First brew - some basic questions!

[AlexW]

Hi All,

This is my first post on HBF and I have some quick (hopefully) questions.

I had my first brew day last weekend and chose to do a 3 gallon batch of American IPA. I got the recipe from Greg Hughes' Home Brew Beer book and scaled it down using an app I found.

a couple of questions:
1) it says 8 weeks in total, including 7 weeks conditioning, however I've read several people say that 1 week in the FV will not be enough?
2) when it comes to bottling I plan to transfer from the carboy to a bucket (with tap). Will it be sufficient to just use Star San for the bucket/ tap or should I also sanitise? Same for the bottles?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[simon12]

1 2 weeks would be a better idea
2 if its clean starsan if fine

 

[svenito]

Hi All,
1) it says 8 weeks in total, including 7 weeks conditioning, however I've read several people say that 1 week in the FV will not be enough?
2) when it comes to bottling I plan to transfer from the carboy to a bucket (with tap). Will it be sufficient to just use Star San for the bucket/ tap or should I also sanitise? Same for the bottles?
!

1) Usually 1 week or a bit over is fine in primary. Then a two weeks to condition in a bottle. That's my routine. The important thing is to wait for the primary fermentation to finish. You can tell if the gravity doesn't change. Do you have a hydrometer? If not, wait for the airlock activity to stop and give it a few more days to be sure and to let the yeast clean up a bit.

2) Star San is a sanitiser. If you bucket is clean already, then all you need is Star San. By clean I mean there's no visible dirt or residue. Give it a swirl/shake with the diluted Star San, tip it out and syphon your beer into it for bottling. No need for a rinse. As for the bottles, if they are also clean (i.e. they are new, or if used have been washed out so there's no gunk or such inside) they just need a rinse with Star San. What you can do is put some water in the bucket, add the recommended amount of Star San, then rinse the bottles in that, put them aside to drain, and then sanitise the bucket with the same solution. Less waste that way

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
Many members on this forum advocate a 2-week fermentation; this allows the yeast to chow down on all of the sugar and then go on to eat up lots of the "nasties" which are by-products of fermentation.
After that, I chill down the brew for a few days to promote settling of the sediment then rack into the bottling bucket.
The bucket and tap, the tubing and the bottles, should all be scrupulously clean - I use a sodium percarbonate-based cleaner (Wizz Oxi from B&M or Home Bargains). Once they have been cleaned and rinsed, then immerse them in Star San solution - this will sanitise them. Remember that Star San is a "no rinse" sanitiser.

 

[svenito]

Indeed, forgot to add what @Bigcol49 said. Everything that touches your beer after the boil should be clean and sanitised. As this is your first brew, you can get away with rinsing out the equipment with hot water and a soft cleaning cloth, and then Star Sanning the lot. After that I would also recommend using an oxy cleaner, after which they do need a rinse.

 

[AlexW]

Thanks all for your replies - very helpful!

 

[Richard_H]

Welcome!

In general you should always bear in mind the 2+2+2 rule (2 weeks ferment/2 weeks carb/2 weeks condition) so in roughly 6 weeks time most ales, IPA's etc should be ready (but not always at their best). 1 week is probably abit too soon in the FV to be honest, in some cases the beer is 'done' and will hit FG in that time but leave it another week for the yeast to clean up after itself and hopefully any slight funny favours on the way, in this weather most my brews have been hitting FG into the 3rd week and 2 needed 5 weeks in the FV to be done.

Star San is something i do not use but the bottles and bucket will need to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitised, i use boiling water aswell as the cleaning products to be sure

 

[terrym]

This might be of use, although its targetted first time kit brewers.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...de-to-brewing-your-own-beer-from-a-kit.57526/
Bottle when its clear or nearly clear which is usually two to three weeks, and as @Bigcol49 says crash cooling at the end will help
One to two weeks in a warm place to carb up.
Store in a place cool, try your first one after two weeks, but be aware it may need four to six weeks or even longer to reach its best.