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Questions tagged [first-time-brewer]

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Questions pertaining to the caution or concerns of someone new to home-brewing.

154 questions
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1answer
76 views

Bread Kvass Safety Concerns

My first brewing experience is gonna be bread Kwass (following this recipe). Now, I browsed a bit to get some info, and I only managed to get terrified. There are three concerns that I would like you ...
4
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5answers
85 views

Stuck Mead Fermentation?

Obligatory: This is my first batch of Mead and I'm still learning the ropes. If I've made any critical mistakes, please point them out but do know: odds are, I had no idea of that particular issue. I'...
1
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2answers
79 views

Fermentation first time

I need help. First time brewing in my life and I made some mistakes as expected. This was a 1 gallon brew kit. First indication something was wrong was after pouring the wort into the 1 gallon ...
3
votes
1answer
42 views

Brewing Low ABV Lager

Good day! My question is simple, me and the wife love lager, I like a good 5% ABV but the wife is a light weight and likes a 3.5% ABV so the question is: How can I brew a nice lager (similar to ...
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1answer
24 views

What does it mean by late boil? [duplicate]

I am looking at a Christmas ale to brew and found this recipe (I am still learning to brew, so I am using malt extracts) https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/variant-of-great-lakes-christmas-ale-clone . I ...
2
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1answer
36 views

Growing edible brewers yeast?

I want to grow brewers yeast that I want to as use as supplement, get various nutrients and NAD+. Which brewers yeast strain is easiest and best to to grow for this purpose? What medium and ...
0
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1answer
38 views

Why have I got a low ABV wine problem

This was my first attempt. I followed a recipe for jam wine in CJJ Berry's book. Did exactly what he said. Temperature between 26°C-28°C on the heat strip. Used Lalvin K1-V1116. Start OG 1.090, final ...
4
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2answers
79 views

Lack of sweetness and carbonation

I'm a novice apple cider brewer and my first batch yielded a brew that tasted like white wine, very dry and virtually no carbonation. During fermentation, I saw bubbling for about 5 days, but I left ...
4
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1answer
73 views

Messed up West Coast IPA recipe, could dryhopping make it good?

My first batch, I followed a recipe using malt extract to create a West Cost IPA. The wording of the recipe made me invert the Hop additions... [Edit] Instead of: 2oz of Centinennial at 0mins left ...
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2answers
88 views

Brewing with tamarinds

For reference: tamarind. I recently saw this fruit at the store today and thought it smelled interesting so I investigated. I've decided to brew my very first batch of beer as a tamarind saison as a ...
0
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1answer
50 views

Total Yeast Cell Count

I will give two examples of yeast cell count. First one is 0.34 B cells/ml in 6 liters of wort starter with just a few amount of slurry cake. 2nd one is 1.46 B cells/ml in 1 liter of starter including ...
3
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2answers
58 views

Fermentation container leaking carbon dioxide

I've just finished preparing my first fermented drink ever (Kvass) and I used a Mason jar to store the preparation during the 2 days of the fermentation process as advised by the various guides I ...
4
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1answer
76 views

How much sugar to real apple ratio?

So I was going to try an apple cider up to around 12%. So how much sugar will I get roughly per apple and how much additional sugar should I add. The apples are a small granny smith kind. Currently I ...
3
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2answers
696 views

Any food alternatives you can use to brewers yeast nutrient?

It would be a week or till I can get some brewers nutrient is there any food substitute I can use, apples, rice, sweetcorn, apple juice, tomato paste etc?
1
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1answer
68 views

Can I use Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate ('Sterilising Tablets') to clean vessel/equipment?

I have some old tablets what say Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate and 'Sterilising Tablets' on them and am wondering if these when diluted will be suitable to clean vessel/equipment before brewing?
1
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1answer
88 views

First batch result [closed]

I'm know enjoying my first batch of beer. I think, it will be some kinda use for those who are hesitating to start their brew or still researching. I did quite much research before i did brew. ...
2
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3answers
111 views

First time extract brewing with little resources

Where I live we only get some of Coopers international extracts, but none of the brew enhancers or dry malt extracts that I've seen in most of the recipies. Will I get good results if I don't add any ...
2
votes
2answers
135 views

Can I over-filter my beer?

I'm going to dry hop my very first IPA (without a bag) and I've read that when bottling I will need to put some kind of filtering cloth on the end of the racking cane to prevent hops sediment from ...
1
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1answer
172 views

Swapping Omega Belgian A with Omega Abbey Ale C

I’m still early in my homebrew education, and am trying a couple new Northern Brewer kits. I recently bought a kit for a Dubbel that suggested the Omega Belgian A yeast, but I accidentally purchased ...
1
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1answer
486 views

Mead: is it time to bottling?

I have a few questions. I'm making mead for the first time. My mead is now brewing for 2 months (since 11th august), but I'm not sure if it's time to bottle it. That's because it is still sparking. I ...
0
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1answer
72 views

Instead of Hop can only Ginger or Orange Peel be used for brewing Pure Wheat Beer?

I want to brew my first batch of pure wheat beer. But instead of Hop I want to use either dried orange peel or freshly grated ginger. Kindly suggest what to use and in what quantity should I use and ...
0
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2answers
345 views

stirring or degassing wine

If I stir my wine after the first racking, won't that stir up all that sediment? Will that give the wine a bad taste and will it reduce the ABV? I don't want to do either one. Obviously this is my ...
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3answers
186 views

Step by Step homebrewing from extract - need verification and clarification

I am sorry for the long thread, but I am digging the net for few days now and did not find such a "tutorial", so I will built my own and want to share it. I will be happy you comment/correct me, and I ...
3
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3answers
157 views

Helping a first timer!

I'm hopefully about to make my first batch of sparkling slightly sweet cider. I have read all sorts of advice about reducing/increase tannin, stabilising and other scientific stuff. I want to keep it ...
2
votes
2answers
208 views

How strong you can brew a beer using Brubox kit?

There is a BrüBox which allows you to brew your own craft beer at home. What's the estimated alcohol percentage you can achieve by using the provided equipment and following the instructions from the ...
0
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2answers
54 views

Where (from Europe) to get a decent kit to start all-grain brewing?

I've been searching for a kit to start all-grain brewing, but seem to find nothing from Europe. My lack of knowledge might have something to do with this.
4
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1answer
95 views

Do I need the dregs from primary fermentation for carbonation?

I'm currently making my first homebrew - a ginger beer using this kit and recipe. It's finished primary fermentation (hopefully, the cold weather has me concerned), and I've just bottled it for ...
5
votes
3answers
171 views

What are the essential data one should collect when brewing beer?

guys, I just started homebrewing and I want to know what are the essential data one should collect when brewing beer other than hop schedules and gravities. What additional statistics do you suggest I ...
2
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3answers
124 views

Steps to take as a first timer brewery

Hello am all new in this industry, i just bought the brewing kit ,your help will be much appreciated.what are the first steps you take when brewing a beer
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2answers
1k views

What are the stages of Fermentation?

How do you know when a beer is done fermentation and how long does it take before bottling it?
5
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6answers
182 views

Recipe websites catering to beginners?

I'm brand new to brewing, but I've been wanting to do it for a while. I've seen some videos. Seems that, like cooking, recipes are key at the beginning until one gains enough experience to experiment. ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views

Can I mix two yeasts to add different flavours when I make beer?

This is my first post so I hope I haven't asked anything silly. Can I mix a high alcohol (attenuation?) yeast (for low final sugar and specific gravity) and a yeast that produces more "fruity esters" (...
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4answers
1k views

I didn't know I had to take a reading before fermentation. I crushed my own fruit so no kit to use for calculation

This is my first time brewing and I didn't know that I had to take an initial reading prior to fermentation. I used my own apples to make cider. Can I still get an estimate on alcohol content? I ...
5
votes
5answers
451 views

Should I boil water before adding it to the cooled wort?

Given the importance of sanitation, particularly after the boil, should I boil water before adding it to the cooled wort to bring the volume up to 5 Gal? Tap water is of good quality and tastes good.
1
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2answers
229 views

My OG is 1.030 and I'm only at 4 gallons?

I topped off at 4 gallons rather than 5. Am I wrong for thinking this is low despite not adding more water? I'm now a day after fermentation began. I plan to do a secondary fermentation. How much ...
2
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1answer
57 views

Re-adding yeast after a blow off

I am a first time shiner. I had a blow-off this morning, I'm making shine. I use a plastic bucket with a screw-on air tight lid and an airlock. The pressure blew the screw-on lid off. After cleaning ...
0
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1answer
90 views

Not enough yeast for a 20 Litre batch?

Gday! :) So i have just purchased the coopers real ale malt concentrate as well as a kilo of light malt. I started with 2 litre's of boiled water in my fermentor (after sanitising it with no rinse ...
3
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3answers
6k views

Can you use nutritional Brewer yeast in the beer making process?

This may be a Stupid question, and since I am new to brewing beer I might have some more of these questions coming in later. My wife for some reason bought Brewer yeast, I am curious if this can be ...
3
votes
2answers
160 views

Can any LME be used for Mr. Beer kits or is it suggested to only use theirs?

I'm looking for alternative LME providers to use with my 6 gallon Mr. Beer kit. Coopers LME selection is decent, but I was wondering if anyone has used other brands of LME before with Mr. Beer. If so, ...
2
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2answers
170 views

[CIDER]: Can a 5L plastic bottle be used as fermenter?

Can a 5L plastic bottle be used as fermenter for the first days of fermentation? I'm looking then to transfer the juice to a 2L glass demijohn for the rest of fermentation.
2
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2answers
522 views

Gas in first ferment

I'm brand new to home brewing and have bought a starter kit and a box of Norfolk Wherry. We are 1 day into our 6 day first ferment, and this morning my fermenting tub was whistling because there was ...
2
votes
5answers
388 views

How can I brew lager at room temperature?

I would like to try to make lager at room temperature (around 30 C). I plan to reduce yeast and fermentation in 2 weeks in order to avoid the off favor and fusel alcohol in beer. Can I do this by ...
3
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3answers
336 views

Off Flavors in all of my Homebrewing attempts

I'm pretty new to the homebrewing world, and so far I've done three 5 gallon batches. The first was a prebuilt kit (Pale Ale), the second was a recipe I concocted (IPA), and the third was a recipe I ...
3
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5answers
3k views

How to remove sediment?

So I did my first ever beer and it was to be a hoppy Saison (3724 combined with Amarillo, Centennial and Cascade). I had tons of stuff going wrong while boiling, even not managing to temperature crash ...
0
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1answer
69 views

How quickly will bread yeast take to create an ethanol concentration of…?

How quickly will bread yeast take to create and ethanol concentration of ~15%~,~10% and ~5%~ in at 30°C.I believe bread yeast is designed to rapidly fement(at first at least) but is not that ethanol ...
1
vote
1answer
77 views

Help needed with recipe translation

I'm making the move from brewing all-grain kits to a "full fledged" recipe Weizen. However, I'm having trouble with some of the details: namely quantities and sparging. Some background: I've been ...
1
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3answers
587 views

How representative is the taste of cider after primary fermentation?

I'm brewing a Wilko Pear cider kit. The method was to empty the can of juice into the FV and add 1.5kg of brewing sugar and enough water to bring it up to 23L. I started it off just under 3 weeks ago ...
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4answers
50 views

First brew question

I've moved the brew into a casket after the initial 4 days after seeing that the overall yeast had nearly stopped working. The cask is pressurized as expected from the CO2 (now @10 days). However I ...
10
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7answers
1k views

Good homebrewing podcasts?

Does any one have suggestions on podcasts about homebrewing? Preferably a short excerpt about what topics they bring up. Thank you.
2
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2answers
262 views

Struggling with acetaldehyde

I recently started brewing and have completed three batches so far (Amber/Pale Ale). However, each batch seems to have that distinct green apple flavor to it. It's gone down a bit with each batch but ...

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