First batch halfway done.

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tahoetavern

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My first batch ( NB caribou slobber ) is half way done. Trying to cool the wort now. It was 100* F today. I'm at 50 min now. And I'm still around 140* F . Didn't have enough ice. Just wanted to comment on my progress, I'll update after I take my OG reading.
 
alright. The beer is resting nicely in the primary. I was able to bring it down to 75*F after two hours. My target OG was 1.052, I got to 1.051 as best as I can tell. After my temp adjustments. Tasted the beer, has a lot of great flavor an aroma. Coffee/caramel and a hint of chocolate. Just like the recipe said it would. any tips from here????
 
I'm not using a secondary. Should I only take a F.G. When I bottle? I have heard after two weeks, as long as fermentation looks normal.
 
You need to take the OG (original gravity) before pitching the yeast. A FG (final gravity) reading can be taken before you bottle. My fermentation is usually over in a week, if that, but waiting 2 weeks will also work.

Make sure you sanitize your hydrometer AND whatever container your using to hold the wart when you take the OG.

Have fun, and like fellow posters have said...BE PATIENT! Since I am NOT patient, homebrewing's been very therapeutic for me. Haha.
 
I don't reuse the beer after a reading. Read about some issues. the recipe calls for roughly 8 weeks. 2-4 primary, 2 secondary ( if used ) and two in the bottle.
 
Invest in a wort chiller, you won't regret it. It will dramatically reduce the time it takes you to cool the wort.

Other than that, congrats on your first brew day! My tips:
1 - Give it a couple weeks, then take a gravity reading. If it is in the range you are shooting for, wait 3 more days and take another reading. As long as they are the same, you can bottle up batch number one and start brewing number two to help pass the time while you wait for those to carb and condition.

2 - After bottling, be sure to give them about 3 weeks in the bottles at 70+F to carb. Then stick one in the fridge for a couple days and check it to make sure it's fully carbed. As long as it is, you can put the rest in the fridge for a week or so to allow any chill haze to form and settle out, then enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Again, congrats! :mug:
 
mrphillips said:
I would recommend using a secondary. It gives you an excuse to taste your beer before it's done :)
Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. First brew ever, and it is not a necessary step for that brew. Why add another variable? You can still sample it when you take a gravity reading. The first several brews, I think, should have the simplest process possible. Once you have a good grasp on that, you are more ready to add in more complicated processes.
 
tahoetavern said:
I don't reuse the beer after a reading. Read about some issues. the recipe calls for roughly 8 weeks. 2-4 primary, 2 secondary ( if used ) and two in the bottle.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree with the above post about keeping it as simple as possible for your first couple of brews. I would skip the secondary, so as to not risk oxidation or infection issues. I'd just like to point out that I've never made this brew, but everything I'm reading from this site on that particular kit is saying 3-4 weeks in the primary and then directly to bottling for at least two weeks conditioning will yield a perfect brew....I may have just found my next recipe.

Either way, congrats on your first brew and keep us updated with the progress!
 
tahoetavern said:
alright. The beer is resting nicely in the primary. I was able to bring it down to 75*F after two hours. My target OG was 1.052, I got to 1.051 as best as I can tell. After my temp adjustments. Tasted the beer, has a lot of great flavor an aroma. Coffee/caramel and a hint of chocolate. Just like the recipe said it would. any tips from here????
Click to expand...

Also forgot to mention that if you are even the least bit handy you should make yourself a copper coil immersion chiller. These will drop your chilling (and total brewing day) times significantly, for roughly $40. There are many many options if you just Google "diy immersion chiller".

Cheers
 
How to remove the beer for a gravity reading? I used a sanitized measuring cup. Thought about buying a turkey baster. Any tips?
 
Turkey baster works, or you can also use a wine thief. Just sanitize whatever it is first.
 
All my fermenter buckets have a spigot, making getting a sample quite easy. After I take a sample, I rinse the spigot inside and out with water, and then water with iodophor in it. I have never had any issues doing it this way. I have had trouble keeping a syphon running, so I always use the spigots for racking to a bottling bucket, and then into bottles. Now that my process has gotten better, I "cold crash" in the BK, and then pour into my primary fermenter through a paint strainer bag. 80% + of the hot break is caught in the filter bag, and what little gets through, doesn't really affect the amount of trub in the primary. I will say w/o straining from the BK, the amount of trub in the primary is huge.
 
I made my own wort chiller.

I bring it down to about 90' outside and then I bring it inside to the fermentation chamber, where I have ice cold water waiting.

fermentation chamber.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I need to make something like that, just checked the temp in my pantry ( where my primary is ) 78* F. is it going to be to hot?
 
Yes, 78 ambient temp is too high, the yeast will drive the fermentation temp up an addition 5-10*F and you'll likely end up with some off-flavors. You can try something like a swamp cooler (you'll find lots of references to them on this site, just do a search) or you can make something like masskrug posted above to control temps. Most ale yeasts like being in the low-to-mid 60's for fermentation temp
 
tahoetavern said:
You think putting it in a cooler or rubber made would drop it that much?
Click to expand...

Freeze some bottles full of water. Toss a couple in the cooler/rubbermaid full of water with the fermenter, change them out twice a day. Your temps should hold pretty steady.
 
I'm going to look at a cooler today. Fermentation started right around 12 hours. Slow bubbles so far
 
had a little bit of a blow off this morning, not to bad. Still had some sanitizer left in the airlock. It is a little dis colored now. I added some more. Should I drain and refill? I took a temp reading in my spare bathroom. almost ten degrees cooler. Moved the fermenter, might make a water bath as well.
 
Yes, you should clean out the airlock and refill it. Also, the water bath is still probably a good idea. If your ambient temperature fluctuates, the water bath will help keep fermentation temperature more constant - this is a good thing, the yeast will appreciate it. Now, just so you have the knowledge for next time, fusels alcohols are generated by stressed yeast during the very beginning of fermentation - can happen even before you see airlock activity - and usually at temperatures that are somewhere in the 80*+ range. Some yeast strains like belgians are more tolerant of higher temps like that, but usually even those strains are supposed to be started lower and slowly ramped up over several days. If possible, cool your wort down to 60* before you pitch your yeast, then keep the fermentation temp down around 65* until the very end, at which point you can bring the temp up to 70* or so to help clean up by-products like diacetyl and acetaldehyde.
 
Bad yeast? I cleaned out the airlock a couple hours ago. I haven't seen anymore activity (bubbles) since then. I pitched around 6pm yesterday.
 
First off, don't use the airlock as an indicator of fermentation. Next, with the high initial temp, it is possible the initial fermentation is complete. Still, I would give it a full 2 weeks before taking gravity readings and preparing to bottle.
 
it just seems weird that it would be done so soon. But I still have a lot to learn. is there a way to find out if it is messed up now? Or could I pitch more yeast... Just thinking out loud.
 
Don't repitch. Take a gravity reading before doing that. That is the only way to know what is going on. It might seem weird, but yeast can do the job pretty quickly sometimes, and they work faster when temps are higher (up to a point, anyway...). That is also why they can produce more off-flavors at higher temps - they are in their element at the higher temps, and yeast don't care if they produce esters or phenols or anything else, they only care about consuming the sugars. We, as brewers, care. That is why we control the temps to make sure we get what we expect from the yeast. I've had beers finish initial fermentation quickly, I've had some take longer than expected - another thing about yeast... they just don't care what the "normal" timeframe is, they work at the pace they feel like. You'll know it's done when it maintains the same gravity for 3 or more days. Still, you will want to give this batch some extra time after reaching F.G. to clean up by-products.
 
Thanks for the help, checked my temps before I got in bed. Air 68F water in the ice bath. 70F
 
tahoetavern said:
it just seems weird that it would be done so soon. But I still have a lot to learn. is there a way to find out if it is messed up now? Or could I pitch more yeast... Just thinking out loud.
Click to expand...

With the hot temperatures that you started fermentation I would not be surprised if fermentation did not nearly finish in 12-18 hours. Yeast love warm temperatures but that is not best for brewing great beer. You might get fusel alcohols and off flavors. The fusel alcohols will give a hot bite.

Pitching more yeast will likely do nothing productive. Let this one ride and hope for the best. Make a setup to control the fermentation temperatures and get your next batch going. This beer might not be a goner but if you control your fermentation temperatures your next one will be better.
 
I thought about taking a reading last night. i Just didn't want to risk screwing it up anymore.
 
Check it after a week if you want confirmation that it fermented, then let it bulk condition for a couple more weeks before bottling (still check before bottling to make sure it isn't still dropping lower)
 
boydsbitchinbrews said:
Freeze some bottles full of water. Toss a couple in the cooler/rubbermaid full of water with the fermenter, change them out twice a day. Your temps should hold pretty steady.
Click to expand...

Solid advice here. I use a walmart tub/swamp cooler with frozen water bottles I rotate out to keep the fermentation temp in the mid to high 60's.
I put some of the Star-San water(keeps it from turning into greenish stinky water) that I used to sanitize my equipment/bucket/carboy on brew day into the tub for the fermenter to sit in and toss in 2-3 frozen bottles in the water first thing in the morning/evenings to keep the temps low. Works like a charm and is cheap to maintain. Just freeze 6 bottles and rotate them out.

Also, 100% agree on the "Dont go by airlock activity" comment. I had an American Ale all-grain batch I pitched some 1056 Wyeast into and the airlock was dead the whole time during fermentation. Turns out my fermenter lid is so worn out its leaking air around the edges. It happens as equipment wears out over time.
If you see krausen, you are good and don't worry too much about opening the fermenter to quickly check or pull a gravity reading. I am about 30+ batches in and never had have an infection yet and I am a curious george when my beer is rolling along. You get less timid over time as you realize its pretty hard to screw up beer if you are good in your sanitation/cleaning practices.
 

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