Newbie preparing for my first batch!

[Hojo3322]

After reading countless threads, articles, books i am finally ready to brew my first batch this Saturday. I am trying to put together a checklist of things to make the process go as smoothly as possible. My first brew is going to be an extract kit from Northern Brewer called "Dead Ringer IPA" I bought the deluxe beer started kit from them as well

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/marketing-categories/landing/deluxe-beer-starter-kit.html

I had a few questions that I was hoping the community could help me out with.

1. I have 2 glass carboys that came with my brew kit, 1 5 gallon and 1 6 gallon carboy, The recipe calls for dry hopping during the secondary fermentation step I know this is probably a dumb question but which carboy should be my primary and which should be my secondary?

2. My recipe kit came with a smack pack yeast WYEAST 1056 AMERICAN ALE. Should I smack the yeast 48 hours before brewing or is that too far in advance?

3. looking for any and all cleaning and sanitizing tips, I was planing on using oxi-clean for cleaning and BFT Iodophor for sanitizing


Can’t wait to get to start my first brew!!

 

[FREUNDOFBIER]

Hi Bud,

hmmmm centennial hops....hmmmm (ala Homer Simpson). First of all, welcome to homebrewing. Sounds like you are off to the right start by doing some research and reading your instructions a few times before you brew. After a couple times, it will be as second nature as riding a bike but at first you may feel like, what do i do next? Getting comfortable with the procedure before you fire up the stove will certainly help.

Now, to your questions. This can be somewhat flexible based on the air lock approach you are planning to use (read up on blow-off vs 3 piece and bubbler air locks for more info). But really, the 6 is intended to be your primary. This is because the extra gallon of headspace in the fermenter will come in handy when your beer reaches high krausen. After primary fermentation is complete, you ideally want your beer to have as little contact with air as possible, that's why the secondary is only 5 gallons so only a small blanket of residual carbon dioxide is in contact with the beer. Looks like your starter kit includes a blowoff hose but 1056 is not too aggressive, so i don't think you need to worry about blowouts, the 6 gallon with an airlock will do the trick.

48 hours is probably too much time to wait after you smack. You really only need to smack the pack right before you dump into the fermenter. However, If you want to have visual confirmation that the yeast is viable (a major advantage of wyeast's product) then smack an hour or two before you start brewing. This will give the package 3-4 hours to swell up like a bee stung butt cheek. A lot of misconceptions are floating around about what is going on in the pack post smack, check out wyeasts website, it is interesting stuff. Bottomline is the yeast are not replicating post smack, they are just waking up from dormancy and getting ready to crush fermentable sugars.

Far as sanitization goes, just follow the instructions on the iodophor. Also, only use lukewarm water with iodophor. Only need to have a pale yellow solution so a little goes a long way.

The best thing you can do for cleaning is use a mild soap (Dawn, also, a little goes a long way) to clean you equipment right after use and triple rinse to make sure you have all the soap off. I emphasize right afterward because i think this is where people get into trouble with infections. All of your equipment will clean up easily with just hot water if you get to it early (even your primary fermenter that will be caked with yeast will rinse clean). But if you wait a day or two to get to it, you will be scrubbing. This is especially true of empty beer bottles you plan to reuse for another batch. If you triple rinse (fill, shake, dump 3X) with the hottest tap water available, you will never, ever i mean never have to use a bottle brush. I don't care what any body else says on here regarding the matter, i probably brewed 20 batches last year and have never had a single problem.

Happy brewing and let us know how the Dead Ringer turns out.

freundofbier

 

[rocketk455]

Looks like you got your questions answered!

Good Luck!

 

[Bensiff]

Use the 6 gallon for the primary and forget the secondary, absolutely no reason to use that for an IPA unless you like excessive work and increased chances at ruining your beer. Just let it sit in the primary for a month and get another get to brew up next week and put that in the 5 gallon carboy.

The smack pack has a nutrient pack in it to get the yeast roused, 48 hours is a little long, but smacking it just before pouring it in is almost pointless. Smack it in the morning and let it sit on your counter while brewing. If you have some DME available I would actually make a starter a few days ahead of time so that you have enough time to let it ferment out, cold crash, decant, and warm back up.

Oxy is probably one of the best cleaning chemicals you will use...PBW is better for really hard to clean stuff, but its cost is such that I only use it when I have a pretty good mess to deal with...oxy for everything else. As Freund said, clean right after brewing. Iodophor will sanitize; however, I encourage you to get some Starsan your next trip to the LHBS or online order, it requires no rinse and does not turn all your tubing and buckets yellow.

Welcome to the hobby, have fun, and don't pitch that yeast until the wort is at room temp.

 

[unionrdr]

I don't use dish soap on any of my brewing equipment,save for the brew kettle. Those soaps can leave a film,just like dish washer soap,to get the drops to run off. I use 3 TBSP of PBW (Powdered Brewer's Wash) in my dirty fermenter after washing out the trub on the bottom. then fill it up with room temp water,& let it sit till the next day. That krausen ring can be greasy. The gunk gets easier to wipe off with a paper towel or soft cloth. Do not use scrubbers on plastic.
Plastic FV's are perfectly safe with proper care & common sense.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Just adding my $.02... You really only need to let a smack pack swell for a few hours before pitching. But really you'll be better of using the smack pack to make a starter 24-36 hours before you brew and pitching the starter. One smack pack (despite saying it is enough yeast for 5gal) is almost always an underpitch in a 5 gal batch. Search this forum for info on starters and check out mrmalty.com for info on pitching rates and a pitch rate calculator.

 

[Hojo3322]

wow that was quick! thank you guys for all the help FREUNDOFBIER, Bensiff and unionrdr. I can't wait to get the first brew under my belt. The dead ringer IPA is supposed to be a two-hearted ale clone and since bell's does not ship to CT I'm pumped to try it out

Use the 6 gallon for the primary and forget the secondary, absolutely no reason to use that for an IPA unless you like excessive work and increased chances at ruining your beer. Just let it sit in the primary for a month and get another get to brew up next week and put that in the 5 gallon carboy.

Would you suggest dry hopping in the primary or would I be better off transferring to the secondary?

 

[unionrdr]

A lot of us dry hop in primary after FG is reached & it clears a bit. Usually 7-10 days.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Would you suggest dry hopping in the primary or would I be better off transferring to the secondary?

ah, the ageless debate. Ask ten homebrewers this and you'll get 11 different answers. Search on the long primary vs. Primary/secondary and you'll see what I mean. Secondary is an unnecessary step, but many including myself, use it for post fermentation additions like dry hopping. Many don't and dry hop right in primary. It's really a matter of what works best for the individual.

 

[Hojo3322]

A lot of us dry hop in primary after FG is reached & it clears a bit. Usually 7-10 days.

ah, the ageless debate. Ask ten homebrewers this and you'll get 11 different answers. Search on the long primary vs. Primary/secondary and you'll see what I mean. Secondary is an unnecessary step, but many including myself, use it for post fermentation additions like dry hopping. Many don't and dry hop right in primary. It's really a matter of what works best for the individual.

wow! there is a ton of debate out there, seems like there is a debate for almost every step of the brewing process

I think I'm going to try dry hopping in with the secondary and see how much of a pain it is and decide if it's worth it.

Is it bad that I'm already looking for an extract kit for my next batch even though I have not started my first one

 

[Bensiff]

Nope, not bad at all to start looking already. If you wait you'll end up finishing off your first batch before the next is started. As far as the good ol' debate on secondaries. I only use them for long term aging of certain types of beer and funky beers. I really see no reason to use a seconary for dry hopping unless you want to save the yeast cake or if you are using whole leaf hops and want to transfer into a bucket to dry hop as getting out whole leaf hops from a carboy can be a PITA.

 

[FREUNDOFBIER]

FYI, Dawn will not leave a film, you would be astounded by the amount of research and development that has gone into that seemingly simple product. HOJO, friendly word of advice. There are a lot of dissenting opinions about a great many things pertaining to homebrewing. I would caution following anyone's advice that sounds too extreme one way or the other. Only the sith deal in absolutes, if no one has figured this out yet, yes, i am a nerdy scientist who is not afraid to quote star wars when appropriate. So i also recommend experimenting and offering not so heavy-handed advice as if there is only one way to do something. If it works for you, groovy. There is a huge spectrum of homebrewers out there from the lazy who don't sanitize properly to the anal (me) who carefully document every aspect of there brewing process complete with calculating IBUs, yeast attenuation, documenting raw material lot #s...etc. The key is have fun, and you'll eventually end up creating your own process that is an amalgamation of different approaches. If you haven't checked him out yet, i would recommend reading Charlie Papazian's work. Again, people could find points to argue about his methods but his attitude, which results from a genuine love of fermented beverages and not snobbery, is something we could all aspire to.

freundofbier

 

[unionrdr]

It's not about snobbery,or heavy handedness. And I've proven Charlie & Jamile wrong once or twice,& took a lot of flaming for it. You're not the only one that got A's in science. And I wasn't talking about a visible film. What do you think makes the water drops run off & not leave spots? Dish soap has it too. There are some things people use in home brewing that can be the cause of certain problems.
You're getting high browed & high handed with me,telling me to stop it? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?

 

[Hojo3322]

got two more question (I am sure I will have many more ) as I am finalizing my check list for tomorrows brew

1. The brew kit I got is brand new, should I clean the kit with oxi-clean first or skip the cleaning and go straight to sanitizing?

2. Also I am finding it hard to figure out when to sanitize in the brew process. I was thinking of doing that while cooling the wort (I am using an ice bath in the sink) but not sure if that would be enough time. I figure,like everything else, this is a matter of personal preference just want to get an idea of what everyone else does.

 

[unionrdr]

got two more question (I am sure I will have many more ) as I am finalizing my check list for tomorrows brew

1. The brew kit I got is brand new, should I clean the kit with oxi-clean first or skip the cleaning and go straight to sanitizing?

2. Also I am finding it hard to figure out when to sanitize in the brew process. I was thinking of doing that while cooling the wort (I am using an ice bath in the sink) but not sure if that would be enough time. I figure,like everything else, this is a matter of personal preference just want to get an idea of what everyone else does.

I clean the fermenter,etc,after every batch,spigot & all. Then,when brew is in the ice bath,I sanitize everything. That,way,it's ready to go as soon as the wort cools down.
When my cooper's micro brew kit was new,I just sanitized everything real good,since it's new & clean to start with.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I sanitize my FV and racking equipment during the boil. Start with a carboy (primary) a quarter full of starsan solution, shake, drain into a bucket and cover the carboy with sanitized foil. I sanitize racking equip in the bucket and use some sanitizer to sanitize the entire brew area. If I'm not making a starter, I put my yeast package and scissors in the bucket of sanitizer as well. It all takes very little time and gives me something to do between hop additions and such.

 

[Hojo3322]

thanks amigos!

 

[Hojo3322]

So brew day went as expected with a couple of hick-ups in the process but for the most part it went pretty smooth thanks to the help of you guys and the many other members who have posted in this forum . I was really surprised to see that it started fermenting with in 24 hours (see pic).

I presently have my primary in a swamp cooler with a wet tee shirt covering the top and a towel covering the water but leaving a good amount of the t-shirt exposed for evaporation. I am adding 2 frozen water bottles in the morning and 2 at night day, it gets the temp down to 67-70. It's been pretty hot in CT around 85-93 most days so I am very pleased with the swamp cooler results. :rockin:

I was going to keep it in the primary for 4.5 weeks, 10 of those days will be dry hopping in the primary. My 2 questions are

1. Do I have to keep my fermentation temps at 67-70 for the entire 4.5 weeks or can let it sit at room temp after 1-2 weeks?

2. Is 4.5 weeks long enough before bottling for an IPA? here is the recipe http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/beerkits/DeadRingerIPA.pdf

 

[unionrdr]

I've since honed down my process to letting it reach a stable FG,then let it sit in primary for another 3-5 days to clean up after itself,& settle out more. Then prime & bottle for 3-4 weeks in covered boxes. I did this with my latest,my 1st IPA as well.