Time will tell

[jakehale]

Well did my first brew today. Time will tell if i did it right. I felt good about everything except the cooling down. I had a hard time getting the temp to 70. i thought i read it had to be cooled within a half hour, I have a rather large pot, it took me a bit longer to get it down. I can definatly see a cooler in my furture.

I had 1.050 on my hydro. The reciept said OG should be 1.052.
Do you think i will be good there?

I'll let you know in a week how it is looking.

thanks for all the posts, they helped allot.

jake

 

[reim0027]

Off by 2 points? Don't sweat it. As far as the cooling, I had the exact same thing happen to me on my first batch. I couldn't believe how long it took to get to 70. It doesn't have to be cooled in 30 minutes. The faster the better, but you are going to be fine with over 30 minutes.

Now the hard part. Waiting.

 

[BrewForMe]

congrats on your first brew. 2 points on your gravity is definitely nothing to sweat about.As for cooling, get yourself an immesion chiller, they can be had for around $40 and it will cool your batch in 10 minutes. I have only brewed 3 batches so far and I can tell ya, the waiting is the killer, but it is worth it. I am drinking my first batch now that i brewed about 5 weeks ago and it is great. While you are waiting, grab another fermenter and start on batch 2

 

[DunklesWeissbier]

While you are waiting, grab another fermenter and start on batch 2

+1 :rockin:

 

[jakehale]

oh, i agree... I would love to start another batch. but i want to wait and see how this one turns out. just to see if i did the first one right. one batch of bad beer is better than two.

I am definitly getting a wort cooler before the next batch. my local store sells one for 40 bucks, dont know if it would be cheaper to make one, I saw a couple fo those videos on Youtube.

the airlock to bubbleing pretty good today, so i hope thats a good sign. IT will all come down to taste.

thanks

 

[DunklesWeissbier]

Chillers are fairly easy to build. I made one right before my first batch. Cost me $30 and was worth every penny.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/wort-chiller-build-231734/

Price out the copper first to make sure its not cheaper to buy one pre-made online. I know the price of the copper tubing I used when up a lot a couple weeks after I did mine.

 

[zachary80]

My last batch took forever to chill and we partially figured out why - I added the ice right at the beginning. The best results we've had using a sink so far was when we filled the tub with cold water, let the water get hot, drained it, the refilled with cold water and ice

 

[jakehale]

Dont why i didnt post this picture before, it to late now, but .. is this concidered a good "rolling boil"?

[/IMG]
it had a nice "rolling" to it..i stired in the "ring" of stuff you see there.

 

[KayaBrew]

As long as you keep your fermentation temps in check (60˚-65˚F), you'll have a decent beer. Nothing is more important that this.

 

[Zixxer10R]

60-65?! That's a pretty tight range there Kaya. I'm pretty sure the OP doesn't have to fall in between 5 degrees...especially if it's an ale.

Consistent temps would be more concerning for me.

 

[jakehale]

i got to work on my ferm temp,, thats for sure...

 

[KayaBrew]

60-65?! That's a pretty tight range there Kaya. I'm pretty sure the OP doesn't have to fall in between 5 degrees...especially if it's an ale.

Consistent temps would be more concerning for me.

Have it your way, I'm just stating my opinion.