First time making beer / wine. Hope it works.

[21incher]

A couple of weeks ago my sister gave me a beer making kit for my birthday and today I got started


 
It was a complete kit that contains all the stuff you need to make beer.


 
She also got a couple of complete kits with all the ingredients to make the beer. I chose the pale ale because it is a top fermenter that ferments at about 70 degrees. So today I spent the morning sanitizing everything, reading the instructions and boiling up my first 5 gallon batch.


 
Here it is after cooling, transferring to the fermenter, and adding yeast this morning. Right now it is starting to bubble like crazy and in a couple of weeks I should be bottling it. It said to place it in a dark place with constant temp so I placed it in my den next to my computer desk and now am thinking it was a mistake because it is starting to smell like a brewery now. Looking for a few brave souls to test it when done. 8) 8)

[hackberry jake]

A friend of mine used to be pretty big into brewing his own beer. His beer was always excellent! I liked his homemade porter the best. I would sure test it for you if you were closer!

[sawguy21]

Don't cap too soon or you will have a real mess to clean up. My dad's buddy found that out the hard way. Mama put an end to his brewing career. :D

[21incher]

Don't cap too soon or you will have a real mess to clean up. My dad's buddy found that out the hard way. Mama put an end to his brewing career. :D

They warn you about that in the instructions. They also say wear safety goggles when opening your first batches. I guess it must be a mistake many beginners make.
Anybody know how tough it is to grow hops?

[Raider Bill]

I like pale ale send me a sample or 6 ;)

[LeeB]

I'd be willing to try it. Send me a bottle also. The one you're making it in looks about the right size.  :D

[LeeB]

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,58183.20.html

[Magicman]

that ferments at about 70 degrees. 

You would never find 70° here!   :D

[21incher]

that ferments at about 70 degrees. 

You would never find 70° here!   :D

Dig down 4 feet in the ground and it should be about 70. May have to turn the AC on the next couple of days to keep it from overheating with temps in the 80's moving in later this week.

[thecfarm]

Hops are easy to grow. The wife has 4-5 plants. No not for beer,just for the looks of the plant. She planted them,I maintain them. They do need a trellis to climb on. I have some 12 foot long cow panels that will be replacing the baling twine. Also you might want to look up a beer forum. Not all hops make good beer,it's all in the taste. Kinda like a WM,Baker,Hudson, sawmill. Some like one kind over another.

[Banjo picker]

I make a little beer from time to time... need to put up a batch soon.

 
Keeping a constant temp. is important... I bought a little device from amazon for less than 25 bucks and wired it up.. set the temp I want... if it gets too hot the freezer cools it down... if it gets too cold the little heater warms it up.  Banjo

[21incher]

That looks like a great setup Banjo picker. What do they call the device you installed? Do you know if it will work with a refrigerator also? After reading more on line I think I may have messed it up because the instructions did not say to boil the tap water I added to the wort to make 5 gallons, but I found posts online that say you must boil it first. Time will tell.

[Delawhere Jack]

You're going to want to put a catch pan under the carboy. A vigorous fermentation will send foam up through the airlock and down the side of the carboy.

[21incher]

You're going to want to put a catch pan under the carboy. A vigorous fermentation will send foam up through the airlock and down the side of the carboy.

It did get pretty vigorous for about 24 hours and had me a little worried. I placed a towel around the carboy, but now it has basically stopped fermenting and only blowing off the airlock about once a minute so I think the worst is over. Next time I will follow your recommendation and place it in a plastic tub to be safe. Thanks.
I guess I will have to start checking the specific gravity soon to see if it really is done.

[21incher]

Hops are easy to grow. The wife has 4-5 plants. No not for beer,just for the looks of the plant. She planted them,I maintain them. They do need a trellis to climb on. I have some 12 foot long cow panels that will be replacing the baling twine. Also you might want to look up a beer forum. Not all hops make good beer,it's all in the taste. Kinda like a WM,Baker,Hudson, sawmill. Some like one kind over another.

I guess if they will grow in Maine they should grow at my house. Are 12 foot tall trellises tall enough for them? Your cattle panel idea sounds like it would be sturdy and long lasting. I read you should put up 20' tall poles with rope hanging down to support them which doesn't seem like it would last that long.

[thecfarm]

20 foot would be better,if doing it for beer. Hers grow up to the top of the horse run in and than the support runs out and then tops fall over. Japanese beetles like them too. They take about 3 years to really get going too.

[Banjo picker]

The device will work fine on a fridge....it is called a stc-1000.  Its a microcomputer temperature controller....you can google it and see how to wire it up... I'll try to get a pic. if I can remember how...It works good, holds the temp to within about a degree or so....Banjo

[Banjo picker]

 

  

 

Thought I would get a pict. of my wort. chiller as well while I was at it.  Ales are pretty forgiving .... you should be fine.  Give it time to age after you get it bottled.  Keep every thing as clean as you can.  enjoy....   Banjo

[21incher]

Thanks Banjo picker. I just ordered one to play with from Amazon for $16.48 with free shipping. I was also looking for a device like this to control opening and closing the vents and turning on and off the fan in my root cellar to keep it from freezing in the winter so the first one will be for that. Just going to have to get used to converting to degrees Celsius. In the meantime I will look for a used freezer like yours to setup for beer. Did you use external relays to protect the built in relays? For chilling the wort I was thinking about making a belt to wrap around the pot with several thermoelectric modules that would pull the heat away. My first batch will probably taste somewhat like beer, but hopefully the next ones will taste like good beer.

[Banjo picker]

Not really sure what you are asking about the relays.  If it is concern about the compressor kicking on an off with out sufficient time in between the cycles, you can remedy this by having a larger control range....but I use .5 Celsius and haven't burned out the freezer yet.  Your post motivated me to put up a batch yesterday evening.   

     I took the pic this morning, as you can see its already doing its thing.  I use what is called the better bottles....made for beer making.  not as classy as the glass ones, but I would hate to think about dropping a glass carboy.  I did have a glich yesterday evening , the pump I reculate the ice water in the wort chiller would not come on...I didn't find that out till I was ready to cool it off....just set it in the cooler of ice water....took a little longer...keep us posted on your progress...  Banjo

[LeeB]

I use the better bottles carboys for wine making also. 1/3 the price and not nearly as heavy as the glass carboys.

[21incher]

Banjo picker I was talking about the internal contact rating of the STC-1000 is 10 amps max according to the specs and my fridge draws 15 amps at compressor startup  and requires a 20 amp breaker so I was thinking about adding a external 20 amp relay to be safe. I got the shipping notice from Amazon and it shipped yesterday but delivery is not expected until Sept 28 - Oct 6 so I guess it is coming by boat from China. My batch looked like your new batch for about 3 days, now the foam is gone and there are mustard colored chunks floating on the top bubbling. I hope they sink soon as they don't look to appetizing. Thanks for the info on the plastic carboys as I am getting ready to buy a 3 gallon one to try making a small batch of hard apple cider next.

[Banjo picker]

To be honest, I didn't even check the amp rating for the device, but the freezer is well under 10 amps anyway.  My bottles are 6 1/2 gallons, that way I don't have to be as concerned about bubble over....My mom use to make wine, but I prefer beer.  Banjo

[21incher]

Today was the big day


 
Took over the laundry room to bottle my first batch. Everything is sanitized and ready to go.


 
Transferred the beer to the bottling tub and then primed it with sugar


 
I filled 48 bottles with a great tasting, but flat beer. Now just have to wait 3 weeks to carbonate. Looks like it is only 3% alcohol from the hydrometer readings, but at least it tastes good.  ;D

[LeeB]

It should pick up a little more percentage from the additional sugar.