My first brewing adventure- interesting

[bumpnzx3]

I knew my first time would be a PITA- no real clue what I was doing and no normal "routine" set. My first job was to sterilize everything- which I did in the bathtub. That went pretty well- until I flooded the floor. I cleaned everything then used a bucket that I had- filled it with sanitizing water and left all of my goodies in there to carry out to the garage. Only problem being- the bucket had a hole in the bottom which I wasn't aware of. Water all over the floor. Picture this- me jumping up on the ledge of the shower/tub as not to have my feet in the same water that the (plugged in) hair dryer and straightener that the wife had laying on the floor for some reason. After an impressive string of cuss words- I mopped up and headed outside. I fired up my turkey fryer and went to work......and the damn thing would flame out about every 5 minutes. After some jacking around- I finally decided it was the temp safety switch acting up......so I used some mechanics wire to rig the switch. I also decided I need some way to control the blaze- it seems to be roaring or nothing at all. I'm not sure how everyone else controls their boil. I finally get everything in the brew kettle and did some stirring. I let it boil for a bit then busted out the wort chiller. Apparently I didn't pay any attention to the fact that the o-ring wasn't pre-installed in the fitting. I hooked the hose up and walked outside to turn it on. I go back into the garage to see a geiser (*sp?) of water coming from my wort chiller. Got that under control and started to chill (again- after another string of cuss words). While the wort was chilling I went inside to boil a little water to put the yeast in. I measured the OG- and it was pretty close to were it should be. I started the siphon into the carboy and discovered that takes a bit longer than I was thinking it would. That finished an I dumped the yeast solution in, capped it, stuck the airlock on, and carried it inside.

I discovered that I need to do several things- 1) Calm down- I'm making beer- not splitting the atom; 2) I need to come up with a better system- which I think is going to involve me setting up in my unfinished basement. I will get a large Rubbermaid trough to steverize in. There's hot and cold water as well as a drain. I can do my cooking down there (there's a large door and a vent fan that I can setup by). This will make everything much easier- I won't have to worry about messes as much; 3) I think I could stand to have a bit of a cleaner operation also.

I started with a Coopers Irish Stout, 1/2# Maltodextrin, 2# DME ("Plain Dark")- I boiled it all for a little bit, let it cool and came to an OG of about 1.036. It's in the carboy and I am now waiting for signs of life. I catch myself looking at it about once every 20 minutes. I don't know what I expect to see this soon Cross your fingers and wish me luck. My plan is to leave it in the primary until it comes close to leveling out, switch it to secondary for a week or two, then bottle it and let it condition for a few weeks. I hope to have something worth drinking for Christmas dinner. After this gets switched to the secondary, I am going to try a Coopers wheat beer- also to be ready in time for Christmas. My thinking is that the wheat will take less time to ferment and condition- correct?

All else fails- it sure smells good.

 

[Blender]

Moving to the basement sounds like a good idea but be careful using propane burners inside. Maybe you have a concrete pad right outside the door to do your boiling.

You learn something with each brew day and it will get easier as you progress. Consider getting a small trash container to use with the sanitizer. You can keep your equipment soaking as needed and then store your equipment inside when you are done.

 

[CDbrews]

just get a process down and your brewday will go much smoother.. make some preperations the day beforeand make sure everything you need is on hand. I used to use a cooler to hold my sanitizer but now i just have a few gallons in my bottling bucket and a spray bottle. it seems to take a while but you will evenually have a smooth brewday, i didnt have a nice non stressful breday till my 7th batch!

 

[scrambledegg81]

A) Start a swear jar (or just convince your SWMBO that cursing is part of the brewing process-I know of no other members that have successfully completed the latter.)

B) RDWHAHB (or a decent local craft brew in the meantime).

C) Process & routine will come in time. Whatever you work out in the brew process will work out in the long run. But Blender is right in that any type of burner needs to be used in well-ventilated areas.

 

[bumpnzx3]

I don't think it would take much for her to believe that swearing is part of the process. She already knows that any time I head out to my shop to work on my weekend car, dirt bike, or motorcycle- there's about a 95% chance I will, at some point, come rolling in the back door cussing about something, head to the fridge, grab a beer, and go right back out side (still cussing and not acknowledging anyone inside the house).

Having the burner in the basement won't be a problem. The guy that had the house before me welded down there. It's hard to explain how it's set up- but it would work. There's also steps that lead to the outside. I could do the burning on that little pad that's technically outside- and just open the cellar hatch that goes to the back yard.

 

[bumpnzx3]

Ohh- and as of about 4:30am this morning when I got up- fermentation has started.

 

[JesseRC]

You really dont need to use the tub to sanitize. I use 1 5gal bucket filled with 2.5 gallons of starsan. You only need to santize whatever utensils/equipment gets used post boil. My dishwasher works just great to hold stuff that I have sanitized. Relax. Most of the time now, I just wing it. For me its like cooking, I've got a recipe, but I just go with the flow.

 

[bumpnzx3]

Today marks one week since I brewed/ started fermentation. The thick head in the carboy is now gone- as of yesterday morning. There's still some foam on top- but less than an inch thick- nothing frothy and out of control like before. It seems calm in there now. Think it's time to measure the SG? Or, should I just sanitize my secondary and siphon it in there and let it sit a little longer before starting to measure it? I am heading out of town for work on Saturday the 7th and I will return on the 15th. Should I transfer to secondary before I leave, or leave it in the primary until I return? I am still slight confused as to when (not if- but when) it's a good time to go from primary to secondary. Also- when I am measuring the SG- so I just sanitize my instrument and drop it in the carboy or what?

 

[Nurmey]

Leave it in the primary until your return. This will give the yeast a chance to finish its job of fermenting and cleaning up the beer.

 

[dpittard]

Also- when I am measuring the SG- so I just sanitize my instrument and drop it in the carboy or what?

Get a turkey baster (or you could spend the extra and get a beer thief) and use this to fill the tube that your hydrometer came with. Guess I'm assuming your hydrometer came with a testing tube, though.

Revvy also recommends filling a spray bottle full of Star San and spraying down everything, like the lid, baster, etc...

 

[jmo88]

Also- when I am measuring the SG- so I just sanitize my instrument and drop it in the carboy or what?

Hadn't thought of that one before, but I suppose it'd work. Try a turkey baster. It should be easy to find this time of year. The nice part of using a turkey baster or thief is that you get a 3oz or so serving to taste the sample. I always look forward to that. You can learn a lot about the fermentation process by tasting the samples.

 

[bumpnzx3]

Scratch that- I 'think' I know which beers to put in a secondary. From all of the information I have read- the darker, more complex beers should ferment longer/go to secondary, while lighter beers and some wheat beers don't need a secondary or as long of a ferment. Am I in line in my thinking?

 

[EricCSU]

Leave it in the primary for 3 to 4 weeks. Then clean and sanitize a baster (or thief...I love my thief) and a hydrometer. If the reading is the number that the kit says it should finish at, bottle your beer! No need for a secondary, you'll do better with a longer primary.

Eric

 

[EricCSU]

Scratch that- I 'think' I know which beers to put in a secondary. From all of the information I have read- the darker, more complex beers should ferment longer/go to secondary, while lighter beers and some wheat beers don't need a secondary or as long of a ferment. Am I in line in my thinking?

Using a secondary or not is a controversial topic around here, but there are lots and lots of people that rarely use a secondary and make great beer. IMO, it eliminates a generally unnecessary step, reduces the chance for infection or oxidation, and saves you the 30 to 45 minutes to transfer to secondary. For most beers, you can just let them age in the package (bottle/keg).

Eric

 

[bumpnzx3]

I hadn't read your replies before my "scratch that" post.

That makes sense. I never thought of using the tube the hydrometer came in.

Ok- my plan now is to leave the stout as is until I return. When I return I will transfer it to secondary, clean my primary, and start a wheat beer. I will leave the wheat beer in the primary until it's time to bottle. If all goes as planned- I will have two batches ready for Christmas dinner.....assuming my thinking that a wheat/lighter beer won't take as long from start to finish.

 

[northernlad]

Are your primary and secondary the same size?
Racking to secondary will do little for this batch except give you another chance to contaminate it. Leave it in its original fermenter or bottle it when you get home.

 

[bumpnzx3]

Both are 5gal glass carboys. I also have an ale pale with a spigot- but I haven't used it for anything yet. My used setup also included a racking wand (is that the right word?) that I was planning to bottle with straight out of the carboy.

 

[EricCSU]

Both are 5gal glass carboys. I also have an ale pale with a spigot- but I haven't used it for anything yet. My used setup also included a racking wand (is that the right word?) that I was planning to bottle with straight out of the carboy.

What size are your batches?

 

[bumpnzx3]

5gal- not much headspace. 5gal seems to fill it up right where the neck of the carboy starts (where it starts to pitch towards the opening).

 

[EricCSU]

5gal- not much headspace. 5gal seems to fill it up right where the neck of the carboy starts (where it starts to pitch towards the opening).

It really helps to have a 6 or 6.5 gallon carboy for a primary, I think you are learning that though.

Eric

 

[bumpnzx3]

Interesting- the guys at both brew shops near here said the 5 gal was the way to go. Not saying either of you are right. I guess it's just one of the many things in home brewing that's a matter of opinion. I guess if I had a larger carboy, it wouldn't have foamed over for the first couple days. Either way- it would have been too much co2 escaping for my airlock to handle. I had to make a blowoff tube.

 

[EricCSU]

Interesting- the guys at both brew shops near here said the 5 gal was the way to go. Not saying either of you are right. I guess it's just one of the many things in home brewing that's a matter of opinion. I guess if I had a larger carboy, it wouldn't have foamed over for the first couple days. Either way- it would have been too much co2 escaping for my airlock to handle. I had to make a blowoff tube.

I put 5.25 in a 6gal carboy, use fermcap, and a blow-off tube. If i get a gyser, SWMBO would have a fit!

Eric

 

[Keith_Mahoney]

Just a little note. For a firefighter I don't practice near enough safety most of the time, but if you are going to use that burner inside (and I probably would) get yourself a couple of carbon monoxide monitors and a fire extinguisher set up in your basement.
The CO monitors can be had at any hardware store for less than $20 each and could potentially save your life. $40 isn't too much to spend to look out for your family.

The heater in my apartment is natural gas. I keep one monitor in the closet with the hot water heater and one just outside of it near our bedroom. It's cheap insurance against a silent, odorless killer.

 

[EricCSU]

Just a little note. For a firefighter I don't practice near enough safety most of the time, but if you are going to use that burner inside (and I probably would) get yourself a couple of carbon monoxide monitors and a fire extinguisher set up in your basement.
The CO monitors can be had at any hardware store for less than $20 each and could potentially save your life. $40 isn't too much to spend to look out for your family.

The heater in my apartment is natural gas. I keep one monitor in the closet with the hot water heater and one just outside of it near our bedroom. It's cheap insurance against a silent, odorless killer.

I use a CO detector and extinguisher, and I cook in the garage with the door open!

Eric

 

[JesseRC]

Leave it alone for atleast 3 weeks.

 

[bumpnzx3]

It's funny you mention about being a firefighter. The guy who owned the house before me was the fire chief in the town I live in. His "shop" area that he made in the basement before he built the huge garage/shop out back- is already equipped with a couple CO detectors and 2 extinguishers.

 

[bumpnzx3]

I left it in primary for a shade over three weeks. I then moved it to secondary for a shade over two weeks. I bottled this past Sunday night. I had a little glass of it while filling bottles. It tasted pretty good- even though it was flat and still a little green. My plan is to let it condition in the bottle until Christmas- then hand out a few to the family after dinner.

When I transfered to secondary, I brewed the other kit I bought (Coopers Wheat). I left that in primary for about two weeks until I bottled my stout this past Sunday. I am going to leave it in the secondary until this weekend and bottle that Sunday night. I plan to pass a few bottles of this around at Christmas also.

I just bought a Brewers Best Porter kit today. I want to brew that sometime in the next week or so. Ultimately I am going to add Marker's Mark soaked oak chips to this the last week or two I have it in the secondary.

 

[android]

there's something wrong if you're only looking at it every 20 mins... should be more like every minute...

 

[bumpnzx3]

ahhhh- i was just trying to make myself feel better. it probably was more like a minute

I see you are from Ames. I was just in Iowa for work not long ago- Burlington actually. I had some descent beer while I was there. I found a small microbrewery in Ft. Madison called the Lost Duck. I also bought a 6pack of somthing made in Amana (can't remember the name)- it was pretty good also.

Is Amana or Ft. Madison anywhere near Ames?

 

[android]

not really, amana is closer and is about 2 hrs away, but we do get their beer here, it's pretty good stuff... i'll be down in st. louis in february for a conference, any advice while i'm there?

 

[bumpnzx3]

Schlafly has two locations in the city- they have good beer and food. If you are into using locally grown food/natural food- this place is good for that also.
http://schlafly.com/

Trailhead is about 15-20 minutes outside the city- good beer and food. Lewis and Clarks is right down the street from them. Their food is good also and they serve Trailhead's beer.
http://www.trailheadbrewing.com/

O'Fallon Brewery is in the same direction as Trailhead- but an additional 20 minute drive. They have the best pumpkin beer I've had. Their smoked porter is really good also.
http://ofallonbrewery.com/

If you get an afternoon free- head out to Augusta. It's on a really scenic stretch of highway 94. There are several wineries with great views as well as one microbrewery- Augusta Brewing
http://www.augustabrewing.com/

Square One is downtown, although I have never been there. It's the same people that own Augusta Brewing, so I can only assume the beers are the same.
http://www.squareonebrewery.com/

I can suggest more food and other places also- I just stuck with beer related joints. There's good steak places, sushi places, wine bars, live blues/jazz......whatever you are looking for, I can most likely suggest a couple good options. You could even take a free tour of Anheuser and possibly see me working my weekend gig (machinist there).