Newbie Brewer. Few basic questions.

1. When I’m boiling the wort and adding the ingredients, it tells me to keep it at a rolling boil. I know I’m supposed to watch to ensure it doesn’t boil over but should I try to keep a little bit of foam when boiling or should I reduce temp to prevent boiling up foam.

Just make sure its boiling and doesnt boil over, foam on top will subside after the hot break for the most part with a few patches here and there.

2.When boil and cooling the wort should we keep the lid on at all times (except to check boil over and temp)?

Do not keep the lid on - can keep the DMS precursors from escaping and you can end up with off flavors.

3.Now I keep reading that I should use a blow over tube instead of the 3 piece airlock. But we used the airlock this time and when I woke up this morning I checked it and it was all foamed up with a little bit of sediment in it. So I covered the carboy opening and cleaned/sanitized out the airlock, then place it back on. Will this affect the fermentation?

You will be fine, a blow off tube isnt always needed, just suggested with higher gravity beers or with beers that have a very active top cropping strain.

4.I know keeping everything sanitized is important, but how important. Do I need to sanitize my mixing paddle every time I take it in and out of the wort? Do I need to be overly picky about this?

Anything that enters the boiling wort sanitation is not as important, obviously you dont want to get dirt or anything in there but boiling wort will kill and yeast/bacteria you are worried about.

5.We believed we add just a little bit too much water into our primary fermenting carboy, it was a little over our 5 gallon mark. We took a hydrometer reading and it was supposed to be at 1.06, but it was more like at a 1.055 mark. Now we had no clue what to do at this point so we just continued with the procedure. Will this effect anything and what could we have done different (except I guess not add to much water)?

Just add less water next time. 0.005 difference will not make a huge difference in the end product, if you have the capacity to, switch over to doing full boils as they will enhance your final product.

 

1. A good rolling boil is what you want. The foam should go away once the hot break is finished which should be when the boil begins.

2. I constantly stir when I cool my wort, even with a chiller, so I never use a lid and have never had an issue. This is preference and I always cool inside my house, letting the water drain into the washer to reuse my water.

3. Airlock or blow off tube depends on the head space in your carboy. If you have 5 gallons in a 5 gallon carboy, should use a blow off tube or you will continue to wake up to a "mess". 5 gallons in a 6.5 gallon carboy should be fine with a three piece.

4. Sanitation is king (imo). Keep your stuff sanitized when dealing with cooled down wort and anything that will touch the wort once it is cool (carboy, racking cane, etc). If you are referring to mixing during the boil, no issues what so ever. Don't worry about it unless you stick in mud.

5. You should be fine. The drop in gravity just means you will not have as much alcohol in the finial beer but being off .005 is half a percent alcohol give or take, so nothing to worry about.

 

***Whoops, too slow, got beat by 2 posts!

1. A rolling boil is not necessary. I normally get it up to a rolling boil but then turn it down and just keep it at a light boil. Foam isn't necessary either.
2. Do not keep the lid on when boiling. Boiling drives off a compound called DMS which produces a corn/vegetal off flavor.
3. An airock works with less vigorous fermentations, with a big one a blow off tube will work better. You did fine by cleaning it and replacing it, you shouldn't have any complications.
4. If you're stirring in the boiling wort you don't have to sanitize as the boiling will do that. If you're stirring post-boil, make sure you're sanitized. Better safe than sorry.
5. Yeah your beer won't be exactly as intended with a lower OG, but you'll be fine. In the future you can add less water or add some extra DME to boost your gravity.

Overall, you did fine. You made beer and that's all that matters!

 

You got good answers already, and it sounds like you got off to a good start. All I would add is "read this..."

http://www.howtobrew.com/

 

My only advice about the blow bucket is that if you should have had one, and didn't you will have a huge mess on your hands. If you didn't need one, but used one anyway, you did a little bit of work for nothing.

Whenever the OG is projected to be over 1.070, I use one every time. After the fermentation slows down, I switch to an airlock. With very high gravity, the beer doesn't just leak out of the airlock; I have experience explosions (like beer on the ceiling).

It also never hurts to put the carboy into a drawstring black garbage bag. Not only will it help keep light out, but if you tie the drawstrings so that the entire thing is contained, small leaks will be contained inside the bag as well.

 

#3 I have had this issue in the past. The problem is that buckets sold for home brewing are small at 6.5 gallons. Depending on the strain of yeast you use and the amount of wort you're fermenting, it is not uncommon to cause issues with an airlock.

I still use buckets, as I am scared to death of glass carboys. You can buy bigger buckets, they are marketed as wine buckets for whatever reason. And/or you can make a blow off tube for a bucket using a 3 piece airlock. Just cut the little devider off the bottom of the air lock, then buy a big enough diameter hose to jam down over the internal tube of the air lock.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-foam-coming-out-airlock-74920/

 

I just buy 3/8 od 1/4 id tubing and stick it in the hole of the Air Lock (i dont cut the divider off) it fits in there snug I have never had a problem with it blowing out.

 

Bigger buckets (7.9 gallons) are great in that they provide a lot of head room for the krausen. The ones that I have are labeled “Beer & Wine”.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/7-9-gal-fermenting-bucket.html

Cheers!

 

I just looked at mine, and it appears I never cut it off either with no problems yet. And I have done wheats using
Wyeast 3068 with krausen flowing through the entire length of tubing and no clogs.

 

Pics are not showing. (They need to be on a server... not on your computer, phone, or whatever.)My guess though would be that the airlock was ejected by vigorous fermentation and broke when it hit the ground. Or was it not ejected?

 

So the only thing you did 'wrong' was not using a blowoff tube instead of an airlock. Not a major mistake. Since the airlock is apparently broken...

Use a blowoff tube if there is still krausen coming out of the fermenter, or if not, cover the opening with a piece of loosely crimped sanitized aluminum foil.

Edit: One additional thought... sometimes blowoffs can be the result of (or made worse by) high fermentation temps. One thing that kit instructions seldom mention is temperature control, or at least beginning fermentation at the low end of a yeast's range.

 

2. Never keep your lid on while boiling, you have a bigger chance of getting off flavors that way. While cooling its a good idea.

3. Will not affect fermentation at all.

4. Sanitization is very important, but only after your done boiling. Don't worry about sanitizing until your wort is cooling, then, anything that touches wort should be sanitized.

5. Don't worry about your og that sounds about right. However i hope your not adding water that wasn't boiled first, otherwise you could have sanitization issues.

Enjoy the hobby. Happy Fermentations!

 

What yeast did the kit have in it? And what was the volume going into the bucket? Just curious

 

Wow the airlock shattered.