# First brew tonight any rookie mistakes to watch for



## Shotgun07 (19/8/22)

Hey brew heads,

Doing my first ever home brew tonight, with a starter kit from Australian home brewing. Any mistakes a first timer will make that I can avoid.

I know use sanitizer on everything apart from that any advice would be greatly appreciated 

Tim


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## Ditchnbeer (19/8/22)

Let the wort cool to ferment temperature, then pitch the yeast


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## cedric (19/8/22)

have a plan, even write it down.
think how long it should to take, and double it


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## philrob (19/8/22)

Control your fermentation temperature, if at all possible. Ignore the advice to ferment at 25°C and aim for about 18 to 20°C for an ale. If you do not have a temperature controlled fridge, a wet towel over the fermenter is an option.


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## wide eyed and legless (19/8/22)

Mistakes are an asset, that is how we learn. Follow everything you have read and been advised mistakes will still be made, they are unavoidable. I like this woman's attitude to her craft, no matter how good a wine she makes the next one is going to be better. We have the advantage of 'tip it' I'll brew it again. She gets one chance per year.


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## DU99 (19/8/22)

Keep it clean..sanitizer where required and watch temp


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## Tony121 (19/8/22)

Close the tap


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## feralbass (20/8/22)

Temperature control, without it you make home brew, with it you make beer


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## Jimmymac (20/8/22)

It needs to be said twice. Close the tap


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## Ian D (21/8/22)

Shotgun07 said:


> Hey brew heads,
> 
> Doing my first ever home brew tonight, with a starter kit from Australian home brewing. Any mistakes a first timer will make that I can avoid.
> 
> ...


What a lot of brewers don’t appreciate is hot side oxidation. Don’t let the hot wort splash in any transfers between vessels until the wort is cool enough to add the yeast


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## Half-baked (21/8/22)

Don’t panic, small mistakes won’t ruin a beer. 

Once you’ve completed your first batch you can live by the adage: relax, don’t worry, have a home brew


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## Malchizedec (21/8/22)

Half-baked is completely on the money.

My first brew was a comedy of errors
- stuck sparge
- broke the grainfather glass lid
- blocked the pump on transfer
- couldnt cool fast enough 
- missed the numbers

Brew took 9 or so hours due to my over fretting, over engineering but still enjoyed a nice SMaSH in the end.

After a lot of brews I've realised that beer is very forgiving, sanitation is important, other than that...... enjoy the process


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## Shotgun07 (21/8/22)

Thanks heaps for all the advice. It did take abit longer than anticipated but I think I did alright. Two days in its bubbling on the airlock but not a crazy amount the OG was 1.054 and it’s now down to 1.036. It tastes like beer and has small bubbles in the sample flask, so hopefully it’s all going to plan.


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## cedric (22/8/22)

Shotgun07 said:


> Thanks heaps for all the advice. It did take abit longer than anticipated but I think I did alright. Two days in its bubbling on the airlock but not a crazy amount the OG was 1.054 and it’s now down to 1.036. It tastes like beer and has small bubbles in the sample flask, so hopefully it’s all going to plan.


good job, it'll get less chaotic (one day)
are you bottling or kegging?
i just noticed you're in perth and i have about 70 x 640ml bottles cleaned and packed, going on Gumtree soon. only used them once or twice.
PM me if you're interested.


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## Shotgun07 (22/8/22)

cedric said:


> good job, it'll get less chaotic (one day)
> are you bottling or kegging?
> i just noticed you're in perth and i have about 70 x 640ml bottles cleaned and packed, going on Gumtree soon. only used them once or twice.
> PM me if you're interested.


Thanks mate I’m bottling but I was given a heap by my mate that used to do tomato sauces.


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## Shotgun07 (24/8/22)

Any advice would be helpful. it’s seems to not be bubbling a lot in the airlock I checked the gravity and it has reduced. Also when I dry hopped last night it had lots of foam on top does this mean it’s gone bad or stalled. I tried the beer from the sample it tastes pretty good


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## elmoMakesBeer (24/8/22)

Shotgun07 said:


> Any advice would be helpful. it’s seems to not be bubbling a lot in the airlock I checked the gravity and it has reduced. Also when I dry hopped last night it had lots of foam on top does this mean it’s gone bad or stalled. I tried the beer from the sample it tastes pretty good


If the gravity dropped and the krausen (foam) formed and the beer tastes good then it sounds like it’s working! A lack of bubbling in the airlock could be because the gas is leaking out somewhere else. Meh. That doesn’t really matter.


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## Shotgun07 (24/8/22)

elmoMakesBeer said:


> If the gravity dropped and the krausen (foam) formed and the beer tastes good then it sounds like it’s working! A lack of bubbling in the airlock could be because the gas is leaking out somewhere else. Meh. That doesn’t really matter.


Awesome fingers crossed it stays that way thanks


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## Narapoia (25/8/22)

Shotgun07 said:


> Any advice would be helpful. it’s seems to not be bubbling a lot in the airlock I checked the gravity and it has reduced. Also when I dry hopped last night it had lots of foam on top does this mean it’s gone bad or stalled. I tried the beer from the sample it tastes pretty good


When I have had this in the past I've really tightened the lid - sometimes that is all you need. Once I had to re-seat the rubber o ring in the fermenter lid. After that it sealed properly and bubbled. 

From my reading experienced brewers usually tend to say 'Don't rely on the bubbles as a sign of activity measure the gravity' and this is 100% true. But I like to have the bubbles going because it means you have a good seal and it's an easy visual representation of the rate of fermentation (though not 100% reliable as many will point out).


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## iamacup (26/8/22)

elmoMakesBeer said:


> If the gravity dropped and the krausen (foam) formed and the beer tastes good then it sounds like it’s working! A lack of bubbling in the airlock could be because the gas is leaking out somewhere else. Meh. That doesn’t really matter.


Took me a long time to come to terms with, and understand the underpinnings of, this state of brewing. As an early brewer I “needed” to see the airlock bubbling.


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## Shotgun07 (1/9/22)

Second brew down I did a stone and wood replica recipe. The first day after putting it in the fermenter the missus accidentally turned on the heating pad I use at night when I got to it in the afternoon it was around 26-27degrees. I turned it off it has been fermenting at around 22 but I just dry hopped (day 4) and took gravity. It’s at 1.012 and it doesn’t taste the best not really a beer taste like last time. My question is, is it a pour out situation or should I keep going with it ??


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## Will2233 (2/9/22)

In 2017 I brewed a Stone and Wood inspired beer. 
At the time I bottled it. I labeled them "Hell beer" because of the dramas I had with it.
It was drinkable, just.
I found a bottle the other day and tried it and it was quite good.
So unless it is undrinkable I would keep it and see how it goes.
William


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## Shotgun07 (2/9/22)

Will2233 said:


> In 2017 I brewed a Stone and Wood inspired beer.
> At the time I bottled it. I labeled them "Hell beer" because of the dramas I had with it.
> It was drinkable, just.
> I found a bottle the other day and tried it and it was quite good.
> ...


I’ll give it a go see what happens haha


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## yankinoz (3/9/22)

Will2233 said:


> In 2017 I brewed a Stone and Wood inspired beer.
> At the time I bottled it. I labeled them "Hell beer" because of the dramas I had with it.
> It was drinkable, just.
> I found a bottle the other day and tried it and it was quite good.
> ...


Conventional thinking is that beers that age that well are typically strong. What was the abv, if you know it?
If S& W inspired means Pacific ale and you used a wallop of Galaxy, how well did the aroma last?


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## Will2233 (4/9/22)

Correction I just checked, it was 2019.
ABV was 5%, unfortunately my sense of smell is shot.
I didn't record the hop amount.
William


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