First time doing brewing

[ArcaneWater]

So today for the first time i will be doing brewing. For start i decided to go with extract Muntons Nut Brown Ale as i got recommended its good for start as it may cover some basic rookie mistakes. The kit i got is Mr.Malt (Europe)
(http://www.eurobrico.com/foto/foto_ftp/ING/000035364_FR_KIT MR MALT ECO FERRARI GROUP.jpg)

So i already got info that hygiene is playing a big part, so i got Chemipro Oxy. Now i have some questions how important is water quality (sure we have some chlor in our water), is this something to take care first time or no? Fermenting should be happening at around 19*C , what recommended if its more around 22 or lower bellow 19?

 

[Easycreeper]

Not sure you should worry about water quality on your very first brew, especially if you're going to brew today. Just focus on the process and getting that down. After one or two brews, you can start adding to the complexity of your process (mineral additions, different recipes, etc.).

What yeast are you using? It will probably have a recommended temperature range on the package. If it's dry yeast, don't forget to rehydrate it first.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[KRASHED]

Don't worry about water unless you are on a country well with horrible sulfur issues.

 

[sky4meplease]

For the small cost I would use distilled water or spring water off the shelf at your grocery store. I won't go into why but not knowing the composition of your local water it could cause some flavor problems and why risk it for a couple bucks.
When I started brewing I used an oxy cleanser as a sanitizer (there is a difference) and never had a problem but eventually you will want to use a quality sanitizer for anything that will touch your beer after the boil.
Last, try to keep the space you store your fermentor 5-7 degrees Fahrenheit below your target fermentation temperature.
Good luck. Have fun.

 

[RM-MN]

If you have any chlorine in your water it will affect the flavor of the beer. Campden tablets are cheap, work nearly instantaneously, and won't flavor your beer if there is no chlorine in it. 1/4 tablet would treat 20 liters of water. Crush it, stir it into the water, and your worries are done.

 

[ncbrewer]

For fermentation temp, a fermometer (stick-on thermometer) is really handy. To control temp, lots of brewers set the fermenter in a tub with some water (roughly half way up to the beer level inside). You can look up swamp cooler. Lower temp by putting ice bottles in the water or by draping a towel over the fermenter and into the water. You can heat with an aquarium heater or with a seedling warming mat around the outside.

 

[seabrew8]

18-20C should be fine for most ale yeast.

Off the top of my head i would not boil the extract if the instructions tell you to and don't worry about the water at this point. At least i wouldn't.

Good luck.

Edit: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUJ-VT1QiTQ[/ame]

Lots of good stuff on youtube. Not sure if your using spray malt. And i would pour the extract malt in the pot after you turn off the heat AKA flameout, with probably more water to start with. He used 3 liters. Lastly, personally i would use probably 21 liters in total to get the gravity up. But thats just me, i don't like beer under %5abv.

 

[bucfan1234]

18-20C should be fine for most ale yeast.

Off the top of my head i would not boil the extract if the instructions tell you to and don't worry about the water at this point. At least i wouldn't.

Good luck.

Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUJ-VT1QiTQ

Lots of good stuff on youtube. Not sure if your using spray malt. And i would pour the extract malt in the pot after your turn off the heat AKA flameout, with probably more water to start with. He used 3 liters. Lastly, personally i would use probably use 21 liters in total to get the gravity up. But thats just me, i don't like beer under %5abv.

This is the best advice I got on the pre-hopped kits when I first started out. Don't boil that can of hopped Muntons extract, add it at flameout as seabrew suggests.

Also, I don't know what size brew pot you have, but if you are going to use a regular 6 quart kitchen pot, you may not have room for more than 2L of water.

Also, for your first brew, I wouldn't suggest you worry about the water quality. If your tap water tastes good, it will make good beer with that kit.

Instead, focus on the process, organization, cleaning sanitizing, the boil, chilling and pitching the yeast at the right temp.

 

[ArcaneWater]

Okay so i had troubles but i think i solved them. Firstly after 7 days it was still at around 1020 because i mostly had it on too cold, they suggested me to open it and mix it a bit and put on hotter palce so for the last 2 -3 days it was on 20+Celisuis (Today is 10 days ). Today it stopped burping and i measured FG is around 1008 maybe bit more or less (Muntos Brown Ale FG = 1008). Should i bottle it today? Or wait one more day?

 

[bucfan1234]

If that is 17 days total, and you are at FG, I would bottle it.

I've kegged the prehopped can kits after 7-10 days plenty of times with good results.

 

[ArcaneWater]

No in total its 10 days today. (7 days was too cold, then last 3 days i moved it on warmer place and today it stopped burping and i am at FG)

 

[bucfan1234]

I've kegged the prehopped can kits at 7-10 days plenty of times with good results.

That said, if you aren't sure, I don't think another day or two in the fermenter will hurt anything.

 

[Morrey]

If you have any chlorine in your water it will affect the flavor of the beer. Campden tablets are cheap, work nearly instantaneously, and won't flavor your beer if there is no chlorine in it. 1/4 tablet would treat 20 liters of water. Crush it, stir it into the water, and your worries are done.

100% agree. Even if the smell of chlorine/chloramines doesn't hit you in the face, a quick, cheap and effective insurance policy against the "potential" of chlorine related off flavors in your beer is a piece of Campden tablet in your kettle. Really a no-brainer...I just do it every brew.

 

[ncbrewer]

Okay so i had troubles but i think i solved them. Firstly after 7 days it was still at around 1020 because i mostly had it on too cold, they suggested me to open it and mix it a bit and put on hotter palce so for the last 2 -3 days it was on 20+Celisuis (Today is 10 days ). Today it stopped burping and i measured FG is around 1008 maybe bit more or less (Muntos Brown Ale FG = 1008). Should i bottle it today? Or wait one more day?

You're probably at FG, but I always get two gravity samples, two days apart, to make sure it's stable. If it drops at all between the samples, it's still fermenting. If you bottle before it's finished, you'll have bottle bombs - really not good.

 

[ArcaneWater]

Okay so i reached FG and then bottled (batch priming) i left it in fermentor before bottling for around 7-8 days. Now after 1 week (we couldnt wait) we had to try it Taste is okay, but there are no bubbles or very very low, (around 100g of table sugar on 23/24 litres of beer), will this fix in bottles in next weeks or where did i failed?

 

[RM-MN]

Okay so i reached FG and then bottled (batch priming) i left it in fermentor before bottling for around 7-8 days. Now after 1 week (we couldnt wait) we had to try it Taste is okay, but there are no bubbles or very very low, (around 100g of table sugar on 23/24 litres of beer), will this fix in bottles in next weeks or where did i failed?

Are you keeping the bottles in a warm (70-75F) place? If it is cooler it will take more time to carbonate. The recommended time is 3 weeks anyway as it takes some time for the beer to mature. When you open a bottle too soon you may not see much heading but with more time that gets sorted out.

 

[soccerdad]

I would think that if you left it primed - in the fermenter - for 7 to 8 days - the still viable yeast ate the sugar that was intended to be producing co2 in the bottles. It was no longer available to prime the bottles.

 

[ArcaneWater]

I would think that if you left it primed - in the fermenter - for 7 to 8 days - the still viable yeast ate the sugar that was intended to be producing co2 in the bottles. It was no longer available to prime the bottles.

I dont get it now, some recommend leaving it in fermenter after is done for another week or two and then do the bottling. So i should do it just after it stopped?

 

[soccerdad]

Add the priming sugar after you put the finished wort in the bottling bucket. Even though we say 'finished,' there are still some active yeast cells and they will convert the priming sugar to co2 in the bottles ... or in this case, to carbonation.

 

[RM-MN]

Okay so i reached FG and then bottled (batch priming) i left it in fermentor before bottling for around 7-8 days. Now after 1 week (we couldnt wait) we had to try it Taste is okay, but there are no bubbles or very very low, (around 100g of table sugar on 23/24 litres of beer), will this fix in bottles in next weeks or where did i failed?

This sentence is confusing, Did you wait 7-8 days from pitching the yeast before priming and bottling or did you leave it for an unspecified amount of time, primed it, left it for 7-8 days, and then bottled? If you left it in the fermenter for 7-8 days before priming and bottling, that was a short fermentation. I'd prefer to leave the beer for a minimum of 10 days.

 

[ArcaneWater]

This sentence is confusing, Did you wait 7-8 days from pitching the yeast before priming and bottling or did you leave it for an unspecified amount of time, primed it, left it for 7-8 days, and then bottled? If you left it in the fermenter for 7-8 days before priming and bottling, that was a short fermentation. I'd prefer to leave the beer for a minimum of 10 days.

Nope it was 10 days fermenting and 7-8 days after, so total 17-18 days in fermenter.

 

[soccerdad]

And when was it primed?

 

[ArcaneWater]

And when was it primed?

After 17 days, so before 2 weeks now.

 

[soccerdad]

OK - skip everything I said above. I thought you primed it in the fermenter and then let it sit on priming sugar for a week.

 

[ReaperOnefour]

I always ferment for 14 days. It gives the beer more than enough time to ferment, plus a few extra days to mellow out off flavors, & clear up.

 

[ArcaneWater]

Ok so next batch is in fermentor for 1 week now, again Nut Brown Ale but now with DME instead of normal suggar. I am thinking about dryhopping it with Citra any suggestions? Or better not dry hop brown ales?

 

[ncbrewer]

Nut brown normally has little or no hop aroma, but it's your beer.