My First Brew: True Brew Amber

[Legions]

I decided to go with a True Brew Amber Ingredient kit for my first brew, i put the wort in the fermenter last night around 8:45 p.m. and when i returned home at 4:00 a.m. (about seven hours later) there was already activity in the airlock.

I can't find the thread now, but i was reading on here somewhere where some people were debating about whether or not it's good if the fermentation starts so soon.

What are everybody's thoughts on this?

 

[specialkaye]

I'm all for a fast start. The faster my yeast is established, the less chance of something bad happening.

 

[Legions]

thanks, that's kind of what i was thinking but i wanted to get some input.

 

[Skyforger]

As I understand it, the only possible problems with a fast start are 1) using too much yeast (this is hardly ever a problem homebrewers run into), or 2) the fermentation temp might be a bit high. Neither are serious problems.

Generally, a fast start just means good, healthy yeast and a good growing environment. Whether it is ever actually a problem is controversial, and even among those who think it may be, it's really a minor point. Definitely not something to worry about your first time, or even probably your tenth.

So what does this mean? It means you have successfully started a good fermentation. Congratulations! Worrying about it is like worrying if your car is too fast.

 

[fozzman]

I started this kit on 2/28/12 and fermentation started after about 10 hours. Two days later and there was no visible activity in the air lock. On day 4 I transfered to a glass carboy and took a reading. OG was 1.044 and today's reading was 1.012. Other than bottling after a week, I followed the instuctions to the tee. At boil, took the kettle off the heat and added LME, DME, and hops. Back on the heat till it foamed, removed till foam cleared then back at boil for 30 minutes. I now hear that you shouldn't boil LME. Did you boil for your batch? How did everything turn out?

 

[Skyforger]

Holy thread resurrection!

So you got a fast ferment. That will have everything to do with fermentation temperature and yeast health, and nothing to do with boil practices. Often kit directions say you'll be fine fermenting up into the low seventies, and they're right, but it's generally considered best practice to ferment cooler than that unless you're making a belgian-style ale. Gives less off-flavors.

Boiling LME isn't going to ruin anything. It's not really necessary as it's basically concentrated wort that's already been boiled, so some people add it late in the boil or even right after flameout - just to bring it up to microorganism-killing temps. If you add it at the beginning, you'll get a slightly less hoppy beer and some people claim the malt flavor declines slightly.

If you want to ask questions or state concerns about your brew, it might be better to start a new thread rather than resurrect a really old one. You'll get more response that way.

 

[fozzman]

Thanks Skyforger for the info. It is kind of sad and I am quickly loosing faith in the whole HBT forum as I did start new threads but it took posting a comment on an old thread to get a response that was worth anything. Then you go and give me a lesson in thread posting. In the few weeks that I have been on this site, I have received more info relating to misspelled words, incorrect usage of terms, proper thread posting, etc. then I have received on the actual hobby that I have just started.

 

[Skyforger]

I'm sorry if I came across as scolding. I'm not trying to protect any sort of unspoken rule or tradition here, I genuinely thought that posting a new thread would tend to get you more help. I'm sorry to hear that hasn't been your experience. I have had a few threads I posted ignored for whatever reason, but overall this community has been very helpful to me. It's true we do need to keep some semblance of order by posting things in the right subforums, etc, but I suppose we could be a bit less rigorous in general in (for instance) telling new brewers with genuine concerns to 'use the search feature,' even if we do see their question frequently.

I, for one, am thrilled to see you care enough about your batch to have questions about it. I think many here on HBT would agree with me.

 

[grimzella]

i just brewed my first batch last week, it also took off.. im still bubbling.. altho its only 1 burp every 2 minutes or so. I plan to leave it for 4 weeks in primary untouched in a dark basement 64 deg. Then i will bottle and bring them upstairs out of the cooler basement 70-72 deg. i read that it cleans the beer up a bit better. dunno because this is my very first batch.

 

[Skyforger]

Sounds like a perfect plan.

Yeast tend to clean up off-flavors given time. Higher temperatures help them do that more quickly. But mostly we advise moving them to a warmer place for priming/carbonation because the (often tired and scant) yeast could use the help carbonating the beer. They work more quickly and efficiently at higher temps.