More Idiot Questions from a Noob

[timp84]

Hi everybody, I'm a completely new home brewer. This is my first batch, and since I'm basically flying blind on the process, I'm hoping that you fine folks have the time (and patience) to answer a few questions you've probably heard a million times... and offer me any advice you may have. I've done searching, but come up with few answers to my specific questions. I've always wanted to get into home brewing. When I was a kid, I used to help my dad by capping his bottles... I'm now 26 and I finally bit the bullet and spent a couple hundred bucks to get set up to brew.

I'm using a Midwest Supplies 2-stage starter kit. First brew is a brown ale extract kit from Northern Brewer called Caribou Slobber (supposed to be a Moose Drool clone, which I've never had).

I doubt I messed up the boil process. I pitched my dry (Danstar Windsor Ale) yeast after cooling the wort to 90 degrees, moving it to my primary, and then adding water to get to 5 gallons. I forgot to temp it before pitching, but it was in the 70's, I'm sure. Pitched yeast by sprinkling on top, then whisking in. I did aerate with a (sanitized) whisk before pitching yeast, but perhaps not well enough. not sure. Starting Gravity was 1.040. After 2 days, the gravity was reading 1.020. It is day 3 and gravity has not changed at all. There IS a ring of film around the bucket above the beer, but foam is gone was by 24 hours after brewing actually. Just seems weird to me that so much progress would be made so fast, only to level off immediately... temp today was 61 degrees, so I moved it to a warmer location. day 2 it was 63 degrees. day 1 was 71 degrees.

Anyway, questions:

1) am I just being too impatient? should I not be checking on it and fiddling with it and checking gravity so often?
2) in order to take readings and such, I need to pull the lid off of the Ale Pail for about a minute. I've just recently started seeing folks saying that it's pretty bad for your beer to keep opening the container. is this really an issue, and if so, why?
3) when pitching dry yeast, is it better to do so the way I did? or should it be reconstituted beforehand?
4) at what point should I consider moving the beer over to the secondary? and, are there any additions that I need to make to the beer once I move it over? The reason I ask is because I'm not sure I understand why moving it to a secondary furthers the process once the gravity has leveled out...
5) could the fact that my temperatures fell below 65 have slowed the fermentation to what I'm seeing?
6) does anyone have any experience working with restaurant grade Quat-Sanitizer for brewing? How does it work out?
7) has the fact that I've been using that powder cleaner stuff as a sanitizer screwed me? I've just read tonight that it sucks and shouldn't be trusted. Quat is easy for me to get my hands on (I'm a chef by trade) so if it works, I can switch straight over to that.

I've read on here that it actually takes a lot to really screw up a batch of beer, so that puts my mind at ease about this batch, mostly... I'm just hoping that some of you who know more about this than me (and I'm sure that would be 99% of you) could give me a hand and school me a bit.

Thanks very much, everyone. This looks like a fine community, and I think you'll probably see me pretty often.

 

[ETCS]

1) Yes! Let it sit for a minimum of 3 weeks, then take your readings
2) See number 1) above
3) Dry is fine
4) Just let it stay in the primary for 3 - 4 weeks, then put in bottling bucket and bottle.
5) Nope
6) Never seen it, I use star san
7) See #6

Patience...Patience...Patience....there is nothing you can do to speed up the process.

 

[dfc]

1) am I just being too impatient? should I not be checking on it and fiddling with it and checking gravity so often?
Yes, you're being impatient. Relax.

2) in order to take readings and such, I need to pull the lid off of the Ale Pail for about a minute. I've just recently started seeing folks saying that it's pretty bad for your beer to keep opening the container. is this really an issue, and if so, why?
It can be. When the yeast is done fermenting if you keep opening your bucket it's easier for bacteria to get in and take hold.

3) when pitching dry yeast, is it better to do so the way I did? or should it be reconstituted beforehand?
I pitch dry yeast directly into wort every time and never have any issues. From what I've read rehydrating before pitching helps more yeast to stay alive. There are enough cells in a dry packet to pitch in a low to moderate gravity batch though.

4) at what point should I consider moving the beer over to the secondary? and, are there any additions that I need to make to the beer once I move it over? The reason I ask is because I'm not sure I understand why moving it to a secondary furthers the process once the gravity has leveled out...
Most people don't rack to secondary unless they're dry hopping or adding fruit. It does help to clear the beer a little, but so does Irish Moss.

5) could the fact that my temperatures fell below 65 have slowed the fermentation to what I'm seeing?
Was it an extract batch? If so, what FG does the instructions tell you?

6) does anyone have any experience working with restaurant grade Quat-Sanitizer for brewing? How does it work out?
I have no experience with it.

7) has the fact that I've been using that powder cleaner stuff as a sanitizer screwed me? I've just read tonight that it sucks and shouldn't be trusted. Quat is easy for me to get my hands on (I'm a chef by trade) so if it works, I can switch straight over to that.
Starsan is a great sanitizer. I recommend looking into it.

 

[unionrdr]

I use PBW to clean,star-san to sanitize. The PBW must be rinsed after cleaning,star-san is a no rinse sanitizer.
I check the wort for OG before pitching yeast. Then don't test it again for 2 weeks.
Pitching dry yeast is fine for packets of 11g on up. But small 7g yeast sachets should be re-hydrated to give them a better chance.
Most don't bother with a secondary unless adding something that they don't want in there with the yeast cake.
Temp range depends on the exact yeast being used.
And patience is the brewer's #1 attribute.

 

[Jayman931]

1) Be patient....I put mine in the primary then leave it for 3 weeks....don't even mess with it...let the yeast be their ninja selves...

2) Read number 1

3)Next time check the temperature before pitching....if you say you cooled the wart to 90 degrees and then didn't check the temp before pitching...if you didn't have any cooling mechanism on it I doubt it got down to the 70's in a short amount of time...Next time be safe and check the temp...

4) I never secondary...if you don't move the primary and it sits for 3 weeks...all the sediment is at the bottom....if you siphon all the beer above the sediment your beer will be clear and no need for a secondary (unless you are adding fruit...or another flavor additive) I dry hop directly in my primary.

5)No
6) +1 on Star San....it is invaluable
7)Read number 6...Star San has eased my mind alot in regards to sanitation...no rinsing...30 seconds dip and its good to go...(alot of the times I give it less that 30 seconds to be honest)...

Welcome and Happy Brewing..

 

[timp84]

thanks everyone for the advice. Guess I'm just being overly paranoid about making sure everything is around the correct level and so on. Guess I'll stop playing with it and check it in a couple weeks...

and that being said, if transferring to a secondary is completely pointless for the types of brews that I'm starting out with (i.e. nothing too complicated), I guess that means I have an extra carboy laying around that I'm not doing anything with... guess that means I'll have to brew up a second batch...

And if I'm doing that, I suppose that means I'll have to head to the city tomorrow to that hobby shop and pick up another airlock... while I'm there, I'll pick up some StarSan.

Thanks again, and also thanks for not picking on the new guy too much.

 

[TopherM]

Quat-Sanitizer

Quat did you say?

 

[LandoLincoln]

From reading the 3M pdf of Quat, it's a disinfectant, not a sanitizer. Yeast is a fungus. Quat would like to kill all fungi it gets its hands on. Star San plays with yeast much nicer than any disinfectant.

Buy some Star San and about 4 gallons of distilled (not drinking) water. Put the water in a bucket that has a nice tight lid. Add in the appropriate amount of Star San. Fill a spray bottle with the solution. Use the sprayer on spoons, thermometers, hydrometers, ends of tubing when moving wort to the fermenter. Use the bucket for sanitizing fermentation chambers (carboys, buckets) and soaking tubing, funnels, wine thieves, hydrometer test tubes and counterflow chillers. Pour the Star San back into the bucket after using on carboys and fermentation buckets. DO NOT FEAR THE FOAM. THE FOAM WILL NOT HURT YOUR BEER OR MAKE IT TASTE BAD. When the Star San gets cloudy, then it's time to make a new batch. Some people will tell you about taking a pH reading, but you're a newbie so you don't need to concern yourself with that right now. But it should last you a good number of batches before that happens.

 

[Lucky137]

On the topic of using a secondary, there are a few possible reasons why you would want to. One thing is getting your beer off of the yeast cake, which some claim can cause off flavors (mostly from dead yeast) if you leave it on. However, the jury is still out on this one, as many people have left their beer on the cake for months with no adverse effects. Using a secondary is also an extra step, and you run the slight risk of oxidation or infection (although this much more reliant on user error than the process itself).

The second main reason people use a secondary is clarification. Allowing your beer to sit for longer will help more solids fall out of suspension, resulting in a clearer (and in some cases better tasting) beer. This can be done in primary, but see above point on yeast cake issues.

Lastly, remember that it is called a secondary fermenter. In some cases, I've seen people utilize a secondary in order to unstick a stuck fermentation. That little bit of movement could be enough to set the yeast off again and drop your beer down a few more gravity points.

Having said that, secondaries are by no means necessary. It's really a matter of preference, and there are people who will tell you all the advantages of NOT using a secondary (I personally do secondary, hence my stance above - I wear my bias on my sleeve, so to speak).

Either way, I'd say the best advice is to do what you feel comfortable with. Don't listen to anyone who says you should never or always use a secondary. This is poor advice on their part, and will only serve to limit you as a brewer. If you like your results with a secondary, continue to do it. If you don't and would rather skip that step, do that. I would, however, recommend trying both and reading up on when they are more necessary (i.e., wheat beers are supposed to be cloudy, so don't really need clarification).

Either way, have fun!

 

[rjsnau]

One trick I learned is after pitching the yeast, seal the fermenter and shake it to distribute the yeast. Then open it up and with a sanitized cup take a sample to take the OG reading. DON'T THROW THIS SAMPLE AWAY. Rather pour it into a beer bottle and keep it next to the fermenter. This sample will become infected but will ferment at the same rate as your wort so you can take as many readings as you like without infecting the main batch.

 

[unionrdr]

They used to think you'd get DMS if you left it on the yeast cake too long. We now know that settled yeast isn't dead yeast,it's gone dormant. I'd rather check the batch with sanitized equipment than have an infected sample to check. Keeping things sanitary is easy.

 

[timp84]

Got my first batch bottled today... made a couple idiot mistakes, so we'll see what happens:
-didn't stir the beer after adding the priming solution, but i poured that into the bucket first, then added the beer, so we'll see if that mixed it up enough... or if I'll have bottles start exploding.
-forgot to sanitize the bottles. I cleaned them and then baked them off for like 10 minutes at 160-170 degrees, but forgot to dip them in the star san/rinse them.

maybe I ruined it, maybe I didn't. I'm not going to know until I wait it out I suppose. We'll see... I'll keep you posted on my findings.

I DID taste the beer while bottling. seems like it's gonna be a pretty good brew so long as I don't have to dump it all down the drain...

Live and learn I guess.

 

[Tizzomes]

It may be a pain I in the a** but your first few brews you will be this way.Checking the fermenter, over thinking what you did, it could get a little nutty. Just keep your equipment clean and sanitized, keep an eye on steeping temps and fermentation temps.Also leave it alone let the yeast do its job. Plan your next batch, beer is pretty forgiving.

 

[Ogri]

One trick I learned is after pitching the yeast, seal the fermenter and shake it to distribute the yeast. Then open it up and with a sanitized cup take a sample to take the OG reading. DON'T THROW THIS SAMPLE AWAY. Rather pour it into a beer bottle and keep it next to the fermenter. This sample will become infected but will ferment at the same rate as your wort so you can take as many readings as you like without infecting the main batch.

Nice one!!!!:rockin:

such a simple solution and yet it would have never occurred to me that it was a viable one. Only doing 2 gallon batches in MR. Beer kegs so don't want to be filling sample tube from the fermenter every time I'm doing SG readings. Thx for the tip

 

[rjsnau]

Nice one!!!!:rockin:

such a simple solution and yet it would have never occurred to me that it was a viable one. Only doing 2 gallon batches in MR. Beer kegs so don't want to be filling sample tube from the fermenter every time I'm doing SG readings. Thx for the tip

Glad I could help! Interestingly enough I am in Singapore right now and was just through Japan on Monday. Good to see homebrewing is world wide!

 

[Ogri]

Glad I could help! Interestingly enough I am in Singapore right now and was just through Japan on Monday. Good to see homebrewing is world wide!

Have a couple of big bottles of ABC (Archipelago Brewery company) Guinness for me whilst you're down in Singapore then. A good deal stronger than the usual Guinness and in that heat you'll be nicely inebriated in no time at all.:fro:

Apologies for the thread hijack