 I didn't know I was supposed to aerate my wort after I was done.

After one day I had lots of activity in my beer though, so my yeasties must be doing some work.

Now for a couple of questions:
how do you guys take accurate temps while it's boiling? just holding the thermometer down in the pot?

Is there a tool to stir things up inside the carboy? so I can mix my yeast up better after I add them.

Any Sanitation tips you can give me would be appreciated too.

Sounds like an eventful brew. Until its done you don't know exactly how you did! No infection along the way means you sanitized adequately.

For temps during boiling use a thermometer like the first picture I attached below. Has a clip so it sits right on the side of your kettle and can stay there until you don't need it. Just sanitize.

My primary is normally a bucket not a carboy but never the less I never stirred it up. Just pitched (added) the yeast and let it do it's work and let the rest of the "undesirables" and yeast settle into the bottom to form the trub.

Sanitizing help. Anything that touches the wort or beer must be sanitized. If you remove a sample to take a gravity reading, don't add it back in. Drink it! You can never sanitize too much. Better safe than sorry. Make sure your water to sanitizer ratio is correct or close.

Read these forums during your free time or while in the restroom (if you have a phone with the app). I can't tell you how much I have learned browsing!

Hope this helps!

V/R,
BrewTech

 

[bobeer]

I have the same thermometer. I usually try to get it in the middle of the wort so its not touching the sides or the bottom of the pot. That way you're sure to get a reading the wort and not the pot.
I have never stirred my beer after the yeast is added. They will do their thing on their own.

Congrats on the first brew and welcome to the site! Time to get your pipeline going!

 

[bioguy]

This site http://dd26943.com/davesdreaded/tools/convert.htm will allow you to convert your specific gravity read at 85 to a specific gravity at room temp.

 

[Matt3989]

Thanks for the tips and the congrats everyone, I've been lurking on this site for a couple of weeks now. My kit came with a Ale Pale and 5 gallon carboy for a secondary. I decided to upgrade the carboy to a 6.5 gallon one, so on Saturday I'm planning on trying a Boston Ale brew to ferment in the Bucket.

I haven't even tasted my beer yet and I'm already addicted.

 

[Squirrels]

Congrats on a good first brew!

A couple of answers for some questions you have:

If it is boiling it is at 212 F or 100 C (unless you are using a pressure cooker) - The temperature is really more important when steeping your grains, or mashing if all grain. Temp is also important in the fermenter!

If you take you're temp for a gravity reading you can always do a conversion if you know the temperature. Beer is really simple math.

For aerating, you can shake you're carboy or get a mix-stir. I would also get a universal bung for your carboy - if you're using a 6.5 or 5 you can use it on either.

I really recommend buying a couple of good books on this (or borrow if you can). Books to get are:
1. Designing Great Beers - Ray Daniels
2. How to Brew - John Palmer (really worth buying - the online is limited)

Good luck and welcome to brewing!

 

[Draken]

Sounds like it's not that bad. One thing to note, since you are doing a partial boil, the hydro reading is probably off. If the water wasn't completely blended with the wort, you could have gotten more water and less wort or visa versa in your hydro sample tube. With an extract kit, you will get the gravity you are supposed to unless you end up with more (lower OG) or less (higher OG) water than intended. If you have 5 gallons at the end, then your OG will be what's listed in the kit, regardless of boil off.

Now just a friendly safety note:

Take the handle off your carboy. Do not try to pick up a full carboy with that thing or you will have glass and beer all over your pretty carpet. And possibly glass lodged in your person. Get a nice milk crate or like item with handles. Set the carboy in that for transporting and storage. It puts a protective barrier around the glass for the accidental bump and gives support from the bottom as well as handles if you have to move it around. Those carboys are not hardened glass or something fancy like pyrex. They can and will break if mishandled.

 

[acidrain]

Geat job! You'll have a fine beer I'm sure.
Here's a tip that you didn't specifically ask for help on, but it works really well in forums... Don't turn your camera 90deg when you take a picture.

 

[bioguy]

A couple of answers for some questions you have:

If it is boiling it is at 212 F or 100 C (unless you are using a pressure cooker) -

To pick nits, boiling point actually increases with increasing concentration of sugars (as well as with changes in elevation). But I agree with Squirrels--no reason to measure temp. while boiling unless you want to see if what I said is true.

 

[Matt3989]

Haha, yeah, the pictures looked straight on my phone.

I was more interested on keeping an eye on the temp for when I was steeping my grains.

And I'm currently reading The Joy Of Homebrewing. Learning all about RDWHAHB and also that it's about "feeling your beer and letting your beer feel you."

Thanks again, and I'll be throwing that carboy into a crate right away, it's currently in a heavy trashcan with a little ice on it to keep it around 65.

 

[najel]

Little input I have that made my brew day a little faster and less work: When i first brewer, I think I really went overboard sanitizing all kinds of stuff. For example, you really don't need to sanitize your stirr paddle until after your boil is done, since it gets sanitized when you stick it into the boiling wort anyway.
I usually do this now: When I start the boil, I just clean the paddle and pot, no sanitizing needed here. I really don;t get the buckets and sanitizer out until I am cooling the wort. Now is the time to sanitize the stir paddle since the wort is not hot enough anymore. You can now also sanitize other stuff you will stick in there and of course your fermenter. I just found this saves me a little bit of time and mess since I really don't need to be sanitizing anything before the boil. I can do that while I am waiting for the wort to cool.

 

[ncbrewer]

Next, I stopped the boil and added 3 gallons of cool distilled water, then put the whole pot in a trashcan with ice and water.

Welcome.
If you chill the boiled wort before adding the cool distilled water, It will cool faster - always a good thing.

 

[ludomonster]

That's the same kit I used for my first brew. A few months later, my brother-in-law also brewed that kit.

 

[IFMracin]

Thanks for the tips and the congrats everyone, I've been lurking on this site for a couple of weeks now. My kit came with a Ale Pale and 5 gallon carboy for a secondary. I decided to upgrade the carboy to a 6.5 gallon one, so on Saturday I'm planning on trying a Boston Ale brew to ferment in the Bucket.

The 6.5 isn't really the best for a secondary vessel.
Use it as an additional fermenter.

 

[EnjoyGoodBeer]

My first kit and at 3 weeks in. Bottles it turned out pretty good. A bit bitter but it was a first batch and its drinkable! Congrats and cheers.

 

[Jaehnig]

My first kit and at 3 weeks in. Bottles it turned out pretty good. A bit bitter but it was a first batch and its drinkable! Congrats and cheers.

Seems like a bit quick for consumption. 2-4 weeks bottle conditioning should help.

 

[EnjoyGoodBeer]

Seems like a bit quick for consumption. 2-4 weeks bottle conditioning should help.

Yeah meant 3 weeks in bottle, now going on 4 weeks, the bitterness has whent away a bit. But still very drinkable ( for me at least)

 

[jonnyp1980]

I used this recipe once. Had too much of a black licorice taste IMO.