n00b alert- My first brew scheduled for this weekend

[Baron von BeeGee]

when you use the bucket w/ spigot as a primary, and then use the spigot to rack to the secondary, don't you end up sucking up some trub to boot?

The first few ounces are a bit cloudy, but that's about it. The spigot is generally higher than my trub level, and I even wind up tipping the bucket a bit to drain the last bit of clear wort. A siphon would be better in that sense as long as you have a clip or some method of holding it above the trub, but the spigot is too danged convenient for me.

As far as sanitizing I always run sanitizer through the spigot and then rinse it before I fill the bucket...same thing when cleaning. That way I don't leave any beer there. I'm actually considering disassembling it and soaking it the next time it's empty.

I haven't yet had any infections (that I could detect, anyways) from using it to drain, but of course by that point the wort should be reasonably alcoholic which probably helps.

 

[Walker]

I'm actually considering disassembling it and soaking it the next time it's empty.

I take my spigot apart every time I use it (brew day and bottle day) to clean it well. You will be shocked at how much crap is inside of the thing. You simply can't get it all off with soaking, and no brush can reach all the nooks and crannies.

-walker

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I am more careful (or obsessed) with it now that at any time in the last 8 years. I just keep trying to remind myself that they used relatively dirty barrels, wooden paddles, and who-knows-how-filthy equipment thousands of years ago to make beer.

even the sloppiest brewer here is probably a million times more sanitary than the best brewer 1000 years ago.

OTOH, without a 1000 year old beer to sample, I'm willing to bet they had all kinds of nasty infections going on and that the final product didn't really resemble what we today know as beer. I imagine they were lucky to have a workable yeast, much less dozens of varieties grown in lab conditions.

Cleanliness/sanitation is always listed as one of the factors that any brewer can focus on to improve his/her brewing, so I take it as seriously as feasible; at the end of the day, however, I'm fairly practical, and so far I'm happy with my beer.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I take my spigot apart every time I use it (brew day and bottle day) to clean it well. You will be shocked at how much crap is inside of the thing. You simply can't get it all off with soaking, and no brush can reach all the nooks and crannies.

-walker

Thanks for adding 10 minutes to my already lengthy process!

 

[Orfy]

I've not got a kegging system yet! There's no way I can cope with 100's of bottles. I have 15 gallon on the go at present!
I have a bid on 6 pressure barrels at $150 on ebay.

 

[Walker]

I do what I can.

 

[Walker]

By thew way, BeeGee....

I gather from your posts that you are an AG brewer, yet you ferment in plastic?

You might be a very unique brewer in that regard. I think most people move from plastic to glass before moving from extract to grain.

-walker

 

[Truble]

I haven't used mine yet for anything other than testing, but it is too easy to assemble NOT to take it apart and clean/store. I cleaned it after testing my bottle filler, and also last night after I tested syphoning. I liken this to my experience with cars/planes/tools/etc: anything that has moving parts needs to be inspected/cleaned, etc etc because you never know what is hiding inside or worse, broken.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

By thew way, BeeGee....

I gather from your posts that you are an AG brewer, yet you ferment in plastic?

You might be a very unique brewer in that regard. I think most people move from plastic to glass before moving from extract to grain.

-walker

I'm also thrifty where I can be...I bought a brewkit with the ubiquitous plastic bucket and did a couple of extract batches before someone at work convinced me to go AG. Frankly, my AG 'equipment' didn't cost much more than a couple of carboys. I'll probably upgrade my bucket...at some point...

I like tinkering/fashioning stuff as much as anything, so fashioning a brewing system out of a water cooler and the fittings aisle at Home Depot makes me like the proverbial moth to the flame...

 

[Walker]

wel... go get some sand and learn to blow glass.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

wel... go get some sand and learn to blow glass.

I was fascinated watching that in Italy! But it would probably cause Mrs. BeeGee to go stark raving mad and use my pasta maker to destroy my coffee roastery/homebrew area. Did anyone know that coffee trees aren't hardy in zone 7?

 

[Truble]

well, I am standing at the counter in my kitchen sipping a pint of Wachusett IPA (a Local Micro-brand), trying to interpret my SG readings. When I took the reading of my wort, I was unsure of its exactness, but it was 1.048~1.049ish.....I just checked my "beer" at 8 days, and it was 1.017-1.018. Now I think that means that I am around 3%ABV??? if so, that seems low. I did taste it, though, and it tasted a little like the IPA that I was about to crack open (I had a porter first), though a little cloudy still. My questions are, does that seem a little low? How much more will I see in the next week in the primary? I was running at 64*F-66*F...should I warm it up a little?

Am I being paranoid again????should I just enjoy the IPA I have in my hand?


Bing! pizza stone is preheated...gotta run for now....

EDIT::::This was the first post I made to the forum, and it is now 8 pages long. This is a great forum!!!

 

[Truble]

well, I moved my brew out to the house area for the night, and the temp went up to 68*F. In addition, it seems that there is a little more activity going on, so I think that I might get a little bit better final OG when I bottle next week.

 

[Walker]

I take my spigot apart every time I use it (brew day and bottle day) to clean it well. You will be shocked at how much crap is inside of the thing. You simply can't get it all off with soaking, and no brush can reach all the nooks and crannies.

-walker

New knowledge. taking the spigot apart is apparently pretty hard on it's structural integrity. Mine had not been taken apart and cleaned after Thursday's brew, so I decided to do it today. The small cylindrical sleeve that holds the actual handle/nozzle piece broke right off.

I normally do this after having soaked it in hot HOT water for a while. I guess I didn't realize exactly how much more pliable that soak was making it before disassembly. Now I know that NOT soaking it can lead you to break it.

Oh, and I somehow chiseled a dime sized filet of skin from the palm of my hand in the process. The ugliness of my fat tire brew session continues.

-walker

 

[Truble]

My first batch is in the bottle. Finished last night around 9:30pm. Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, and there was minimal loss to drippage/overfill, and no spills. checked them this morning, and they are already starting to clear up (can see a difference in the necks). Got almost 2 full cases.

Thanks to all here that helped me out! Got nothing to do now except wait for carbonation and a little aging. Oh, and starting the next batch this weekend!

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Got nothing to do now except wait for carbonation and a little aging.

Aren't you forgetting about the tradition of sending a bottle to every person who posted in this thread??

 

[Darth Konvel]

My first batch is in the bottle. Finished last night around 9:30pm. Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, and there was minimal loss to drippage/overfill, and no spills. checked them this morning, and they are already starting to clear up (can see a difference in the necks). Got almost 2 full cases.

Thanks to all here that helped me out! Got nothing to do now except wait for carbonation and a little aging. Oh, and starting the next batch this weekend!

Congrats on the your first batch, Truble. Good to hear bottling wasn't too painful. Now you enter the waiting part, which quickly turns into the counting-in-doggy-years part as you prematurely open your first bottle

 

[Truble]

I hear that. Luckily, I am going to be busy all weekend, then traveling on business for a couple days next week, so it will at least be safe for a week. After that, I can make no guarantees. A friend I work with just dropped off a bottle of his just finished conditioning pale ale, so that will at least give me a taste at some point.

 

[Truble]

Aren't you forgetting about the tradition of sending a bottle to every person who posted in this thread??

ha! this thread took on a life of it's own....not sure a couple cases would cover that proposition!

UPDATE: I have been able to leave the bottles to themselves for the most part so far. Being a couple hundred miles away helped. Not sure if anyone else does this, but I filled up a 16oz Soda bottle as well, and torqued the cap down to seal. This was a recommendation of a coworker who brews to check carbonation process without cracking a bottle. Basically, the bottle will harden up as it pressurizes. Seems to be going along well. Tomorrow night will be a week's worth of room temp conditioning. How long do you out there carbonate? I have heard everything from a couple days to a week to a couple weeks.

This could all just be a search for justification for cracking one open on my part, but hey- I can't stare at it forever, right?

 

[Orfy]

ha! this thread took on a life of it's own....not sure a couple cases would cover that proposition!

UPDATE: I have been able to leave the bottles to themselves for the most part so far. Being a couple hundred miles away helped. Not sure if anyone else does this, but I filled up a 16oz Soda bottle as well, and torqued the cap down to seal. This was a recommendation of a coworker who brews to check carbonation process without cracking a bottle. Basically, the bottle will harden up as it pressurizes. Seems to be going along well. Tomorrow night will be a week's worth of room temp conditioning. How long do you out there carbonate? I have heard everything from a couple days to a week to a couple weeks.

This could all just be a search for justification for cracking one open on my part, but hey- I can't stare at it forever, right?

Yep, I fill a one litre plastic to check on carbonisation and also do a few 12oz for testing.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

How long do you out there carbonate? I have heard everything from a couple days to a week to a couple weeks.

Mine usually carbonate pretty well by day 10. By day 14 I'm well into them.