Home Beer Brewing

[Gunner11]

You will probably be fine. What kind of yeast are you using? Nottingham? SafAle 05? If it is still actively fermenting right now do you have the ability to lower the amibient temp via A/C? If not, do you have a small plastic tub or a small kiddie pool you could place your fermenter in? If you do put it in there and fill it with cool water. Freeze a couple of 12 or 16 oz plastic water bottles and place them in the tub of cool water. That will lower the temp. Higher than recommended fermentation temps can give a beer an estery profile (banana or sweeter taste).

[Lucky Charms]

You will probably be fine. What kind of yeast are you using? Nottingham? SafAle 05? If it is still actively fermenting right now do you have the ability to lower the amibient temp via A/C? If not, do you have a small plastic tub or a small kiddie pool you could place your fermenter in? If you do put it in there and fill it with cool water. Freeze a couple of 12 or 16 oz plastic water bottles and place them in the tub of cool water. That will lower the temp. Higher than recommended fermentation temps can give a beer an estery profile (banana or sweeter taste).

 

I'm on it. Just turned the A/C on. That should take care of my problems. I thought just having it sit on the basement floor might be enough, but I guessed wrong. Thanks for the help guys!

[ThrillVille Cardinal51]

I've thought it would be cool to try brewing for a while. Out of curiousity, how much does home brewing normally run you, and where did you get the supplies?

[Lucky Charms]

I've thought it would be cool to try brewing for a while. Out of curiousity, how much does home brewing normally run you, and where did you get the supplies?

 

I got started for a little under $150. That included my bottles, the brew kit, sanitizer, a good beer book and an equipment kit. So, now that I have all this stuff my next batch shouldn't be so expensive because i will only need the brew kit. Which runs anywhere b/t $18 to $40 from what I saw at Listermann's Brewing Supplies.

[coldweatherfan]

There are several old thumb rules about beer that people have used for years: You really should use your hydrometer though.

 

One is don't be in a hurry. I follow this one religiously. When in doubt - let it ferment a little longer.

 

I know people who use the 1-2-3 method. Primary for 1 week. Secondary for 2 weeks. In the bottle for 3 weeks. Drink.

 

Some people simply go by rack from primary to secondary @ 1 bubble per minute. Then bottle at 1 bubble every 3 minutes. This doesn't allow for stuck fermentation and is not nearly as good as using your hydrometer.

 

I use a combination of the above.

1. I take a hydrometer reading at the beginning.

2. I leave it in the primary for at least a week. If it still more than a bubble a minute, I leave it longer.

3. At 1 bubble per minute I rack to the secondary.

4. I leave it in the secondary for at least two weeks. I do keep a bubble count every day or so to make sure it's not stuck.

5. At 2 weeks and less than 1 bubble every 3 minutes I take a reading. If all is well - bottle, if not wait a few more days and take another reading. There's no hurry.

6. At 2 weeks in the bottle I always have a sample - Yum.

[Lucky Charms]

Well, since I am brewing my own beer it seems that I spurred a couple of others in the family to try, including my father. I'll be helping him out. I talked him into trying to make a Brown Ale because he likes Newcastle. I'll help him, but I will still need everybody to help. Dad is retired and needs a hobby. He loves to golf, and I'm a terrible golfer so I figured this might be a good one to talk him into. Plus, he loves Newcastle. So, any advice you guys have is welcomed.

 

On a side note, for my first batch ever, should I try a secondary fermentation? Or should I try to bottle right after the primary?

[Gunner11]

If you are pretty confident with your sanitation and your ability to transfer the beer without too much aeration I would secondary. If you decide against a secondary and go with an extended primary, I would leave it for 4 weeks.

 

There are a ton of good brown ale recipes out there.

 

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f67/

[coldweatherfan]

Secondary is generally recommended. The trub can impart some off flavors. If you using iodine to sanitize you shouldn't have to worry about contamination. Just sanitize and rack it on over.

 

When you bottle. Do it right in the dishwasher. Just open the door and use it as a table. That way anything you spill doesn't go on the floor and make a mess.

 

On a side note. If you're on a septic system, flush the trub. The yeast and stuff is good for your septic tank.

[NEERFAN]

I picked up a kit and some Kolsh yesterday at Listermann's, still haven't started the process, I don't want to mess it up. I did notice one thing, the kit contained the hydrometer, but it looks like I will need a hydrometer jar to measure, is this the case? When you mention 2ndary how is that done? Do you add more yeast when doing so?

[Gunner11]

You can buy a cheap plastic graduated cylinder for a hydrometer measuring tube. No addition of yeast necessary for the secondary fermenter as the name is a bit of a misnomer. There is not a lot of fermentation going on in the secondary. For the most part it is just a "bright tank" to let some of the trub that did not fall out in primary settle out and for the beer to clear a little. I usually add a small amount of gelatin when racking into the secondary if it is a really light color beer, such as a Kolsch to help it clear even more.

[NEERFAN]

Where can I pick up one of those cylinders around here. So I would just siphon from one bucket to another and possibly toss some gelatin into that bucket? I also don't understand why one bucket has a spicket and one does not which is best for the primary fermenting? Is the spicket used to take your hydrometer reading?

[Gunner11]

I think you can get a hydrometer measuring cylinder at listerman's. I got mine here. http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/brewing-equipment/testing-measuring/hydrometers-refractometers/economy-test-jar.html

 

You can really use any sort of vessel to take a hydrometer reading. The advantage of the long slender cylinder is that you do not waste too much beer in the process. Also I usually sample that beer at that point too so not usually an entire waste. However it is not near a finished product and is flat and not something I would want to drink more than a few ounces of.

 

You can use the fermenter with the spigot on it as a primary and then pull samples from the spigot that way you do not have to open the top and expose the beer to air.

 

If you are going to use gelatin as a fining agent, go to the homebrewtalk.com forums and do a search on how to use it. It is not quite as simple as throwing it in with the beer. There are several opinions on the best way to "bloom" the gelatin for use. I would read some of those and find out what you think is best and give it a shot.

[coldweatherfan]

Liquor barn will have hydrometer cylinders.

 

I have always added a teaspoon of Irish moss during the last 15 minutes of the boil. It helps your beer clear. (does something to the electrolytes)

 

What ever you do. The most important thing in brewing is sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. Soak everything that touches your beer in a solution of 1 tablespoon of brewers iodine to 4 gallons of cool water for at least 1 minute. You can use a bleach solution on glass(tablespoon per gallon), but not metal or plastic. Or you can boil everything for 5 minutes. The only thing I boil is caps and priming sugar.

[NEERFAN]

Made my first batch this afternoon, and really enjoyed myself. I learned a lesson, I had too much water in the stock pot, and had a hard time containing those boil overs, luckily I had some shamies.

 

My malt container said it would be 1.046 but my hydrometer measurement was 1.060, is that something to be concerned about?

 

I guess the next thing I'll google up is how to use the bottle siphon. So far Youtube and this thread have been great help. Just four days ago I was very nervous about the whole thing but now I feel like Jim Koch.

[Lucky Charms]

Made my first batch this afternoon, and really enjoyed myself. I learned a lesson, I had too much water in the stock pot, and had a hard time containing those boil overs, luckily I had some shamies.

 

My malt container said it would be 1.046 but my hydrometer measurement was 1.060, is that something to be concerned about?

 

I guess the next thing I'll google up is how to use the bottle siphon. So far Youtube and this thread have been great help. Just four days ago I was very nervous about the whole thing but now I feel like Jim Koch.

 

What was the temperature of your wort when you took the hydrometer reading. Temp of your hydrometer test should be around 60 degrees F.

 

I just switched my Dunkelweizen over to the secondary fermenter. Hydrometer reading was 1.012. Took a sample too. It tasted just like a Hefe-weizen that I tried earlier this week. Definitely cloudy though.