First extract brew questions

1) no it won't gum up anything. Gumming up only matters if it causes the mash to get stuck when trying to filter the liquid out of the grains. I imagine the amount of grains is so minimal for a 1 gallon extract batch you just got a higher ratio of powder.

2) never used Windsor but both are an English strain so I wouldn't worry. If you take care of the fermentation you'll be fine.

 

1. Just don't tie the grain bag too tight and you'll be fine

2. S-04 is a good yeast strain. Not quite as "English" in character, but just to a slight degree. Its a good substitute.

 

I find 04 to be the perfect balance of English ale yeast for me. Windsor doesn't like to attenuate well from my experience, and leaves a sweeter beer than I like.

 

Yes, that's okay.

 

1. Most grains will fall out of suspension after fermentation if anything made it that far...cold crashing before bottling should help that as well.

2. No need to use a siphon to put your beer in a fermenter...use a large brewing funnel if you're using a narrow necked fermenter or just go from kettle straight into a bucket if its wide mouthed enough or a bucket.

 

Do yourself a favor and buy a BIAB grain bag (reusable) to steep/mash your grains and save the headache of using the crappy disposable ones!

 

http://www.northernbrewer.com/biab-brew-in-a-bag-all-grain-starter-kit

This is a great set of equipment to have for extract brewing and provides a super easy transition to all grain brewing with nothing more than what you already use for brewing...even includes a 3 gallon kit to try out simplified all grain brewing! I personally brew a lot of BIAB batches because of how easy it is and the better quality versus extract.

 

Sounds like a normal fermentation. And bubble counts are not a good quantitative indicator of activity. The ring is most likely a krausen ring that's left after the krausen falls (as fermentation starts to wind down). One day after pitching is generally a bit soon for that though. What's the temperature of your wort?

Regarding the loose lid (and the O2 that got in as a result), it's not ideal, but it probably didn't ruin your beer.

 

Everything that you describe sounds like fermentation is done. Since you have only a 1-gallon batch, you need to be judicial in stealing samples for hydrometer readings to test to see for sure that it is done, or you wan't have much beer left after a couple of readings. (Do you have a hydrometer, or are you planning to use the time-in-fermentor method?) For now, I'd just sit tight and let fermentation completely finish up.

 

Windsor vs. S04. You won't know how you feel about it until you have tried them each a few times. I prefer Windsor. It has been several years since I used S-04. I believe it may attenuate more, and may be a little cleaner. However, I still get a flavor from S-04 that I do not especially like. Windsor has a more estery profile that I happen to prefer.

 

68 room temperature? If so, it will/did get a few degrees warmer than that. High temps accelerate fermentation.

 

It is unusual but it shouldn't be disturbing to you. You have a 1-gallon batch and maybe you pitched a full envelope/vial of yeast so that the crowd of hungry one-celled wonders handled the task at hand quickly with a rousing party. I think your fermentation is done, and you just need to give the yeast a few days to clean up after themselves. Then you can take a gravity reading to confirm that you are at the recipe's predicted FG.

 

I'm of the opinion to ALWAYS let the batch finish and try the finished beer before ever dumping. Most newbies are overly concerned with minutia when they should just relax and have a homebrew