First brew just put in the primary!

[RlzTheKringen]

Hello!

Just put my first batch in the primary! Just picked up a kit from Midwest and got the Autumn Amber Ale to try out. I'm a little nervous that I got the wort too cold, it went way faster than I thought. But I'm sure it will be fine.

Cheers!

 

[Atonk]

Too cold before you pitched your yeast? It would be worse if it was too warm; you will be absolutely fine, and congratulations!

 

[thatshowyougetants]

Congrats, exciting.

 

[Chipman]

Hi my name is Chipman, and I'm a brewaholic. Welcome! What went faster than you thought? The chilling? Not a bad thing for future batches! Faster the better.

Three words of advice for you though... patience, patience, patience! That's the hardest part especially with your first batch. Give it at least 3 weeks in the fermentor and 3 weeks in the bottle or keg to carbonate. In the meantime brew another brew!

 

[RlzTheKringen]

Yes - the chilling went very fast, plus the bottled spring water I used to top off was a little chilled. I'm from WI so I used a cooler to bring in snow from outside and put it in the bath tub with water - worked fast.

If I'm doing a secondary ferment in a glass carboy I want to go roughly a week in the primary, then two weeks in the secondary correct?

 

[501irishred]

Hello!

Just put my first batch in the primary! Just picked up a kit from Midwest and got the Autumn Amber Ale to try out. I'm a little nervous that I got the wort too cold, it went way faster than I thought. But I'm sure it will be fine.

Cheers!

I LOVE brewing in the winter for just that reason! Chilling wort to under 70, when the tap water is hovering around 80, is not nearly as fun.....

Welcome to the obsession!

 

[501irishred]

Yes - the chilling went very fast, plus the bottled spring water I used to top off was a little chilled. I'm from WI so I used a cooler to bring in snow from outside and put it in the bath tub with water - worked fast.

If I'm doing a secondary ferment in a glass carboy I want to go roughly a week in the primary, then two weeks in the secondary correct?

If you decide to use a secondary (typically not required), try to wait for fermentation to finish fully which could be a week or even three before transferring. The secondary is really only to clear and age (mainly clear) your finish product. You can leave it in the secondary from a week to several months.

 

[RlzTheKringen]

Is this normal? The water line was level before.

 

[CDGoin]

Yep.. its called CO2, the yeast poop it.. it will flow throught he water and out.. thats what its there for to seal the air chamber.

Welcome.. this hobby is addictive and I only have a week on you..

Remember the Search feature is your friend..

 

[BrewingPrepper]

Congrats... My first brew is an IPA and Im gonna ferment in primary for 3 weeks.

 

[emmdubb23]

Congrats... My first brew is an IPA and Im gonna ferment in primary for 3 weeks.

I wish I had that patience and I have been at this over a year!

 

[BrewingPrepper]

yeah its definately hard to wait especially since i am using a bucket. I havent even peeked yet. However i look at the bucket frequently lol.

 

[CDGoin]

yeah its definately hard to wait especially since i am using a bucket. I havent even peeked yet. However i look at the bucket frequently lol.

LOL.. I Know the feeling.. Unfortunately for me my fermenter is clear, so I can see whats going on..

Actually think I am having feelings for it like a pet and even feel that maybe its staring back at me.

I am sure as I do this longer and have multiple batches running at the same time I get over this.

Nah.. I will never have patience..

 

[emmdubb23]

I really get impatient when I am out of homebrew... Like I am now... Got 2 in the fermenters atm tho...

 

[501irishred]

I am sure as I do this longer and have multiple batches running at the same time I get over this.

Nah.. I will never have patience..

More batches just means more "voices" calling from the fermentation chamber.......

 

[CDGoin]

Like the voices I currently hear from in the Beer Fridge in the garage..? or the Ones in my head ??

 

[brettamuss]

I have no patience! Thats why im a 2/2 kinda guy! After the 2 weeks of conditioning i put half the bottles in the fridge and leave half to condition for a couple more weeks! (Or until i drink all of the first half) ; ) be careful! It is addicting as they say it is!

 

[501irishred]

Like the voices I currently hear from in the Beer Fridge in the garage..? or the Ones in my head ??

hmmm. Neither.....both? Either way, sounds like a party!

 

[peterj]

If I'm doing a secondary ferment in a glass carboy I want to go roughly a week in the primary, then two weeks in the secondary correct?

I wouldn't use a secondary at all. Secondaries are only usefull for adding dryhops, fruit, wood, etc. to your beer. Or if you are going to age a large beer for more than a few months. The beer will clear just as much in the primary as it will in the secondary, and maybe even more in the primary because you're not stirring things up by racking it. The kit intructions probably say to use a secondary, but most kit instructions are pretty much worthless, and the company probably just wants to sell more carboys. Plus you really need to leave the beer in contact with as much yeast as you can to give the yeast time to clean up any off flavors and by-products it produced during the main fermentation. Also, by transfering the beer you are unnecessarily risking an infection.

yeah its definately hard to wait especially since i am using a bucket. I havent even peeked yet. However i look at the bucket frequently lol.

When I use buckets I always make sure to sniff the airlock a few times per day to help me feel more connected to my beer!

 

[Unibrow]

Congrats!

Best way to get patience is building a pipeline, which ironically, takes a LOT of patience. But once you have a decent pipeline of home brew, you'll be able to wait 1 month in the primary without thinking twice.

 

[brettamuss]

I agree with peter! Secondaries are pointless unless you are adding something you don't want wiped out by fermentation like fruit or other flavors! Dry hopping i just throw in the primary after fermentation is done! Re racking just ups the chance of contamination! Cheers!

 

[peterj]

I agree with peter! Secondaries are pointless unless you are adding something you don't want wiped out by fermentation like fruit or other flavors! Dry hopping i just throw in the primary after fermentation is done! Re racking just ups the chance of contamination! Cheers!

Yeah, I've actually started dry hopping in the primary as well. It's so much easier and the results are identical!

 

[PAjwPhilly]

I just finished my 1st brewing session on the 30th of December. 2 5gallon batches of an IPA.

Cant wait to brew again once I evict this brew and put it in bottles.

 

[rklinck]

Congrats!

Best way to get patience is building a pipeline, which ironically, takes a LOT of patience. But once you have a decent pipeline of home brew, you'll be able to wait 1 month in the primary without thinking twice.

Could not agree more.

The best way to achieve this is to buy additional fermenting buckets. At less than 20 bucks a piece with the lids and airlocks, these are probably the best investment for a new brewer who has a patience problem. I bought three extra buckets within a week, which allowed me to get my pipeline full really quickly. At the beginning, patience was impossible for me (my first brew was bottled less than 10 days after brewing). Now, I can easily allow brews to sit for at least three weeks before bottling/kegging because I have a good variety of homebrew sitting around.

 

[RlzTheKringen]

Has it been three weeks yet?

 

[RlzTheKringen]

So it's been going siince last Wednesday and I took the reading attached today - am I running a little too cold? See attached thermometer reading. There is blue at 61 but also residual up to 64.

 

[CDGoin]

Told a tad on the cold side just extends the fermentation time. It may also make for a smoother beer with less off-tastes. Its not like your in the low to mid-50s.. Just on the cool side.

Looking at the good bubbles there, I think it will be fine.

But what do I know.. I just bottled my first batch..

 

[peterj]

Told a tad on the cold side just extends the fermentation time. It may also make for a smoother beer with less off-tastes. Its not like your in the low to mid-50s.. Just on the cool side.

Looking at the good bubbles there, I think it will be fine.

But what do I know.. I just bottled my first batch..

This is true, yeast work slower the colder it is, but too warm can create off-flavors. What yeast did you use? Some yeast can go dormant at that temperature, but most will be fine. Now that the most vigorous part of fermentation is over you can let the beer warm up if you can. This will encourage the yeast to finish fermenting all that they can and clean up off-flavors and by-products more efficiently.

 

[RlzTheKringen]

Sorry - noob here and I used the yeast that they handed me at Northwest for my kit. Next time I brew I will be able to answer that question. I moved to an upstairs closet a few degrees warmer.

Side note: never tasted flat-ish beer before but this sample was great! Everyone loves their own kids though...

 

[peterj]

mmmmmm... hydrometer samples = delicious!