Expert: John Snyder - 12/25/2010

Question
Hey Mr. Snyder,

    I talked my girlfriend into getting me a Home brew kit for Christmas and my buddy and I just performed our first wort boil. I couldn't be more excited to see how it turns out, but I can't help but pace by the fermenting bucket with anxiety that it something might have gone wrong and its going to fail. I have read all over the internet and a couple of the little books that came with the kit and it seems that there are no definite answers anywhere! One guy says one thing and someone says another. (Even the guys at the brew store) I just want to know what the real deal is and hope that you can help me out.

Is it really this hyper-intensive as far as contamination? I have seen everywhere that the number one thing is sterilization and I admit that is the one thing people agree on, but to what degree? We put our wort in the fermenting bucket that was submerged in our sink with ice water and we then added the other 2.5 gallons of room temp distilled water. We put 15 minutes on the oven timer and watched the thermometer eagerly. Fourteen minutes go by and the thermometer reads 110 degrees Fahrenheit. We started to freak out because we heard all these different numbers you had to cool it by and we were shooting for 70 degrees! so all we could do was wait and it ended up taking 55 minutes to drop to 84 degrees when we added the yeast. So that worried us. I checked back 10 hours later and the fermenting bucket was bubbling so I figured that was a good sign. I checked back 24 hours later and the water in the little stopper was brown and foaming at the top from bubbling so much. Some even spilled out. What does that mean?? I read that some people have taken it out to clean and its usually fine after but others say leave it be for at least 3 weeks? I planned on using the auto-siphon to transfer it to the glass carboy to let it ferment there for another 2 weeks before priming and bottling but I dunno if thats the right thing to do? Should I just scratch it and start a new batch tomorrow? Is it as sensitive as everyone makes it seem or is there room for improvising? Whats the real answer?

Thanks,
Ryan

Answer
Congratulation's.I'm sure you will enjoy Homebrewing.

Let me start by saying,continue with the batch you are now making,keeping notes.This will give you a good insight on what worked,and what didn't

That's quite a list of questions.I will list some things,below,that should help,answer your questions.If all have not been answered,please follow up with me.

1----sanitation and sterilization are different:sanitation is the cleaning of equipment,and sterilization,is killing possible bacteria,before it comes in contact with the beer

2---Boiled wort should be cooled as fast as possible,as the wort is a sugar solution,and perfect for bacteria growth

3---Wort temperature should be no higher,than 70-75 F,when adding yeast,as yeast cells will start dying off,above that temperature

4---while adding yeast shake,or stir the wort,so that it gets some aeration,yeast needs air to start the fermentation process

5---during the first 24 to 48 hours of fermentation,don't let the wort temperature drop,more than 3 degrees F,the yeast could fall out of the wort

6---don't clean the lock,as long as it is working;taking it out to clean would introduce air into your fermenter,which isn't good,possbile infection later in the process

7---Transferring to another carboy is excellent.Don't stir up any sediment in the bottom of the vessel you are transferring,you want to leave that behind

8---keep air pickup at a minimum,during movement of the beer.

9---normal start of fermentation ranges from 8 to 24 hours after yeast addition,depending on wort temperature,at time yeast was added

10---primarty fermentation time to completion 4 to 7 days,again temperature related.