New to Home Brewing with questions

[SamJ]

Hi All,

I just wanted to let you know upfront this is a fairly long response and your comments are greatly appreciated.

New to home brewing and the forum as of today. I have a few questions that I would like to ask in hopes to make my first home brew a successful one.


After doing extensive research I decided on my starter home brew kit (more beer.com kit #2). The following items is what is included.

Bottle of Star San Sanitizer (4oz)
3/8” Plastic Bottle Filler
Bag of Bottle Caps (1/4lb)
Bottle Capper
Reusable Mesh Steeping or Hop Bags
Plastic Spoon
Funnel
Home Beermaking Book
Bottle Brush
Carboy
Package of Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW)
Plastic Bottling/Sanitation Bucket with Spigot
Airlock
Rubber Stopper with Hole
Hydrometer
Hydrometer Jar
5ft Vinyl Transfer Tubing
Sterile Siphon Starter (Contains Racking Cane with Tubing, Air Filter and Carboy Hood)
5 inch long dial thermometer


Is there anything else that I am missing besides the brewing kettle? Is there any other miscellaneous things that I should think about getting? The brewing kettle I was thinking of getting a 5 gallon stainless steel kettle from morebeer.com as well. Does anyone have any suggestions on what and where to get the brew kettle?

For my first brew, I wanted to start with an easy one. From my online research I found that extract beer kits are generally easier and stay away from larger beers until you are more accustomed to brewing beer. So that being said below is what I was thinking for my first beer.

As for my first brew: I was thinking a American Honey Pale Ale (extract beer kit) from morebeer.com. Another question how do I know how much yeast to buy when getting the kit. It just suggested what kind of yeast so I am assuming that just getting a quantity of 1 is more than enough??

I am open to suggestions on other recipes that a beginner like myself to should try. I really do want to try a pumpkin ale over fall, but not sure if that is to advanced for me to try after my first brew.

For any of you that actually read this whole thing I thank you!. I look forward in your responses and suggestions.

Thanks,

Sam J

 

[shuckit]

You seem well organized. I would make your purchase, find a brewpot (anything that is big but still fits on the stove), buy one pack of dry yeast and start making beer. Try kits that sound good to drink. Experiment and after a couple of brews you will know what works for you, process wise and equipement wise.

 

[stpug]

Carboy brush

If you go with dry yeast US-05, Nottingham, etc then you should be good with 1 sachet (US-05 recommended). If you are using liquid yeast then you will likely need like 1.5-2 vials/packs.

Choose a kit that most closely matches your preferred beer style, but an American Honey Pale Ale definitely sounds like it might be perfect to start with.

You're looking good. Have fun!!

 

[AknotOtoads]

Get a blow off hose! You may experience some violent fermentation in the first 24 to 48 hours which would definitely clog up the airlock and make a huge mess.

Also, if your planning on making full boil 5 gallon batches, the 5 gallon kettle is not going to be big enough. If your planning on partial boils you will be fine.
Again, if your planning on full 5 gallon boils, you should look into getting a wort chiller. But if its just a partial boil then an ice bath would be fine.

As for full extract kits, don't worry! If you can make mac-n-cheese out of the box following the directions, you wont have any problems with making these beers. Even the extract kits with steeping grains are very simple.

For the yeast, get what is recommended and you will need 1 package per 5 gallons.

Hope that helps!

 

[BanginBanjo]

I believe you have everything you need there for some extract brewing, minus the kettle. As far as the kettle is concerned, the size will depend on the batch size your brewing. If your brewing anything 4gal or less, I would recommend getting a 24QT aluminum pot. Make sure you read the sticky thread in the Equipment forum before you use it though. I recommend aluminum because its a lot cheaper than SS typically. If you plan on making 5 or 5.5gal batches, get something that has an 8gal or greater capacity.

If you want to jump to all grain brewing (not recommended until you have a little bit of experience though), you'll need a mash/lauter tun at the very minimum. I would suggest trying some extract beers first so you get a good feel for the brewing process. All grain brewing is the same thing with the addition of the mashing/lautering/sparging steps.

As far as yeast is concerned, 1 dry yeast packet or 1 vial/smack pack will be fine for up to a 5gal batch, unless it's a high gravity beer, but you should be fine with 1 for right now.

For a pumpkin beer, if you want to add actual pumpkin, most people tend to agree that adding it to the mash is the best way to use it. With that said, you'll need to be an all-grain brewer for that. Typically most of the flavor in a pumpkin beer comes from the spices used anyway, so pumpkin isn't even 100% necessary. I would recommend trying a few simpler styles to get a feel for the process before giving this a shot.

Have fun with your new kit, good luck and cheers!

 

[andy6026]

I recommend a second hose - one for racking and the other to connect your bottling bucket to the bottling wand. It's not fun trying to wrestle the hose off every time you want to switch it between the two.

 

[boscobeans]

With many fermentations the possibility of a blow out can lead to a real mess if not a disaster.

Until you are familiar with the type of brew, the yeast, the temperatures required as well as the proper amount of headspace along with just good old Murphy's Law, having the blow off handy (if not installed when you start fermenting) is mandatory.

OMO

bosco

 

[SamJ]

Hi stpug

Great Thanks for your input! I will be adding a carboy brush to my list of items.

 

[SamJ]

Hi AknotOtoads

Should I just buy a blowoff hose kit? Or can I purchase something at the local hardware store?

 

[SamJ]

Hi BanginBanjo

So if I wanted to make the standard 5 gal brewing I would need to get a 8 gal or greater? And I will take a look at that thread regarding aluminum kettles.

thanks for your input. you gave me great insight in how i should approach my brewing.

 

[SamJ]

andy6026

What do you mean by a second hose? Is there a particular name so i can purchase? Can I buy at a local hardware store?

 

[stpug]

Regarding the brew kettle size: A 5 gallon batch of beer is best served with a minimum 10 gallon pot for full boils (you're usually starting at 6-7 gallons preboil). This will give you some leeway so you don't have boil overs and will give room for when you move to all grain batches that require 90 minute boils. The difference in cost between an 8 gallon and 10/11 gallon is usually very small (~$20) and is worth the investment.

 

[andy6026]

on the hose:

You have a vinyl hose listed. Presumably this will be used to rack (transfer) the fermented beer out of your fermenting bucket and into the bottling bucket using a siphoning system. As part of the siphoning system you probably have something called a racking cane (a hard hollow tube with a bend at the top) or an auto-siphon (a more sophisticaed hollow tube with a bend in the top). So the vinyl hose will connect to either one of those pieces and give you the length needed to get the beer from you fermenter into your bottling bucket. What I just mentioned can be seen in the picture where the lovely couple is siphoning wine - see the hose attached to the 'cane'.

In the second picture you'll see a hose connecting from the bottling bucket spigot to what is called a 'bottling wand' (a small device with a little black stopper on the end -- this device allows you to push down into the bottle, the bottle fills up, and when you pull the device off the bottom of the bottle, the flow of beer stops - giving you a fairly perfect bottle full without much spillage - quite a simple but ingenious little invention).

While you can use one hose for both functions, I find it a real son-of-a-b*tch to try and remove the hose from the cane to put it onto the bottling wand and vice-versa. Hence two hoses are better than one. While they needn't be all that long, trying to make 2 hoses out of one 5-foot hose will likely have you frustrated - especially if your siphoning hose doesn't have some length to spare.

I'll take a guess and say that the size is 3/8", but I'd double check before making the extra purchase - it's whatever size will fit your racking cane (or auto-siphone) and "bottling wand".

Edit - yes, you can get it at a local hardware store (unless it's one of those really tiny ones). Best to ask for 'food grade' hose... it's usually clear. It'll be on a big spool and they'll cut the length you want/need. At about a buck a foot or so, it's always best to get a bit too much and cut off the excess later. Take your racking cane or bottling wand in with you and make sure you get the right fit - it should fit tightly, so tight in fact that you'll have trouble pulling it back off (hence why you want 2 hoses).

 

[stpug]

First, I WILL say that IS a lovely couple

But what were you racking in the first photo? It looks quite red; plum wine maybe? The second photo looks like a porter or stout with how dark it is in the thin tubing.

 

[andy6026]

haha, it aint me... stole the photo off the net. And it looks like she aint too impressed with his technique. She could shoot daggers. I believe they're racking wine, possibly rose, no?

 

[andy6026]

Also, I notice in his list next to the siphoning gear it says:

Sterile Siphon Starter (Contains Racking Cane with Tubing, Air Filter and Carboy Hood).

What's the "air filter" for... anyone? Last thing you want is air getting to the beer when you're racking, so that one has me puzzled.

 

[BanginBanjo]

Hi BanginBanjo

So if I wanted to make the standard 5 gal brewing I would need to get a 8 gal or greater? And I will take a look at that thread regarding aluminum kettles.

thanks for your input. you gave me great insight in how i should approach my brewing.

For a 5 gallon batch your looking at about 6.5-7 gallons to start your boil, depending on your losses. So you want to have a big enough kettle to handle that plus some extra room to protect against a boil-over.

 

[andy6026]

I have a 15 gallon kettle to do 5-6 gallon full boil batches, and I come very close to boil overs. I certainly wouldn't attempt batches of that size with anything less than a 10 or 12 gallon kettle.

 

[stpug]

Also, I notice in his list next to the siphoning gear it says:

Sterile Siphon Starter (Contains Racking Cane with Tubing, Air Filter and Carboy Hood).

What's the "air filter" for... anyone? Last thing you want is air getting to the beer when you're racking, so that one has me puzzled.

It's a setup where you have the racking cane through the center of the hood and the filter through the side port of the hood, and then you blow through the filter which pushes the beer through the cane and the siphon begins. The hood is obviously attached to the carboy as well.

 

[SamJ]

andy6026,

Thanks! I will wait until my brew equipment arrives and I will make the second hose purchase.

 

[SamJ]

BanginBanjo
Alright. I will be purchasing a 10+ gallon kettle.

 

[eharris8310]

I typically place my bottling bucket up on my workbench to bottle with. So I just use a short (2-3 inch) piece of the hose to connect the bottling bucket spigot to to the bottling wand. This way you move the bottle to the bucket and don't need a long second hose. I cut the short section off of my other hose because it was plenty long for racking anyway. It all depends on how you intend to bottle. They both would work, just another option.

 

[AknotOtoads]

Hi AknotOtoads

Should I just buy a blowoff hose kit? Or can I purchase something at the local hardware store?

I just use pretty much what is pictured in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/blow-off-tube-101-a-407702/

Its basically a 3pc airlock with everything removed and the hose attached to the stem inside. I use a 5/16 hose, attach one end to the airlock and the other in a pitcher of sanitizer.

 

[andy6026]

andy6026,

Thanks! I will wait until my brew equipment arrives and I will make the second hose purchase.

Yeah, check it out first. If a hose comes with the siphoning system and then there's another 5' hose as well you won't need to buy any extra.