First post and first brew day!!!

[trailrunner13]

Hey guys. I just joined up and I have my first brew day after work today. I'll be doing a partial boil extract IPA batch.

I'm so excited, I've felt like a kid waiting for Christmas to arrive all week long.

I'll be taking pictures and notes during the process tonight and I'll post up any questions or concerns that I have, as I know that I will have many.

I'm looking forward to learning more from this site and brewing many more batches.



Jonah

 

[Ethan21]

Hey guys. I just joined up and I have my first brew day after work today. I'll be doing a partial boil extract IPA batch.

I'm so excited, I've felt like a kid waiting for Christmas to arrive all week long.

I'll be taking pictures and notes during the process tonight and I'll post up any questions or concerns that I have, as I know that I will have many.

I'm looking forward to learning more from this site and brewing many more batches.



Jonah

Good luck I just brewed my first IPA as well I am ready to do another brew day!

 

[dude3516]

Something I always forget, if you're using a slap pack activate it first. Nothing worse than sitting up while I wait for yeast to multiply. Good luck and happy brewing!

 

[TheCADJockey]

Good luck buddy. Don't hesitate to leave a post here if you have any questions. You'll get answers pretty quick usually.

 

[trailrunner13]

Good luck buddy. Don't hesitate to leave a post here if you have any questions. You'll get answers pretty quick usually.

Thanks.

 

[kev211]

Sub'd. Come back with any and all questions. This place/thread is a great way to get any kind of questions answered. Good luck with your first brew! Just remember, this is a hobby, its supposed to be relaxing and fun.

 

[trailrunner13]

Alright. My first brew day is done. And now. I wait.

 

[Hello]

Good luck! But I hoped for pics.

 

[kev211]

Good luck! But I hoped for pics.

Ditto to this. I call b.s. pics or your first brew day didnt happen

 

[trailrunner13]

Ahhh.... I had my littlest one in my arms feeding, so I was one hand typing. Kinda hard for pics. Anyway, here we go. I was a little pre-occupied trying to stay 2 steps ahead to take many pictures, but enough excuses. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1421469816.071481.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1421469879.515922.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1421469924.949659.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1421469959.878325.jpg

 

[trailrunner13]

Alright. I guess the obligatory "Did I screw up my first batch" question has to be asked.

How much can you trust the stick on Permometer? Mine still shows 76, but when I used a sanitized thermometer in my wort before I added it to my 2 gallons of water in the fermenter, it was right at 70 degrees. Did I pitch my yeast, US-05, at too high a temperature?

 

[kev211]

Alright. I guess the obligatory "Did I screw up my first batch" question has to be asked.

How much can you trust the stick on Permometer? Mine still shows 76, but when I used a sanitized thermometer in my wort before I added it to my 2 gallons of water in the fermenter, it was right at 70 degrees. Did I pitch my yeast, US-05, at too high a temperature?

Nooooo. 70 is great! Most newbies (and some experienced guys) get impatient and pitch closer to 80 which is no good. 70 is perfect. The stick ons are relatively accurate (within a degree or two). But I don't think you have anything to sorry about. Sounds like you were well prepped

 

[trailrunner13]

Thanks man. I guess I'll find out in due time! Last question. I'm skipping the secondary. Can I just add the last ounce of hops at 2 weeks and let it continue for a week or so until I check my gravity?

Either way, I had a blast during the entire process. I can't wait to do a couple of 1 gallon batches in the next week or two also.

 

[doug293cz]

Alright. My first brew day is done. And now. I wait.

And, don't get impatient and forget to wait. Waiting is one of the most difficult things to do for a new brewer. Too long is usually better than not long enough, especially when it comes to fermentation and bottle carbonation/conditioning.

Oh, and congratulations by the way.

Brew on

 

[Brauer]

Congrats on your first brew. The most important thing you can do at this point is try to control your fermentation temp. Oh yea and be patient.
Prost!

 

[noobie]

From the pictures it looks like you were very well prepared. Good luck to you!

 

[trailrunner13]

Thanks for all of the well wishes everyone.

As I think about it today, the only things that I would've done differently would have been to be be more sure of the temperature of the wort before I pitched the yeast, aerated the wort more vigorously, and I would've used a fine mesh strainer when I poured it over into the fermenting bucket.

Speaking of aerating, how do you guys shake the fermenting bucket vigorously enough with the hole for the airlock being open? Should I have just put the airlock in place and then shook the crap out of it? I was too worried about wort splashing out of the hole to shake too hard...

Also, when I siphon into my bottling bucket, I'm not doing a secondary, will that let me leave all of the junk that came over into the fermenter from the kettle? Should I secondary it since I didn't strain it going into the fermenter?

Thanks for all of your positivity on here everyone.


Jonah

 

[beerme70]

Ahhh, I remember my first brew day. I remember second guessing everything I did. There were a lot of "did I do this right", "did I do that right", "should I have done this", etc. I looks like you have things under control. Everything will be fine as long as everything that you have in contact with the wort post-boil is cleaned and sanitized. There are really only two things that are detrimental to a batch of beer... IMPATIENCE and COMPLACENCY.

 

[doug293cz]

Thanks for all of the well wishes everyone.

As I think about it today, the only things that I would've done differently would have been to be be more sure of the temperature of the wort before I pitched the yeast, aerated the wort more vigorously, and I would've used a fine mesh strainer when I poured it over into the fermenting bucket.

Speaking of aerating, how do you guys shake the fermenting bucket vigorously enough with the hole for the airlock being open? Should I have just put the airlock in place and then shook the crap out of it? I was too worried about wort splashing out of the hole to shake too hard...

Also, when I siphon into my bottling bucket, I'm not doing a secondary, will that let me leave all of the junk that came over into the fermenter from the kettle? Should I secondary it since I didn't strain it going into the fermenter?

Thanks for all of your positivity on here everyone.


Jonah

Many of us don't worry about getting trub from the BK into the fermenter. You can still make very clear beer anyway (http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/.) If you leave the beer in primary for about two weeks, and then cold crash it (if you have the capability) the vast majority of the trub will settle to the bottom of the fermenter. Cold crashing involves dropping the temperature of the fermenter to the low 30's°F for a couple of days. If you can't cold crash, an extra week or two in primary will give more time for trub/yeast settling.

You don't have to warm the beer back up before bottling, just be careful when moving the fermenter not to stir up the trub. When siphoning, keep the tip of the siphon out of the trub, and you will pick up very little junk. Letting the bottling bucket sit for 1/2 - 1 hr before bottling will allow some of whatever trub did make it into the bottling bucket settle out.

Brew on