william_shakes_beer
Well-Known Member
Brewed my first batch this AM and I thought I'd post a few random thoughts to help the next first timer.
Be forwarned, there's nothing earth shattering here. I still have a lot to learn. If you've brewed your first batch already you're further along than me. Just things i have learned and wish someone had mentioned to me.
1. Your best friend is a spoon with a handle longer than the depth of your brew pot. Gotta get me one for next time
2. Sanitized binder clips are your next best friend. Used them to hold the seive over the fermenter while I poured the cooled wart into the fermenter, and to close the paint strainer full of steeping grains
3. tea bags have a string and tag at the end for reason. Unfortunately paint strainers do not. Gotta fix that for next time. Binder clip and channel locks worked for now, bit I'm sure someone will tell me i've ruined my beer with that thing ( hey, its pre boil give me a break)
4. No matter how much ice you have frozen its not enough. the last 20 degrees took longer than the 150. Gotta get a wart chiller and a drilll pump for next time.
5. No matter how many thermometers you habe you domt have enough. I have 2. One in the pot, one for everything else. Need more.
6. Foam is not easy to read through Gotta get a hydrometer test jar.
7. its really hard to shake an open top container full of rehydrated yeast. Gotta get a flask and stopper.
8. It takes a long time to cool 2 cups of boiling water in the frige. Gotta rehydrate the yeast the night before.
9. Get your blowoff tube hardware ready BEFORE the first brew way. Got mine available now. Croisen(sp?) does not help the function of the airlock. I put an airlock on at noon on Saturday, came down Sunday to find an airlock full of foamy beer. Filled my backup sanitized airlock with starsan, came down an hour later and it was full again. Tried boiled cooled water thinking the starsan was foaming, no go. Blowoff is now ready, think I'll use it for the first 2 days on all future brews. Both times the fermenter had built up a little pressure, no doubt the result of the airlock entry strainer filled with croisen. Not a lot of pressure, kinda like the fart of an old cat.
Be forwarned, there's nothing earth shattering here. I still have a lot to learn. If you've brewed your first batch already you're further along than me. Just things i have learned and wish someone had mentioned to me.
1. Your best friend is a spoon with a handle longer than the depth of your brew pot. Gotta get me one for next time
2. Sanitized binder clips are your next best friend. Used them to hold the seive over the fermenter while I poured the cooled wart into the fermenter, and to close the paint strainer full of steeping grains
3. tea bags have a string and tag at the end for reason. Unfortunately paint strainers do not. Gotta fix that for next time. Binder clip and channel locks worked for now, bit I'm sure someone will tell me i've ruined my beer with that thing ( hey, its pre boil give me a break)
4. No matter how much ice you have frozen its not enough. the last 20 degrees took longer than the 150. Gotta get a wart chiller and a drilll pump for next time.
5. No matter how many thermometers you habe you domt have enough. I have 2. One in the pot, one for everything else. Need more.
6. Foam is not easy to read through Gotta get a hydrometer test jar.
7. its really hard to shake an open top container full of rehydrated yeast. Gotta get a flask and stopper.
8. It takes a long time to cool 2 cups of boiling water in the frige. Gotta rehydrate the yeast the night before.
9. Get your blowoff tube hardware ready BEFORE the first brew way. Got mine available now. Croisen(sp?) does not help the function of the airlock. I put an airlock on at noon on Saturday, came down Sunday to find an airlock full of foamy beer. Filled my backup sanitized airlock with starsan, came down an hour later and it was full again. Tried boiled cooled water thinking the starsan was foaming, no go. Blowoff is now ready, think I'll use it for the first 2 days on all future brews. Both times the fermenter had built up a little pressure, no doubt the result of the airlock entry strainer filled with croisen. Not a lot of pressure, kinda like the fart of an old cat.