message to other beginners

[sfish]

You said you pitched onto hot wort. I would repitch my yeast and mix and aerate.

If you do not repitch:

Keep the lid on and shake / splash the wort to aerate.

 

[OakPond]

My advice to beginners is to dont even attempt to brew without having a wort chiller. I never realized how long these things can hold temp without an external help. My first brew I got my boil done and was like "uhhhh". I live on a lake, so I set my boil kettle like submerged like 3/4 of the way to cool it down. Luckily it was a cold November day (I believe it was Thanksgiving weekend) and the water was about 38 degrees. So it wasnt a bad idea for my options. Took about 2 and a half hours to get to pitching temp. Beer ended up, very, very good (american wheat extract kit I got with my original setup) despite this however.

Next brew, I was more prepared. Got an ice bath ready in a tub. I had 2 huge bags of ice, and about 8 gallons of water I submerged it almost completely in.

20 minutes later, all the ice was melted, and the temp had only dropped about 50 degrees (it was in the 130 range). Still took an hour and 15 minutes to get to pitching temp.

3rd brew: Threw $60 for a wort chiller I'll have forever, took me 12 minutes to get to pitching temp.

BOOOM.

That second brew I will say, was a lager and it was pretty amazing, nevertheless.

 

[kylieWylie]

Repitch recovery attempt. OG reading was at the mark under the 10 which i think is 1.1. It did have a slight and healthy looking krausen this time i popped the lid and i added this.

 

[kylieWylie]

Seems to have taken off a bit.

 

[wilserbrewer]

With regards to point 2: What is "not fast enough?" I have brewed with my Dad (brewing on my own now) many times and he would let it cool overnight before pitching, every time. I haven't had a bad beer of his... now, I know this is not ideal by any means, but what is "fast enough?"

Your Dad is correct! There is no certain time as to what "is not fast enough".
IMO 12 hours remaining in a sanitary covered kettle should not be an issue. ALWAYS better to pitch yeast late rather than hot.

Pitching hot will almost garantee poor results, pitching late is not an issue IMO. Some no-chill their wort either in an hdpe plastic cube, or overnight in the kettle.

 

[sfish]

KEEP the lid closed. do not open until the airlock stops bubbling

 

[wilserbrewer]

FWIW, the pic in post 29 is showing what I believe to be the initial signs of fermentation. I think your original pitch kicked in a bit delayed.

 

[m00ps]

KEEP the lid closed. do not open until the airlock stops bubbling

Yeah listen to everyone that's suggested this. Youve opened up your brew twice before fermentation ever really got going. That is when it is most vulnerable to infections. Did you liberally use sanitizer on the lid and everything each time you opened it?

 

[Tutsbrew]

Use plain old tap water for your cleaning and save the good water for the brew. No need to worry about microbes if you dilute some Star-San in the water and rinse your equipment with it.

Would hard water offer some pH buffering for the acidic StarSan and thus change it's pH thus rendering it either less effective or giving it a shorter 'shelf life'? (I've noticed a clouding of the solution with tap water much sooner as opposed to distilled.) ...Just wondering.

 

[kylieWylie]

yes.

 

[kylieWylie]

As per recipe instructions. Day 10 past original pitch, day 7 past repitch. Instructions said 4-6 days then to bottle on a red ale. 36 bottles capped and some extra to drink. It tastes fairly sour. I will wait to weeks for the bottles to condition then taste again. No visible sign of infection and produces a buzz!