Just did my first brew.

[wawawrx]

First and foremost (sp?): i spent A LOT of time reading on here, went through the entire FAQ sticky, read 'How to brew', the first section of 'The Joy of Homebrewing', countless random threads, and a bunch of searches via this site. All i have to say after that long winded sentence is that i would've messed up big time without learning from all you **** ups who went ahead of me and i really appreciate it.

That having been said...

things of note:

1. Initially boiled ~2 gallons of water. placed them inside spigot bucket
2. instructions called for a 1.5G boil for the wort... i did about 4 gallons (is that ok? i thought i read somewhere that the more you boil for your wort, the higher the OG. not sure)
3. i must be retarded, i couldn't get a reading out of the hydrometer. i placed ~4oz of "beer" into a glass, and placed the hydro in... nothing. oh well, beer looked fine, and smelled like something that will turn into beer, so i'm not going to complain
4. rehydrated my dry yeast (didn't have time to make a starter) about 60 minutes ahead of time, instructions said 15 minutes, i assume this wont make a difference? i stirred the yeast every 15 minutes or so to create even suspension.
5. no less than 6-7 hours later, my blow-off was quite active. glad i did that and didn't airlock it right away.
6. took me about 6 hours from (waking up) first sanitization of spigot/bucket, all the way through cleaning EVERYTHING up. this time will trim down next time... right? i want to get good enough to do this on a work night :rockin:

lastly...4 gallons of wort in a 5 gallon pot, and i didn't get ANYWHERE close to a boil-over... did i do something wrong!?!

 

[NorCalAngler]

3. i must be retarded, i couldn't get a reading out of the hydrometer. i placed ~4oz of "beer" into a glass, and placed the hydro in... nothing. oh well, beer looked fine, and smelled like something that will turn into beer, so i'm not going to complain

I'm new myself (fun, isn't it?!), but I think I can answer #3 because I had the same "duh" moment with the hydrometer. It's not like a thermometer. You suspend it in the fluid and it floats to give you the gravity reading. You then need to adjust the reading for the temperature of the wort.

 

[wawawrx]

yeah... well i'll take a second opinion on that, but that makes sense



i put my blow-off in 1/3 quart of water in a 1 quart container last night. woke up to some active blowing and decided that it was fine. on the way out the door for work i changed my mind and put a hefty bag under it. thanks to that, i save about 10+oz of beer on my floor! 24 hours in and this thing is really kicking, i think i actually did something right! will put the airlock on in ~2 more days. pics of fermenter will come pending i can post them

 

[MaliciousMushrm]

I'm new myself (fun, isn't it?!), but I think I can answer #3 because I had the same "duh" moment with the hydrometer. It's not like a thermometer. You suspend it in the fluid and it floats to give you the gravity reading. You then need to adjust the reading for the temperature of the wort.

This is correct... you let the hydrometer float to get your readings. Most people use a tube that looks like a graduated cylinder. You need just enough to make it float. Mine gets stuck on teh edges of my measuring tube and i spin it to make sure i get a more accurate reading.

 

[PolishLogic]

From my meager experience, as well as what I've read, you should end up just fine. As for the hydro, if you're in a pinch, the tube it came in will suffice until you can get yourself something better.

One thing I can suggest: write everything (including every "mistake") down somewhere. You'll surprise yourself when you make a a number of mistakes and end up with great beer. Taking good notes will help you recreate those mistakes the next time...

 

[wawawrx]

after 24 hours: still blowing off steam, decent layer of foam (krausen?) on top: (you can see the excessive spill over from my blow off )

after 48 hours: dark brown stains on the top part of the fermenter... no layers of anything. beer looks VERY thick.

i assume everything is fine... but who knows.

 

[NorCalAngler]

That was a very active fermentation! Is there a downside to losing that much krausen? I assume it's a wheat beer from the photos.. I hear they have very active fermentation.

 

[wawawrx]

it's Brewer's Best Cream Ale. i really am liking that color, i hope it's the right one


i'm going to bottle tomorrow, it's only been 3 days but i think it's fine




















i'm kidding. i swear.

 

[Kirbster]

Darn near gave me a heart attack! From what I read so far the only thing you need to update is getting a cylinder for holding your hydrometer. The homebrew stores carry plastic ones on the cheap that work nicely. Also, if you are going to boil on the stove, look into fermcaps. you did not get a boil over this time, but its going to happen sooner than later.

 

[Ooompa Loompa]

it's Brewer's Best Cream Ale. i really am liking that color, i hope it's the right one


i'm going to bottle tomorrow, it's only been 3 days but i think it's fine




















i'm kidding. i swear.

I laughed!!! Awesome to see that you did your homework, and it sounds like you are practicing patience. Beer is looking great!!

 

[wawawrx]

i fear that my blow off tube might have had a small leak. there was some serious action up front, and a lot of pressure. when i switched the tube for the airlock, the tube came out VERY easy. it was stuffed in there before quite snug. there is a 1/4" layer of trub on the bottom, and nothing up top... do i have a chance of contamination/

 

[NorCalAngler]

I bet you're fine. If I had to guess what happened with the photos you shared the blow over seeped into the blowoff tube connection and lubricated it a little bit whereas when you put it on it was squeaky clean tight. With the positive pressure and the fact the krausen climbed up to the stopper I bet it sealed itself up anyway. The krausen normally falls back into the beer that's why you don't see anything up top now.