Advice before my first 'Big' Brew...

[Leemond]

Hi all,

After brewing on a small (kit size) scale for around a year I got myself this starter kit (http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/all-grain-starter-pack-for-5-gallon-batches-p-1127.html) with money from Christmas but have a few questions before I do my first large brew...

Is there anything missing from the kit that's absolutely imperative? I do plan to get a blow off tube after a smaller brew broke free :lol:

Although I've been advised there's a lot of moisture given off when boiling, is it ok to do so inside (kitchen) if well ventilated?

Will it be ok left to ferment in my box room? I've not currently got room in my shed and am also concerned the temperature would fluctuate more outside.

As time passes I do plan to get other more sophisticated equipment and maybe dedicate a space outside (possibly a second shed) but at the moment I'm a bit limited to my kitchen and spare bedroom.

Am I mad?!

Thanks in advance :thumb:

 

[Slid]

Hi all,

After brewing on a small (kit size) scale for around a year I got myself this starter kit (http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/all-grain-starter-pack-for-5-gallon-batches-p-1127.html) with money from Christmas but have a few questions before I do my first large brew...

Is there anything missing from the kit that's absolutely imperative? I do plan to get a blow off tube after a smaller brew broke free :lol:

Although I've been advised there's a lot of moisture given off when boiling, is it ok to do so inside (kitchen) if well ventilated?

Will it be ok left to ferment in my box room? I've not currently got room in my shed and am also concerned the temperature would fluctuate more outside.

As time passes I do plan to get other more sophisticated equipment and maybe dedicate a space outside (possibly a second shed) but at the moment I'm a bit limited to my kitchen and spare bedroom.

Am I mad?!

Thanks in advance :thumb:

The stuff you really need for AG is a paddle, hydrometer and a thermometer. The rest should be scroungable from the kitchen.

Boiling in the kitchen is best done with the windows open (all of them, slightly, at least). Helps if you have an extractor fan. With this, it seems OK.

Box room temps may be OK, but if it goes down as low a 16C, fermentation might benefit from a yeast that tolerates low temps. As I never have this problem, myself, I cannot advise at first hand, but I think Nottingham is OK at low-ish temps.

If the temp in the Boxroom is either low or variable, wrapping a towel around the FV might give some protection from the fluctuations.

Other than that, it looks a good plan, Kit looks good to me - I have their BIAB stuff and it did the job.

See if you can find a HB video on U-Tube using similar kit and try to make some notes before the big day, to plan the process in little steps!

 

[Clint]

...yes,barking! Like the rest of us!

 

[Manxnorton]

...yes,barking! Like the rest of us!

Speak for yousel...I'm totally insane!! Sane! :-)

 

[rank_frank]

Looks like a nice kit. If you've got any outdoor space I'd see if you can do the boil outside. It makes life a lot less messy than doing it in the kitchen. I mash indoors using the boiler as a hot liquor tank, run off the mash tun into a fermenting bin then sparge. Then I move the boiler outside on top of a workmate and boil out there. The steam just goes up in the air and any slop from the vigorous boiling goes on the patio rather than the kitchen worktops/floors. The smell from the boil isn't to everyone's taste either and I'd rather treat the neighbours it than annoy the missus.

Your box room should be fine for fermenting. I've fermented in the kitchen and in my spare room. Both have been fine though in the colder months I'd always prefer the spare room.

Good luck with it.

 

[Leemond]

Thanks all for the advice. Should be able to put time aside in the next week or so to get brewing :thumb:

 

[Grizzly299]

If the temperature in the room fluctuates you can put the fermenter in a water bath, the water bath should stop any violent temperature swings from affecting the yeast.

 

[chewie]

A couple of things you might want to consider, the boiler has no thermostatic control, this means you will need to be pretty attentive if you use it to heat the mash or sparge water so you might want to think about aquiring something like an inkbird (which has more than one use) to allow some control that doesn't need you to be standing watching it a lot of the time. One other small problem can be with the elements that these boilers come with, some of them are prone to cutting out during the boil and quite a few on here have added a second element to not only speed up the heating process but to also act as a backup should the primary element quit.

A couple of odds and ends you might need are fittings/hose pipe to allow you to connect up the wort chiller to kitchen/outside tap or washing machine taps.

I boil in my kitchen all the time, i just park the boiler up just inside the open back door and let er rip, if you do go outside with it you will need to be keeping an eye on the weather, 230v and rain don't mix.

 

[Pawlo7671]

If it helps, i'm as mad as a box of frogs. You might want to think about doing the boil outside, I did my first AG brew using the Grainfather the other day in the kitchen and it was like a steam room by the end, other than that it really doesn't matter where you put your brew to ferment as long as temp's are right, I place my fermentor in a plastic wilko's storage box filled with water with an aquarium heater set to 19c, works a treat.

 

[Doglaner]

Gazebo.

Boil outside in a gazebo. Then rain less of an issue.

And you can get properly gazebo'd later.

 

[terrym]

If the temperature in the room fluctuates you can put the fermenter in a water bath, the water bath should stop any violent temperature swings from affecting the yeast.

Water bath details here.....
How to Set up a Water Bath for your FV - The HomeBrew Forum

 

[Leemond]

Awesome tips - thanks very much everyone :)

 

[Leemond]

Today I brewed the last of my small all grain kits before I tackle a 23litre brew next weekend. I tried to use my cool box for the mash but as I was only using 3l of water it wouldn't run out of the tap when I opened it at the end of the mash (before sparging). I'm guessing it relies on additional pressure to push the water through?? If so does that mean you're always left with 3l (or more) in the mash tun if using this method??

 

[Leemond]

Incredibly thanks to a very busy year I hadn't got around to brewing 'big' but am now back and ready to go with a pre-Christmas beer. I've read a couple of guides - huge thanks in particular to http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=314 but am looking for a bit of guidance regarding the timings etc after the brew day itself...

I know fermentation times can differ, but once it is done what's next? I've read about cold crashing and secondary conditioning but opinions seem to differ. I plan to botte my beer so should it be cold crashed for a couple of days and then brought back up to a more normal temperature before bottling? Any advice is very much appreciated.

In the meantime I am off to test all my equipment and work out my "losses" in my fermenter and mash tun...

Cheers!

 

[Leemond]

In addition to my couple of queries above, could someone please advise regarding taking samples during fermentation? I read the beer is "ready" when you get two identical hydrometer readings. I'm using a fermenter without a tap, so not sure how I'm going to get the samples without risking infection. In previous demijohn size kits I've used the guides just suggest leaving the beer for a certain amount of time - is this a safe option in terms of not ruining the beer?

Apologies for all the questions I just want to get everything right ahead of my first big batch!

 

[terrym]

You may get different answers to your questions, everyone does things differently.
The idea of crash cooling is to help drop the the yeast. It is not essential but helpful. For 'normal' beers I rack off after about 10 days, then leave it a further six days or more perhaps in conjunction with a dry hop. I believe racking off helps clear the beer but many people don't rack off they just leave it in the original FV. At racking transfer I take an SG reading and usually find its finished, but take another when I open up the FV to package. The two readings are usually the same. Leaving the beer in the FVs for 16 days or so usually means clear or nearly clear beer. Finally I have a brew fridge but don't use it to crash cool, although in the cooler weather I will put the FV in a cool place at the end for a day or two to further help it clear.
I don't bother to allow the beer to 'warm up' before packaging.
Finally I don't bother with samples I just dunk a sanitised hydrometer into the beer in the FV to take the SG reading. :-o

 

[Leemond]

Thank you for the reply. I think I will try leaving it for the 16 days or so and maybe chill it at the very end if I feel the need to. I was just concerned whether leaving it too long could be as bad as not leaving it long enough.

As my confidence (and budget) grows and I get another vessel I will try racking off... and hopefully one day dry hopping too!

I've just had a text saying my latest batch of ingredients have arrived so should be brewing next weekend! :thumb: