Lift off!

[Adam's Apples]

Ok, today was brew day - my first attempt.

Everything went pretty ok. It took an age to boil all the water I used as I was just using saucepans, so it was an all day job.

The only thing I think I need to do next time that I didn't this time was to cool the wort quicker. I miscalculated the water I would need to make it up to five gallons (probably through boiling as some was lost as steam) and had to add about 3/4 gallons of boiling water right at the end (all the other water had been boiled and left to cool). I had already cooled the wort in some ice in my sink, but adding the boiling water at the end meant that I had to wait about 6 hours (!!!) before it had reached 70f and I could pitch the yeast.

We only have a shower, so using an ice bath isn't possible. Maybe I could sterilise some ice cream cartons and then freeze some boiled water in them next time to bring the temp down. What methods do you guys use to do this?

Also, I took the O.G. and I think it read about 1.028...the chart I have that came with the hydrometer seems to suggest that the potential alcohol content may be 3.2%, which is a bit low. I used 3lb of sugar (actually glucose chippings) as advised in the instructions. What do you giys think?

Anyway, hopefully it will turn out ok and it will be a good start for me. As long a it ends up drinkable, with a not horrible flavour I will be happy.

Cheers

 

[dibby33]

You might find this useful, or not!!!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=17104

looks like blocks of ice could be the best option for those (inc me) without the cooling coils.

 

[EvilTOJ]

Sauce pans?? Ye gods man, go to your closest cooking store and get a 5 gallon boiler stat! When I was starting out, when I heard the term ice bath I thought they meant to bathe the pot in ice. A lot of people just fill their kitchen sink with ice and change the water when it melts.

Personally, I like adding filtered water to two 20 oz soda bottles, freeze em, then cut the bottles away and add them to the boiled wort along with an ice bath to cool it quicker.

What was the recipe that you used? Was it a kit? What were the ingredients? 1.028 as an OG is low.

I'm certain it's going to turn out fine.

Oh and welcome to our mental illne.. er, hobby!

 

[Adam's Apples]

Cheers for the answers.

I think adding ice is the way to go. I can make sure the containers are sterilised.

Good call on the saucepans, it was a bit of a juggle! I will get more equipment month by month.

The kit is a 40 pint kit. Just had a bag of malt extract in, together with a muslin bag full of hops and dextrins (not sure what they were). I boiled the malt and added the hop bag. Did a rolling boil for 50 mins and then added this to my fermenting bin, which already had a gallon of cold (but boiled) water in. 3lb of glucose was added to this and then water was added to make up to 5 gallons.

Couple of things...

I did stir everything around, but I wonder if all the water added on top of the wort meant that I took a diluted hydrometer sample? I took a sample from the top of the bin- could this have had less sugar and malt in that what was at the bottom?

Also, I boiled the malt extract and hops in a large saucepan, large enough to fit it all in - but it couldn't have held more than 3/4 gallon. Should I have added more water to the wort at boiling stage and used a bigger pan?

The airlock on my fermentor is pretty active now. It's now 8 hours after the yest was pitched, the instructions said fermentation should take place after 12 hours or so - so it's ahead of the game so far! That's gotta be a good thing right?

Cheers for any suggestions.

 

[TREMBLE]

I would not worry about the OG too much at this stage, I have made around 9 or 10 batches and have never once got an OG reading of what I expected, I know there are alot of others out there that have the same problem. As you know the heavier stuff sinks and the lighter stuff sits ontop so maybe this is the reason, but dont worry, everything I have made with off readings has turned out pretty good, some of it has even been nice!

Alot of people will not look favourably on using glucose in your brew, I used it in my first few beers and after I switched to using all malt extracts, liquid or dry, I noticed a definate step up in quality, so that may be something to look into for your next brew.

Glad to hear your fermentation has taken off nicely, I get excited everytime I first see the big head off foam on a new batch churning away!

Welcome to the last hobby you will ever have!

 

[Torchiest]

Since you generally want to aerate the wort, you should wait until after you've given your fermenter a good shaking before taking a reading. I usually check mine right before pitching the yeast, although you could check after pitching and shaking as well. Either way, I'm sure it will come out fine. It seems like almost ever beer comes out pretty good, no matter what you think you may have done to mess it up.

 

[Adam's Apples]

Cheers guys

I am reassured now. It's fermenting and making lots of noises, so I'm happy.

Thanks for the tip about all malt rather than sugars. The guy in the homebrew shop said the same. First time round I just wanted to get a kit and follow the instructions exactly, just to try and get a drinkable brew.

Things I will do next time that I didn't this time are: Ice for cooling the wort, but some bigger sacuepans/boling pans!, experiment with all malt and experiment with sugar and glucose.

Hopefully all will turn out well.

Just sitting and listening to the fermentation is like music to my ears!

 

[Engelramm]

Congratulations!

Don't worry. Checking on the fermenter to see if it's still bubbling every couple of hours is normal too.