[goudron]

I spent yesterday brewing my first kit, Brewer's Best Red Ale.  I boiled for longer than intended as I was waiting for the hot break, but never saw it after 20 minutes, so I just added hops.  Never looked like I was going to boil over (didn't use the lid so I guess that helps).

After getting it into the fermentor, and equilibrated, the temp showing on the themometer on the side of the pail is only about 57F.  I noticed a bubble on the airlock at lunch time - around 16 hours after pitching.  Now it's 21 hours after pitching, and there's a bubble about evry 15 seconds.  Seems slower than I expected.  Should I move it out of the basement to an upstairs closet, or just let it go slow like this?

Also, I used distilled water for this, and following instructions in John Palmer's "How to Brew" I preboiled the first 3 gallons.  I could not just let that 3 gallons sit in the fermentor, it needed cooling, and I actually just got it down to 70 F by the time I finished my boil.  I think next time I will preboil the night before.  Does everyone preboil the extra water not in the wort?

[morticaixavier]

Welcome to wonderful world of homebrewing! Don't worry about the hot break. it will happen, start your timer when the wort starts to boil. Good call on not using a lid, don't put a lid on the boil (you can use a lid to speed up getting to the boil but boil uncovered) the idea behind preboiling the top off water is to sanitize it, if you are using bottled Distilled water you don't have to worry to much but if you want to boil the night before that is fine to.

don't get too hung up on bubbles in the airlock. there is plenty going on in there regardless. 57 is a little cool to pitch but not bad. I imagine if you look at the thermo on the fermenter now you will see it's up a bit from that temp, maybe 62 or so. you are going to get a nice clean beer at that temp.

you have already avoided one of the biggest mistakes new brewers make which is pitching too warm. That being said you may want to move it to a warmer place to finish up in a day or two. just don't let it get much above 70.

patience and in a few weeks you will be enjoying your very own beer.

[euge]

When I top up it's just RO water that's unboiled. I don't worry about it. Others do. Up to you how you want to look at it.

Congrats on the first batch! It'll warm up as the yeast start munching.

[goudron]

Thanks, come to think of it it seems sort of silly boiling boiled water

I actually pitched when it was around 65, but the basement floor is colder than on the table I guess.  I'd measured ambient temp at 61 on the table, and beneath it the fermentor is now at 57 - the thermometer is thinking about showing 59, but it isn't all the way there.  If I move it up here, it will be in a closet of cupvoard, and those are likely going to be no warmer than 65.

[bigchicken]

I've brewed that kit myself. I think you'll like the results. It finished a little low on the ABV if I recall correctly, but it went fast. As far as top off water, I never boil it. I should say that I do use a culligan filter setup for all my drinking and brewing water.

[anje]

Thanks, come to think of it it seems sort of silly boiling boiled water

Not too silly.  Who knows how clean those jugs were when the cooled distilled water was put in them.  While it's unlikely that they were disgustingly germy, there isn't any reason that they'll be sterilized either.  I trust it more than I trust whatever's coming out of my pipes, though.

[goudron]

Update: fermentor temperature remains between 57 and 59.  It did start bubbling faster, and it has mostly run its course I think.  I put a blanket over it last night, but temp didn't change.  I used Danstar Lallemand Nottingham yeast, and according to the PDS http://www.danstaryeast.com/sites/default/files/nottingham_datasheet.pdf it works down to 57F.  I was going to bottle after 20 or 21 days, but I may need to take a week or so business trip before then, so I guess I will bottle sooner.

My question is, is there benefit in checking SG at any time before my bottling date?  I'd prefer to keep the fermentor closed up until I need to bottle.

[tschmidlin]

My question is, is there benefit in checking SG at any time before my bottling date?  I'd prefer to keep the fermentor closed up until I need to bottle.

Open it and measure...it's no big deal.  I've done it for years using a sanitized turkey baster.  As I've often said, if you can't take a gravity sample without screwing up your beer, maybe you should consider taking up knitting for a hobby! 

What if you get to your bottling date and it's not done?  Open it up.  Check the gravity.  RDWHAHB.

[zorch]

I was going to bottle after 20 or 21 days, but I may need to take a week or so business trip before then, so I guess I will bottle sooner.

My question is, is there benefit in checking SG at any time before my bottling date?  I'd prefer to keep the fermentor closed up until I need to bottle.

Never let some artificial date or deadline dictate when you bottle.  You run the risk of bottling before it's actually finished, which can lead to over-carbonation and bottle bombs.

The only way to tell whether it's done is by taking a succession of SG readings.   Don't trust what the kit instructions tell you it should finish at...  Chances are very good that you will not hit that number exactly.   If you take two reading 4 days apart, and it hasn't changed, then you know it's done.

Letting the beer sit on the yeast for a month or more is really not that big of a deal.  Especially at the cool temperatures you are working with.

If I were you, I'd take a reading before you leave on your trip, and take another after you get back.   And if they are the same, you are good to go.  But don't try and rush it...  Exploding bottles can seriously harm you.

[a10t2]

I'm assuming this is an extract kit, in which case the maltster would have precipitated the hot break during the boil and you shouldn't expect to see much, if any.

Nottingham does pretty well with cool temperatures, but I'd get it up into the 65-70°F range ASAP to make sure it finishes out. Realistically, though, the beer has probably already been at FG for a few days. Temperature control is really only critical for the first day or two, and it's common to warm the fermenter up after that to get the beer finished faster.

When I'm doing a concentrated boil, I like to boil and freeze the top-off water ahead of time. That way you can chill the wort at the same time and kill two birds with one stone.

[goudron]

Ok, I won't get into the quest for the mythical turkey baster bulb (just know it involved getting a new turkey baster and some electrical tape).  OG was 1.048 at 70F(range was 1.048-1.052 for the kit)  After 9 days it is at 1.016 at 62F (kit says FG should be 11 to 15, but I will see where it goes).  I'd have let it warm back up to 70 but I drank it too quickly.

It does not taste bad, in fact I think I could drink up a couple of bottles worth right now, but maybe that's just pride.  I think it could use something else, something maybe besides carbonation and a little more AC.  I don't know enough about description of taste to describe it better.  I'm not going to dry hop or add fruit or anything, I will just let it sit and see how it turns out.

I have another week and a half before I leave for a week or so, so I can take another couple of SG's.  There are two schools of thought in this string: let it sit until after I return, possibly allowing for a full 31 days in the fermentor at 58-59F.  OR heat it up and bottle before I go.

Is 31 days in the fermentor going to be safe?  Is there much risk of exploding bottles given the current SG - I suppose this will be more obvious after a second or third reading.

Thanks again for all the help!

[a10t2]

Take another reading in a few days and if it's still at 1.016 you can go ahead and bottle. That's a totally reasonable FG, especially if this is an extract beer.

[tschmidlin]

Take another reading in a few days and if it's still at 1.016 you can go ahead and bottle. That's a totally reasonable FG, especially if this is an extract beer.

Exactly.

But if you decide to wait, 31 days in primary is totally harmless for a beer in the low 60's high 50's.

[goudron]

It's good to have options!

[morticaixavier]

Is there much risk of exploding bottles given the current SG - I suppose this will be more obvious after a second or third reading.

Thanks again for all the help!

well look at it this way, enough corn sugar to carb 5 gallons of beer is ~4-5 ounces. this translates to a a gravity of 1.003 so if you add 4-5 oz corn sugar to carb and there is still 1.003 of attenuation to be completed just on the sugars already in the beer you have doubled your carbonation level from a sane and safe 2.4ish volumes to a worrisome 4.8ish. exploding bottles really suck. even if no injuries occur there is the mess to consider.