First time brewer (Update: 10/6)

[jerrylotto]

Does anyone else think that S04 is not alcohol tolerant enough for a stout recipe? I typically use S05 for those and hold fermentation to 65-67. That's not to say it is a lost cause, but I would be concerned about a high FG and maybe pitch a more tolerant yeast to finish things off.

PS - are we reporting the wort temperature or the room temperature? Fermentation is highly exothermic at first and I've seen 15 degree spikes when I relied on air cooling. Now I submerge the fermentation vessel in a water bath until it slows and then use ice/freezer paks in a jacket to keep the wort temps steady.

 

[mjasinski30]

So, I went ahead and followed the recipe and switched to the second fermenter with the chips. OG was 1.056. Reading I just took was 1.020. Hope that’s a good sign. Time to let it sit for 3 weeks then bottle. Can’t thank everyone enough for the advice. I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I’m going to get another bucket and start a new, less time consuming brew. Thanks again for all the help and encouragement.

 

[RM-MN]

I’m going to get another bucket

Just one?

 

[beerbelliest]

Hi there, so as a new brewer here, I just bought a recipe kit for an American Ale. I noticed that the batch was going to yield 19Lt (5 gal), and thinking that it would be too much too handle for a complete beginner I adjusted the ingredients' weight and volume to a third of the original recipe (6.3lt or 1.67Gal). To make things even more complicated, I just realized that the ideal fermenting condition is at 21C (70F). Thus far I documented the progress of the fermentation day from day one, and on average it is fermenting around 26-29C (79-84F) up to now. During the first 2 fermenting days I noticed almost no bubble on the airlock. On third to seventh though, by some miracles, I noticed the bubbles. Krauzen did form during the active bubbling days, and getting lesser and lesser by the passing days. Despite the volume I still used the full 5 gallon bucket to ferment my batch, and no I do not have secondary fermenting bucket.

So comes my questions:
1. Will my batch yield a normal beer?
2. What would be considered as a bad batch of beer? Is it just the sour taste, or how bad really can a beer get?
3. Is there any way of telling that a batch of beer is safe to consume? (I followed the safety precautions of brewing, sanitize and sterilize)
4. Is it okay I post my questions here? Or should I start a new thread. Sorry I'm really new to this blogging and sharing in this forum

Thanks for the tips and replies above, they are also my main concerns in starting brewing. Hope to learn a lot here.
Cheers

 

[RM-MN]

1. It should be a normal beer except..
2. A bad batch of beer is one that doesn't taste good. Sour is one, hot alcohol is another which you likely will have. When yeast ferment too high of a temperature they create what is known as fusel alcohol. This make the beer taste like it is much higher in alcohol content than it really is and reports I have read say that it leads to some wicked hangovers if you drink too much at one setting.
3. Nothing that can harm you can survive in beer as it is too acidic and has alcohol too. It might not taste good though.
4. Since you posted here I answered here but it really would be best if you start a new topic with your question so it doesn't get confused with the original poster's question or simply ignored.

5. Small batches are nice as you don't have to drink 50 bottles of beer if you don't like it. It also allows you to make some (small) changes when you brew the next portion of that kit. One thing to learn quickly is to ferment the beer near its lower preferred temperature as getting too warm, especially in the first 2-4 days, will get you some esters and maybe fusel alcohol that won't taste like you probably prefer. You can search for the yeast's preferred temp on the manufacturer's website.

 

[seatazzz]

Kit instructions tend to be horribly outdated. As others have stated above, moving your beer to a secondary fermentation vessel is not only mostly unnecessary, but can introduce more oxygen that may harm your beer. Unless you're planning on letting your beer sit on fruit for an extended period, secondary is absolutely NOT necessary. As long as your sanitation is on point, no infection present, there's no harm in letting your beer sit in primary for as long as necessary. And that includes adding your oak chips.

 

[Rick Crane]

I bought a Fridgidaire at home Depot and a Inkbird temp controller.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frigidaire-5-cu-ft-Chest-Freezer-in-White-FFCS0522AW/313213581
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HXM5UAC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
One carboy or one bucket fits fine. ( 5.0 cu Feet)

I was just playing around with it and put the Inkbird sensor in a glass of water inside the freezer with nothing else inside and logged the temperature over 7 hours. Target temp 65 F The temp graph is attached. Looks like it goes up to 70 f and as low as 30 F to try and maintain 65 degrees. Not sure this is ideal. I will play some more with a 5 gallon bucket of water inside the freezer and the temp probe just hanging.

I think I am going to put the beer in a carboy to ferment and tape the temperature probe from the inkbird to the glass carboy, and tape some foam over it for insulation. I came across these idea's reading the forums.

My temperature logger :
https://simple-circuit.com/sd-card-arduino-temperature-data-logger/