New to homebrew

[PhilDusty89]

First of all, hi all! I'm very new to homebrew, the mrs got me and her brother a homebrew kit for Christmas and we've finally got round to having a go. First kit was Young's Harvest Lager, that was bottled on Sunday and is currently conditioning, a day after bottling we've started Better Brew - Bandit Brew which I'm really looking forward to.

Quick question - what's the best way to use a hydrometer? On both kits I've forgotten to take an initial reading as I wasn't sure how/when to do it and I don't want to open the fermenting bucket to minimize the risk of contamination...silly move I'm sure but really don't know what to do with it

Any advice greatly appreciated!

PS, a lot of people I've spoken to seem to think homebrewing is for old men, I'm 24 and my co-brewer is 18 and we love it!

 

[Monte Cristo]

Hi Phil welcome on board, it's a myth that homebrewing is for older people we are all 24 on here, although some of us have more experience of being 24 than others.
I usually take my hydrometer reading before i pitch my yeast in, sanitise it before use then place it in the brew and give it a twist to get any bubbles off it. The instructions with your kit should indicate what the reading should be e.g. 1046, make sure when you take the reading you don't read from were the meniscus rises up the hydrometer, take it from the liquid level.
Hope this makes sense.
Happy brewing:hat:

 

[Fil]

If the Fermenting bucket has a tap on it simply draw off a trail glass full of beer for a gravity test, remembering to flush out and sanitise the tap spout as otherwise nasties could grow in there and spoil the beer as u draw it thru for 2ndary or bottle/kegging ( tattoo wash bottles or x fairy liquid bottles are good to flush out tap spouts with cleaner and sanitiser)

if no tap, a turkey baster makes a great easy to sanitise sample taker Or u can just sanitise the hydrometer and drop it in the bucket tho thats harder to read accurately ..

when cracking the lid just dont hang your head over the beer, cracking and peering in from the side is fine tho..

i gather some return a sample back to the bulk?? I never do, and either taste it or dump it.. saves having to be anal about sterility with the sample glass and hydrometer

ps if the beer isnt quite as nice as u would like when the kit instructions say its ready to drink, dont fret, just lay it down for a few more weeks :)

 

[PhilDusty89]

Cheers.

Also, what is the difference in using bottled/treated water compared to tap water?

I've used tap water on both brews, had a taste of the Young's Harvest Lager while bottling and it seemed ok, is it worth putting the extra effort in and treating it?

 

[Monte Cristo]

Cheers.

Also, what is the difference in using bottled/treated water compared to tap water?

I've used tap water on both brews, had a taste of the Young's Harvest Lager while bottling and it seemed ok, is it worth putting the extra effort in and treating it?

I always use bottled water now as i noticed that a few of my first brews had a definite homebrewed taste or tang to them, this has gone now it is something to do with the chlorine in tap water.
As you are making your own beer it is all about taste so the extra effort will make an improvement. :hat:

 

[beermaker]

Hi and welcome! I started brewing when I was 18 too, it's definitely a hobby for all ages as I'm 34 now! Without an initial hydrometer reading, you won't be able to work out the alcohol content of your brew but that's not a massive problem. Easiest way to take a reading from a bucket is to sterilise a turkey baster and take a sample using that. afterwards, you can either tip it back in or, as I prefer, drink said sample :grin:

Don't worry too much about infection, as long as you use a good quality steriliser and take a bit of common sense care you'll be ok! I brew and ferment in a shed which is shared with the lawnmower, strimmer, my lathe and other **** and is made of rotten wood and asbestos sheet and my beers turn out ok! as for the water, it's up to you really. I have a friend who lives a couple of miles away and brews with bottled as his tap water has a strong chlorine taste. I brew with bog standard tap water and have no problems with TCP flavours or off flavours. Try it both ways and see :)

Wassail!
Phil

 

[PhilDusty89]

Another quick question,

Got a batch of Better Brew - Bandit Brew on day 3 of primary fermentation and noticed that the froth (not sure if that's the correct term :wha: ) has touched the bottom of the lid. This is the first brew where I've used an airlock and a bit of the froth has gone into the bottom of the airlock - should I be worried about this contaminating the rest of the brew or seeing as everything has been sterilized do you reckon I'll be reet?

Thanks again!

 

[Fil]

just pull clean and resanitise the airlock, and repeat if it happens again..

wipe up any spills on the bucket lid it will attract wine flies/fungus gnats.

i

 

[JamesMcS]

If that keeps happening you might be better off with a blowoff tube - I made mine out of half of a 3 piece airlock and some siphon tube going into a jug of sterilising fluid