Plan for 1st brew-day.

[AnnaEA]

Day before
- Double check that I have everything I need.
- Re-read recipe.
- Dump powders into RO water - 1tsp. gypsum, 1 tsp calcium chloride to five gallons. Worry about being too finicky about water.
- Go buy anything I may have forgotten. Also, mixed six from bottle shop.
- Drink something and give kitchen a scrub.

Day of
- Put hair back so I don't set it on fire again. Wash hands.
- Mix a bucket of sanitizer, put some in a spray bottle. Use tap water. Worry about using tap water. Remind self not to drink until stove is turned off (see hair).
-Sanitize everything - kettle, thermometer, spoon, measures, tongs, siphon, top of water bottle, sink, working counter next to stove, stove, hood of stove, primary fermentor (LBK). Worry about being too finicky about sanitizing.
- Stick recipe to fridge with magnet. Re-read recipe. Take notes throughout.
- Grain bag - follow recipe instructions.
- Put kettle on the stove, measure water to kettle, position thermometer.
- Heat water to temperature specified in recipe.
- Steep grain - again per recipe.
- Remove grain. Worry about what do with spent grain. Take notes.
- Bring kettle to boil. Proceed to add DME and hops as per recipe. USE TIMER. Stir often. Worry about size of kettle and evaporation rates.
- Get freezer packets out of freezer, put in small container, pour sanitizer over, stick in the fridge. Take notes.
- At end of boil -- determined by recipe, and tracked WITH TIMER - remove kettle from heat. TURN STOVE OFF. (see hair) Dump a bag of ice into the sink. Salt liberally.
- Put kettle in sink. Put freezer packets into kettle. Cover. Monitor temperature until wort reaches temperature specified in recipe. Open a bottle, now that stove is off, enjoy cold beer. Take notes.
- At the specified temp, siphon wort into LBK. Splash around a lot for aeration. Pitch yeast AS PER RECIPE.
- Ignore recipe, do not take OG reading.
-Close fermentor and stick under sink.
-Compile all notes, write everything down neatly on log sheets, drink more beer.
- Wash up. PUT ALL THE STUFF AWAY AGAIN.

The day after
- read over log sheets and notes, correct as needed.
- Put duct tape across cabinet doors to under sink - do not remove for five days.
- Start planning for racking day and bottling day.

 

[flars]

Why are you adding the 1 tsp. gypsum, 1 tsp calcium chloride? What will be the temperature of the fermenting beer?

 

[AnnaEA]

I have to use RO water right now, but my normal brewing water is/will be very hard. Part of why I picked a porter - I understand porter and stouts generally play well with hard water. I'm using the minerals to (I hope) have an appropriate water for this brew, as well as to practice using the water softwares I'm playing with. I don't know precisely what the temperature will be under the sink, but the normal temps in my household over all swing from the low sixties ( if I forget and leave the AC on over night) to the low 80's (if I forget and leave the AC off all day with the west window blinds open). I figure if orchids and bread yeast can cope with my temps, beer should be able to too.