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BrettCo124 said:
This is really interesting. Thanks for everyone chiming in. Wow, this thread is overloaded with knowledge and tips.

I'm looking forward to trying a beer. I'll most likely try one a week-in, then two week, then I'll have them all ready for the party which would be 16 days after bottling. We shall see!

Right now, there is a disgusting looking inch or so of crap at the bottom of the fermenter, but some good lookin beer right above it.
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Disgusting=Trub :mug:
 
lol agreed.

Any advice on digital thermometers? Is there a such thing to have on top of a fermenter? I could get a stainless thermometer, but the digitals (if they exist) may cost just about the same. Just curious.
 
BrettCo124 said:
lol agreed.

Any advice on digital thermometers? Is there a such thing to have on top of a fermenter? I could get a stainless thermometer, but the digitals (if they exist) may cost just about the same. Just curious.
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Depends on whether you want it for fermenting or for the mash. Those stick-on "fermometers" work pretty well. I have 'em on my fermenters. For really accurate and fast readings, the Thermopen IV is great. Also.pricey.
 
Thanks mongoose. I'm going to stick with the sticker thermometers.

I went to my local homebrew store yesterday for the first time. Never even knew he existed and he's about 5 minutes up the road. He's been open for 15 years.

I decided to get more of my equipment from him instead of online (which would have been cheaper). He's a really nice guy. I bought 48 brand new bottles, a stainless threaded thermometer for my kettle, corn sugar, pbw, extra spigots, airlocks and stoppers.

I want to make sure I understood his advice correctly: my beer should have a final gravity that is right on point with the instructions I received with my extract kit, correct? If it's higher, there is a possibility that the yeast has not completed its job just yet? I'm worried about bottles exploding. If so, how high is too high for final gravity? What if it's lower? He also had some concern of my fermenter reading between 58 and 60 degrees... should I move it somewhere warm now that im moving on to my third and final week of fermentation?

Thanks all. Hope you all had a great new year.
 
BrettCo124 said:
I want to make sure I understood his advice correctly: my beer should have a final gravity that is right on point with the instructions I received with my extract kit, correct? If it's higher, there is a possibility that the yeast has not completed its job just yet? I'm worried about bottles exploding. If so, how high is too high for final gravity? What if it's lower? He also had some concern of my fermenter reading between 58 and 60 degrees... should I move it somewhere warm now that im moving on to my third and final week of fermentation?
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Not necessarily. Final gravity could depend on a lot of things. The key is having the same gravity reading a few days apart. Personally, I don't check FG till I'm bottling. I know that after 3 weeks it's going to be done. If checking multiple times gives you comfort, then go for it. I don't like the idea of opening up the fermenter and sticking things into it multiple times before bottling.

General rule of thumb is to hold fermentation temps for the first few days, then after active fermentation is done gradually raise the temperature so the yeast can clean up.
 
Great advice. But my fermenter is stuck in the 58-60 degree mark. There is no more activity (after a good strong week of activity - although it was warmer out during those days). I'm afraid if I bottle after 3 weeks, there still may be active yeast that will suddenly become active again and blow up bottles. What do you think?
 
Once fermentation is done, it's going to be whatever your room temp is without any heat source. I would highly doubt the yeast shut down, 58-60 is not that cold. If you can, go ahead and move it somewhere warmer. Then the day before you bottle, move it to your bottling location so things can settle from the moving around. As long as my FG is below 1.020, which it always is, I don't worry about it.
 
BrettCo124 said:
Thanks mongoose. I'm going to stick with the sticker thermometers.

I went to my local homebrew store yesterday for the first time. Never even knew he existed and he's about 5 minutes up the road. He's been open for 15 years.
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Funny. I bought a ton of stuff online before I ever knew there was a LHBS nearby, though it's 25 minutes away, not 5. Still.

I decided to get more of my equipment from him instead of online (which would have been cheaper). He's a really nice guy. I bought 48 brand new bottles, a stainless threaded thermometer for my kettle, corn sugar, pbw, extra spigots, airlocks and stoppers.
Click to expand...

Such a place can be a good source of advice, plus ingredients. I'm sure he has kits you can buy as well.

I want to make sure I understood his advice correctly: my beer should have a final gravity that is right on point with the instructions I received with my extract kit, correct? If it's higher, there is a possibility that the yeast has not completed its job just yet? I'm worried about bottles exploding. If so, how high is too high for final gravity? What if it's lower? He also had some concern of my fermenter reading between 58 and 60 degrees... should I move it somewhere warm now that im moving on to my third and final week of fermentation?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't lose any sleep over being a point or two off (say at 1.14 versus 1.013). As others have said, the key is that the yeast is done, and there are different things that can influence the final gravity. If you get close to those numbers, and it's stable for 3 days, it's done.

As long as it's stable in final gravity, and you're close to the final number you should be fine.

What I do is once my beer is past the active phase, i.e., the krausen has fallen, I warm the fermenter up a bit, to about 71 degees. I use a fermwrap to do this, though as Dave notes you can simply move teh fermenter to a warmer part of the house. Typically I'm fermenting at about 65 degrees, but by warming up I give the yeast a chance to finish, remove off flavors. Then after a couple days at 71, I'll let it go back down to 65 for a couple weeks.
 
One thing I found helpful is a small, bright flashlight. A flashlight helps a lot when using the stick-on thermometers. You can see the temp number easily with the bright beam from the fashlight.

A flashlight also helps you see little bubbles in your beer during final days of fermentation provided you're using a clear glass carboy. Those little bubbles usually stop after about 4 days.....depending on what kind of beer you're brewing. Anyways, try using a bright small flashlight.
 
Great idea. And thanks for the tips on the gravity tests.

So, I am bottling on Tuesday and I had a question:

I have the fermenter with the beer in it at the moment, and I also have my bottling bucket with a spigot attached. I know I have to stir in the corn sugar I boil up, but I just wanted to confirm that I should be siphoning out the beer in to the bottling bucket, with the corn sugar solution mixed in it (carefully stirring). From there, I'd attach the bottling wand and tube to the bottling bucket to fill the individual bottles. Is this correct?

I couldn't just use the primary fermenter to bottle from because I have to stir in the corn sugar solution, which would mix up all of the trub, correct?
 
Not sure how many gallons you brewed, but you could just siphon from your carboy and use sugar cubes for carbonation. One cube per bottle....I use Domino Sugar Cubes that have 198 cubes per box. Try to avoid "fizz drops". They just don't cut it.
 
Thanks for the tip. I brewed 5 gallons, which ended up a little under 5 gallons. The kit came with the corn sugar... should I avoid it and get something else like the sugar cubes? Also, I saw some drops at my local homebrew store that can be used instead. Should I do that instead, or is there some big advantage to using the corn sugar I received in the kit? Thanks so much everyone.
 
BrettCo124 said:
Thanks for the tip. I brewed 5 gallons, which ended up a little under 5 gallons. The kit came with the corn sugar... should I avoid it and get something else like the sugar cubes? Also, I saw some drops at my local homebrew store that can be used instead. Should I do that instead, or is there some big advantage to using the corn sugar I received in the kit? Thanks so much everyone.
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It really doesn't matter which method you use....both will work. IMO, fizz drops are a waste. Sugar cubes work good with small batches like 1 or 2 gallons. It would probably be easier to use the supplied corn sugar, but you'll have to transfer the beer to a bottling bucket. If you use cubes you have to put one cube in every bottle, but you don't have to transfer to a bottling bucket.
 
Put the priming sugar and water solution into the bottling bucket first. Then siphon the beer into the bottling bucket. Don't let it splash, but the spinning action from the siphon will be plenty to mix the sugar.
 
BrettCo124 said:
Thanks for the tip. I brewed 5 gallons, which ended up a little under 5 gallons. The kit came with the corn sugar... should I avoid it and get something else like the sugar cubes? Also, I saw some drops at my local homebrew store that can be used instead. Should I do that instead, or is there some big advantage to using the corn sugar I received in the kit? Thanks so much everyone.
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Brett....just follow the instructions!

Reduce the amount of corn sugar proportionately to what amount of beer you have under 5 gallons. In other words, if you only have 4.5 gallons of beer, and if your instructions said to use 5 ounces of corn sugar, use 4.5 ounces of corn sugar.

One of the problems of continually asking what you should do is you'll get different takes on it. Then what do you do? The instructions are probably what you should default to. The only exception is if they say you should rack to secondary, then you could avoid that if you wanted.

And do as Dave said above--mix up the corn solution, put in (sanitized) bottling bucket, rack the beer into said bucket. The beer racking in will mix up the corn sugar. If it helps your peace of mind sanitize a spoon and stir it a bit more.
 
I recommend starting with an extract kit. Like you im a newbie, been brewing for almost a year. Im an all extract brewer. I really admire all grain brewing, & hope to advance to some day, but you gotta crawl before you walk. I know I don't have as much experience as alot of the guys on here, but I highly recommend starting from the bottom.....& Working your way up. Learn the basics first. I don't have any friends or family that homebrew, so I'm pretty much teaching myself through trial & error. Right now I'm learning how to dry hop for the first time. When I first started I wanted to just jump right in as you do. But trust me brother....It's better if you start from the beginning.
 
I'm definitely going to follow the instructions. I came this far! Better finish it according to the directions.

I am very glad I started out with extract brewing. It's still a whole lot of fun, and I hope it tastes delicious.

Tomorrow is my first bottling day. You all have helped me out so much up to this point. Thanks for that. I have a question about it:

My plastic fermenter (fermonster) has a spigot on it at the bottom. When I wrapped my blanket around it to keep it warm, it must have become stuck in and around the spigot, leaving whatever was on the blanket (nothing really at all) on the spigot. Do I need to worry about this?

I'm going to hit it up with starsan tomorrow before bottling, but I really can't do much more since it's full of beer. I have to transfer it out through the spigot, so it's going to pass through it. Any recommendations?
 
BrettCo124 said:
I'm definitely going to follow the instructions. I came this far! Better finish it according to the directions.

I am very glad I started out with extract brewing. It's still a whole lot of fun, and I hope it tastes delicious.

Tomorrow is my first bottling day. You all have helped me out so much up to this point. Thanks for that. I have a question about it:

My plastic fermenter (fermonster) has a spigot on it at the bottom. When I wrapped my blanket around it to keep it warm, it must have become stuck in and around the spigot, leaving whatever was on the blanket (nothing really at all) on the spigot. Do I need to worry about this?

I'm going to hit it up with starsan tomorrow before bottling, but I really can't do much more since it's full of beer. I have to transfer it out through the spigot, so it's going to pass through it. Any recommendations?
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Hey man, so glad to hear it! I hope it's everything you hoped it would be!

As for your spigot, yeah, if there is any visible grime on it, just wipe it off, and then give it a squirt of starsan. Make sure to sanitize your tubing and bottling wand too!
 
BrettCo124 said:
My plastic fermenter (fermonster) has a spigot on it at the bottom. When I wrapped my blanket around it to keep it warm, it must have become stuck in and around the spigot, leaving whatever was on the blanket (nothing really at all) on the spigot. Do I need to worry about this?

I'm going to hit it up with starsan tomorrow before bottling, but I really can't do much more since it's full of beer. I have to transfer it out through the spigot, so it's going to pass through it. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...

Wasn't there a racking cane or auto syphon included with the kit?? Racking the beer to your bottling bucket with an auto syphon is a really easy process and you can avoid exposing your beer to the spigot.
 
Ogri said:
Wasn't there a racking cane or auto syphon included with the kit?? Racking the beer to your bottling bucket with an auto syphon is a really easy process and you can avoid exposing your beer to the spigot.
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I use to be anti-spigot when it came to my fermenters until I started using one. So much easier than using an auto siphon. I just spray starsan all over and up into the spigot before transfer. I dread using the auto siphon anymore, mainly because it's so long. Makes cleaning and sanitizing a pain. I wouldn't buy another fermenter that doesn't have a spigot.
 
PADave said:
I use to be anti-spigot when it came to my fermenters until I started using one. So much easier than using an auto siphon. I just spray starsan all over and up into the spigot before transfer. I dread using the auto siphon anymore, mainly because it's so long. Makes cleaning and sanitizing a pain. I wouldn't buy another fermenter that doesn't have a spigot.
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^^^^ This times a million. I've been doing the bucket-and-spigot thing for years now and not only have I never had a problem, it's so much easier too.
 
I agree. For my first time bottling (a couple of days ago), the spigot was extremely useful. My only concern was that the spigot could potentially have dust and sediment up in it since it's sticky in there.

I sprayed it all over with starsan so I hope it did the trick but I can't be too sure. The blanket I had wrapped around the fermenter was fuzzy and some of it stuck in the spigot.

I'm all bottled up and it was the funniest part of the process so far! I was very careful to not let any oxygen in, although it did bubble out the tube a couple times when it got low in the fermenter. Hope that's okay.

Other than that, it made about 40 beers (I boiled a lot out accidentally). The hydrometer reading showed 1.010 which equaled 6.55 percent alcohol. I tasted it and it tasted great.

So now I wait. I'm waiting exactly two weeks and 3 days before drinking some. Total of almost 6 weeks in the works.

Just hope that the spigot/possible debris didn't cause any issues!!
 
Been keeping up with this as I am also a first time brewer. Bottling day is this weekend. Good to hear bottling went ok. I am also having the same questions for the most part. I fermented in the bucket instead of the carboy. Now don't know if I should put sugar in carboy and siphon beer into carboy and then bottle from there...or what I should do. I did a 1 gallon brew.
 
CrixusOfCapua said:
Been keeping up with this as I am also a first time brewer. Bottling day is this weekend. Good to hear bottling went ok. I am also having the same questions for the most part. I fermented in the bucket instead of the carboy. Now don't know if I should put sugar in carboy and siphon beer into carboy and then bottle from there...or what I should do. I did a 1 gallon brew.
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for a one gallon batch, that's what, 10 bottles, do the domino dot method for priming your bottles.
1 dot per bottle, then rack into the bottles, still being careful not to introduce oxygen.
 
kristiismean said:
for a one gallon batch, that's what, 10 bottles, do the domino dot method for priming your bottles.
1 dot per bottle, then rack into the bottles, still being careful not to introduce oxygen.
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I don't have sugar cubes though, I have a priming sugar packet.
 
you would have to go to the store and buy them.

most grocery stores should have them. or google this method. it keeps you from having to measure out exact amounts per bottle.
 
Good luck on bottling day! It was the funniest part when you Seal the deal with a bottle cap.

Question though. How do you NOT introduce oxygen in the bottles? With the hose constantly full and the bottling wand doing its thing, I can't figure out how oxygen enters the beer unless I was causing a ton of bubbles.

As I had mentioned, a few of my bottles had some air pockets in the house when the liquid was entering the bottles. How bad is that? And how often does it turn in to an issue? Are those beers done?
 
I always mark my last few filled bottles, and drink them first, as my test bottles to see how carbonation is coming along. Plus they have the most sediment in them, and are literally the bottom of the barrel.

Those beers that you got the air pocket in the hose will be fine, don't sweat it. Oxidation takes time. Just the process of opening the fermenter and transferring to your bottling bucket is going to expose it to oxygen.

I've started only using oxygen absorbing caps. I don't know if they help, but they don't hurt, so worth the extra piece of mind.
 
Man, you've been helping me along the way since day 1! By the way, does your screen name mean Pennsylvania Dave?
 
CrixusOfCapua said:
Been keeping up with this as I am also a first time brewer. Bottling day is this weekend. Good to hear bottling went ok. I am also having the same questions for the most part. I fermented in the bucket instead of the carboy. Now don't know if I should put sugar in carboy and siphon beer into carboy and then bottle from there...or what I should do. I did a 1 gallon brew.
Click to expand...

I've bottled both ways, using carb or fizz drops (chunks of sugar) inserted into each bottle, and using corn sugar mixed into the beer in the bottling bucket.

The fizz or carb drops are probably easier, though I was always a bit wary of allowing some nasties to enter the beer along w/ the drop. I suspect that's overkill but it was on my mind.

Less an issue w/ corn sugar in the bottling bucket. Most 5-gallon kits, it seems, come with 5 ounces of corn sugar for priming. So a 1-gallon kit would use 1 ounce. If mixed well and put in the bottling bucket before the beer is racked into it, the beer should mix the solution up enough to evenly distribute it among all bottles. If you're concerned about that occurring, sanitize a spoon and stir it up gently.

BTW: if you haven't already, buy a small spray bottle and fill it with star-san. It's very handy for sanitizing objects like a spoon or whatever. Wal-mart sells them here in the travel-size and sample aisle. I have four green ones filled with star-san. Green is my color for sanitizing. I also have a couple blue ones filled with water that I use to cool down the foam during a boil to prevent boilover. Blue is my color for water.
 
Mongoose, how long would starsan last in a spray bottle? If I left it in the bottle for a month, would it still be effective? Just curious. I keep tossing what's left down the drain and I'm wondering if I could keep some of it. If it's not worth it, id rather buy a nice size container of it and make it fresh every time. Thanks for all your help, as well!
 
BrettCo124 said:
Mongoose, how long would starsan last in a spray bottle? If I left it in the bottle for a month, would it still be effective? Just curious. I keep tossing what's left down the drain and I'm wondering if I could keep some of it. If it's not worth it, id rather buy a nice size container of it and make it fresh every time. Thanks for all your help, as well!
Click to expand...


I keep a spray bottle filled at all times, I make 5 gallons at a time and I think that's about once a year, as long as the ph stays below 3 it's still good.
 
BrettCo124 said:
Mongoose, how long would starsan last in a spray bottle? If I left it in the bottle for a month, would it still be effective? Just curious. I keep tossing what's left down the drain and I'm wondering if I could keep some of it. If it's not worth it, id rather buy a nice size container of it and make it fresh every time. Thanks for all your help, as well!
Click to expand...

I had some in a bucket for a few months once. Concerned about whether it may have lost its whatever, I decided to test the PH which was STILL well below 3 (IIRC, something like 2.6, but don't quote me on that).

The answer to your question: long time.
 
Just brewed a one gallon grapefruit wheat beer and kept the star San! I will buy a kit to test the acidity just in case, but I'm glad I hung on to it because I'm already low on starsan from the four batches I made already. Thanks mongoose!
 
BrettCo124 said:
Just brewed a one gallon grapefruit wheat beer and kept the star San! I will buy a kit to test the acidity just in case, but I'm glad I hung on to it because I'm already low on starsan from the four batches I made already. Thanks mongoose!
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Holy cow! How much starsan are you mixing up per brew? Just a tip, the foam can do the sanitizing. For example when I starsan my fermenter I only put about a gallon into it (fermenter is 7-8 gal). Then I shake it up and get all kinds of foam going. Then as I'm brewing every time I walk by the fermenter I give it a shake. No need to use a huge amount, or to fill things up.
 
PADave said:
Holy cow! How much starsan are you mixing up per brew? Just a tip, the foam can do the sanitizing. For example when I starsan my fermenter I only put about a gallon into it (fermenter is 7-8 gal). Then I shake it up and get all kinds of foam going. Then as I'm brewing every time I walk by the fermenter I give it a shake. No need to use a huge amount, or to fill things up.
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I use even less than that, maybe a quart, maybe less. Once I'm done sanitizing I dump it back in my Star-San bucket.
 
Thanks all. I use no more than a capful of starsan for each brew. I definitely feel it eating at my skin though lol. I don't know if I like that part... any ideas on whether it's bad for you or not? Does anyone ever wear gloves?

I never think I'll be touching the starsan as much as I end up doing, so it made me wonder about the harmful effects of it, if any.
 
BrettCo124 said:
Thanks all. I use no more than a capful of starsan for each brew. I definitely feel it eating at my skin though lol. I don't know if I like that part... any ideas on whether it's bad for you or not? Does anyone ever wear gloves?

I never think I'll be touching the starsan as much as I end up doing, so it made me wonder about the harmful effects of it, if any.
Click to expand...

A capful? How much is a capful? Is it an ounce, and then you are mixing that into 5 gallons? (doubtful). Or less than an ounce and you're mixing into less than 5 gallons?

I never wear gloves while doing any of this, and I'm dipping my hands into the star-san bucket all the time. If you feel it eating at your skin--what dilution level are you using?
 

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