I just got this yeast and was expecting better directions online, but I’m not seeing any. I am brewing a Irish stout extract kit (the guy at the local brew store suggested this yeast, being a newb i went with it).
My questions are:
How long do i let the yeast warm for before brewing?
How long should I keep the primary fermenter? I assume 1 week.
Is the same temperature maintained during secondary fermentation?
I have never brewed before and don’t want my first beer to be a complete disaster.
[quote=“mppatriots”]I just got this yeast and was expecting better directions online, but I’m not seeing any. I am brewing a Irish stout extract kit (the guy at the local brew store suggested this yeast, being a newb i went with it).
My questions are:
How long do i let the yeast warm for before brewing?
How long should I keep the primary fermenter? I assume 1 week.
Is the same temperature maintained during secondary fermentation?
I have never brewed before and don’t want my first beer to be a complete disaster.
Thanks[/quote]
Here are surefire ways to prevent your first beer from being a disaster.
Be patient. Make sure you do not rush things, like…
Make a yeast starter. Take that yeast and make more yeast - research yeast starter in this forum - it is very important
Cool the wort to the very low end of the recommended range before pitching the yeast starter into the work. Do not pitch when the wort is warm. Without looking it up, probably low 60’s.
Control you fermentation temp to keep them in the low to mid 60’s. If you have not done so, research “swamp coolers” on this forum. Temp control during primary fermentation is probably the most important thing you can do to keep from making bad beer.
Forget anything you read about how long primary fermentation takes. You can never go wrong by planning on at least two weeks to allow the yeast to clean up after the main fermentation is complete. It is very hard to be that patient on your first batch, but practice this. The only real way to tell if the beer is done with primary is to take hydrometer readings several days in a row and see that the gravity is not dropping.
Practice excellent sanitation.
If you do those things and are brewing from a kit, it is nearly impossible to make bad beer.
Thanks for the info, one question though (ok a bit of a lie as I have too many questions). How long should my yeast warm up until I add it to my cooled wort?
Just let it come up to room temperature. So, however long that takes is fine. It won’t go bad waiting on the counter for an hour or so, but I doubt it will take that long.
