My First Ever Brew Day - The Good and Bad

[foam_top]

Yesterday was my first ever brew day and I just wanted to record my issues and excitement. Overall I'm optimistic and I can tell this is going to be an addicting hobby.

Issue 1: I was aware of this going in, but since I only have a 2 gal brew pot I did a split boil which extended my brew day by about 2 hours.

Issue 2: After my first boil I had my LME sitting in a warm water bath with the lids off. Now that the tubs were half empty it created more buoyancy. My attention was elsewhere and when I returned one of the tubs had tipped and mixed with the water. Instead of tossing it I just added the mixture to my boil.

Issue 3: The homebrew kit I bought http://www.homebrewing.org/Beginning-Homebrew-Kit_p_352.html didn't include a sanitizer but instead a cleanser with "sanitizing properties". I didn't want to risk anything so I recalled in John Palmer's book a bleach solution. I know it's not ideal but I was working with what I had at short notice. I rinsed well.

Issue 4: And despite rinsing well I got bleach in my beer anyway! I used the same solution in my airlock which vacuumed into my beer. I don't think it will be dangerous to drink, one tbsp diluted to one gallon of water, of that solution, about a tbsp into 5 gallons of beer. However, it might create bad flavors. Had I been thinking, I could have just used unscented mouthwash.


At the end of the day, my OG was exactly on and my airlock has begun bubbling after only 12 hours. The ambient temperature is about 64f. Cheers!

 

[brrman]

Issue 1: No big deal there.

Issue 2: Can't see a problem.

Issue 3: Rinsing after sanitizing is not ideal. Bleach can be made as a no-rinse sanitizer if diluted to 80 ppm (5 gallons water to 1 tablespoon bleach) which is essentially what you made.

Issue 4: It might throw some off flavors (I doubt it though) - I have never used bleach solution. But it should not be harmful to drink. I typically don't put my airlock in place until I have finished moving the fermenter to its resting place; this avoids the feared airlock suck. A simple bit of foil wrap will work while you move it around.

Seems like you did ok, man.

 

[p_p]

You did well. I had to repaint a wall after my first brew day.
Next time round you could use vodka in your airlock.

 

[kevy]

Sounds like an overall success. Congrats

 

[HomebrewSupply]

Much better than many first brew days! Not sure about the bleach either, but based on what you're saying I think it's probably fine.

Welcome to the hobby - it only gets smoother AND more complicated from here.

 

[Sailingeric]

Good job .. After a few brews you will have the system down and while one thing is going on, such as steeping or boiling, you can prep for the next step.

 

[foam_top]

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and advice. I started to get more paranoid about the bleach so I did the math. Better to be safe than sorry. Please let me know if I made any mistakes.

4ppm = maximum safe concentration for drinking water
my bleach solution = 8.25%
4 drops @ 8.25% per gallon = 4ppm

300 drops = 1 tablespoon
256 tablespoons = 1 gallon

300 drops of bleach / 256 tbsp = 1.171875 drops per diluted tbsp
2 * 1.171875 = 2.34375 drops = approximate solution lost in fermenter with safe marginal error

2.3 drops in 5 gallons = 0.5ppm

I used this website to reverse engineer the last expression - https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/ServicesAndTools/Tools/Pages/Dilution-Calculator.aspx
In other words, if I die... my toxicology report will probably just come back alcohol poisoning. Cheers everyone!

 

[thunderwagn]

Meh, if nothing else, you'll have homebrew like some of us made in the late 80's/early 90's when washing and sanitizing with dish soap and bleach. My guess is you might get some medicinal type flavors. I tend to drink my crappy beers as a form of punishment for being dumb ass sometimes when I brew. My wife reassures me that I'm a dumb ass all the time so drinking the swill really isn't necessary.


You made beer. It was a good day.

 

[dogslapbrewery]

James spencer from basic brewing radio does a interview with the owner of sanstar. It's super interesting cause he talks more about sanitizing with bleach then his own product. Diluted bleach on its own doesn't do much, he said you always hear people saying how bleach worked for them and others not so much. What it came down to is some people are just better at cleaning their gear then others. What he said thoughis after you do dilute the bleach adding 1 oz of white vinegar per 5 gallon batch of diluted bleach and this drops the ph so it can sanitize. Really good interview check out basicbrewing.com podcast, tons of info for new and intermediate brewers. Here's the link for that sanitizer episode. http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/9/0/390...52823248&hwt=67d5e1f4a30f15a7ca2cc634bad814a8

 

[p_p]

James spencer from basic brewing radio does a interview with the owner of sanstar. It's super interesting cause he talks more about sanitizing with bleach then his own product. Diluted bleach on its own doesn't do much, he said you always hear people saying how bleach worked for them and others not so much. What it came down to is some people are just better at cleaning their gear then others. What he said thoughis after you do dilute the bleach adding 1 cup of white vinegar per 5 gallon batch of diluted bleach and this drops the ph so it can sanitize. Really good interview check out basicbrewing.com podcast, tons of info for new and intermediate brewers. Here's the link for that sanitizer episode. http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/9/0/390...52823248&hwt=67d5e1f4a30f15a7ca2cc634bad814a8

Mmmm, in a podcast, Jon Herskovits, president of 5 star chemicals said "I will not teach home brewers how to acidify bleach or they will end up killing themselves". He was referring to the release of chlorine gas.

To the OP, if you'd like your math to be checked, post in the brew science section. Plenty chemistry knowledge over there.

 

[ballsy]

My only advice to make things easier/less time consuming, is there's nothing wrong with just doing a partial boil in the 2 gal pot and topping off. Steep the specialty grain, add about a 1/4 of your extract at boil, do hops additions as instructed, and at flame out stir in the rest of your extract then top that sucker off with nice cold water to final volume (fill some gallon containers with water and keep in fridge overnight)! Not only will you save time by only doing 1 boil, but it'll cut your cooling time wayyyy down too! Even though I have a 10gal pot, I still do partial boil when brewing extract because of the benefit of quick cooling time without the need of an ice bath or coil...money and time saved!

 

[dogslapbrewery]

Yeah dont cut straight bleach with vinegar or yes death might follow. Only add white vinegar after the bleach has been diluted as per the non-rinse formula.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I remember how wrapped around the axel I was on my first brew day. That was just 4 brews ago now! After that first one you relax a lot. You have a better idea of when you really need to focus and when you can watch a little Jeopardy. Once you have the basics, you can add in a new procedure each new brew. On my third batch, I tried partial mash and my latest, that I just put in my fermentors last night, I rehydrated my yeast for the first time. I wanted to try irish moss this time, but forgot.

Starsan is really great stuff. I used to clean the fountain drink spigots at Circle K 20 some years ago with bleach every night. I remember just how long it would take to rinse that crap off those little spigots. That's why when I started brewing I didn't want to go anywhere near bleach. I think the trick to bleach though is to let your stuff 110% dry, but even then, you might not notice a little pool in some dimple on your gear.

By the way, my first batch (Craft-A-Brew Oktobeerfest Ale) came out about 2.5% alcohol, definitely not Craft-A-Brews fault, it didn't give anyone a buzz, just made you sleepy.

 

[DevilNuts]

You did well. I had to repaint a wall after my first brew day.
Next time round you could use vodka in your airlock.

This is what I do, but the caveat is that vodka tends to evaporate more quickly, so if you use vodka in the airlock be sure to check on it frequently and keep it topped off.

 

[foam_top]

So mixing bleach with vinegar would create chlorine gas, but if I dilute the bleach in water first the water acts as a buffer, stabilizing the solution? I will probably just use Starsan from here on out but if I get into another pinch I might consider it. That is, if I feel confident I won't kill myself. I'd rather spoil a batch than croak, I can't drink delicious beer if I'm dead.

I was just realizing, I'm not sure a no rinse sanitizer is necessary in my current circumstance since I'm topping off my partial boils with tap water anyway. Maybe I should be using purified bottled water. I do live in Denver, which is among some of the cleanest tap water in the US.

 

[dogslapbrewery]

I doubled checked and it's 1oz of bleach diluted in 5 gallons of water then add 1oz of white vinegar. Sanstar all the way but in a pinch its good knowledge to know considering most house holds have these items. Just be safe about it and don't measure your vinegar right over your bleach accidently pouring half a bottle in.

 

[foam_top]

First Ever Bottling Day

Bottling day was a little rough, not as fun as brew day...

• Still no Starsan - I used up the Easy Clean that came with my kit. I let everything soak for 10 minutes per Revvy's advice. They only gave me enough solution for 16 bottles at a time so you do the math, bottle sanatizing felt like an eternity.
  
• Beer had a sour-like, vinegar smell. Ambient temps never got above 68f. Luckily there was no such taste as far as I could tell. Hopefully it's because the beer is young and will fade with age.
  
• FG came in at about 1.010-1.012. Recipe expected 1.014.
  
• I had a hell-of-a-time with the racking tubing. Hard to get on, even harder to get off! I figured out it's a little like Chinese Handcuffs, pulling only makes it clamp harder, bunching it up gives more wiggle room.
  
• I washed (harvested) my yeast. Not sure if I'll actually use it since it sat uncovered the entire time I bottled but it was worth the experience.

As usual I thank everyone for your advice and feedback. Well, the best part is next, the tasting!

http://www.homebrewing.org/assets/images/AIH 2013 Recipes/AIH Adventures Amber Ale2.pdf

 

[tooldudetool]

Starsan is the way to go... Do yourself a favor and get a spray bottle as well, makes it super easy to sanitize large or odd shaped items without having to find a vessel they will fit in. Also do yourself a favor and throw away that harvested yeast. No point in potentially contaminating a second batch so you can save $5... Your beer and your time is too important for that!! BTW, it really shouldn't have a sour vinegar smell at any point, that points toward a possible infection.. Cheers!