First brew in the fermenter!

[elproducto]

Got my first brew in the can today.

John Palmer's Cincy Pale Ale

I actually did a full boil on my turkey fryer, but realized my turkey fryer was a 7 gallon I think pot.

I put the numbers in brewpal and it said a 6.2 gallon start to end up with 5 gallons. After I added the extracts it was more like 6.5 gallons. It only boiled down to about 5.5 gallons, hopefully I won't have watered down beer!

Had a boilover initially.. yikes! My spray bottle with water was a godsend in preventing further boilovers. I THINK I hit the hot break, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, OG was 1.040 and it's in the primary hopefully fermenting away.

Took about 3 hours, but it was the first time using my equipment so I cleaned it.

SO glad I made the immersion chiller, that thing was a beast! Chilled my wort down to pitching temperature in like 12 minutes!


Now to get a pipeline going.. I don't EVER want to have to wait 5 weeks for homebrew.



Quick question. How much fluid goes in the airlock?

 

[gkprobst]

I just fill my air lock with sanitizing liquid about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up. I usually use starsan for this. If it does suck back, it is not as much of a concern for contamination or flavor.

 

[Andy_LV]

I use vodka, in case I need to move it/etc and if it burps it into beer - no harm done, filling it about half way

 

[ShorelineThomas]

Got my first brew in the can today.

...

Now to get a pipeline going.. I don't EVER want to have to wait 5 weeks for homebrew.

Definitely understand. I've got my first batch (ever) still fermenting, and sure would like to have some HB available. Just have to wait.

 

[johnnybrew]

I also use vodka in the airlock. Just pour it up to the etched line on it.

Sounds like your first one went well! Good luck.

 

[elproducto]

Woke up this morning to a VERY active airlock

 

[Andy_LV]

heh, watch it this evening - maybe it will have an idea to go for a walk outside through airlock!

 

[BSBrewery]

Good job. I just finished brewing my first last night. It's an experience - that's for sure. No matter how many times you read and re-read, there's nothing like getting in there and doing it. I had a couple of minor things to worry about, and some things that I could do better next time, but I'm taking the "relax..." attitude and just letting it be.

 

[johnnybrew]

Good job. I just finished brewing my first last night. It's an experience - that's for sure. No matter how many times you read and re-read, there's nothing like getting in there and doing it. I had a couple of minor things to worry about, and some things that I could do better next time, but I'm taking the "relax..." attitude and just letting it be.

That's the best attitude!

Brew on!

 

[elproducto]

OK, so I took a 1 week hydro sample just for learning purposes and it was right at 1.010. I tasted the hydro sample and it was really bitter, and quite watery. I'm assuming this will settle with time?

 

[hal2814]

There are a lot of things that affect boil off rates. I'm not familiar with BrewPal but it's probably assuming 1.5 gallons per hour of boil-off and taking into account the volume of your extract to come up with the 6.2 gallon figure. So next time you just want to bump down the water amount. Unfortunately, you're just going to have to dial it in for your setup. That being said, I like getting just over 5 gallons in the fermenter so that when I rack it off primary and leave the trub behind, I still have 5 gallons of actual beer.

 

[elproducto]

So, curiosity got the best of meand I took another sample last night. Amazing what 48 hours can do suddenly it had Aroma and some body!

 

[elproducto]

Alright, just tried my first homebrew EVER. Been in the bottle 1 week and popped it in the fridge last night.

Really impressed, has a nice bitter hop presence up front which seems to fade nicely. My only concern is the mouthfeel seems a little thin.

Will this change with carbonation at all?

 

[baystatebrew]

wow your first batch. seems like you're already using some intermediate equipment. good for you.

sounds to me like you've read some stuff and are in good shape. just leave your fermenter alone and i think you'll be in good shape. all the tips above about the airlock seem like good advice to me. just fill it up halfway with water or vodka. it really doesn't matter.

 

[Groo]

Congrats man, hopefully when I pop mine open next week it will be as good as yours!