Starting back up , have questions

I had a beer sit for 4 weeks in primary and it still dropped a few points in the bottle. Turned out I way under pitched. Such is life.

 

Yes, metal pot should be fine. I have used both wood and plastic, as long as they are clean.

Normally I would suggest that you get a starter set from a local homebrew shop, as in the future they are great resource for learning normally, but in the coronavirus times we live, you might have to do an online supplier like: RiteBrew, Morebeer, Northern Brewer.

Personally I would do an extract or two to get back into the swing, then I switched to Brew in a Bag process, it is all grain but not as much equipment needed. Look up BIAB.

I use 12 oz bottle(NOT twist tops), I wouldn't do bleach anymore. I personally wash with a "OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover ", with no dye or perfume. Then I sanitize(Most important) with Starsan sanitizer or Iodine.

I personally use the online forum: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/

Feel free to send me a private conversation as well.

Dean

 

How close are you to the MD / DE border? I'm only minutes away, and How Do You Brew in DE is doing curbside pick-up.I like to frequent them instead of going on-line unless I have to,

 

I used to live in West Philly and used both Keystone and Home Sweet Homebrew. Even though it was more of a drive, I preferred Keystone. I could only spend a couple of minutes in Home Sweet Homebrew before I needed to get out, due to being allergic to cats. Some more pros for Keystone:
Less claustrophobic
They didn't repackage hops, they were always in the original packaging (so less degridation)
Dry yeast stored refrigerated, instead of room temp
They carried the English malts that I liked
Didn't have to park on the street and worry about the PPA!

 

As already mentioned, keep an eye on Craigslist. I occasionally see ads for bottles that are very cheap and sometimes free to a good home.

 

Don't be shy in asking friends,family and neighbors to save their bottles for you instead of throwing them in the recycling bin. If there are environmentally conscious people they should appreciate that the bottles are being reused instead of being crushed up and being used for fill.

Cheers!

 

Philly Homebrew Outlet is also an option. They've got a few locations now. When I lived there, they were only in a warehouse that took me dang near as long to get to as Keystone, so I didn't deal with them that often, but they're good foks, and I liked the rescue Pit Bull that lived in the store a lot more than the cats at Home Sweet Homebrew. When I left Philly, I left them with about 10 cases of empty bottles that I preferred not to move to give away, but that was 8 or so years ago.

 

if you have redemption centers where they take bottles , you can get mostly any kind you want. I getting swing tops, id recommend replacing the gaskets and all bottles get the day long soak in bleach. Usually cheap and one can get some cool lookin bottles

 

If you didn't already order a book - you can also read the older edition of How to Brew for free online: http://www.howtobrew.com/

 

Agreed - I just knew you said you were on a budget.

 

The amount of foam is largely related to the vigor of the boil. Hot break is mostly something different than that. It's coagulated proteins in the boiling wort that look similar to egg drop soup. If this was an extract batch, you wouldn't really get that, because the hot break already happened when the extract was manufactured.

When doing partial volume boils, it's best to boil as much as you can, and top off as little as you can. It helps with hop utilization and with getting the intended color.

With extract, if you got a gravity significantly higher than the recipe called for, either the recipe designer screwed up (unlikely), or one of these things happened...
- You ended up with less than the intended volume of wort (boiled away too much).
- You should have topped off with more water after the boil, but didn't, or didn't add enough
- You topped off correctly, but didn't mix it thoroughly before taking the hydrometer sample.
- Measurement error.

Saisons can handle higher than typical fermentation temperatures. Also, you might want to look into Kveik yeast strains. Or look into fermentation temperature control methods.

 

Books: Simple Homebrewing, easy to read.
Online store, morebeer.com good website, great products and good reviews of their products.
Use a local Homebrewing shop if you can, usually a great place to pick up gear, and good information.
Look for a local Homebrewing club, a place to pick up technical expertise, and meet some really nice people.
Look on Craigslist, always people selling nice gear for cheap.
I like using a stainless steel spoon, cheap and easy to clean.