Rookie - brewing for first time this evening

[Conan]

I'm assuming BrewVigor is yeast fuel, which won't do much but make your yeast a little happier to start. Probably give you a greater quantity of yeast in a shorter time, but really not crucial to the beer. I don't use anything of the sort. Kyle

 

[Piratwolf]

Yup. Never used yeast nutrients. May never use them.

After a few brews and you get an starting feel for your process, start reading about starters. I ignored them for months, but rinsing yeast & making starters has been the 2nd most important improvement to my beers (after ferm temp control).

For now, though, take notes on your process, compare records, and figure out for sure what's going on so you know where to go from here

Oh... And RDWHAHB

"All your home brew are belong to us!"

 

[chemicalcraig]

I was going to bust out something along the lines of "In laymans terms @chemicalcraig, for those of us who failed algebra 2, please break it down for the nerdy"! But I see I was slow to respond.

Just teasing!

Ironically enough I actually did fail algebra 2 in high school (was more interested in drinking beer, etc), but now I'm a theoretical chemical physicist, go figure. If have no interest in crunching the numbers yourself you can do what a lot of people do and use the online yeast cell calculator that Jamil Z. has written. If you have an android device, the Brewzor calculator has a yeast calculator in it. Or for the really nerdy you can do what I've done and simply write your own program. Either way I think it's always a good idea to get a quantitative idea of how much yeast you are going to need to pitch for a proper fermentation. I think it's pretty slimy of wyeast and white labs to sell a product that won't properly ferment 5 gallons of beer, requiring you to either buy 2 or make a starter.

 

[jarrodaden]

Airlock was bubbling nicely when I got home. Temperature in Houston has dropped, so I am having an easy time so far keeping the fermenter nice and cool.

 

[Matteo57]

Airlock was bubbling nicely when I got home. Temperature in Houston has dropped, so I am having an easy time so far keeping the fermenter nice and cool.

Nice! I have a hef that I'm cold crashing now to bottle tomorrow! Stoked! I bet yours will turn out great! About 2 weeks ago I actually just finished drinking the first batch I brewed! Irish Red, yum! Will have to brew it again sometime!

Enjoy the hobby! Let us know how the beer tastes when it's done!

 

[jarrodaden]

Took my first FG reading on day 8. 1.02. Recipe calls for 1.012. I will check again in 3 days.

Took a taste. Very clean, refreshing, overtones of fruit and clove. Should turn out real nice.

 

[jarrodaden]

I got stuck at 1.024. Visited my LBS and got some advice. Gave it another shot of yeast. Hoping that will finish it off. I would like to bottle late this week.