My first home brew

[nywanna]

Well, I started my first home brew. I gotta say, the people at my local home brewing store were less than easy to get along with - I was hoping for a little direction and advice from them, but all I got were blank stares and an attitude of "you want to do what?". Regardless, I really don't care - I've been determined to do this for a while.

I am 90% sure this batch is going to be quite aweful. Not only were sanitation precautions not followed by man of the people that were helping me, we also forgot to put the lid on while cooling the wort, and the primary grains ended up resting on the bottom of our boiling pot.

I am happy to see that the beer is fermenting quite nicely right now and am preparing for the bottling stage early next week. A friend of mine lent me to glass carboy's so that I could do a secondary fermentation, but at this point I am almost more determined to go straight to bottling, let the batch finish in the bottles and start a second batch (this time paying attention to sanitation and the other details that I missed).

Thought I would share with every one - oh, and yes, I'm new here.

 

[fezzman]

Congrats on your first brew.

So, how long are you going to let it sit in the primary? Since you don't plan on using a secondary, I would recommend leaving it sit in the primary for longer than a week. Otherwise, you may run the risk of bottle bombs.

 

[ian]

Actually, if that was your biggest "sanitation" issue I'm pretty sure you'll be OK. I've done much worse and still made pretty good beer. I once melted a plastic bag on the inside bottom of my brewpot (don't ask) and spent the boil trying to collect the little bits as they rolled by in the boil. That one actually turned out great!

I would seriously recommend using the secondary option since you've got the fermenters - the extra time will let your fermentation finish up without getting off flavors from your trub and you'll end up with a clearer batch.

Oh, and welcome aboard!

 

[rdwj]

Congrats on your first!

If you have access to a secondary - use it. If nothing else, it's good practice.

As far as not covering the wort while cooling - not a big deal. That's really just to keep you from getting cooling water and other stuff in there.

Sanitation - just do better next time. Not much you can do at this point, but you'll probably be ok

 

[Evan!]

Kinda sucks that the LHBS folks weren't more helpful. I hate it when I'm getting into a hobby or something, and I'm shunned because I'm not already an expert. If only these retailers would think about the long-term, and realize that if they're helpful, you may turnout to be a money-spending customer for years to come.

In the future, you might just do it with an online outfit.

Anyway, don't assume your batch is ruined. If there's anything I know, it's that sloppy batches can come out great, and extremely disciplined batches can come out horribly. Nothing is a foregone conclusion, so I'd recommend doing a secondary aging for a week or two.

Unless, on the other hand, you're just trying to clear it out for the next batch, which is fine. However, you said you have 2 carboys, so, why not do this: rack to secondary once primary fermentation is done, then use the first carboy for your next batch. By the time it's ready for secondary, your first batch can be bottled.

Lastly, you said "many of the people who were helping me". Just how many people had their fingers, figuratively, in your beer? I find that any more than two people is a waste, and just provides more possibilities for accidents and sanitation issues. I brew most of my batches by myself or with a friend. That's all you need.

 

[TheJadedDog]

Congrats on your first brew and welcome. As a new brewer myself, I can tell you the folks around here are extremely helpful in every phase of the hobby. As for your lhbs, it's too bad they weren't more helpful, but there are lots of online suppliers you can go to instead.

 

[Blender]

I am 90% sure this batch is going to be quite aweful. Not only were sanitation precautions not followed by man of the people that were helping me, we also forgot to put the lid on while cooling the wort, and the primary grains ended up resting on the bottom of our boiling pot.

Thought I would share with every one - oh, and yes, I'm new here.

What happened with the grains? Maybe run your process by the board here and we can give you some guidance. You don't want to boil grain.

 

[vcr5150]

welcome & congrats on your first batch. while you should always be careful, beer is pretty resiliant & a batch doesn't easily turn out bad - don't give up hope.

customer service seems to be an issue with many LHBS. Lucky for us, the internet gives us access to many great homebrew supply stores with a few clicks of the mouse. Give 'em another chance, maybe it was just a bad day.

 

[runhard]

Contrats on cutting your teeth on your first go at it. Once you get a rhythm down with cleaning, santizing, etc. your brew days will go off smoothly. I echo everyone else above in that you will probably be just fine and a secondary isn't all bad this time even if for practice. Remember that some of the most incredible and interesting beers in Belgium are fermented with what is just floating around in their brewery; they haven't cleaned in hundreds of years and that is on purpose. As far as the CUSTOMER NO-SERVICE, your LHBS has no excuse. Don't patronage their store. I live in Austin and have visited at length with several of the guys throughout my learning and maturation process as a homebrewer and these guys are awesome. I'll give them a plug and let you know that they have only been gracious to help answer all of my questions or point me to a resource that did have the answer. Of course they have to make a living but most of their prices are very competitive and the shipping is very reasonable. Remember there are some people here who have been at this as long as 20 years and as few as a couple of days and we still all learn something from one another. Welcome aboard.

 

[runhard]

Oops, www.austinhomebrew.com.

 

[nywanna]

Thanks everyone for the welcome - this is a great community! I really appreciate the advice on using the second carboy - I will probably go ahead and do that.

Unless, on the other hand, you're just trying to clear it out for the next batch, which is fine. However, you said you have 2 carboys, so, why not do this: rack to secondary once primary fermentation is done, then use the first carboy for your next batch. By the time it's ready for secondary, your first batch can be bottled.

When I went to the LHBS I bought a basic starter kit with plastic buckets - I didn't want to spring for the glass if I ended up hating it. I really just want to get familiar with the process and see if this is something I really enjoy. So in theory I could actually start another brew almost immediately, although I like the suggestion to wait until my primary is done and just rotate through that way.

Lastly, you said "many of the people who were helping me". Just how many people had their fingers, figuratively, in your beer? I find that any more than two people is a waste, and just provides more possibilities for accidents and sanitation issues. I brew most of my batches by myself or with a friend. That's all you need.

It was just two people, but when it came time to prepare the fermenter I had one extra person help fill the carboy with the necessary water. I noticed more than once his fingers getting into the water.

All the feedback on the sanitation issue is good to hear - hopefully things do turn out well - I'd really like to enjoy the 50 or so bottles I get from this. :cross:

@vcr5150 & runhard - yes, the Internet is probably the way to go, but I make my living off the Internet, so any opportunity I get to be away from a computer is a welcome opportunity.

Thanks again for the warm welcome - I look forward to learning from everyone!

 

[nywanna]

What happened with the grains? Maybe run your process by the board here and we can give you some guidance. You don't want to boil grain.

I was using Victory Malt and Briess Caramel grains. They were not boiled, but they were steeped in the boiler pot while it heated up for about 15 minutes or so. I am not sure if they burned, but they were resting at the bottom of the boiler pot during the entire process. I wouldn't be too concerned except for the fact that this was an aluminum pot. It just feels like the grains were probably sitting directly on the burner.

We'll see though, I inspected the grains and they didn't appear to be burnt. I'll know when I take that first drink - right?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Sounds like you're off to a great start, despite the LHBS snobbery. Sometimes I wish the old guy at my LHBS was a little LESS friendly. During my first visit I thought he was going to sit me on the floor, give me a boxed apple juice with a bendy straw, and start reading verses from Papazian's book!

 

[Blender]

Sounds like your beer might be quite OK. You will know when you transfer it to a secondary. Make sure to taste it along the way because you can tell alot about how it will end up. My local shop was sort of push offish the first time I was in there but it is much better now so maybe they were having a bad day. Anyway I would try them again as it may improve. Its nice to have a local source.

 

[ARFan]

That sucks about the owners of your homebrew shop treating you that way. I was lucky to start off at a store that was extremely helpful right from the start. A place called RJ Spagnols here in BC, they've definately got my repeat business because of that.

 

[nywanna]

Taste it, eh? I'll have to do that tomorrow - I didn't want to taste it the first day because of the smell.

I've heard of RJ Spagnols...

As an interesting point, the person who lent me the glass carboy's suggested using vodka in the airlock rather than water to help prevent bugs. I thought it was a good tip!

 

[Blender]

Taste it, eh? I'll have to do that tomorrow - I didn't want to taste it the first day because of the smell.

Wait until the fermentation is stopped after a week or so.

 

[marshman]

I would definitely wait until I was moving the beer to the secondary before I got to tasting...grab a swig or two into a glass as you're siphoning, as it'll decrease your odds of infecting it.

I'm also a newb, and sanitation is my biggest worry. I've bottled after 2 weeks in primary and gotten good, drinkable (albiet not very clear) beer. It might not taste like the recipe suggested it would, but it should taste like beer. Let it run it's course and see what happens. Worst case, it'll be good for marinating and pre-boiling Brats!

 

[Turricaine]

The secondary is not a big thing for beginners. More experienced homebrewers like to do it though. The chances are your LHBS are more concerned with trying to sell stuff and could care less about the customer aftercare.

Rememer that whatever comes into contact with the boiled wort will be sterilised because of the heat, provided that the surfaces appear relatively clean to the naked eye. However after the wort has cooled it becomes vulnerable.

So the one part of the process where you definately need bleach/disinfectant is in the bottling/kegging stage. Other brewing containers can just be sanitised with ordinary household detergent and a scrubbing brush.

 

[fezzman]

So in theory I could actually start another brew almost immediately,

I fell prey to that theory and learned a lesson. If both buckets are full then how are you going to bottle the beer? You will need one bucket empty to mix your priming sugar in and bottle from.

 

[Evan!]

I was using Victory Malt and Briess Caramel grains. They were not boiled, but they were steeped in the boiler pot while it heated up for about 15 minutes or so. I am not sure if they burned, but they were resting at the bottom of the boiler pot during the entire process. I wouldn't be too concerned except for the fact that this was an aluminum pot. It just feels like the grains were probably sitting directly on the burner.

We'll see though, I inspected the grains and they didn't appear to be burnt. I'll know when I take that first drink - right?

Steeped in the boiler pot, but not boiled? I'd say they are fine. What temps did you steep at? 150 is a safe bet. At 150 degrees, even if they are sitting on the bottom of the pot, they're probably okay. If you got alot higher than that, well, then maybe you'd have trouble. But scorching whole grains while submersed in a gallon+ of water takes alot of heat, for a long time. Don't sweat it. I'd also recommend purchasing some grain socks. If I'm doing an all-extract brew (which is more and more seldom these days), I always steep with something. I've found that the best method is putting them into a grain sock (which is like cheesecloth, but you can tie it up, and it stretches to accommodate A LOT of grain), filling the pot with cold water, putting the socked grains into the cold water, then raising the temp up to 150. Hold it there for at least 30 minutes, take out the sock/grains, sparge with hot water, and then start your boil.

Yeah, I've held a steeping at 150 for 45 minutes, with the grains in a sock sitting directly on the bottom of an aluminum pot, just like you, and I've never had any scorching. Don't worry, relax, have a homebrew.

 

[Truble]

congrats on the first! Sanitization is evolutionary-everyone is always trying to be perfect, but nobody is. For the last brew I did, I was super careful, and was straining my whole hops out of my cooled wort at the end. Everything went well until I realized that I used the wrong strainer for that bucket...right at the same time that I bumped it, and all the hops and debris, inclduing the strainer, went into my bucket!!!! still fermented out fine, and tastes great. Point is, don't worry too much until you can adequately judge it. Sounds like you did a good job for your first brew.

As for the secondary, I had the same questions when I did my first batch. I ended up letting it go for 2 weeks in the primary, then bottling. 2nd batch and every other since goes in the secondary. The benefits are clear (no pun intended) and the effort is minimal, and allows you another excuse to doing brewing stuff......

 

[nywanna]

I fell prey to that theory and learned a lesson. If both buckets are full then how are you going to bottle the beer? You will need one bucket empty to mix your priming sugar in and bottle from.

Actually I currently have two glass carboys and two buckets (one intended for bottling), so I could in theory start a second batch now, although I'm thinking of waiting.

The fermentation appears to be going really well!

Thanks for the reassurance on the sanitizing issue. I'll be quite watchful when I transfer to the second carboy (which I will definitely be doing - you guys convinced me ).

Oh, and Evan, I steeped the grains in the pot for 15 minutes while the pot warmed up to 170. Once it hit 170 I removed the grains (which were in a grain sock)

 

[the_bird]

Oh, and Evan, I steeped the grains in the pot for 15 minutes while the pot warmed up to 170. Once it hit 170 I removed the grains (which were in a grain sock)

You can steep the grains longer than that, upwards of about 45 minutes if your water temp doesn't go too high. I'll usually add them once the water hits 155, and I'll maintain that temp for 30-45 minutes, then take them out before bringing things to a boil.

 

[fezzman]

Actually I currently have two glass carboys and two buckets (one intended for bottling), so I could in theory start a second batch now, although I'm thinking of waiting.

The fermentation appears to be going really well!

Thanks for the reassurance on the sanitizing issue. I'll be quite watchful when I transfer to the second carboy (which I will definitely be doing - you guys convinced me ).

Oh, and Evan, I steeped the grains in the pot for 15 minutes while the pot warmed up to 170. Once it hit 170 I removed the grains (which were in a grain sock)

Ahh, I didn't realize you also had two carboys. Now I see you have no reason not to have two batches going.

On my very first batch I was using Nottingham dry yeast. When I went to pitch the yeast, I literally pitched the package in my wort at the same time. It slipped out of my hand while shaking. Without thinking I plunged my hand in and pulled it out. Then I gave it a few good shakes because there was now wet yeast stuck to the package. No infection resulted, and I also cooled with the lid off.

P.S. If you put your carboy in an empty milk crate it is much easier to move around.