I'm Ready For 1st Brew Tomorrow...and updates

[fizzix]

I've crash-coursed beer brewing and have been given excellent advice all thanks to this forum.
Went over my Brewer's Best Pale Red instructions over and over and am confident I'll do this beer right.

Will sanitize everything remotely near contact with my wort, and have all the basic tools to get this done properly.

You remember that first time nervousness, right? What do you wish someone would've said to you to ease the anxiety?

...Cover me. I'm going in.

 

[Pkrd]

If you screw something up, it'll probably still be beer, and you'll be in good company.

 

[ong]

Don’t freak out about sanitizing before the wort starts cooling. And remember you’re just trying to give the yeast an advantage over other microbes, not create a biologically sterile environment. Even pretty egregious exposure (diving into the wort to retrieve your phone) doesn’t mean your beer is ruined.

 

[flars]

I wish someone would have said, "pitch your yeast at the low end of the 60°F range".

It is easier to warm a fermentation than cool one off that got too hot.

 

[jtratcliff]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/RDWHAHB

It'll be beer...

 

[fizzix]

Thanks for the quick responses! Very encouraging.

 

[SEndorf]

Just remember.... the slightest mistake will be a disaster and cause brain damage!

Nawwww.. Just kiddin. You've done your homework. You'll make beer and it will be good.
Post back the results of your brew day.

 

[eadavis80]

Don't drink more than 3 beers prior to pitching your yeast.

 

[PADave]

Don't expect everything to go perfect. You will encounter some snags, but you will make beer. Take lots of good notes. Once you are all finished think about what you can do different, and start planning you next brew!

 

[fizzix]

Just remember.... the slightest mistake will be a disaster and cause brain damage!

Now THAT made me laugh my arse off !!!

 

[Jtk78]

It really is like the first time you had sex. Your nervous, you're not really sure where to put things, you hope you're clean enough, and you have no idea how it's going to come out in the end.

So my advice would be to calm down and enjoy it. Something may go wrong, but it's still going to be good and a lot of fun.

 

[Jayjay1976]

When I started out I took sanitation way too seriously, to the point that I stressed myself out worrying about imaginary vectors of contamination to the extent that I couldn't enjoy brewing and my wife thought I should find an easier hobby. Just be thorough and think ahead, and trust that good habits will develop with practice. I still take each step too seriously which makes for long brew days but I'm learning where to best spend my time focusing on details and where I can be a bit more careless. For instance, I no longer measure out hop additions to 1/10th gram accuracy, I just use my larger grain scale that measures to .1 oz. Instead of sanitizing things 2 and 3 times, I just give them a dunk in a bucket of starsan just before use. I still am a Nazi about misting everything with my spray bottle, but that's more a placebo than anything. Relax and have fun!

 

[WBB]

Well how’s it going?

Be ready for clogged transfers. My first brew and the transfer from the kettle to the carboy didn’t go as planned. Ended up picking up the kettle with about 4 gallons and proceeded to get as much into the carboy as I could. A lot ended up on the driveway and my clothes. But in the end I did make beer.

 

[dustinthompson85]

Let your beer finish. You will want to try it, but make sure you hold off and let it do it a thing first.

 

[Biscuits]

Like some have already pointed out don't worry so much. I have had to stick my entire hand into my wort before and/or forgot to spray stuff with starsan before sticking it in the wort and I have never had an infected beer *knocks on wood*. I wish someone would have told me to ferment in a cool place...not sure why but when I first started I thought warmer was better...I also wish someone would have told me to write EVERYTHING down, no matter how ridiculous it may seem at the time because one day you're gonna foul up and make the most incredible beer, but without detailed notes, you'll never be able to recreate it.

BREW ON!

 

[fizzix]

1ˢᵗ ever Brew Day:
All went well. Didn't forget any steps. Everything was sanitized and then some.
All the cooking hit temperatures spot on. Man, the smell of boiling hops is great!
Target SG per kit instructions was 1.048 and I hit 1.047
Aerated the hell out of it and pitched yeast.
Luckily the ferment temp recommendation is 65°F --my exact room temperature.
Now we wait for gurgles...

Thanks to this site I've come a long way since this past Tuesday when I knew nothing.

 

[SEndorf]

Congrats!
What yeast are you using?

 

[fizzix]

Congrats!
What yeast are you using?

The stuff that came in the (Brewer's Best Red Ale) kit: Nottingham Ale Yeast

 

[SEndorf]

That's a fantastic room temperature yeast.
I think the hardest part at this point is patience. It sure was for me.

 

[seabrew8]

notty is fast, probably be finished to bottle in 7-10days.

 

[fizzix]

notty is fast, probably be finished to bottle in 7-10days.

Good to know.

And as far as patience, I am also in another type of alcohol production hobby that is prohibited from discussion here.
Think about waiting a year before your drinks are ready! So a few weeks beer wait is a walk in the park for me.

 

[seabrew8]

Good to know.

And as far as patience, I am also in another type of alcohol production hobby that is prohibited from discussion here.
Think about waiting a year before your drinks are ready! So a few weeks beer wait is a walk in the park for me.

Your new man, don't get hung up on all the advice. Follow your intuition. Many a good beer was packaged after 7-10days, especially notty which clears fast. I once bottled a 5 day old batch because it was an open fermentation. All i can remeber its was decent homebrew for extract.

Personally, i believe thats one of the biggest things about homebrew. AG is superior.

 

[fizzix]

This extract certainly was a good kit beer to learn on, but I realize the value of an all-grain.
Already have Yooper's House Pale Ale in mind once this red ale pans out. Loves me them ales!

 

[Yeastieboy]

Don’t start asking the forum what you did wrong when you don’t see signs of fermentation after 12 hours.

 

[fizzix]

Don’t start asking the forum what you did wrong when you don’t see signs of fermentation after 12 hours.

No I'm not going to waste server space with inane questions like that. That question floods the forum already, and I've got a troubleshooting list compiled from reading many of the responses. And besides, Yeastieboy, I had a look and she's just starting to perk! It's a weak pulse, but the patient is alive.

 

[JCD127]

Im on my third brew and I can say its pretty darn easy. I keep all my utensils in a 5gal bucket of Starsan and keep a spray bottle next to me. When in doubt, spray it down. All my brews have been successful and came out nice. Beer is quite resilient but one thing you got to exercise is patience. Cheers [emoji482].

 

[fizzix]

Day 4: Gravity is at 1.024 down from 1.047, so around 3%. Flat, but tasty. Seems good so far!

 

[eadavis80]

I can tell you're excited - nothing like you're first brew. Most people don't bother with a gravity reading however until at least a week after brew day. The fewer times you open up your fermenter, the better. But, as long as you're sanitary with everything, you're fine. Good luck with one of the hardest parts - patience...

 

[fizzix]

Yeah the kit instructions recommended a gravity check to make sure things were on path. I'll wait until the 2-week mark before checking again as she should be done then.
I had sanitized the eyedropper "mini-thief" for the refractometer gravity reading sample after sanitizing my hands and the (closed) bucket lid.

 

[madscientist451]

The stuff that came in the (Brewer's Best Red Ale) kit: Nottingham Ale Yeast[/QUOTE

If you want to be thrifty, get ingredients for another brew ready and just dump the next wort on the existing yeast cake. Or swirl up the slurry and pour it into a sanitized quart jar and keep in the fridge. Nottingham yeast is very reliable and can be re-used many times.