New Brewers... and boy, do we have questions

[euge]

I keep a gallon of Everclear on hand at all times. Very useful stuff…

[hokerer]

@1vertical

Oh and FYI, be cautious because
it is both flammable and it will Craze your acrylic racking tube or hydrometer tube making them useless.

+1, learned the hard way when I crazed a plastic bottling wand.

[kgs]

Tip for filling spray bottles with Star San: put the water in first, and then add the Star San with a measuring spoon. That way it won’t fizz up while you’re trying to fill the bottle. Be sure not to add too much Star San; don’t just pour it in, measure. I remember hearing the manufacturer of Star San on a podcast say that adding too much is as bad as adding too little.

I have gone from filling entire carboys with Star San (wasteful of both Star San and water, plus awkward) to doing a lot of spritzing or at most relying on a gallon or two of sanitizer to do the job. Before bottling, I sanitize the spigot, put it in the (clean) bucket, put a (sanitized) baggie over the spigot with a rubber band, add a gallon of Star San, and push the Star San through the (clean) autosiphon. The tubing I use to transfer the wort to the bucket becomes the tubing I attach to the bucket and the bottling wand.

I don’t use Iodophor because it stains and because I read somewhere that Star San is easier on the environment. I may be wrong on that last point, and if so, I am sure I’ll find out very quickly!

You didn’t bring up bottling (yet ) but I find a Vinator sanitizer filled with Star San (again, put the water in first) is the easiest way to sanitize bottles; I drain the bottles in a clean dishwasher. (I have a not-safe-for-forum nickname for the Vinator which other lady brewing friends find hilarious.)

[richardt]

[quote]10. Anyone use 5 gallon buckets for 5 gallon brews? Or is that bad? I have a few 5-gallon buckets, but after talking to the knuckleheads (yes, we have not been impressed by their weakly bubbling “fountain” of knowledge… and we’re newbies!) at the local brew shop, they insist that 6.5 gallon or larger vessels are the only way to do it. That being said - how much does/can the wort foam up during fermentation?
[/quote]

You need the “headspace.”  Fermentation can get quite vigorous with plenty of foaming, so give it some room.  You can reduce some of the foaming by using FermCap-S in the boil.

Brewing 5 gallon batches in 5 gallon buckets isn’t going to work well.
You don’t serve 12 ounce beers in 12 ounce glasses right up to the rim, do you?  The beer glasses are oversized for a reason.

[euge]

Headspace is a very good idea. If you want to do smaller batches a fiver is fine.

[ethanjhall]

Thanks so much for the overwhelming response. Several of you mentioned “don’t use starsan” while failing to say “use Brand X”

What is brand x and why?

You only need to clean when necessary. If you thoroughly rinse/clean after use, you’ll probably not need to clean again before you use something again.  The cleaning is to get any physical pieces of gunk off.  If there’s still physical gunk present, no amount of sanitizer will be able to do it’s job.

As for the sanitizing, starsan is great and what’ll make it seem even greater for you is that the required contact time is 30 seconds not minutes.  but give it at least a full minute to be safe.  All you need to do is wet all the surfaces with starsan, wait, and then you’re good to go.  No need to soak.

So - no physical (ie - VISIBLE) crap, and all I need to do is sanitize? And only sani for 1-2 minutes?

Before you toss that one, see if you can tell where the bubbles start.  Lots of folks mention air getting in where the tubing connects to the top of the auto-siphon.  One thing you can try is to install/tighten a hose clamp on that connection.  Alternatively, you can use one size smaller tubing.  That is, instead of the 3/8" ID tubing you’re probably using, force a piece of 5/16" onto there instead.

Nope - we threw 2 hose clamps on the top - it’s quite tight. It’s come in from the rubber gasket inside (at the base of the racking-cane-type-pump thing). I’d be happy to host a poorly photo-shopped picture if that description wasn’t good enough.

Again - we pump it 2-3 times, it’s SEAMLESS - no aeration, nothing, then about 30 secs in, it starts leaking and aerating, and there’s no stopping it.

[oscarvan]

This is what I use…

[euge]

@ethanjhall

Again - we pump it 2-3 times, it’s SEAMLESS - no aeration, nothing, then about 30 secs in, it starts leaking and aerating, and there’s no stopping it.

Again consider that it is a point of turbulence and it’s agitating CO2 out of suspension and that it isn’t aeration. Not something to worry about anyway.

[kit_b]

I don’t think anyone was really saying “don’t use StarSan”  as in giving a command or advice.
I think they were just saying that they don’t personally use it.
I use StarSan & love it.

Idophor is a good alternative.

[pawtucket_patriot]

Only one other member (Steve) addressed your question re: duration of primary fermentation, so I’ll touch on it again. It’s very important that you actually measure the gravity of your beer to determine when it’s done fermenting. And contrary to what some of the brewing literature indicates, you can leave your beer in the primary fermenter for several weeks (between 4-6, IME) with no adverse effects. Determining whether your beer is done fermenting using other metrics (e.g., a specific number of days or waiting until there is no airlock activity) is just not the best practice. Your fermentation may not even be visibly inactive within 7-10 days.  Also, just because there is little or no airlock activity doesn’t mean the beer is done fermenting. The yeast may still be “cleaning up” byproducts that could lead to off-flavors.  So, get in the habit of using your hydrometer to determine whether your beer is ready for bottling, kegging, or transferring to a secondary fermenter (although a quick forum search will demonstrate that the latter is not usually necessary and is even becoming a somewhat disfavored practice).

[ethanjhall]

(although a quick forum search will demonstrate that the latter is not usually necessary and is even becoming a somewhat disfavored practice).

I’ve been gathering that…

Thanks to everyone for the answers.

Oscarvan - you said “this is what I use…” and then nothing. Am I missing something?

Idophor - why is that preferred over StarSan? Cheaper? Faster? Better? Or, what else do people use?

Refractometers - I love technology. And getting a big sample, cooling it, etc to use the hydrometer. Pain in the ass. A refracto seems way cool.
http://morebeer.com/view_product/18739/ - This is what we’re talking about, right? There aren’t “crappy cheap ones” and “nice ones” really, are there?

Also - any good brewing podcasts that people can recommend? It’s nice to learn while driving

[oscarvan]

[quote]Oscarvan - you said “this is what I use…” and then nothing. Am I missing something?
[/quote]

Yes, the word “this” is a link (not in this post, in the previous one).

Which leads to a case in point. On the “suggestions for the forum” forum I have asked if the color/contrast of hot links can be improved…

[ethanjhall]

Awesome I would second the “greater contrast in links” request

Why do you use that instead of starsan?

[oscarvan]

@ethanjhall

Awesome I would second the “greater contrast in links” request

Why do you use that instead of starsan?

Well, that’s what the dude in the LHBS shoved in my hands when I first started, and I’m happy using it… no better reason.

[euge]

@oscarvan

@ethanjhall

Awesome I would second the “greater contrast in links” request

Why do you use that instead of starsan?

Well, that’s what the dude in the LHBS shoved in my hands when I first started, and I’m happy using it… no better reason.

I have both. Iodophor is a quick-use disposable type that is good for soaking things. It’s efficacy is short-lived, unlike Starsan which will last nearly forever if treated properly.

My experience is that I had problems when using Iodophor on my fermenters.

[oscarvan]

@euge

My experience is that I had problems when using Iodophor on my fermenters.

What kind of problems?

[kgs]

Also, as a meta-observation to OP, I once again highly recommend the Basic Brewing DVD series. They’re reasonably-priced and well-made, and a picture is worth a thousand words. Their (free) podcasts are great, too. James Spencer understands how to produce radio shows and gets right to the point in a friendly, humorous, but always “safe for work” manner.

Their new DVD for new brewers:

http://basicbrewingshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=26

[hokerer]

@ethanjhall

Refractometers - I love technology. And getting a big sample, cooling it, etc to use the hydrometer. Pain in the ass. A refracto seems way cool.
http://morebeer.com/view_product/18739/ - This is what we’re talking about, right? There aren’t “crappy cheap ones” and “nice ones” really, are there?

One thing to know about refractometers is that they’re not accurate once alcohol is present.  Measuring hot wort as you progress through the various stages is fine but, once you get things fermenting, you’ll need to use correction tables to manually adjust your refractometer readings to account for the alcohol.

[denny]

@oscarvan

@euge

My experience is that I had problems when using Iodophor on my fermenters.

What kind of problems?

In my case, I developed a persistent low level infection that iodophor couldn’t knock out.  I decided to try StarSan due to the lo pH.  It knocked out the infection and I’ve stuck with StarSan ever since, although I still use iodophor sometimes.

[euge]

@denny

@oscarvan

@euge

My experience is that I had problems when using Iodophor on my fermenters.

What kind of problems?

In my case, I developed a persistent low level infection that iodophor couldn’t knock out.  I decided to try StarSan due to the lo pH.  It knocked out the infection and I’ve stuck with StarSan ever since, although I still use iodophor sometimes.

Ditto. Problem disappeared when I went back to Starsan. Sorry baby I shouldn’t have left ya!