Im New At This

[WHYPSI]

hi all. decided to finally start home brewing.

bought my kit yesterday from The Country Brewer in girraween. looking forward to starting the brew tomorrow.

im making a coopers pale ale style brew. if anyone has any tips id love to hear them.

i know to sanitize alot, and to ferment at 20 deg. bit unsure how to maintain a constant temp though

cheers Pete

 

[manticle]

Not necessarily a lot - just properly. check this link for a rundown on different sanitisers and how to use them: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=18

Also cleaning bottles: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=29

One more useful link: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=13


Maintaining a constant temp without automated temp control just takes a bit of care. Depending on where you live and what the ambient temps are at the moment, you may find outside, off the ground will maintain a reasonable 18-20 deg. If you can bring your brew inside and have a spot in the house that sits around 20 that might work too. Otherwise utilise a laundry sink. To keep a brew cooler throw in ice bricks or better - frozen juice or soft drink bottles (fill with water and freeze) Adjust as necessary. If the brew is getting too cold use warm water in the sink or buy a brew belt heater from k-mart. Alternatively just wrap the fermenter in blankets, an old doona or old towels.

Warning - the brew belt will work but the k-mart ones are generally cheap rubbish and you need to monitor to make sure the brew doesn't go into high 20s/low 30s. That means putting it on for an hour or so and checking - don't leave it on all the time. I also preferred to position mine above the liquid line so as to add gentler heat (until the thing broke and I chucked it).. The temp inside the fermenter will probably sit a couple of degrees higher than the strip indicates during more vigorous stages of fermentation.

The other tips I can offer are to be patient and try not to panic if/when your airlock doesn't bubble and check with a hydrometer to make sure fermentation is finished before bottling. Allowing the brew to sit for a few days after fermentation is complete won't harm it either. Beer flavours mature and yeast continues to work even after eating the sugar.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

G'day whypsi

Fill in your location details as it will help with answering your questions

As for temp control, dont get to fanatical about it, even us AG brewers dont to overboard. Just find a nice cool spot in your house and you will be fine

And ask lots of questions...Questions are fre, and the answers are even more free



And welcome...enjoy the ride... :excl:

 

[WHYPSI]

awesome, filled in location. thanks. i have my fermenter in my laundry and checked the temp sticker on it a couple times through the day and its been between 18 and 20. but thats empty so will probably be different when full i think?

 

[Renegade]

awesome, filled in location. thanks. i have my fermenter in my laundry and checked the temp sticker on it a couple times through the day and its been between 18 and 20. but thats empty so will probably be different when full i think?

Yes, absolutely it will be different. What you are measuring (crudely) now is the ambient temperature of the room, but when you have a barrel full of water, the overall thermal mass of liquid will not fluctuate as much as room temps. 20+ litres takes quite some time to change temps.

You're also using a very shady device to measure room temps, but let's say that your laundry really is at around 18-20, then that's great. I suggest preparing your wort at 17degrees, then pitch your yeast. the activity of yeast reproduction might bump the temp up a few degrees, but you'll still be in a good zone for beer-making.

All the best, and it sounds like you have a good room situation for brewing.

 

[WHYPSI]

Yes, absolutely it will be different. What you are measuring (crudely) now is the ambient temperature of the room, but when you have a barrel full of water, the overall thermal mass of liquid will not fluctuate as much as room temps. 20+ litres takes quite some time to change temps.

You're also using a very shady device to measure room temps, but let's say that your laundry really is at around 18-20, then that's great. I suggest preparing your wort at 17degrees, then pitch your yeast. the activity of yeast reproduction might bump the temp up a few degrees, but you'll still be in a good zone for beer-making.

All the best, and it sounds like you have a good room situation for brewing.

so 17 dregees instead of preparing at 25 degrees? im using a pale ale can and ale yeast. was also considering putting the yeast into a cup of hot water and covering with cling wrap while i mix up the rest, and then pour it in. or should i just pitch the yeast dry?

 

[buttersd70]

Fermentation is an exothermic reaction, ie it produces heat. As renegade mentioned, if you pitch just slightly under your desired temp, the activity of the yeast once fermentation starts will cause it to rise.

hot water will kill the yeast. The correct method of rehydration is given by Danstar yeasts as:

Sprinkle the yeast on the surface of 10 times its weight of clean, sterilized (boiled) water at 3035C.
Do not use wort, or distilled or reverse osmosis water, as loss in viability will result. DO NOT STIR.
Leave undisturbed for 15 minutes, then stir to suspend yeast completely, and leave it for 5 more
minutes at 3035C. Then adjust temperature to that of the wort and inoculate without delay.
Attemperate in steps at 5-minute intervals of 10C to the temperature of the wort by mixing aliquots of
wort. Do not allow attemperation to be carried out by natural heat loss. This will take too long and
could result in loss of viability or vitality.
Temperature shock, at greater than 10C, will cause formation of petite mutants leading to long-term or
incomplete fermentation and possible formation of undesirable flavours.

what is an aliquot, you may ask? Short answer is 'a little bit'. They shouldn't use such big words when a diminutive one will do. :lol:

 

[Munut]

so 17 dregees instead of preparing at 25 degrees? im using a pale ale can and ale yeast. was also considering putting the yeast into a cup of hot water and covering with cling wrap while i mix up the rest, and then pour it in. or should i just pitch the yeast dry?

You can rehydrate but make sure the water is below 30deg. Being your first brew just dry pitch, I have dry pitched most of mine without a problem.

 

[Renegade]

"Best Yeast Practice" aside, for a new brewer, simply sprinkling a measure of dry yeast particles over the surface, then sealing your fermenter, would be the best, and most straight-forward advice. Don't get too bogged down in too much information for now. The checklist for you should be:

• A Recipe (Can + Other, or "K&K", is a recipe)
• Clean Working Environment
• Sanitary (not sterilised) Gear (include barrels, taps, airlocks, hoses, bottling wand, bottles, caps)
• Temperature control

For now, I assume you'll be doing a standard can of goo + sugars (dextrose, brew-packs, whatever) and if you stay interested after your first one, this world of brewing-at-home shall unfold, and you'll soon ask questions about hop boils, grain mashes and more.

 

[thylacine]

'Early purchases should be to ensure temperature control...' eg. http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/ ; Brew Strong: Fermentation Temp Control 07-13-09 1:16:58 Jamil Zainasheff 13/07/09


FERMENTIS yeast instructions (http://www.fermentis.com/FO/pdf/HB/EN/Safale_S-04_HB.pdf)
"...Re-hydrate the dry yeast into yeast cream in a stirred vessel prior to pitching. Sprinkle the dry
yeast in 10 times its own weight of sterile water or wort at 27C 3C. Once the expected
weight of dry yeast is reconstituted into cream by this method (this takes about 15 to 30
minutes), maintain a gentle stirring for another 30 minutes. Then pitch the resultant cream into
the fermentation vessel.
Alternatively, pitch dry yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of
the wort is above 20C. Progressively sprinkle the dry yeast into the wort ensuring the yeast
covers all the surface of wort available in order to avoid clumps. Leave for 30 minutes and
then mix the wort e.g. using aeration..."

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

WHYPSI, Basically, Just sprinkle the dry yeast on top of your brew, dont worry about re-hydrating it, you dont need to.

Just make shure your full fermenter is below 20*c when you pitch the yeast. The laundry sounds like a perfect spot

 

[staggalee]

WHYPSI, Basically, Just sprinkle the dry yeast on top of your brew, dont worry about re-hydrating it, you dont need to.

Just make shure your full fermenter is below 20*c when you pitch the yeast. The laundry sounds like a perfect spot

he means ABOVE 20*

stagga.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

No...Below *20, but above 17*c...but it wont matter if it is near 20*c

 

[staggalee]

No...Below *20, but above 17*c...but it wont matter if it is near 20*c

so it has to be 18 or 19?

stagga.

 

[WHYPSI]

got it all in the fermenter. i pitched the yeast at about 24* kinda worried now.

i have a wet towel wrapped around it and a fan on it to get the temp a bit lower

 

[staggalee]

get it to 20 and it will be fine.

stagga.

 

[WHYPSI]

sweet. i also read on here to put the stick on thermometer above the water level. mine is at about midway up the level. will it make a difference?

 

[staggalee]

mid is where you want it.

stagga.

 

[Renegade]

mid is where you want it.

stagga.

So 18.5 then, father Stag ?

 

[staggalee]

That`ll be near nuff.
You`re wanted on the nothing thread, by the way.

stagga.