JoeSTL
Active Member
I would say my first brew day went well. I did the Caribou Slobber extract kit from Northern Brewer. I have a small kitchen, and it's the only sink in the house I can use, so I was a little concerned about space in the beginning. I ended out doing my sanitation stuff early, so I wouldn't have to worry about it in the end. I'm so glad I bout the tall 8 gallon kettle from NB. I guarantee I would have had a boil over with just the 5 gallon. The 'hot break' happened about 3 inches from the top. I had no idea the wort would grow that much!
I also learned that I definitely should do this outside. My kitchen has no ventilation besides a ceiling fan and windows...lol. By mid boil most of my windows were fogged up and my entire house still smells like brew day. It isn't too bad, but still should get a burner and do this outside. Plus it took forever to bring everything to a boil.
I do have some questions though. How much stirring should I be doing? I stirred a lot when mixing the extract and the DME but sparingly when I added the hops.
When adding the hops, do you use a strain bag or dump them directly in there? I didn't have a spare bag so mine went straight in.
I also definitely need a screen when pouring the wort into the carboy. I didn't realize it until it was too late, but I poured some of the bottom sludge into the carboy. I'm hoping this will settle early and not effect the batch too much. Or will it?
When I was shaking the wort in the carboy to aerate it, it created lots of foam. Should I wait until it settles when I add the yeast or just pour it in right after aeration? I was using the dry yeast that came with the kit, but might try a yeast starter next time. This time I just poured it in on top of the foam.
Once I got everything finished, I'm having a hard time keep the top on the big mouth bubbler to stay in place. It keeps popping out. I don't know if this was because of the slipperiness of the star san, but even hours later I noticed the top was almost completely off. Anything I can do to eliminate this?
Overall it was a fun day. I hope I didn't make any major mistakes, and I'm looking forward to see how it turns out. Thanks in advance for any answers to my questions!
I also learned that I definitely should do this outside. My kitchen has no ventilation besides a ceiling fan and windows...lol. By mid boil most of my windows were fogged up and my entire house still smells like brew day. It isn't too bad, but still should get a burner and do this outside. Plus it took forever to bring everything to a boil.
I do have some questions though. How much stirring should I be doing? I stirred a lot when mixing the extract and the DME but sparingly when I added the hops.
When adding the hops, do you use a strain bag or dump them directly in there? I didn't have a spare bag so mine went straight in.
I also definitely need a screen when pouring the wort into the carboy. I didn't realize it until it was too late, but I poured some of the bottom sludge into the carboy. I'm hoping this will settle early and not effect the batch too much. Or will it?
When I was shaking the wort in the carboy to aerate it, it created lots of foam. Should I wait until it settles when I add the yeast or just pour it in right after aeration? I was using the dry yeast that came with the kit, but might try a yeast starter next time. This time I just poured it in on top of the foam.
Once I got everything finished, I'm having a hard time keep the top on the big mouth bubbler to stay in place. It keeps popping out. I don't know if this was because of the slipperiness of the star san, but even hours later I noticed the top was almost completely off. Anything I can do to eliminate this?
Overall it was a fun day. I hope I didn't make any major mistakes, and I'm looking forward to see how it turns out. Thanks in advance for any answers to my questions!