new to brewing

I hear ya Nighthawk, I just posted a rant about NB’s instructions in this post:

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=114602#p1003400

The OP brewed the 115th Dream IPA, the OG is 1.087 and the instructions state 1-2 weeks in the primary then transfer to secondary fermenter. If he got his starter kit from NB he won’t have a hydrometer, had he not asked about it on the forum, he likely would have transferred way too early, possibly ruining a $60 batch of beer.

Nighthawk - I agree that it is nice that we have have this conversation in a civilized manner. :cheers:

[quote=“Nighthawk”]560sdl and Glug, thanks for participating in this intellectual stimulating conversation.

If we look at the average instruction of a NB kit … I’m sure they are the same instructions that one would get in a Brewers Best kit that many small HBS carry. That is what my LHBS carries.

Chill wort to at least 78*. Check, Mastered that. - OK - which of the 25 different ways to accomplish this did you settle on? How many ways did you try first? Do you still pitch at 78* or did you decide the instructions are wrong?

Fermentation temp: 65-75. I keep my house at 72* in the summer. Check, Mastered that. Still use 72*? Or did you learn that there was a better temp to ferment most ales

I’ve cleaned and sanitized everything before transferring things. Check, Mastered that. OK, but do you realize that most equipment kits come with One Step as a cleaner/sanitizer? Is this ok for sanitizing?

I’ve now mastered all the procedures the the instructions give me. Done deal. It only took me 1 brew to master the process of making beer. I brew to master the process? Perhaps the difference is our definition of “mastering”

Months ( years? ) down the road while cruising the information super highway I stumble upon the NB message board.

I realize that I need to allow more time for the smack pack to inflate. Or even make a starter. Check, Mastered that. Agree that it is not difficult, but how many questions appear here about starters from people that have not mastered this on the first try?

I read that the temp to pitch the yeast should be the fermentation temp. AND that fermentation generates heat. New fermentation temp low 60’s. Swamp Coolers! Check, Mastered that. See above…I now that personally I tried 3 or 4 different ways to control temps until I found MY solution. It probably takes several batches just to zone in on getting swamp coolers right before it is mastered

This has taken me 1 brew to master. It may have taken me 5 years to stumble upon the information. But it takes zero time, once you have the information in hand, to implement it. This is where I cannot disagree more. If you tell a first time brewer to use a swamp cooler to control temps, will he get it just right and master it on the first try? Maybe, maybe not.

It’s the same thought process with AG brewing. Through out time it was given that you either needed a false bottom or a copper manifold. Someone came up with this crazy idea, Denny’s been the big preacher on it, that you can use the SS braid off of a water line. Blasphemy! [color=#0000FF]Right. I cannot tell you how much time I spent trying to research false bottoms, mash tuns, and cooler modifications before I pulled the trigger. I am so glad I went with Denny’s method, but how many people just buy the round coolers with false bottoms and have issues with them because they did not do the research?
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If I’m missing something on how long it takes a person of average intelligence {I consider myself to be average, possibly below :wink: } to nail down and perfect a process, once he is given proper information, please help me. Well I think you are missing something. Do you play guitar? Some other skill based hobby? Standard thinking is that it takes 10,000 hours to MASTER a skill. So for you to master all these issues the first time you try them does make you rather exceptional :wink:

I know 2 guy that brew extract beers. Both have been brewing for 10 years or more and have zero urge to move to AG. They both make fantastic beers. I don’t think either uses any temp control during fermentation. But they do have cold basements for ferment in. So I’m not and will not knock extract brewer. Was that the issue? I thought the issue was the recommendation to get the basic processes down before making the jump to all grain. There is a recent post from someone that wanted detail instructions for all grain brewing when he orders a NB all grain kit. I think that together we have demonstrated that there are probably 100’s of variables of ways to do this process. My ONLY recommendation was to reduce at least 50% of those variables by brewing with extract to get YOUR basic brewing (equipment, yeast, boil method, starters, pitch temps, ferm temps, sanitation, transfer, bottling/carbonation) steps down first before throwing in all of the All Grain variables and options. And I say this because I made really good beer using extracts after I got my processes down. After two years and many batches, I have not had a dumper, or even close, yet[/quote]