Newbie questions after first brew

[ColdCerveza]

The boil

During the hour long boil, residue forms early on the sides of the pot. A fairly thick amount. Do you leave that where it is, on the side of the pot? Or do you stir it in?

When steeping the grains, do you dunk it a few times then tie it off? Or do you repeat this periodically for the 20 mins/170 degree cut off?

The Yeast

My recipe kit (Red Irish Ale) came w/ Nottingham yeast. The brew kit directions called for 'smacking' the yeast, which is not on the Nottingham directions. I assume that the kit was referring to another yeast brand. I rehydrated the yeast per instructions. Directions state "attemperate in steps..." by mixing 'aliquots of wort'. With my yeast in a pyrex measuring cup filled with properly temp'd water, what do you use to add the "aliquots" of wort to the yeast? A sanitized spoon? And does a spoon full translate to an aliquot?

Cooling the wort

I cooled the wort with an immersion chiller, and then added the wort to the fermenter. Then i added cool water in order to reach the 5 gallon mark. However, my "cool water" wasnt very cool apparently. I pitched the yeast at 76 degrees, put the fermenter in a "cool-brewing" cooler and added several pint-size frozen water bottles to the cool brewer, and zipped it shut.

When adding "cool water" to the immersion-chiller chilled wort, the resulting temperature can vary significantly based on how cold or not-so-cold the temp of the added water is. The kit directions appear to rely on the cooling factor of the added water to arrive at a proper pitching temp, but the directions are fairly vague/minimalist at that point. I screwed up by adding all of the additional 'cool' water in one fell swoop, using the coolest water coming out of the faucet. Next brew, i will make sure to have a few gallons of properly cooled spring water ready to go, and it will match the temp of the chilled wort. Or, i wont be such a ******* and will take my time adding the "cool water", measuring the temp in half gallon increments as i add it to the fermenter.

Fermenting time

I have read the long thread where fermenting can take up to 72 hours. I'm approaching the 72 hour mark. I finished brewing on Sunday at 5pm. Its now Wednesday morning and still no activity on the value. Gunna wait til the end of the day and pull the lid off to see what if anything is going on. Should i pitch some more yeast if there's no activity in the fermenter? Whats the best way to go about re-pitching? Just sprinkle on top? Stir in? Or, is it a lost cause?

After pitching the yeast, should there be a period of time that i should wait BEFORE keeping the fermenter cool? After pitching, i immediately put the fermenter in a cool-brew bag that hovers around 68 degrees. Should it have been in a warmer place for a while first?

TIA

 

[J187]

The boil

During the hour long boil, residue forms early on the sides of the pot. A fairly thick amount. Do you leave that where it is, on the side of the pot? Or do you stir it in?

When steeping the grains, do you dunk it a few times then tie it off? Or do you repeat this periodically for the 20 mins/170 degree cut off?

The Yeast

My recipe kit (Red Irish Ale) came w/ Nottingham yeast. The brew kit directions called for 'smacking' the yeast, which is not on the Nottingham directions. I assume that the kit was referring to another yeast brand. I rehydrated the yeast per instructions. Directions state "attemperate in steps..." by mixing 'aliquots of wort'. With my yeast in a pyrex measuring cup filled with properly temp'd water, what do you use to add the "aliquots" of wort to the yeast? A sanitized spoon? And does a spoon full translate to an aliquot?

Cooling the wort

I cooled the wort with an immersion chiller, and then added the wort to the fermenter. Then i added cool water in order to reach the 5 gallon mark. However, my "cool water" wasnt very cool apparently. I pitched the yeast at 76 degrees, put the fermenter in a "cool-brewing" cooler and added several pint-size frozen water bottles to the cool brewer, and zipped it shut.

When adding "cool water" to the immersion-chiller chilled wort, the resulting temperature can vary significantly based on how cold or not-so-cold the temp of the added water is. The kit directions appear to rely on the cooling factor of the added water to arrive at a proper pitching temp, but the directions are fairly vague/minimalist at that point. I screwed up by adding all of the additional 'cool' water in one fell swoop, using the coolest water coming out of the faucet. Next brew, i will make sure to have a few gallons of properly cooled spring water ready to go, and it will match the temp of the chilled wort. Or, i wont be such a ******* and will take my time adding the "cool water", measuring the temp in half gallon increments as i add it to the fermenter.

Fermenting time

I have read the long thread where fermenting an take up to 72 hours. I'm approaching the 72 hour mark. I finished brewing on Sunday at 5pm. Its now Wednesday morning and still no activity on the value. Gunna wait til the end of the day and pull the lid off to see what if anything is going on.

After pitching the yeast, should there be a period of time that i should wait BEFORE keeping the fermenter cool? After pitching, i immediately put the fermenter in a cool-brew bag that hovers around 68 degrees. Should it have been in a warmer place for a while first?

TIA

1. Leave the sludge on the side of the pot. It's actually pretty nasty stuff. Try not to disturb it.

2. Just let the grains steep, then let it drain slowly when it's done. Don't squeeze it at all.

3. Smacking the yeast refers specifically to wyeast brand - which come in "smack packs" - they are like capri suns with a little package of yeast nutrient inside, smacking breaks open the package and "activates" the yeast. Rehydrating the dry yeast is exactly what you do with dry.

4. I always cool to pitching temp before adding my top off. Relying on top off water to bring the wort to pitching temps is totally unreliable. I usually get really close to the range I need to be in with an ice bath or the chiller - say, 71 or so, then maybe the added water gets me to 68 or 69.

5. When you say "on the value" I don't know what it means. If you are looking at the airlock for activity, don't do that. I'd give it a couple days and check the gravity. That will tell you if there's been any fermentation.

 

[J187]

You should try to pitch at around fermenting temps... that way you can just take it to the vessel and hold it. If you pitch a little warm, I'd still put it in fermentation right away and let it get down, you won't shock the yeast unless there's a big temp diff in pitching temps to what you ferment at, but if you have that, you've got a problem there in the first place.