First Time Brewing Ever

[WileECoyote]

Hello, Today 3/29/12 was my first time brewing ever, I have to say to anyone thinking about brewing your own beer, (JUST DO IT!!) I waited several years to try brewing, if you can follow simple directions like cooking mac & cheese (maybe a tad more complex) you can brew beer!
It was a great experience, the smells were incredible, I did the (Groupon) Midwest Supply's kit $64.00 + $12.00 shipping, it comes with everything you need (except cooking pot and cooking thermometer) including 1 Ingredients kit, I chose the Irish Red Ale, It was about 3 1/2 hrs start to finnish and a good time I must say (4 beer consumed cooking time lol) Cant wait to try it, 3 weeks seems like forever, going to order 2 or 3 more ingredients kits tomorrow and some more brewing supplies.
I would like to thank everyone posting on this forum, I read a lot of post here before ordering my kit, Im really glad I ordered it now, Yes Im hooked.
Thanks Again Guys & Gals, cheers
WileECoyote
Any questions or comments welcome!

 

[nanofreak]

Congrats, it is a great hobby that can be as easy or complex as you wish. That midwest deal was a great one. What are you brewing next.

 

[jvp1]

Congrats! I brewed my first almost a week ago... Had the itch, got another fermenter, going to do a Pilsner tonight. Addicting hobby!

 

[LimerickBrewCo]

My only advice is take your time and be patient, your beer will thank you.

 

[bob1006]

I saw that deal as well. Almost bought just because it was so cheap. Then I went out to the garage and counted the buckets and carboys that I own already. I think stainless steel conical is the next step....

 

[eljefe]

Congrats and enjoy.

If you like Pale Ales/IPAs, I would recommend the Midwest Amarillo Pale Ale for your next kit. I really enjoyed it. There is a list of vendors on this site that provide everything from equipment to recipe kits. I will say they all have something that makes them better then others. Some offer better prices, others offer better selection, others offer a greater number of recipes. Search around to find what is the best offer for you.

I would also recommend at least one more fermentation bucket. You will find some of the bigger beers will need to age longer before bottling, and you don't want to be caught waiting for a beer to finish fermenting before brewing your next one.

As you progress, you may also want to keep your eye on the classifieds. Some of the all grain/kegging equipment shows up periodically and if you are patient you can get some good deals and build your "hardware" over time.

This forum is also filled with some of the best and nicest resources you will find anywhere. Everyday I learn something new from others on this site so look through the posts whenever you can.

Finally, find what works for you and what you like. This is a hobby that is based solely on personal preference. You will find people who will only brew extract recipes while others will only do all grain. Likewise, some swear by bottling only while others will only keg their beer. The point is, the only critic that matters is you. So enjoy what you like.

Oh I forgot the most important rule. You are to share at least one bottle of every brew you make with people who respond to your first post. Think of this like a "beer"ymid scheme for homebrewers. Sorry, those are the rules.

 

[WileECoyote]

WOW, already have fermentation bubbles in the air lock, that was quick, only took about 2 hrs after adding yeast.
WileECoyote

 

[WileECoyote]

Congrats, it is a great hobby that can be as easy or complex as you wish. That midwest deal was a great one. What are you brewing next.

I really want to brew NTOLERANCE's Amber-Wheat, the recipe is in another thread on this site and it sounds great to me, I might add some honey to it, want to do a stout too.
Thanks
WileECoyote

 

[WileECoyote]

Congrats! I brewed my first almost a week ago... Had the itch, got another fermenter, going to do a Pilsner tonight. Addicting hobby!

Congrats to you are in order to you too, Ill get to a Pilsner sooner or later, going to have 3 fermenters going at once soon, before I even get to taste my first one lol.
Thanks
WileECoyote

 

[Stauffbier]

Where do you guys find these groupon deals? I've googled but can't ever find any!

 

[midfielder5]

WOW, already have fermentation bubbles in the air lock, that was quick, only took about 2 hrs after adding yeast.
WileECoyote

This is not always good... what temp is the beer?
keep it below 68!

enjoy

 

[WileECoyote]

Thanks everyone for all the input and comments, I have already been looking on craig's list for 5gal kegs and brew equipment for about 2 weeks, looking for a 15 gal keg to make a brewing kettle out of too.
Thanks
WileECoyote

 

[Stauffbier]

Thanks everyone for all the input and comments, I have already been looking on craig's list for 5gal kegs and brew equipment for about 2 weeks, looking for a 15 gal keg to make a brewing kettle out of too.
Thanks
WileECoyote

I got my 15 gal keg at my local wine/beer specialty store (called Specs in case you have one there).. They sold it to me for $30.00 as "damaged goods"..

 

[WileECoyote]

Where do you guys find these groupon deals? I've googled but can't ever find any!

Call Midwest Supplies and ask them to help you find the Groupon beginner brewing kit deal, they found an active Groupon for me right over the phone.

 

[WileECoyote]

This is not always good... what temp is the beer?
keep it below 68!

enjoy

The crystal thermometer that you stick on the bucket is not working so Im not sure exactly what the temp is, the house is at 67 to 69 deg. Ill put the fermenter in a tub of room temp water to help regulate it, any suggestions
on taling the temp without removing the lid?
Thanks
WileECoyote

 

[Stauffbier]

Call Midwest Supplies and ask them to help you find the Groupon beginner brewing kit deal, they found an active Groupon for me right over the phone.

I don't need a beginner kit, but if they offer other goods thru the groupon deal I'd be interested. I'll give them a call. Thanks!

 

[Stauffbier]

The crystal thermometer that you stick on the bucket is not working so Im not sure exactly what the temp is, the house is at 67 to 69 deg. Ill put the fermenter in a tub of room temp water to help regulate it, any suggestions
on taling the temp without removing the lid?
Thanks
WileECoyote

If you have a dial thermometer you can measure the temp of the water in your swamp cooler. After about 12 hours or so the temp of the water should be pretty close to the temp of the wort. The wort will likely be about 2 or 3 degrees warmer than the water IME..

 

[WileECoyote]

I got my 15 gal keg at my local wine/beer specialty store (called Specs in case you have one there).. They sold it to me for $30.00 as "damaged goods"..

Las Vegas is the closes brewing supply store 1 1/2 hr drive ea. way, and I think they went out of business, only thing where i live, is a river running through the desert (Arizona) and Road Runners.
Nice score on the keg by the way.

Thanks
WileECoyote

 

[WileECoyote]

If you have a dial thermometer you can measure the temp of the water in your swamp cooler. After about 12 hours or so the temp of the water should be pretty close to the temp of the wort. The wort will likely be about 2 or 3 degrees warmer than the water IME..

Thanks for the info, Im going to set it up right now.

I just put the fermenting bucket a tub, added 5 gal of cool tap water around the fermenter, and now the thermometer is working under water lol, its at 77 deg, that must be the wort temp, cuz the tap water is quite a bit colder than that, I already have 4 frozen 32 oz bottles ready to help cool the wort during fermentation, put 1 in before bed, in the morning Ill check the temp again.
Great idea on temping the tub water!

Thanks again!
WileECoyote

"UPDATE", its morning and I just checked the cooling tub, the thermometer on the side of the fermenting bucket is at 75 now, but I don't think its reading right, the water is still cool to the touch (dropped in 1 more frozen bottle) the only thermometer that I have is one for candy, (going to order a dial one today, local stores dial thermometer didn't have a clip for the cooking pot, so I did buy one), and 75 deg is as low as it go's, its in the water now just a bit below the 75 deg mark, Im not sure but I think that it probably cant read much below its lowest mark, so I guess Im going to have to go with my gut and feeling the water temp, (best guess)

If my beer comes out a little sweet from fermenting to hot, it will be ok, as I like all kinds of beer, and Im kinda lean towards wanting a sweeter less hoppy beer anyway, cant seem to find one like that from any micro brew in the store.

Thanks

 

[midfielder5]

Yeah 77* is way too high. I figured it was about that b/c yeast were so active.
Good job on getting it in a swamp cooler asap.

For batch #2 (go redeem your $25 coupon for next batch from midwest), make sure your wort is 60ish when you pitch yeast. Get an immersion chiller, use more ice/time in sink for your ice bath, or let it go overnight (covered of course). I do the last one, it is called "no chill"- you have to adjust hop timing.

 

[Stauffbier]

Those strip thermometers DO NOT work when they are wet. Your wort is likely not 75F. Use your candy thermometer in the water! It will likely still give a good reading! You might be way colder than you want to be with all the ice bottles!

 

[WileECoyote]

Yeah 77* is way too high. I figured it was about that b/c yeast were so active.
Good job on getting it in a swamp cooler asap.

For batch #2 (go redeem your $25 coupon for next batch from midwest), make sure your wort is 60ish when you pitch yeast. Get an immersion chiller, use more ice/time in sink for your ice bath, or let it go overnight (covered of course). I do the last one, it is called "no chill"- you have to adjust hop timing.

Thanks, not sure i trust the crystal thermometer since it would not read anything till after it was under water, but its reading 70 deg now, no airlock activity now ether, on the instructions for the Irish Red Ale it said to cool wort below 80 then add yeast (did that at 75 deg) it said nothing about fermenting temps.

Going to redeem my coupon today, getting at least 2 more batches and more brewing equipment.

Thanks
WileECoyote

 

[WileECoyote]

Those strip thermometers DO NOT work when they are wet. Your wort is likely not 75F. Use your candy thermometer in the water! It will likely still give a good reading! You might be way colder than you want to be with all the ice bottles!

The candy thermometer is at about 65ish now, no airlock activity now, the water feels colder than 70deg to me (by touch) so I took ice out of tub, I only had 1 ice bottle in tub at a time, Im going to Midwest to get fermenting temps for that kit and yeast combo.

Thanks for the help.
WileECoyote

 

[WileECoyote]

Congrats and enjoy.

Oh I forgot the most important rule. You are to share at least one bottle of every brew you make with people who respond to your first post. Think of this like a "beer"ymid scheme for homebrewers. Sorry, those are the rules.

Nice rule, Ill share a bottle or two of every brew I make, but you have to come to my house in Arizona to get it.

Thanks
WileECoyote

 

[WileECoyote]

Hello, Wort temp has been down to 65ish since yesterday morning, still no airlock activity at all, not even a slight differential in the airlock, Im wondering if since the wort was so warm at first, that it did its complete primary fermentation in 12 to 16 hrs and its moved on to secondary fermentation already?
dose this sound right? any input?

Thanks
WileECoyote

 

[LLBeanJ]

Bulk of fermentation could very well be done, but airlock activity is not a reliable indicator. Plan on leaving it in the FV for 3-4 weeks so the yeasties can clean up after themselves and leave you with better tasting beer. My guess is with your fermentation temps moving around a bit at the beginning before getting under control, your brew will greatly benefit from a 4-week primary.

A few days before you plan on bottling, take a gravity reading and hopefully it will be near expected FG. After 3 days, take another reading and if it is the same as the previous reading, go ahead and bottle. Let it bottle condition at room temp for 3 weeks to ensure proper carbonation is achieved.

 

[WileECoyote]

Thanks LLBeanJ, I should have said I was planning on leaving it for another 3 weeks in the fermenter for the yeasties to cleanup (was thinking it) Im going to have to break down and get a freezer and convert it for fermenting, its already 80 deg in my house every day and summers not even here yet, going to be hard to ferment when its 120deg out, the bright side is that I could steep my grains in a pot on a rock lol.

Thanks
WileECoyote

 

[jvp1]

Thanks LLBeanJ, I should have said I was planning on leaving it for another 3 weeks in the fermenter for the yeasties to cleanup (was thinking it) Im going to have to break down and get a freezer and convert it for fermenting, its already 80 deg in my house every day and summers not even here yet, going to be hard to ferment when its 120deg out, the bright side is that I could steep my grains in a pot on a rock lol.

Thanks
WileECoyote

Necessity is the mother of invention

My current brew is fermenting at 69-71 or so. Some beers do allow for warmer temperatures. If there's one thing I've learned here at HomeBrewTalk...

RDWHAHB

 

[WileECoyote]

Necessity is the mother of invention

My current brew is fermenting at 69-71 or so. Some beers do allow for warmer temperatures. If there's one thing I've learned here at HomeBrewTalk...

RDWHAHB

Hello jvp1, what beer are you brewing? and what yeast? would love to know.

Thanks
WileECoyote