My first game plan as a newbie and some questions!

[electrotype]

Hi!

I'm new to HomeBrewTalk and also new to the world of homebrewing. I bought almost all the equipment I need for my first brewing and I plan on doing it next weekend or so.

I start all-grain (I built my mash tun, yeah!) and with a recipe maybe more complex than what I should as a beginner! I may fail it, but I prefere to try to brew a beer I'll like from the start (I'm a big IPA/DIPA and fruity hops fan).

I'm going to try to brew this Pliny the Step Child (Pliny the Elder clone) which has some good reviews! I ordered all the hops I need and I'm going to buy the grains this week.

I'll probably going to use the BeerSmith software to keep track of what I'm doing, even if I find it a little bit confusing (there are a lot of parameters I don't even know what there are for).

Based on this thread, I'll probably going to stick with the primary fermenter though (a standard Ale Pail bucket), no secondary fermenter for now.

1. My first question is about dry hopping. I do not have any CO2 system to help purge oxygen from the fermenter. So, what are the recommended ways to put the hops inside the fermenter for dry hopping? They are pellets hops and I have mesh bags. Should I remove the lid from the fermenter to drop the bags or it is recommended to drop them through the top hole, by removing the air lock? I guess removing the lid is not the best way to do it since it would allow more oxygen to enter the fermenter, right?

2. The hops bags, should they be pushed to the bottom of the fermenter or is it ok to drop them and don't care, even if they float? Should I attach some weight to them so they sink to the bottom of the bucket?

3. I think I read that when using only the primary fermenter, it's a good idea to rack the beer to a bottling bucket before filling the bottles. Why is that? Isn't this process putting the beer in contact with more oxygen?

Any other recommendations would be appreciated!

Thanks for your help!

 

[RM-MN]

1. CO2 is heavier than air by a fair amount. When you open the lid of your bucket the CO2 doesn't magically fly away, it remains in the bucket. Don't worry about removing the lid, just limit how many times you do so.

2. I drop the hops directly into the fermenter bucket. When I rack to the bottling bucket I put a nylon mesh bag over the inlet end of the siphon to keep the hop particles out.

3 You use a bottling bucket to keep the yeast from mixing into the bottles (rack above the yeast cake) and to uniformly mix in the priming sugar. If you are careful to keep the end of the tubing submerged in beer, there will be little uptake of oxygen.

4. Relax and have a beer. You're too uptight. Beer has been made for centuries with much worse conditions than you have and it still was beer.

 

[electrotype]

1. CO2 is heavier than air by a fair amount. When you open the lid of your bucket the CO2 doesn't magically fly away, it remains in the bucket. Don't worry about removing the lid, just limit how many times you do so.

Sounds good to me, thanks!

2. I drop the hops directly into the fermenter bucket. When I rack to the bottling bucket I put a nylon mesh bag over the inlet end of the siphon to keep the hop particles out.

Do you brew the hops after they're in?

3 You use a bottling bucket to keep the yeast from mixing into the bottles (rack above the yeast cake) and to uniformly mix in the priming sugar. If you are careful to keep the end of the tubing submerged in beer, there will be little uptake of oxygen.

Ok, the part I was missing was the priming sugar. Because raking to a bottling bucket first or directly to the bottles, i guess you would do it above the yeast cake, right? And I don't mind some sediments in the beer. But to be able to mix the priming sugar, an intermediate step in a bottling bucket is a good idea, indeed.

4. Relax and have a beer. You're too uptight. Beer has been made for centuries with much worse conditions than you have and it still was beer.

Done!

 

[RM-MN]

Sounds good to me, thanks!


Do you brew the hops after they're in?


Ok, the part I was missing was the priming sugar. Because raking to a bottling bucket first or directly to the bottles, i guess you would do it above the yeast cake, right? And I don't mind some sediments in the beer. But to be able to mix the priming sugar, an intermediate step in a bottling bucket is a good idea, indeed.


Done!

I didn't understand this part of the question and I have a question for you too. Was it a good beer? Are you more relaxed now?

 

[electrotype]

I didn't understand this part of the question and I have a question for you too. Was it a good beer? Are you more relaxed now?

(Sorry english is not my first language! I may say strange things sometimes!)

My question is : Once the hops are dropped, do you shake or do you don't even mind?

The beer I'm drinking is a Le Castor - Yakima IPA, one of my favorite beer from Quebec, Canada. Good stuff!

 

[RM-MN]

I just drop the hops in. If I use pellets they break up and settle to the bottom and I can rack the beer above them (mostly). Leaf hops tend to stay on the top but they still impart their aroma quite well.

English is my first language and I still say strange things.

That looks like an interesting beer. I'd like to try it sometime.