New(ish) homebrewer in NC

[CU_tony]

Hi, I have previously attempted a Mr Beer kit back in college and was underwhelmed with the barely passable beer that I ended up with.

Roughly a decade later I saw the brew kit on bespoke post last month that seemed like a good deal with a 1 gallon glass carboy and all grain BIAB process.

I am super excited to brew my second "first" batch and am looking to scale up to 2.5 gallon which seems to be very manageable and maybe more rewarding (more beer at least).

Knowing that spring is supposedly here/just around the corner I have reclaimed my old beer mini fridge and built a temperature controller so I can ferment at a constant temp since I anticipate wild temperature swings with open windows for the next little while.

 

[BigMack]

Welcome (back?) to the obsession from a fellow NC homebrewer!

 

[binabik]

Agreed, Good to have another NC brewer.

 

[AtlanticBrewSupply]

Welcome back!

 

[mbbransc]

You're well on your way to surpassing that old Mr.B kit!

 

[GrainToGlass]

Welcome! Hope your second first batch turns out awesome.

 

[CU_tony]

Batch one underway, it's really hard to maintain temp on this halogen stove, I'm having to slide the pot between the burner and vent and on average seems to be staying around 67c which is close to the 66.6c mashing target I supose

Good news is my 16q pot looks like it can easily do a 2ga batch, I may be able to squeak out a 2.5ga batch, but only time will tell

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[CU_tony]

Cooling the wort, less than 10 min and already under 25c with only 3 big ice packs and flushing the water a few times

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[CU_tony]

Doesn't even look like I ended with 2/3 of a gallon... I'm going to top off with bottled water as the directions say

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[CU_tony]

In the fermenter, tasted like a sugar water with a definite hop presence. I don't think I'll make it a week before buying a second 1gal carboy to get the other kit started so I can move in to better things

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[CU_tony]

The directions said the ferment in the primary for two weeks before bottling.
I brewed Saturday and through Sunday there wasn't much action in the carboy.
Monday and Tuesday fermentation picked up and by the end of Tuesday there was what I assume was a healthy layer on top of the beer about half an inch thick.
Wednesday I had to leave town and in the AM the fermentation was very active and bubbling away.
I just got home and doesn't appear to be any active fermentation. There isn't a head on top of the beer anymore, it looks like just a few clumps of air bubbles float on top now.
Questions
Is this normal for active fermentation to be done within a week?
The directions said to dump a packet of yeast into the carboy after aeration the cooled wort, should I have mixed it with warm water prior to adding like I've read elsewhere?

My temperature controller is set to 68, in the middle of the recommended temp range for this by Easter, but with a +/-2 accuracy, so depending on the weather and how well I built my fermentation chamber, it could be swinging from 66-70 degrees, is this too much variance?

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[CU_tony]

It's kind of hard to tell in the photo, but most of that is condensation on the inside of the carboy

 

[BigMack]

For a lot of strains active fermentation is done in less than a week so you're absolutely fine in that regard. The only way to really know if fermentation is done is to take a gravity reading though.

 

[CU_tony]

Thanks for the advice,
I will probably hold off till closer to next weekend before breaking the seal on the carboy and taking a gravity reading. I was just concerned with having been absent during the change when the bubbling stopped.

 

[CU_tony]

I got an 8 pack out of my 1 gallon batch, FG was 1.014 though I didn't have a means to measure when I brewed this ale so I don't think FG by itself says much

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[CU_tony]

The last bit left in the bowl I racked to, to mix the priming sugar.
It's been sitting about 10 minutes, clearly I got a touch of the trub out of the carboy, but it should settle down in the bottles.
Has a watery mouth feel with a surprising amount of flavor popping in , possibly some Carmel and can definitely taste the bittering hops

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[CU_tony]

I'm guessing the next few weeks of bottle conditioning will even out the flavors and add carbonation?