Like what seems like many peoples' starts, I received a kit as a gift and have finished brewing my first batch and bottled it a week ago. Its something I had been interested in for a while but I was never sure what was involved. Now that I know, I'm all in and am ready to start batch 2. Found a great recipe for an irish red ale (or it looks great, what do I know?). But before I get started I was hoping to find out if there are any improvements I can make to what I am doing outside of the mistakes I already know I made. I'll spell everything I did out, so please comment on anything that you think is noteworthy.
My first batch was from a pre-hopped extract, so this will be my first time steeping grains and boiling hops into the wort. The steps for each seem simple enough that I think even I can follow along.
When I started batch 1, of course I sanitized first. But after everything dried off I noticed all these spots that look like hard water spots on my equipment. Makes me feel like everything was dirtier after sanitation than before. Is this normal, is it a result of a poor/cheap sanitizer or is there something I may have done wrong that caused this?
Had a little spillage when transferring the wort to the fermenter. I poured too fast and some of it was running down the side of the pot. Maybe 1/2-1 cup was spilled. I feel confident I can correct that.
I know I was probably fermenting a little hot for the first 9 days. It didnt occur to me that I was supposed to focus on the liquid temperature instead of the room temperature. As a result I had it in a 72 degree room, and underneath a towel to keep sunlight out to boot. The kit didnt come with a fermentometer (I have added one as part of my supplies from now on) so i dont know the exact temperature I was at. But eventually I started searching for brewing tips, found out what I was doing wrong, and moved the fermenter to inside of an old cooler. Several search results indicated this was an easy way to regulate temperatures.
The kit also did not include a hydrometer (another tool I have added since) and so even though it recommended I ferment for 2 weeks I let it go 3 just to be safe. The cooler smells yeasty/bready now. But there were no strange odors before when it was outside the cooler so I am hoping this is just a result of the stale air trapped in there and not a problem. I took a taste and it was much better than I was expecting. That is probably mostly because I was expecting a kit with a basic american lager to mean I was brewing Bud or Coors and so really treated this like a test run before making some quality beer.
The other thing that had me concerned was that there was still "stuff" floating on top after 3 weeks. Not a thick head like a few days into fermenting but some here and there. I googled mold in beer brewing and everyone seemed to be talking about green, fuzzy mold and this was just more like foam that never went away. Does that sound normal, or is there cause for concern?
And then I bottled. The kit came with carbonation drops so I added one to each bottle, per instructions (500ml bottles) first and then added the beer to each and capped them. I found the quantities strange... one tablet for 500ml but 2 for 750ml. That doesn't sound proportional to me, but maybe it isnt supposed to be? I have enough left for another batch so I'll use them at least one more time before I consider priming with sugar.
Along with the ingredients for my next batch, I've also decided that I want everything I use to be for beer and beer only and have gotten a separate stock pot, thermometer, spoon, wisk, and measuring cup.
Thoughts?
My first batch was from a pre-hopped extract, so this will be my first time steeping grains and boiling hops into the wort. The steps for each seem simple enough that I think even I can follow along.
When I started batch 1, of course I sanitized first. But after everything dried off I noticed all these spots that look like hard water spots on my equipment. Makes me feel like everything was dirtier after sanitation than before. Is this normal, is it a result of a poor/cheap sanitizer or is there something I may have done wrong that caused this?
Had a little spillage when transferring the wort to the fermenter. I poured too fast and some of it was running down the side of the pot. Maybe 1/2-1 cup was spilled. I feel confident I can correct that.
I know I was probably fermenting a little hot for the first 9 days. It didnt occur to me that I was supposed to focus on the liquid temperature instead of the room temperature. As a result I had it in a 72 degree room, and underneath a towel to keep sunlight out to boot. The kit didnt come with a fermentometer (I have added one as part of my supplies from now on) so i dont know the exact temperature I was at. But eventually I started searching for brewing tips, found out what I was doing wrong, and moved the fermenter to inside of an old cooler. Several search results indicated this was an easy way to regulate temperatures.
The kit also did not include a hydrometer (another tool I have added since) and so even though it recommended I ferment for 2 weeks I let it go 3 just to be safe. The cooler smells yeasty/bready now. But there were no strange odors before when it was outside the cooler so I am hoping this is just a result of the stale air trapped in there and not a problem. I took a taste and it was much better than I was expecting. That is probably mostly because I was expecting a kit with a basic american lager to mean I was brewing Bud or Coors and so really treated this like a test run before making some quality beer.
The other thing that had me concerned was that there was still "stuff" floating on top after 3 weeks. Not a thick head like a few days into fermenting but some here and there. I googled mold in beer brewing and everyone seemed to be talking about green, fuzzy mold and this was just more like foam that never went away. Does that sound normal, or is there cause for concern?
And then I bottled. The kit came with carbonation drops so I added one to each bottle, per instructions (500ml bottles) first and then added the beer to each and capped them. I found the quantities strange... one tablet for 500ml but 2 for 750ml. That doesn't sound proportional to me, but maybe it isnt supposed to be? I have enough left for another batch so I'll use them at least one more time before I consider priming with sugar.
Along with the ingredients for my next batch, I've also decided that I want everything I use to be for beer and beer only and have gotten a separate stock pot, thermometer, spoon, wisk, and measuring cup.
Thoughts?