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Author Topic: First time Homebrewer  (Read 11671 times)

Offline bboy9000

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #30 on: March 13, 2013, 07:35:26 pm »
Dan Listermann mentioned 15 years ago that he had advised his customers to not rehydrate.  He found that too many new brewers were using too high a temp and killing the yeast.

Not trying to hijack a thread here but what temperature would you consider too high for rehydrating yeast?  I've read threads here recommending temperatures well above manufacturer's instructions.
Brian
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Offline euge

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #31 on: March 13, 2013, 08:02:55 pm »
I'd say over 110F. Usually I'll rehydrate at 95.
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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #32 on: March 13, 2013, 08:44:54 pm »
Hey Chad!
Welcome to the wonderful world of beer brewing! 
Trips to the bottle shop are now "research".
Beer festivals are now "research".
Brewery tours are now "research".
Trips abroad are now "research".
You get the idea. Have fun!

Offline majorvices

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First time Homebrewer
« Reply #33 on: March 14, 2013, 10:34:14 am »

Drink beer, try hard to taste it.  Even if it’s not yours, it’s still research for future recipes and how to make your current one better.


This has kinda become my new mantra: In art you have to be able to SEE to know how to produce great art. In brewing you have to be able to TASTE to create great beer. There's all the skills that go along with both crafts as well, but seeing and tasting are key.

Offline davidgzach

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #34 on: March 14, 2013, 12:26:37 pm »
Everything above except the not rehydrating yeast comment.  Sorry Keith!   ;)  Love this debate....

I would also go on YouTube and check out a few brewing videos.

Most of all, enjoy the process.  It's supposed to be fun!

Dave

It's fine. But try it side by side and see if you notice a difference on a beer under 1.065 - hint: you cant! ;) One of the benefits of doing 12 gallon batches in 2 different carboys was all the side by side experiments I was able to do (still do occasionally) and tried this particular one many, many times. Sometimes the rehydrated took off a little faster but I never noticed a flavor difference so had to ask myself .... what's the point? Currently occasionally use US-05 on higher gravity IIPAs and I do rehydrate for that but realistically all you have to do is pitch an extra packet to be safe.
I have done the same, sometimes you can tell, sometimes you can't.  But I think it is important that people learn best practices, they can deviate from them later when they think they know what they're doing. ;)

Except its not really a "rule". On a brick of us05 it specifically says "rehydrate or alternatively sprinkle slowly onto wort".

Is it best to rehydrate, theoretically yes. But will a new brewer who is just getting the hang of brewing and sanitation probably be better off just pitching the dry yeast and not worrying about rehydrating? IMO yes. Too many new brewers have also made the mistake of rehydrating top warm and killing the yeast.

Sorry guys, I was totally being cheeky when I posted that and busted on Keith.   ::)

I personally think it's a preference thing.  But it will continue to be a great homebrew forum debate!

Dave
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Offline hellbound

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #35 on: March 14, 2013, 12:41:13 pm »
Welcome to the obsession.
Dave
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Offline chadjjones89

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #36 on: March 15, 2013, 08:48:40 pm »
Thanks, guys! Still waiting on my brew kettle, unfortunately, but as soon as it comes in, the brewing starts. For an Irish Red, how long should I be shooting for in primary fermentation?

Also, I'm having trouble regulating the temperature in the room where I'll be fermenting- I can get it to 70, but I can't get it much lower. I'll be doing the fermentation in a spare bathroom (not trying to have any excessive messes should something go wrong), so would it be okay to keep a few inches of slightly chilled water in the tub to help regulate? I know that's a rather odd solution, but that's the best I've come up with.
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Offline euge

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #37 on: March 15, 2013, 08:57:53 pm »
Not an odd solution but very effective. You can freeze water bottles and add them to the tub.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline hellbound

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #38 on: March 15, 2013, 09:20:04 pm »
Thanks, guys! Still waiting on my brew kettle, unfortunately, but as soon as it comes in, the brewing starts. For an Irish Red, how long should I be shooting for in primary fermentation?

Fermentation times depend on the OG of the beer and what the FG is suppose to be, not the style itself, however, for an Irish Red, I'd say leave it in the primary for 3, maybe 4 weeks then bottle, should be fine. I'd wait till my FG was stable, meaning that a gravity sample read the same over a 3 day period of time, that's how you know a beer is done fermenting, after you get there, just wait another day or 2 and package.

Also, I'm having trouble regulating the temperature in the room where I'll be fermenting- I can get it to 70, but I can't get it much lower. I'll be doing the fermentation in a spare bathroom (not trying to have any excessive messes should something go wrong), so would it be okay to keep a few inches of slightly chilled water in the tub to help regulate? I know that's a rather odd solution, but that's the best I've come up with.

It's actually a great solution, it's called making a swamp cooler. just fill the tub to about an inch under the wort line, with cool water, keep a thermometer nearby, and you can add frozen water bottles to cool, or warm water to raise, just remember that ambient temps aren't the same as wort temps. During active fermentation, the wort temp could be as high as ~10 degs higher than the ambient temps.


Dave
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"Been drinking all the beer I can find since 1982"

Offline chadjjones89

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #39 on: March 16, 2013, 07:49:23 am »
Okay, guys- another question. I don't have a wort chiller, and I don't currently have the resources to make my own (I feel like I could just as easily make one as buy one), so I'm trying to find a temporary solution to that. Would it be okay to drop the temp of my wort by adding ice, or do I really need to get a wort chiller first?
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Offline dudesbrews

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #40 on: March 16, 2013, 08:32:00 am »
5 gallon batch?   If your kettle will fit in the sink give it a nice ice bath.  I keep the lid off until the temp gets under 140 degrees. Then I put the lid on, soak a towel in the ice cold water and drape it over the top. I can usually chill down to pitching temp within 45 minutes.

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Offline euge

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #41 on: March 16, 2013, 09:02:28 am »
Once you get it down to 100F or so you can drop frozen sanitized plastic bottles in to drop the wort into the 60's. Of course I use an immersion chiller to get it to 100 first, but just placing the kettle in the bath tub full of cold water and giving it a stir periodically will work in a pinch.

Also, I like to use the 16oz eco-type water bottles whose labels come off easily without a bunch of adhesive remaining on the bottles. Aquafina is my preferred brand but it my be different in your neck of the woods. ;)
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

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Offline erockrph

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #42 on: March 16, 2013, 03:30:03 pm »
I have a double sink that is mounted under the counter. If you have this layout you can do what I do. I close the drain on one side and place the kettle in it. Then I put my faucet in the basin facing the kettle and turn the cold water on. The water fills the basin and flows over to the other side to drain. Kind of works like an immersion chiller in reverse. I get 3 gallons down to pitching temp in 30-40 minutes.
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Offline Wort-H.O.G.

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #43 on: March 16, 2013, 03:43:18 pm »
Good evening, ladies and gents,

My name is Chad, and I'm going to attempt my first brew in the next couple of weeks. I've gotten the Beginner's Brewing Kit from Midwest Supplies and will be brewing the Irish Red Ale recipe. I am reading Homebrewing for Dummies (a brewer at Abita recommended it to me a few weeks ago when I visited the brewery) and a friend is bringing me How to Brew by John J. Palmer so I can brush up on the basics before I begin.

I know I'm going to have some snags along the way, but i want to cut down on those as much as possible so I can have a good product my first try. Are there any problems I should beware of or any hints you may have for a newbie? Anything at all would be super helpful.

Thanks!

This is a very nice recipe. I brewed it several times as sold, and then switched it up with Irish ale yeast. I find it comes out a bit like smithwicks.....nice roast. 65-66f worked really well for me, and finished up dry around 1.009. Good luck!
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Offline WDE97

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Re: First time Homebrewer
« Reply #44 on: March 16, 2013, 04:14:41 pm »
I have a double sink that is mounted under the counter. If you have this layout you can do what I do. I close the drain on one side and place the kettle in it. Then I put my faucet in the basin facing the kettle and turn the cold water on. The water fills the basin and flows over to the other side to drain. Kind of works like an immersion chiller in reverse. I get 3 gallons down to pitching temp in 30-40 minutes.

Just a word of caution if you go this route. I used to do this with my old sink because the divider between the basins was lower than the outer rim, allowing the water to flow into the other basin and drain out. Then I had a nice new stainless double sink installed and didn't notice that the divider was the same height as the outer rim of the sink. Uh oh! The one basin filled up and water started seeping out between the sink and countertop in addition to draining into the other basin, flooding my cabinets underneath. That's when I decided to buy an immersion chiller.  ;D
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