Just Starting and want to do it right.

[jimcamp09]

Hello JABBC


Bring you water to boil then turn off the heat and add all of your extract. a good book is how to brew by John Palmer the web site is www.howtobrew.com you can view it online

for bottling you need priming sugar you can order it from morebeer.com or find a local home brew shop. most kits will come with it.

Good luck and hope this helps

Hello,
I am a new home brewer. Have been wanting to get started for a while and my fiance got me a kit for christmas.
I just had a couple of questions before I get started.

With the kit my fiance was given a Muntons Beer kit(Can) and was also given a 1 pound bag of Dry malt extract and a 1 pound bag of Rice Syrup Solids.

I guess my first questions is when do I add the Dry malt extract and syrup solids. Do I just mix it in when I am mixing up the general wort?
Also I know that it kind of depends on the taste I want but for starting out should I just add all of the bags or just a few cups of each?


The last question I had was about the sugar that is supposed to be added when bottling. Is there a certain kind that needs to be used, how much and where are some good places to purchase?

Thank you for your help

 

[JABBC]

Got up this morning, and looks like I have a good steady bubble going. Closet kinda smells like a good beer so hopefully thats good but looks like my first brew is off to a good start. Now for the hard part. Waiting!

 

[chefmike]

Next question which you all knew was coming. Where is a good place to buy more recipe kits. I know that there are a couple of LHBS near me but sometimes it seems like things are cheaper online.

Thanks again

glad things are going well.

i like both austin home brew and brewmasters warehouse (local to me and great online).

Both are online here on HBT helping people out. Austin Homebrew has a lot of kits that people swear by, especially clones. They have a very functional website and good flat rate shipping.

Brewmasters warehouse also has excellent customer service. The recipe builder on their site will allow you to put together kits from recipes that you find in books. There is also a database of recipes that various people have saved. You will find many HBTers on there as well.

Lots of other great online stores. Those are just two that I have experience with and enjoy.

 

[JABBC]

Well I am a couple days into fermentation and have noticed that the bubbles have slowed a lot. I am going to wait until Friday and if they have stopped completely by then I will take a hydrometer reading.
Other than the slowed bubbling everything appears to be fine. Temp has stayed constant and I can deffinitly smell it when I crack open the closet door.
Pretty excited to see how it turns out.

 

[weirdboy]

for bottling you need priming sugar you can order it from morebeer.com or find a local home brew shop.

I just want to correct this misconception. You do not need to buy expensive 5oz packages of corn sugar from a homebrew supply shop to prime your beer. You can just use regular table sugar, although you will want to use slightly less (by about 9%) because it contains more fermentable sugars than the stuff homebrew shops sell.

 

[JABBC]

Thanks, I think that I am just going to go with what I've got for now which is the brown sugar. Not sure how much yet. I have noticed that most of the kits sold online already have the priming sugar so I will use that in the future.

 

[JABBC]

Alright so I was impatient and Curious(it being my first brew)
Since I have really seen a lot of bubbling going on, although it has only been a couple of days I decided to take a peek. It actually looks and smells like beer. I took a sample so that I could get a Hydrometer reading and it read right at 1.020 maybe a little less.(Good/Bad?) I know that the bubbling isn't the only sign so I am going to take samples for a few days and see what happens. If I wait a few days and keep getting that reading. Do I go to bottling, let it sit longer, or other?

either way, I am just going to wait and see how it does the next few days. I did notice that it is pretty dark and hazy but taking that it is a homebrew and a nut brown i assume that its going to be a little dark and hazy.
I will post a pic of my sample if anyone is interested. After I get to show my fiance my price sample I will do a taste test and assuming that I don't get sick I will post how that is.

Thanks again everyone and any opinions recomendations are welcome.

 

[JABBC]

Forgot to add that the room temp is probably around 68 degrees give or take.

I found ad about the muntons Nut brown and a few others experienced their brew sitting around the 1.020 mark.

Oh well we'll see what happens.

 

[JABBC]

Well. Couldn't wait for the fiancé to get home before trying a sample. WOW!!!! Pleasantly surprised. Was pretty tasty for a non carbed beer. Might be too early to judge but I think it's going to turn out pretty good.

 

[JABBC]

Alright. Fiancé approves. We are good to move forward.

 

[chefmike]

Try to be patient. Let it sit for 2 or 3 weeks. It will help it clear up.

I know it is hard. But remember the thing you always hear (or read)... man the last one I drank was the best one. Beer needs (some) patience. Be glad you aren't making wine!!

 

[JABBC]

I know. It got the best of me. I will try to wait until even cracking it open again. Is there such a thing as leaving it in primary too long.

 

[chefmike]

Yes, but for a typical ale, like this one, alot of folks here are doing 3 to 4 weeks.

I only use a primary on styles I am trying to clarify (or rack onto fruit etc but I don't do that much). Some beers are great going quicker (14 days for bavarian wheats, very simple all grain pale ales), but 3 to 4 is a good rule.

The thought is that in the homebrewery, the yeast are more efficient at cleaning up waste (and off flavors) and the risk of autolysis (off flavors from dead yeast) is thought to be minimal until much longer.

So yes, there is such a thing as leaving it in the primary for too long, but I bet you will have your beer bottled, carbed (that takes 3 weeks at 70 degrees) and consumed before you would ever had a problem!

mmmm beer!

 

[JABBC]

Quick question. Although I plan to wait a couple of weeks before moving to bottling, should I start taking sample hydrometer readings every couple of days just to make sure that fermentation hasn't stopped early.

 

[apologeticus]

Yes, but for a typical ale, like this one, alot of folks here are doing 3 to 4 weeks.

I only use a primary on styles I am trying to clarify (or rack onto fruit etc but I don't do that much). Some beers are great going quicker (14 days for bavarian wheats, very simple all grain pale ales), but 3 to 4 is a good rule.

The thought is that in the homebrewery, the yeast are more efficient at cleaning up waste (and off flavors) and the risk of autolysis (off flavors from dead yeast) is thought to be minimal until much longer.

So yes, there is such a thing as leaving it in the primary for too long, but I bet you will have your beer bottled, carbed (that takes 3 weeks at 70 degrees) and consumed before you would ever had a problem!

mmmm beer!

hey chefmike, I'm gonna be moving to Jefferson, GA before too long. any homebrew stores in the area?

 

[JABBC]

I forgot to add that when I did my sample I didn't notice much activity going on on the top.

 

[JABBC]

Shouldn't I see a lot of bubbles or something on top or is this normal. I can post a Pic if that helps

 

[chefmike]

Quick question. Although I plan to wait a couple of weeks before moving to bottling, should I start taking sample hydrometer readings every couple of days just to make sure that fermentation hasn't stopped early.

i would not. just leave it be. it will be fine.

 

[chefmike]

hey chefmike, I'm gonna be moving to Jefferson, GA before too long. any homebrew stores in the area?

yes... a couple. brewmasters ware house is on the north side of the atl, i think he is the best. check out insert name here brew club at INHBC.org

and you might want to message kevincad and ba_from_ga both of whom are friends in my profile and live up that way.

you finishing seminary?

 

[chefmike]

Shouldn't I see a lot of bubbles or something on top or is this normal. I can post a Pic if that helps

remind me what you sample was at? you used a prehopped syrup, right? if that is true, you wont see much on top. even with some of my recipes, sometimes all that is left is a ring of crap on the edge... them yeasties are sneaky!

 

[JABBC]

Okey dokey, Thanks for the advice. I plan on waiting until next week before starting to take some daily samples. I am gonna be gone this weekend so it will ease some of my lack of patience.
I was thinking about my next brew that I want to do and was thinking about the AHS Honey Wheat Ale. Any problems or change in procedures that I should do since its a wheat?

 

[chefmike]

It will be somewhat similiar.

The best thing is it will have fantastic instructions that you can trust!

The biggest difference will be a bag of grains that you will steep in your pot of water until the temp is somewhere around 170 and then it will be removed. These steeping grains really improve the quality of the beer (flavor, mouthfeel).

I think when you compare these two beers you will see a big difference (if there are any left to compare!)

 

[wendelgee2]

I think when you compare these two beers you will see a big difference (if there are any left to compare!)

Definitely. Move away from prehopped canned kits as soon as you're comfortable doing so. Even when you make them perfectly, they're not "great" beers. They're also not nearly as much fun!

 

[JABBC]

Has anyone brewed the AHS Honey Wheat Ale. They offer a few different yeast options and wasn't sure what others suggested.

Thanks

 

[chefmike]

I use WL 380 on my bavarian style wheat. I am not sure on this since it has the honey in it. I have not used any of the dry wheat yeasts. Some people like them, most say they do not give the full yeast flavor they are looking for in a wheat beer.

Most people will cite a White labs or other liquid yeast as being the highest quality for this style.

 

[Lunarpancake]

its so nice that the newbies get so much good advice on this forum!!! I love this place!

 

[Lunarpancake]

Has anyone brewed the AHS Honey Wheat Ale. They offer a few different yeast options and wasn't sure what others suggested.

Thanks

AHS has lots of reviews for their popular kits that are helpful when purchasing. I believe the American Wheat was said to be lacking some flavor but was fixed by some people adding some flavored extracts such as raspberry.

 

[JABBC]

Ok, so its been a week since I last looked at my brew. I decided just to take a peek just to make sure there was no mold or anything on top. Everything looks great. I can definitely tell a difference in the smell. Smells more like beer.

I am thinking that I will bottle on the 23rd. That will be right at 3 weeks.
I am gonna try using the brown sugar that I already bought before knowing about the corn sugars and other priming sugars. Any suggestions on how much to use for the five gallon batch and how much water to mix with it?
Thanks

 

[JABBC]

Any suggestions about how much brown sugar and how much water to use or where I can find the measurments.

Thanks

 

[rwinzing]

A year ago I was happy to go to the local liquor store pick up a sixer of my favorite micro brew and be on my way.

But now.......(mostly because of this fourm)

I have four beer's on tap one in bottles, ingrediants for two more at home and two more on the way. I do both all grain and partial mash brews. I have started to slant my own yeast grow my own hops and I am going to make a mead real soon.

BE CAREFUL it is a slippery but wonderful slope