Tonight: First Brewing

[Mose]

Thanks, Art. I got a 6 gallon carboy today (instead of 5) and the clerk said the extra space would make it so that I wouldn't need a blow-off valve (i.e. that the airlock would suffice).

Yup, that's exactly why my IPA exploded all over my basement and nearly sent my airlock through the floor above, slight exageration, but my 6gal carboy couldn't contain a energetic 5gal fermentation. I now use a blow off tube everytime to make sure I don't have an explosion again.

 

[jlc767]

Hrmmm. Ok.

 

[jon328]

With no chiller you'll need to make an ice bath. I used to fill my sink with ice and water, lift my pot into the bath and slowly spin it back and forth to cool the wort. The other trick if doing a partial boil is to chill a couple gallons of water in the fridge all day and pour that into the fermenter then pouring your somewhat cooled wort into the cold water, this should get you low enough for yeast, but check first. Make sure it's good clean water, I bought bottled when I did it this way.

This is basically what I have done. When I start brewing, I stick a gallon of water in the fridge and a gallon in the freezer. The ice bath usually drops the temp to about 90 deg in 10 minutes. Add the chilled water to get the temp down to 60-70.

As for aerating, last time I brewed I set my bucket on a tennis ball and rocked it around for 5 minutes. Seemed to work OK.

Good luck.

 

[ArtVandelay]

Hrmmm. Ok.

You may not need a blow off with your 6 gallon but since you aren't familiar with your process and temperatures the yeast will see, the yeast or this type of beer I'd recommend a blow off. At least for the first several days.

Smart buying the 6 gallon carboy though. You'll lose less beer to blow off (if it happens)

 

[jlc767]

Wort is chilling in ice bath. Bottom of wort is 70-80 degrees; top of wort still 125 degrees... Safe to aerate? Should I wait for top to cool?

 

[Yooper]

Wort is chilling in ice bath. Bottom of wort is 70-80 degrees; top of wort still 125 degrees... Safe to aerate? Should I wait for top to cool?

I'd gently stir with a sanitized spoon. That will help it chill faster. You can stir the ice bath a bit, too, so that you don't get uneven chilling.

 

[jlc767]

Added yeast to wort in carboy... How long should I aerate? A solid 5 min?

 

[SurlyBastard]

Roger, the more air the better. Shake, shake, shake....shake shake shake, AND SHAKE SOME GOD DAMN MORE!

 

[jlc767]

Ok just don't want to overshake it.

 

[SurlyBastard]

So now that your done with your first beer, prepare to catch the bug Drinking a HB right now. I love this addiction ^^

 

[jlc767]

Can I aerate with cap + airlock (with water) in place? Because I have been...

(6gallon carboy w 5 gallons of beer)

 

[SurlyBastard]

Certainly can. I usually don't have water in the airlock because I get water all over the kitchen, but it won't hurt anything.

 

[jlc767]

..

 

[jlc767]

Hey, fellas!

You were right, needed a blow-off setup after all; it was overflowing into the airstop when I woke up this morning. I made a make-shift overflow into a bucket but I don't believe the tubing going through the rubber stopper in the carboy was airtight — Doh! When things slowed down, I immediately replaced with the clean plastic airplug.

Things are back to normal... for now.

**** Need some help/advice ****

P.S. This is the airplug, after my early-morning MacGuyver attempt to create a blow-off. I wonder how long before she blows?!
[ame="http://vimeo.com/13643341"]http://vimeo.com/13643341[/ame]

 

[Mose]

LOOKS GREAT...

You can take the cap off the airlock and the internal piece and place a hose on the middle section and run it into some sanitized water as a blow off. You will want to check your carboy but I believe something like a 1 inch OD hose should fit into the neck with no stopper and create a good seal.

After a couple days the heaviest fermentation should be over and you shouldn't be in risk of an explosion anymore. At least you caught it before she blew all over the room.

Congrats on the first brew, it's all down hill from here. Now you just need to be patient and wait out the process, I find that to be the hardest part.

 

[jlc767]

Mose,

Thanks for the response! This morning, when I took out the airlock and inserted a hose to attempt to create a blow-off, it certainly fit... but it wasn't as snug as I'd like it. =/

Also, I think I put the hose too deep into the fermentor, as it mysteriously siphoned a little bit of the fermenting wort into the blow-off bucket. Whoops!
---
One last question about the (recommended) two-stage fermenting...

When I was pouring the wort into the carboy before pitching, I used a funnel with strainer, so none of that nasty **** got into my fermentor. Having done that... is two-stage fermenting necessary? Honestly, I don't know much about the two-stage fermenting, but if it's primary purpose is for filtration... do I need to bother?

Thank you and everyone else for your help.

 

[Mose]

You're talking about what is called secondary fermentation, where no real fermentation goes on. A ton, if not most, folks don't bother with it anymore. The word on the street is if you aren't going to age the beer on the yeast cake for an extended period of time then you don't need to worry about it.

The primary reasons for secondary are clarity in your beer allowing more yeast and particles to drop out, and then the additions of fruit or dry hop. Some folks dry hop in primary and report great success.

I'm torn and like to secondary from time to time...but other than that I have started to waiver in my resolve and just let it go in primary another week or two. Less hassle, and less to clean. The https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/vs-pro-con-analysis-109318/ is fantastic on answering your question on secondary much more in depth and specific.

Your Hefe should have a cloudy character anyway so pursuing ultimate clarity won't be true to your style. Good call on the strainer, I've done both and not had an issue but prefer to use the strainer method now, also helps to get some oxygen to the yeasts.

Don't worry about the blow off tube as long as it was sanitized. The preasure build up can push the krausen and beer right up through the tube and bubble out the other end even if you don't push the tube in to far. I lost 1.5gal or so of my Russian Imperial Stout all over the basement floor through the blow off tube from a vigorous fermentation, tragic, my wife sent me the picture and I almost went home with a straw.

Sounds like you're well on your way so sit back enjoy a brew and don't touch it for about two weeks and you'll be doing fine. Now you can start pre-planning your bottling procedure, a clean diswasher works great as a drying rack.

 

[jlc767]

Thanks again, Mose.

Also, they didn't have a Hefeweizen kit at the store, so I went with a Belgian Tripel.

 

[Mose]

Thanks again, Mose.

Also, they didn't have a Hefeweizen kit at the store, so I went with a Belgian Tripel.

Wow, That's a bold first brew, well done. I would go ahead and head back to the store and pick up an American Pale Ale or something that will be ready quickly. Your Triple will need to age a little more to balance since it's a bigger beer. What were you gravity readings?

Then you can let the triple age and knock out a quick APA for instant gratification purposes, an american wheat would work well too.

 

[jlc767]

I did not take gravity readings. I skipped it on accident, then didn't bother taking readings at the end because I had missed it the first time. =/

Buddy says he has a device that he uses after fermentation that will provide the alcohol % ... or something like that.

Also, how much extra time should I give my Tripel?

 

[Mose]

Age is something more of art/opinion than a science. But if it is a higher gravity brew they usually need a little more time in primary and bottle conditioning to balance out the flavors and bigger beer.

IPA wouldn't be bad at all, there is some controversy as to if they are better young or old. But there is nothing without some controversy, again mostly personal taste and opinion.

I did a Dogfish Head 60min clone, primary 1wk (if I remember, could have been 2), secondary 2wks with dry hops. I forced carbed in my tap-a-draft in a week and was very happy with the result. YMMV.

I would give the Triple some time in primary at least 2-3 wks and most guys on here would probably say more, to make sure it ferments out, and let the yeast clean it up nicely. Then give it more than the standard 2wks in the bottle for carbing. But after a few weeks in bottles give one a try and see how you like it. If you don't think it's ready then give it another week and repeat. I can almost promis you it will get better as time goes on and you will taste a change in the beer, most likely for the better.

My confession is I have a very hard time waiting and have not built up my pipeline to allow the aging. My Ginger Hibiscus Saison was really getting good the last couple weeks in the Keg after being sipped on for 6wks or so.

This hobby is a viscous cycle that forces you to brew more and more and more until you don't understand what's happening.

 

[jlc767]

Ok, great. That helps a lot. I will mark my calendar. Looks like after I bottle for two weeks I should be ready to start sipping on Sunday, September 5th...

Might need to take your advice and brew an American Ale in the meantime

So the Dogfish clone turned out well, eh? That's good. I'd love to be able to brew my own Bell's Two Hearted clone. But I'm a newbie at this point.

I hope to one day make some Celebrator doppelbock and St. Bernardus clones

 

[Yooper]

Ok, great. That helps a lot. I will make my calendar. Looks like after I bottle for two weeks I should be ready to start sipping on Sunday, September 5th...

Might need to take your advice and brew an American Ale in the meantime

So the Dogfish clone turned out well, eh? That's good. I'd love to be able to brew my own Bell's Two Hearted clone. But I'm a newbie at this point.

I hope to one day make some Celebrator doppelbock and St. Bernardus clones

A Bell's Two Hearted clone would be easy. You could do that without any problems!

 

[Mose]

I would listen to Yooper before you listen to me, I've never had Bells but have heard great things and look forward to the opportunity. I haven't looked hard here in the SW portion of VA but I head to Norfolk every month or two so I'll try there as well.

In my effort to talk about stuff which I know absolutely nothing, here is a link to an APA recipe that seems very popular and fast. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bee-cave-brewery-haus-pale-ale-31793/

I have not brewed it yet but it's on the short list. Everyone has great things to say, and it's on the internet, so it has to be true right. I have his Apfelwein currently entering week 4 of primary and I'm starting to shake with anticipation, again, no actual experiance, just rave reviews.

What I've found is that even "complicated beers" can be done early on with the right recipe and a little proper planing. Once you read throug it once or twice it's never as hard as it first appeared.

 

[jlc767]

Yeah, I'm very excited to start cloning. Will probably focus on a few more home brews before I make the leap into buying my own hops and everything else. I'm sure I'll need more / better gear as well.

Mose, I'm blessed to live within walking distance of a Total Wine & More, so life is grand as you can imagine. They definitely sell the Two Hearted, so if you ever come across one, you should pick up a 6-pack. I'm a huge IPA fan and consider the Two Hearted my all-time favorite. Their Hopslam is very rare, and very highly rated (Ranked 27th in the world by Beer Advocate). Look for that if you can; I have yet to track it down.

 

[SurlyBastard]

Honestly, their is not really a difference between buying your own stuff and buying a kit. Buying your own ingredients simply requires following a recipe, which is, for the most part, the same thing a kit does, just a kit has the ingredients measured out for you. Don't be scared ^^