Home brewing

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by DMAC

I have a plastic one. It's fine. Do you plan on brewing a shit ton or like once every couple months.

One thing to either make or invest 40-50 bucks in is a wort chiller. The difference is taking an hour or so to cool the beer down vs. like 5 minutes. (you need to get your boiling beer down to 70 degrees ASAP)

That's a nice piece of equipment. But couldn't you just put your boiling pot in a sink full of ice water?

[DMAC]

Originally Posted by Lzen

That's a nice piece of equipment. But couldn't you just put your boiling pot in a sink full of ice water?

That's what takes an hour or so.

[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by Lzen

That's a nice piece of equipment. But couldn't you just put your boiling pot in a sink full of ice water?

Your worts most vulnerable time is between when you stop boiling and when the yeast starts fermenting. That's what makes a wort chiller nice is you can shorten the time your wort is exposed before you pitch your yeast to it. But a sink full of ice will do the job if you're careful, like Dartgod I did my first couple of batches that way.

[Lzen]

Okay, got my kit and I'm ready to brew my first batch this weekend. A couple questions for you guys that know this stuff.

- I will be using the glass carboy for the fermenting stage. Correct?

- Then I will siphon it into the plastic bucket for the bottling process after the fermentation period (1 week? Or was that 2 weeks? - need to go back to John Palmer's site for reference). Do I have this right? The reason I ask is that the plastic bucket also has a hole in the top for the airlock. My understanding is that I should ferment in the carboy and transfer to bucket after this stage in order to get rid of some of the sediment prior to bottling.

- Its okay to pour hot boiled water into the glass carboy?

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter1-1.html
4. Boil the brew water. In the brewpot, bring 2 gallons of water to a boil. Pour this water into the fermentor and leave it to cool.

[1moreTRich]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Okay, got my kit and I'm ready to brew my first batch this weekend. A couple questions for you guys that know this stuff.

- I will be using the glass carboy for the fermenting stage. Correct?

- Then I will siphon it into the plastic bucket for the bottling process after the fermentation period (1 week? Or was that 2 weeks? - need to go back to John Palmer's site for reference). Do I have this right? The reason I ask is that the plastic bucket also has a hole in the top for the airlock. My understanding is that I should ferment in the carboy and transfer to bucket after this stage in order to get rid of some of the sediment prior to bottling.

- Its okay to pour hot boiled water into the glass carboy?

Wish I would have caught this thread again a week ago.

I have a glass carboy that I really want to get rid of. For me the plastic Better Bottles are just superior because of saftey factor alone. I have heard horror stories of people dropping and breaking the glass carboys that really makes me nervous when I have to use mine.

What size of glass carboy did you get? If it is the 6.5 Gallon size then you will use it for primary fermentation, if you only got the 5 Gallon carboy then that is more of a secondary fermentation (which is really only necessary when you are making a beer that requires more conditioning time such as a lager or a high gravity beer). From what you are describing, it sounds like you got both a fermenting bucket and a glass carboy, did you get another bucket for bottling?

What type of beer are you making? 2 weeks is a good amount of time for most beers, and pretty much the absolute minimum time I will will ferment for.

You should not pour boiling water into the glass carboy. Temperature shock could cause it to break. What I have done in the past is boiled the top off water, let it cool for a while on the stove, then pour it into a sanitized fementer (bucket or Carboy) and then throw my airlock on and put it in fridge to cool down while I do the rest of my brewing. If you don't have a fridge, just let it hang out with the airlock on while you are brewing, but make sure you check the temperature when combining.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by 1moreTRich

Wish I would have caught this thread again a week ago.

I have a glass carboy that I really want to get rid of. For me the plastic Better Bottles are just superior because of saftey factor alone. I have heard horror stories of people dropping and breaking the glass carboys that really makes me nervous when I have to use mine.

What size of glass carboy did you get? If it is the 6.5 Gallon size then you will use it for primary fermentation, if you only got the 5 Gallon carboy then that is more of a secondary fermentation (which is really only necessary when you are making a beer that requires more conditioning time such as a lager or a high gravity beer). From what you are describing, it sounds like you got both a fermenting bucket and a glass carboy, did you get another bucket for bottling?

What type of beer are you making? 2 weeks is a good amount of time for most beers, and pretty much the absolute minimum time I will will ferment for.

You should not pour boiling water into the glass carboy. Temperature shock could cause it to break. What I have done in the past is boiled the top off water, let it cool for a while on the stove, then pour it into a sanitized fementer (bucket or Carboy) and then throw my airlock on and put it in fridge to cool down while I do the rest of my brewing. If you don't have a fridge, just let it hang out with the airlock on while you are brewing, but make sure you check the temperature when combining.

This is the kit.

http://brewgadgets.com/beerequipkits.htm

The True Brew Handbook
7.8 Gallon Primary Fermenting Bucket with Drilled and Grommeted Lid. This bucket also comes with a spigot so that it can be used as a bottling bucket.
5 Gallon Glass Carboy
(Perfect size for making beer because of the limited head space)
5 Gallon Stainless Steel Kettle with Lid
The True Brew Bottle Filler
Fermometer Adhesive Fermentation Thermometer
True Brew Rack & Fill Kit
Hydrometer
Red Emily Double Lever Capper
Bottle Brush
Carboy Brush
24" Food Grade Plastic Spoon
3 Piece Airlock
C-Brite Sanitizer 8-pack
And Your Choice of These True Brew Ingredient Kits which includes all the ingredients and bottling caps

[DMAC]

Originally Posted by Lzen

This is the kit.

http://brewgadgets.com/beerequipkits.htm

The True Brew Handbook
7.8 Gallon Primary Fermenting Bucket with Drilled and Grommeted Lid. This bucket also comes with a spigot so that it can be used as a bottling bucket.
5 Gallon Glass Carboy
(Perfect size for making beer because of the limited head space)
5 Gallon Stainless Steel Kettle with Lid
The True Brew Bottle Filler
Fermometer Adhesive Fermentation Thermometer
True Brew Rack & Fill Kit
Hydrometer
Red Emily Double Lever Capper
Bottle Brush
Carboy Brush
24" Food Grade Plastic Spoon
3 Piece Airlock
C-Brite Sanitizer 8-pack
And Your Choice of These True Brew Ingredient Kits which includes all the ingredients and bottling caps

You want to ferment in the bucket, partner.

[1moreTRich]

Originally Posted by DMAC

You want to ferment in the bucket, partner.

Yep, the process they want you to use is primary in the bucket, transfer to the carboy after at least 2 weeks for conditioning, then use the primary bucket as your bottling bucket.

For a brown, 2-3 weeks in the primary would be fine.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by DMAC

You want to ferment in the bucket, partner.

Yep.

I use the 1-2-3 rule

1 week in the primary, although you want to make sure that the specific gravity is pretty close to the final product and activity in the airlock has almost ceased.

Then I transfer to the carboy (secondary). Make sure all your transfer equipment; siphon, tubing, carboy, etc. is properly sanitized. You won't get every last drop transfered over. Just leave all the dead yeast and other crap in the bucket.

2 weeks in the secondary and then transfer back into the bucket for bottling. Again, make sure everything is sanitized well including your bottles and caps.

3 weeks in the bottle (minimum) before drinking. I prefer to wait 6 weeks myself, but will usually pop one open after 3 just to make sure all is well.

You also want to measure the specific gravity before starting the fermentation. You can compare it to the final gravity measurement and get an accurate idea off the alcohol content.