Homebrewing

[bubba]

I found this site a guy posted with steps on brewing.. decent info in here..

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/partial_mash/page1.php

[Larry]

Very nice site.

[mznb1u]

Bubba,

That is a good site and the instructions are pretty good.  I have never used a wort chiller as I typically brew in the winter and I can just take the covered wort pot and set it out side in a snow bank until it cools.

I also do not like the hop pellets.  Your kit is probably pre-hopped grain extract.  If you want to use more hops spring for the leaf hops--they are fresher and give better taste.  You can also place them in little gauze bags (available at your brewing supply store) so they can be placed in the wort for the correct amount of time and then easily removed.

Have fun and remember--"The best beer in the world is the one you are holding in your hand!"

Tim 

[bubba]

My kit does have some pellets in it. I haven't read through all the kit instructions yet. It came with the gauze bag to float everything it.. Would it help to crush the pellets?

[bubba]

OK.. Today is brew day... Gotta run out and get some last minute things, then its cooking time... One last thing I haven't seen clarified. Does the airlock or blow off get sanitized water or regular water?

[mznb1u]

Hops question--the pellets will dissolve once they hit the brewing pot.

The air-lock and or blow-off hose should be sanitized but regular tap water will work.  Some people actually use vodka in the airlock but I think that is overkill.  The blow-off end of the blow-off hose can be placed in tupperware (or similar container) filled with tap water.  I do that because the foam and other stuff that usually blows off will make a mess of the sink when it dries.  The water container just traps all of that so you can dump it down the drain!

Good luck--watch the stove when you are brewing--it is one helluva mess if you have a boil over.  Similar to cleaning up an old pop machine with a lot of spilled Coke in it!

[bubba]

Well, I made my first batch today, and unfortunately, I got a big "F".

I got all done cooking, cooled it down, poured it into the carboy and just as I was taking a hydrometer reading, I broke the glass on the hydrometer. It fell into my carboy, and I couldn't read it. I was able to fish it out with a piece of hose, and I figured I'd push it into the hose a bit so I could pull it out after reading it. The hydrometer broke and the bits of glass fell into the beer. I ended up dumping my whole batch since I didn't want to risk a small piece of glass getting into a bottle. I was soo pissed that I almost put my fist through a wall. I was smart enough to realize I'd have to patch the hole, so I stopped myself. There was a whole lot of cursing and I went outside and kicked my garbage can across the back yard... That was 8hrs ago, and I've kinda cooled off a bit. I don't have any local supply houses around here, so now I have to order more supplies and try again. I guess it could have been worse.. I could have fermented a few weeks and realized I had screwed up somewhere else.. At least it was only 4 hrs I wasted... 

[Creighton]

Hey Ken,
Well at least you learned something. So you going to call the first batch "Kick the can"?
It will sort out!!
Creighton

[collecture]

Not to beat a dead horse (or get you kicking the can again), but couldn't you have strained it through cheesecloth or strainer or combination of the two?

[mznb1u]

Bubba,

I think all homebrewers have been there before and you did the right thing.  You can't take the risk of straining the beer because you never know.  You don't want that first taste of homebrew to send you to the hospital!  Sorry about the loss That is a lot of work to have to go through for no reward!

When I was in college my roommate, a chemical engineering student, had a job in the QC lab at Stroh's.  One night he came home from work and was just shaking his head.  When I asked him what was wrong he said, "The crowner on one of the bottling lines was using too much force on the bottles and was causing the tops of the bottles to chip.  We had to dump an entire shift of bottled beer down the drain!" 

It almost brought a tear to my eye!

You will want to look into getting one of these:

Hydrometer Test Jar

http://store.homebrewheaven.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=hombre&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=809337794&Count2=726478219&CategoryID=56&Target=products.asp&OVRAW=homebrewing+supplies

and/or

Beer Thief

http://store.homebrewheaven.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=hombre&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=809337794&Count2=726478219&CategoryID=56&Target=products.asp&OVRAW=homebrewing+supplies

I have both.  The beer thief is great for pulling a sample from the carboy.  Make sure that it is sanitized and rinsed before you use it.  Also, I don't recommend putting the sample back into the carboy when you are done.  It is good to see that you were planning on taking specific gravity readings of the brew though.  That is the best way to tell when the beer is ready to bottle.

"Kick the Can Ale" sounds like a great idea for the name of your first batch.  Maybe somebody could take your picture kicking the garbage can for the label!   

Tim