First homebrew!

[teddyjackson]

Hey everyone!

Just wanna say me and my friends brewed our first batch of pale ale yesterday. Well, it took an hour and a half to boil a gallon and half of water which we thought was waaayyy too long. But we then put in the grains, let it sit for 45 minutes. Then took out the grain, added i think it was 2 gallons then added the malt. It went very well, however the time it took to boil seemed long. I was told that it was suppose to take 45 minutes, however it took 4 hours to boil. I think a big mistake was, putting the yeast in a cup of hot water. Then when we poured the wart into the fermenter, we added yeast. Not sure if that will really have an adverse affect, but the readings came out well and I will get some pics and also a description on how it came out! Me and my friends played 4 hours of monoploly while we it was boiling, and...I had a miserable loss. Oh well! Ill get back with results!

T.J.

 

[Potter1]

:cross:First of all, no one really loses in Monopoly. Some just give up (i''ve never finished a game in my life)


Oh, Congrats on your first brew, too!

Four Hours to boil What are you using? A sterno can?

Just joking, whatever gets the job done, but thats pretty extreme.
How hot was the water/wort when you pitched the yeast? Did you cool the wort? It may take 24-72 hours to show signs of fermentation.

Whatever the outcome, that first bottle of homebrew is something special

 

[mullenite]

You boiled for four hours? And you steeped in boiling water?

 

[teddyjackson]

I purchased a brew kit at my homebrew store, a brew pot. However it was on a electric stove. We boiled the water, took it off the stove, the steeped for 45. We then took the grain out, added i belive it was 6lbs of malt and more water. It took around 3-4 hours to fully boil. Added half of the hops, then added the rest after a few minutes. Mistake? not sure, the directions wernt clear on how much hops to add. However, I believe it will come out fine. I have a question though, I have a the beer fermenting in a bucket (as of yesterday) Should I transfer it into my secondary bucket? Then bottle it in about 2 weeks? I am not using a glass carboy, however I could get one. Would you recommend it? I was thinking about siphoning it into the secondary next Saturday. What are your opinions? This is a pale ale, I hear its not necessary? Thanks guys, appreciate the help very much!

T.J.

 

[teddyjackson]

Oh, and potter, we weren't able to take the exact temp. But we need to get a thermometer for that for sure.

 

[mullenite]

You need a thermometer and while you are out get a hydrometer as well, if you want to rack to secondary don't do it until fermentation is complete.

I'm sure it will come out fine but watching temperature is important. If it is taking that long to boil you may need to consider doing a partial boil and topping off later.

 

[teddyjackson]

alright sounds good. If I do rack it to a secondary, should I do it next Saturday, which will be 6 days. If I do, how long should i wait to bottle it? Also, while siphoning into my secondary, should I strain? or will that take a lot of what i want for taste? I guess im allittle lost?

 

[mullenite]

Before continuing with anything I would read this: http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

Don't set a date to move to secondary, do it when the beer is ready.

 

[Moose777]

Let it sit and ferment for at least 10 days then measure specific gravity using a hydrometer..they're cheap to buy.
In any event if you did it right it should be fermented out within 10-14 days, after that you can just bottle it or move to a secondary fermenter for an additional week.
Congrats and I hope it turn out well