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MaltyRod

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Howdy, I had been contemplating starting my own homebrewing now for a couple years but never took the leap, I always would spy the MrBeer kits from afar and ponder the wonders of it, but thankfully moved next door to a neighbor that had a real homebrew kit, so eventually I moseyed over to the Local Homebrew beer and wine shop and picked me up a $150 kit that came with two glass carboys and all the beer fixins, they let me swap the pale ale Malt syrup with an Amber syrup since I like my beers a little darker. The kit only cost me a new bed frame (fiance said if I get a beer kit then she gets something too :rolleyes: )

Questions:

My kit came with 2- 5 gallon glass carboys which doesnt leave much room for the initial fermentation so they use a blowout tube method into a sanitized solution jar for the first few days and then attatch the fermentation lock, is this method okay or should I save up for a 6 gallon Primary fermenter carboy?

My beer took off fermenting like a rabbit after the first 10 hours in the carboy or so, and I saw lots of bubbling in the blowout jar. after putting on the fermentation lock the bubbling was still pretty good but by today (batch was started 7-15 night) it has a bubble go out maybe every 5 seconds is this about average?

My instructions say to transfer my batch over to a secondary fermenter 4-6 days from beginning, is this about the average?

Sorry if I sound too inquisitive just want to do this right.

Thanks Rod :D
 
Sounds like you're on track! I think your HBS kinda rooked you by giving you two 5 gal carboys, though. There's nothing wrong with using a 5gal/blowoff for primary, really, but it makes a lot more sense to start off with something with capacity to handle a big primary fermentation (i.e. a 6.5gal carboy). And if they're worth their salt they know that, too.

But, you're off and running. Sounds like you're instructions are OK. I'd give it a week before racking, just because. It's good to use sensible chunks of time for your first couple batches....it'll help you get a better feel for what's going on.

Best of luck, and welcome to the forum!
 
Thanks Sam, My second batch will for sure have that 6.5 Carboy involved in it, I figure I can never have too many carboys. especially since i'm planning on experimenting with Mead and Wine later on.
 
Welcome! I've only been here a short time myself. First batch is only 16 hours or so in the fermenter... but the information here has been a huge help.

Keep reading and brewing and coming back!
 
MaltyRod said:
Thanks Sam, My second batch will for sure have that 6.5 Carboy involved in it, I figure I can never have too many carboys. especially since i'm planning on experimenting with Mead and Wine later on.


You're absolutely right, you can never go wrong with more carboys. The way I see it it's better to have the larger ones that you don't have to worry about space. The 5G are great for secondaries though so I think you're about set once you get one or two more biggun's.
 
Welcome Malty,

My books say rack to secondary when the main fizzy pancacke of yeast disappears... it's really obvious... you go from fluff and foam to scummy-looking pond-water, an then it's time! But a day or two extra isn't going to hurt... that thing will be pumping co2 and keeping itself clean for days.
 
MaltyRod said:
The kit only cost me a new bed frame (fiance said if I get a beer kit then she gets something too :rolleyes: )

Why is it that when men buy something they want it is always something cool like a beer kit, but when women want something it is always something lame like a peice of furniture. Where are all the women that want beer kits too! That is the type of woman I want to find.

On second thought, I wouldn't want my girl drinking all my beer, and I sure as hell don't want to pick out furniture, so I guess the system works.
 
Where are all the women that want beer kits too!

they all disappeared somewhere between highschool and college. that's just a theory i'm working on though...but i think that once the women got us guys on the hook - there was no more need to be wild party gals any more.
 
welcome aboard MaltyRod! as all have said, your on track and sounds like it's working good.

you'll like the 6.5 for your next batch. a little more room is nice, plus the glass carboys are much better for the brew (IMO).

i'd let the primary sit until the rocky head (krausen) has subsided. then rack it on over to the secondary for 7-10 days. or, purists will say to take a specific gravity readings to see when it's ready to transfer/bottle.

brew on!
 
patrck17 said:
Why is it that when men buy something they want it is always something cool like a beer kit, but when women want something it is always something lame like a peice of furniture. Where are all the women that want beer kits too! That is the type of woman I want to find.

On second thought, I wouldn't want my girl drinking all my beer, and I sure as hell don't want to pick out furniture, so I guess the system works.

Huh! There you go generalizing. LOL! In my house I'm the one doing stuff like making beer, wine, cordials, cheese and such. Not all of us do that one-for-him-one-for-me.

I won't ever forget the look on the fellow who stocked our pond, though. He said that usually he deals with guys who are trying to get their wives to OK the stocking. I just told him "I _am_ the wife!"

Just racked the Cream Ale (and some Wildberry Shiraz) yesterday. It's fun to watch it clarify from the top down. The yeast trub went into the compost. Vitamins for the garden!
 
I agree a bed frame is a cheap price to pay to keep my beer stock to myself, she doesnt even like it, much less the brewing process. the Primary fermenter has cleared on top (looks like swamp water as someone else said, and not that flat pancake of foam) so within the next day or two (when I can find time to sanitize my secondary carboy, racking tube and hose) I'll transfer it over.

Speaking of sanitizing, right now i'm using PLC for cleaning and BTF for sanitizing, is the one steps (like "one step" for example) a better more efficient option for this? I mean do they work just as well, they seem just as inexpensive.
 
SpinDance said:
Huh! There you go generalizing. LOL! In my house I'm the one doing stuff like making beer, wine, cordials, cheese and such. Not all of us do that one-for-him-one-for-me.

Hehe, yeah I know SpinDance, I actually had you in the back of my mind when I was writing that post, I was just hoping you might not see it. Definately was generalizing. But -in general- it is true. Seems you have to really dig deep to find the good ones, like yourself. :)

My girlfriend is like a lot of the girlfriends/fiances/wifes of guys on this forum (based off what I have read), she doesn't really mind that I brew, and she is happy I have a hobby that I enjoy, but she isn't at all interested in it. She'll only goes as far as to "try" my brew, and get me beer toys for my birthday. Speaking of which, my birthday is in early September...
 
It really is funny how different people can be. My fiance is, like all of us, primarily a beer drinker. When I tell her I am going to brew, she's there, helping, and enjoying it. She actually asks me when we're going to brew again. It's my friends that aren't interested in the brewing/bottling parts--only the drinking part. Lousy, no good... :D
 
My wife doesn't help me brew per se, she does make labels, pick up fresh herbs and ingredients for special brews, allocated more basement room to my equipment and suggested a new shelving system for it, and she definitely, DEFINITELY helps me plan and drink the beer I produce. And usually when I'm doing "beer stuff" she'll do scrapbooking or candlemaking which allows us to chat and catch up on the day. She really thinks the Listerman sparge arm/whirlygig is cool. I have to agree.

The only puzzled look I get is when I say, "Geez, I need to brew a batch, but I only have 30 empties. I need to buy more bottles." She looks at the shelves full of cases of beer and asks, "Don't you think 300 bottles is enough? Are you saving up for Y3K or something?"
 
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