First Brew: The Craft Range IPA

[dundon13]

So I'm going to start my first brew on Friday, having secured the necessary equipment from a friend of mine who doesn't use it anymore as well as a box of The Craft Range IPA. So a couple of questions:

1) The cap for the airlock is missing, is this important, is there any temporary solutions?
2) I'm going to be brewing in the garden shed and i've been monitoring the tempratures over the last couple of nights. At 12am last night the ambient temp. of the shed was at 14C with it reaching highs of 21C during the day. Would wrapping the FV up in a blanket be enough to keep the temp high enough overnight?
3) My mate also lost the muslin bag for the hops, can I still dry hop by just chucking the hops into the FV, or will I have to get a muslin bag or something similar.

[irish_goat]

Great stuff. Welcome to the world of brewing. 

1) It's no nessecary at all but if you're worried you can put a loose piece of tin foil over the top. The more important thing is to make sure to put some sanitiser or alcohol (vodka, rum etc) in the airlock.
2) No need for a blanket, the yeast produce their own heat and will probably keep it pretty constant throughout the night anyway. If anything, 21C is a little high. Generally speaking, lower temperatures for an ale yeast just slow things down. Higher temperatures is where you start to get off flavours, esters etc.
3) Pellets or leaf hops? Pellets will break up and sink to the bottom along with yeast and other trub and be easy to siphon away from. Leaf will float about and can cause a little bit of hassle when bottling just.

[dundon13]

So you reckon I should be focusing on keeping the FV cool during the day rather than worrying about its temp overnight.

They're Hop Pellets, so you recommend dropping them in loose.

[johnrm]

Best of luck with the brew.
Cheapo fridge - aeroboard/kingspan and duct tape.
Lob in a frozen 2l bottle of water to keep temp in check.

[dundon13]

Cheers for the info John, eager to get started and get my first brew going. Already have loads of ideas for Kit Hacks and stuff but i wanna do a few simple kit brews first to get a feel for it. My missus loves IPAs so she wants me to try one first, that way she can enjoy it if it turns out nice.

[johnrm]

Keep it simple to start.
Concentrate on...
Sanitation.
Temperature control (if possible).
Patience.
Ask here if stuck.

[dundon13]

Got the brew done this morning and its currently sitting in the shed. It's been in there for about an hour now but there's no action in the airlock. I pitched at 22.3C and the OG was 1.050. Is this normal that there's no action in the airlock? The temp is currently at 22.9C.

[johnrm]

Sit down and I'll explain patience to you...

It can take up to 24 hours to see activity.
If the vessel is not sealed well, you may not see any activity.
Test by pressing gently on the lid - you should see activity in the airlock.
22.3C is a tad high - 18-20 would be much better. at this time of year sheds are typically too warm for fermenting.
Once it kicks in, at higher temp your yeast will go nuts for a short period of time and not clean up after it - Think Frat house party.

[DEMPSEY]

A Tortoise is a better brewer than a Hare

[dundon13]

Right so, i pressed the lid and there was some action in the air lock so it is sealed okay. I got it down to 19.4 using a bath of cold water, the FV is sitting in the water and i just checked it there and its still 19.4. I'm a very patient person I just didnt know when to expect action in the airlock.

[Slev]

A Tortoise is a better brewer than a Hare

Take it as a complement, but i am totally going to steal this phrase and claim it as my own....

[dundon13]

Okay so, i had the FV around 19c up until about 12 o clock last night and when i woke up this morning it was at 18.2c. Ive kept it between 18 and 20 all day so far but still no activity on the airlock. There is a very thin krausen looking layer on top of the wort. Is my fermentation just taking a long time or did i do something wrong. When i press the lid the air lock still bubbles by the way.

[DEMPSEY]

You did nothing wrong,let it work away

[DEMPSEY]

A Tortoise is a better brewer than a Hare

Take it as a complement, but i am totally going to steal this phrase and claim it as my own....

ha haa your welcome. Look out for my book on DEMPSEY's wise quotes coming to a book shop near you soon

[dundon13]

Quick update; There was some steady activity in the airlock this morning, it bubbled about once per minute and the Krausen has expanded and covered the entire top of the wort. So i guess the fermentation has finally started. Quick question though: How long is too long in the primary FV. Lets say if its ready to bottled sometime next week, how long could i leave it in the FV before i have to take it out as i probably wont have time to bottle till the following week.