Pre-Questions about my first brew day

Biff

How long is your (extract) brew day
less than 2 hours14%between 2 and 4 hours1144%between 4 and 6 hours1248%more than 6 hours14% Total votes : 25Pre-Questions about my first brew daySat Feb 18, 2006 8:08 pm
Hey all,
I'm just about ready to take the plunge.  I've gotta procure some
equipment, but the tax refund should be comin soon, so I'll be diving into
a starter kit.  A couple basics about what my setup will be...
- I'll be doing a partial boil with about 2.5 Gallons of water (3 Gallon Kettle)
- Of course I'm doin extract, and I'd be ok with doing a pale LME and
steeping grains
- My current plan is to use 2 x 5 Gallon Buckets to do the ferment (for no
other reasons than saving cash -- 5 Gallon buckets are FREE everywhere)
Without further adieu, here are my questions!

jg2drtlamry.gif

- Doing a partial boil, do I have to boil/cool the water I stick in the
fermenters?  I'm worried about that from a infection perspective...
- I've heard boiling bittering hops on the usual schedule then adding the
LME fairly late in the boil is a good idea, any particular feedback here?
- Am I being too cheap doing a 2 fermenter setup?  It would be nicer if I
had a specific point to doing 2 fermenters, like trying different yeasts,
etc....  Should I just break down and buy a 6.5 Gallon bucket and/or
carboy?
- I haven't found grommets in the LHBS, do grommets from Home Depot
work ok?  (context might help, grommets to put in the lids of my 5
Gallon bucket fermentor(s))
- I want to get folks' idea of my brewday schedule, then talk about a yeast
starter...
9am - Prep work, Ensure I have all ingredients , sanitize fermentors
and associated equipment -- (Start Yeast Starter?)
10am - Get Boil going
11:30 - Done the Boil
12:00 - Used wort chiller, and wort is cool, rack to fermentors (that are
already filled some with water)
12:15 - Pitch Yeast
Am I insane?  Will roughly 3.25 hours be enough for the Yeast starter to
get going?
Please tell me I'm crazy, but also try and help me by contributing what
your brew day schedule usually looks like.  Thanks!-Steve

Homegrown-Hops

If those 5gal buckets are food grade then I say hell yes. One thing to clear up though, if you are planning on using them to ferment 5gal of wort in each you may want to reconsider. If the plan is for splitting a 5g batch into 2 buckets then you are good to go.
If you plan to buy glass or plastic fermenter, I recommend going with the 6gal plastic carboys. B3 now carrys them, or you can get them from other sources also. They are somewhat unbreakable and affordable. I would not use grommets myself, I would get some stoppers with hole and bore to the appropriate size into the lid. Another note is too stay away from the black stoppers etc.. that you can get in the hardware stores because I think they contain lead. Beer Pal covers your answer about the starter below.
Cheers,
HHLast edited by Homegrown Hops on Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.Anderson Valley Brewing Co. (Bahl hornin')
Hell Freezes over show
" I am gunna guess this is an IPA. Its the same color as one and kinda tastes like one"
      Dr Scott 8:10 pm Sunday Jan. 14th, 2007

BeerPal

A yeast starter needs 12 to 24 hours before it's ready to pitch at high kreusen. Some like to let it ferment out completely, usually around 3 days. But in any event, 3.25 hours is not enough time.
The food-grade plastic bucket point is important. Don't use anything that isn't food-grade.
I think you are being overly optomistic if you think your first brew session is going to be done in about 3 hours. And if you push to keep a time-table like that, you are likely to make mistakes. You will probably make mistakes anyway, why rush yourself? Take your time, be prepared and do things right."Make beer not war"
Currently fermenting: Firestone Walker Pale 31 clone
Conditioning: Nothing
On draught: Nothing
Watch episodes of BYOB TV:

Bub

I say get a new bucket for your ferment...  here is why...
You know it's history (bacteria etc)
You know it is food safe
Start your yeast the night before..
It will take you longer that 1.5 hours to do your boil... just the fact of the matter.  
It will take you about 30 minutes to get the water boiling, then add some of your extract (if you can split it this is ok) wait for it to boil again.
Wait for the hotbreak (wait until it stops trying to boil over) add your hops then start counting your 60 minutes.
Add the rest of the extract 15 minutes before the end of the boil, but make suure it BOILS for 15 minutes.
Remember you can do some of the cleaning and sanitizing during this time thus lesening your prep time, but you will still probably use the hour to get ready.
You have a wort chiller??  If you do 30-45 minutes should do it, I have never tried chilling 2.5 gal before so it may go quicker.

Put some top off water in your fermenter and you shouldn't have to worry about WARM wort going in there... REMEMBER NOT HOT WORT, the plastic can probably handle it but you may get off flavors from the aeration of hot wort.
As far as grommets go no need for them... just cut the proper sized hole in your lid (for a stoper) and you are set... you could use a rubber gromet but that sounds like too much work.  The hole also allows you to pull samples without removing the lid.
Word of advice.... BUY the 3 piece airlock not the cool S shaped bubbler style... you will thank me sooner or later.
Remember to relax this is supposed to be fun, and welcome to the hobby, BUT make sure to be clean and sanitize the hell out of everything.
BUB (boob)Lunch Meet "Limpian" Gold Medalist (x2) 2006
Winner of NO PANTS award 2006 and 2007
Make your own beer website... starting at $10 per YEAR.
www.bubweb.com & www.momenttoponder.com

Lufah

My really quick answer.....
Get a bucket from the LHBS.  They are only a few dollars and you only have to have one.
Start your starter the night before.
Give yourself 6 hours or so for your first brewday.  Don't freak out about doing it fast.  You can start working on getting faster once your comfortable with what your doing.
You can use boiled/chilled water for your top off water if you want.  I always used bottled water for mine.  I wouldn't worry to much about it to  begin with.
I've been really happy with doing the late addition of the extract.  I usually do (or did) it at about 15 minutes left in the boil.  This does make things a little more complicated.  So if you don't feel like messing with it I wouldn't worry about it.
[b]9am - Prep work, Ensure I have all ingredients , sanitize fermenters
and associated equipment -- (Start Yeast Starter?)
10am - Get Boil going
11:30 - Done the Boil
12:00 - Used wort chiller, and wort is cool, rack to fermenters (that are
already filled some with water)
12:15 - Pitch Yeast
Night Before - Start yeast starter - Get equipment organized and get my    plan together.
9am - Get steeping grains a'steeping.  Prep equipment....
9:30am - Start boil.  Prep equipment....
~10am - add 60 minute hops.  Prep equipment.....
NOON - chill and dump to fermenter AEREATE
12:30pm Pitch yeast ....CLEAN SO SWMBO DOSN"T KILL YOU
Cleaning will take a while.  I would just make sure you have plenty of time for the first couple of brews.  It takes a lot of the stress off.
Also if you haven't before take a look here...
TravisA very silly place...  
Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.
-Dave Barry

seanhagerty

No mention of sanitizers yet.  This is one of the single most importnat steps in brewing make sure you get everything as close to sterile as you can.
Be anal about sanitizing stuff. Do not use bleach, go spend some money and get sarsan or idophor.  They are loads easier and wont leave off flavors if properly used.
Also,  Relax.  This is a hobby and its meant to be fun.  If you can hook up with some one local and spend a day with them brewing.  It will make your brew day that much easier if you know what its supposed to look like.
Good Luck
Sean
p.s. F lufahThree out of four people make up 75% of the worlds population.
Sean's Brewery & House of Ill Repute

Biff

Thanks so much for the quick replies!  First, let me say I'm definitely
relaxed.  I've read most of the Papazian book (so far, the first 50 pages or
so is what applies to me right now).  I've been listening to the BN since
Christmas or so, and have been catching up on the archives.  I've also
joined the LHBC (www.kroc.org), and finally visited the LHBS!
Whatever thing I get into, I like to do all the background I can on the
subject first.  Most of the questions that were in my initial post had to
do with process.  IMHO, process is the thing that's talked about least in
the homebrew community, and also the thing that will vary most from
brewer to brewer.
First, responses to your answers
- I got some frosting buckets from the local Sam's Club.  They had just
got done using them that mornin, and they cleaned up pretty good.  So,
they must be food grade, and I think they'll be ok
- I will be doing a partial boil for a 5 Gallon batch, then fermenting that
between two 5 Gallon buckets
- I'll definitely get a stopper from the LHBS, thanks for the tip!
- Out the door with the grommet idea, I'll just go with a stopper!
- Good stuff on the starter -- The night before it is!
- I'll revisit my timeline...
- I'll be making my wort chiller today.  Coil of copper, some garden hose,
won't be hard, and chilling 2.5 Gallons should go fairly quickly
- I was looking at the difference between "The Bubbler" and the "Three
piece" -- I was leaning towards the latter anyway, thanks for the tip!
- I was also planning on doing Star San for sanitization
- I'll be doing bottled water for my topoff water
One more question for you all...  Can I (should I?) do a blowoff tube with
a bucket, then switch to the 3 piece?
My revised brewing schedule is....
Night before ('bout 7pm) I'll get my starter going
Night before ('bout 8pm) I'll get all my equipment ready
8:30am - Steep specialty grains, sanitize equipment, prep equipment
9am - Start Boil
11am - Chill and dump to fermenter (AERATE)
11:45am - Pitch Yeast, and cleanup
Lastly, please share any nifty procedural things you do.  It can be very
hard or even impossible to transfer "experience" with words, but I'd
appreciate your effort in doing so!
Cheers all -- I'm probably going out today to get my equipment, and then
get the starter going this evening, and brewin tomorrow! (I get off work
for Presidents Day).-Steve

seanhagertybub

Mark your bucket/carboy with lines on them that show gallons, so you know how much liquid you got

Do the same thing with your stir spoon, mark it so you know how much liquid you got in your boil kettle

Do a dry run with all your equipment first.  Its a PITA, but it will make sure you know the flow of things.Three out of four people make up 75% of the worlds population.
Sean's Brewery & House of Ill ReputeHow long is your (extract) brew day
less than 2 hours14%between 2 and 4 hours1144%between 4 and 6 hours1248%more than 6 hours14% Total votes : 25Sun Feb 19, 2006 8:07 am
If you are doing 2.5 gal in a 5 gal bucket (split batch) you probably will not need a blow off tube.  Use cheap vodka in the airlock and you won't need to worry about blowoff anyway.
BUB (boob)Lunch Meet "Limpian" Gold Medalist (x2) 2006
Winner of NO PANTS award 2006 and 2007
Make your own beer website... starting at $10 per YEAR.
www.bubweb.com & www.momenttoponder.com

Rich

I'd also like to point out that the plastic bucket lids made for fermenters have an o-ring in them for an air tight seal. Your frosting bucket lids probably won't seal air tight once out-gassing builds up pressure. This won't hurt but you may not see airlock activity.

George

I can do an extract batch in just over two hours (not including cleanup), but it will probably take you at least 4 hours your first time.  Ditch the schedule and just set aside 4 or 5 hours where you won't have to hurry.
Two buckets seems penny-wise, pound-foolish to me.  Twice the cleanup and sanitization, two airlocks, two stoppers, two trubcakes to avoid when siphoning.  Compared to six or seven bucks for a big bucket?  Sure, do this first batch that way if you're already set up, but I can't imagine continuing that way for long.Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors -- and miss.   
--Robert A. Heinlein: The Notebooks of Lazarus Long
Brewing Water Page - Enter and view water data.

Speyedr

My first batch took a good 45 minutes to chill using an immersions chiller.  It was cool because you can feel the thermal layers in the pot, but it took a while.  Then I read somewhere to move the chiller up and down every now and then during the chilling process, mixing up the layers.  I'm down to 20 minutes for chilling. The more you move it the faster you chill.
Also, I wrote out the steps and process for my fist several brews and it helped LOADS.  I just went down the checklist marking off as I went.  I agree with George that you should forget about scheduling every step, but by all means use a checklist if it helps.
Good luck!

trans

I replied saying that it takes me between 4 and 6 hours.  My last brew actually took 6.5 hours until I pitched the yeast.
The main thing that slows me down is that I brew about 300 feet from my house where my fermenter is.  I do lots of walking back and forth and that eats up a lot of time.  Also doing a batch with specialty grains takes somewhat longer than one without.  My time isn't counting cleanup, but it is counting getting all of my gear back inside the house.  Again, me making multiple trips taking things out, and then multiple trips bringing all that stuff in eats up a lot of time.
Like others said, just pick out a day when you are free from obligations and go for it.  I tried rushing my first brew, and although the results were fine, I made way too many dumb mistakes along the way that actually cost me more time than if I had actually not rushed myself.  As the saying goes, "haste makes waste."
I think most of the other advice on this thread is solid, so I mostly posted just to let you know more about the time aspect of things.

- joe

BrotherhoodBrew

I really suggest just using one 6.5gal bucket. Your life will be alot easier that way. Otherwise I thin keverything else has been covered by everyone else. So great advice in this thread

Biff

Wow,
Thanks for all the great input.  Well I never got around to getting to the LHBS
last weekend, and I just found out this week I'm off to Alaska for about
a week, then in WA state for another week.  Guess I'll have to wait until
mid-March before my first brew.
But again, thanks and I'll let you all know how the first batch turns out when
I finally get around to making it!-Steve

2DogAleBrewbear

Just joining late on this...
The only thing I can add is to make sure you pitch your starter at around the same temp as your cooled wort.
Go with the late extract addition that I think Lufah mentioned. You can split it in half if you want and add the first half as the water boils to get better hop utilization. I have tried it both ways and I can't really tell if it is better but what I read it makes sense.
They were all great answers and insite but one thing...
Forgot to tell you to relax and have (well can't have a homebrew yet so...) a good crafte beer. Try something in the style you are brewing.
Cheers,
RobThe more people I meet the more I like my dogs.How long is your (extract) brew day
less than 2 hours14%between 2 and 4 hours1144%between 4 and 6 hours1248%more than 6 hours14% Total votes : 25Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:49 pm
Since you are doing a partial boil, you might consider taking a gallon or so of water and putting it in the freezer for a few hours. I found out that I save some time in cooling if I mix the almost frozen water with the still hot wort, getting to pitching temp quicker.
Cheers,
BrewbearBEER, not just for breakfast any more!

Biff

I forgot I needed to vote here.  Hehehe, My first brew day weighed in at around 8 hours.  With all the stuff I learned I'm sure I can cut that near in-half.
The biggest thing that killed me was lag time between the boil and pitch.  Rough outline:
- 8am topoff water boil
- 11am started boil
- 12:15pm finished boil
- 3:30 (around there, don't have my document in front of me), pitched
So yeah, If I boiled my topoff water the night before, and stored it chilled I could cut at least 4.5 hours off the process.  That puts me in the 3 - 3.5 hour range.
Very good -- I love learning all this stuff.  Thanks again for all the great tips/advice/help-Steve

Brewbear

Just a couple of things i found helpful:
Invest in a bucket with a spigot for bottling,
Invest in a bottling cane, the one with a spring in the tip, not the gravity one,
Make-up the entire volume (wort and top-off water), pitch the yeast and then split in the 2 buckets to ensure even yeast distribution,
Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize
Dunk your wort chiller in a bucket of water and PWB, the pipe will have residual oils on it
My first brew day was about 4.5 hours....6 batches or so later (and a new propane later) i managed 3 batches 5 gallons each, full boil in 6.5 hours

g4bsfvo1zup.gif

The trick was the new burner (from steinfillers) and getting used to the process.
Cheers,
BrewbearBEER, not just for breakfast any more!

Homegrown-Hops

What I found helpful was skip the bottling and the bullshit that goes with it and just get right on to kegging. You can get a beer gun or CPF later on to make samples for friends and competitions.
HHAnderson Valley Brewing Co. (Bahl hornin')
Hell Freezes over show
" I am gunna guess this is an IPA. Its the same color as one and kinda tastes like one"
      Dr Scott 8:10 pm Sunday Jan. 14th, 2007How long is your (extract) brew day
less than 2 hours14%between 2 and 4 hours1144%between 4 and 6 hours1248%more than 6 hours14% Total votes : 25Pre-Questions about my first brew daySat Feb 18, 2006 8:08 pm
Hey all,
I'm just about ready to take the plunge.  I've gotta procure some
equipment, but the tax refund should be comin soon, so I'll be diving into
a starter kit.  A couple basics about what my setup will be...
- I'll be doing a partial boil with about 2.5 Gallons of water (3 Gallon Kettle)
- Of course I'm doin extract, and I'd be ok with doing a pale LME and
steeping grains
- My current plan is to use 2 x 5 Gallon Buckets to do the ferment (for no
other reasons than saving cash -- 5 Gallon buckets are FREE everywhere)
Without further adieu, here are my questions!


- Doing a partial boil, do I have to boil/cool the water I stick in the
fermenters?  I'm worried about that from a infection perspective...
- I've heard boiling bittering hops on the usual schedule then adding the
LME fairly late in the boil is a good idea, any particular feedback here?
- Am I being too cheap doing a 2 fermenter setup?  It would be nicer if I
had a specific point to doing 2 fermenters, like trying different yeasts,
etc....  Should I just break down and buy a 6.5 Gallon bucket and/or
carboy?
- I haven't found grommets in the LHBS, do grommets from Home Depot
work ok?  (context might help, grommets to put in the lids of my 5
Gallon bucket fermentor(s))
- I want to get folks' idea of my brewday schedule, then talk about a yeast
starter...
9am - Prep work, Ensure I have all ingredients , sanitize fermentors
and associated equipment -- (Start Yeast Starter?)
10am - Get Boil going
11:30 - Done the Boil
12:00 - Used wort chiller, and wort is cool, rack to fermentors (that are
already filled some with water)
12:15 - Pitch Yeast
Am I insane?  Will roughly 3.25 hours be enough for the Yeast starter to
get going?
Please tell me I'm crazy, but also try and help me by contributing what
your brew day schedule usually looks like.  Thanks!-Steve

BeerPal

If those 5gal buckets are food grade then I say hell yes. One thing to clear up though, if you are planning on using them to ferment 5gal of wort in each you may want to reconsider. If the plan is for splitting a 5g batch into 2 buckets then you are good to go.
If you plan to buy glass or plastic fermenter, I recommend going with the 6gal plastic carboys. B3 now carrys them, or you can get them from other sources also. They are somewhat unbreakable and affordable. I would not use grommets myself, I would get some stoppers with hole and bore to the appropriate size into the lid. Another note is too stay away from the black stoppers etc.. that you can get in the hardware stores because I think they contain lead. Beer Pal covers your answer about the starter below.
Cheers,
HHLast edited by Homegrown Hops on Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.Anderson Valley Brewing Co. (Bahl hornin')
Hell Freezes over show
" I am gunna guess this is an IPA. Its the same color as one and kinda tastes like one"
      Dr Scott 8:10 pm Sunday Jan. 14th, 2007

Bub

A yeast starter needs 12 to 24 hours before it's ready to pitch at high kreusen. Some like to let it ferment out completely, usually around 3 days. But in any event, 3.25 hours is not enough time.
The food-grade plastic bucket point is important. Don't use anything that isn't food-grade.
I think you are being overly optomistic if you think your first brew session is going to be done in about 3 hours. And if you push to keep a time-table like that, you are likely to make mistakes. You will probably make mistakes anyway, why rush yourself? Take your time, be prepared and do things right."Make beer not war"
Currently fermenting: Firestone Walker Pale 31 clone
Conditioning: Nothing
On draught: Nothing
Watch episodes of BYOB TV:

Lufah

I say get a new bucket for your ferment...  here is why...
You know it's history (bacteria etc)
You know it is food safe
Start your yeast the night before..
It will take you longer that 1.5 hours to do your boil... just the fact of the matter.  
It will take you about 30 minutes to get the water boiling, then add some of your extract (if you can split it this is ok) wait for it to boil again.
Wait for the hotbreak (wait until it stops trying to boil over) add your hops then start counting your 60 minutes.
Add the rest of the extract 15 minutes before the end of the boil, but make suure it BOILS for 15 minutes.
Remember you can do some of the cleaning and sanitizing during this time thus lesening your prep time, but you will still probably use the hour to get ready.
You have a wort chiller??  If you do 30-45 minutes should do it, I have never tried chilling 2.5 gal before so it may go quicker.

Put some top off water in your fermenter and you shouldn't have to worry about WARM wort going in there... REMEMBER NOT HOT WORT, the plastic can probably handle it but you may get off flavors from the aeration of hot wort.
As far as grommets go no need for them... just cut the proper sized hole in your lid (for a stoper) and you are set... you could use a rubber gromet but that sounds like too much work.  The hole also allows you to pull samples without removing the lid.
Word of advice.... BUY the 3 piece airlock not the cool S shaped bubbler style... you will thank me sooner or later.
Remember to relax this is supposed to be fun, and welcome to the hobby, BUT make sure to be clean and sanitize the hell out of everything.
BUB (boob)Lunch Meet "Limpian" Gold Medalist (x2) 2006
Winner of NO PANTS award 2006 and 2007
Make your own beer website... starting at $10 per YEAR.
www.bubweb.com & www.momenttoponder.com

seanhagerty

My really quick answer.....
Get a bucket from the LHBS.  They are only a few dollars and you only have to have one.
Start your starter the night before.
Give yourself 6 hours or so for your first brewday.  Don't freak out about doing it fast.  You can start working on getting faster once your comfortable with what your doing.
You can use boiled/chilled water for your top off water if you want.  I always used bottled water for mine.  I wouldn't worry to much about it to  begin with.
I've been really happy with doing the late addition of the extract.  I usually do (or did) it at about 15 minutes left in the boil.  This does make things a little more complicated.  So if you don't feel like messing with it I wouldn't worry about it.
[b]9am - Prep work, Ensure I have all ingredients , sanitize fermenters
and associated equipment -- (Start Yeast Starter?)
10am - Get Boil going
11:30 - Done the Boil
12:00 - Used wort chiller, and wort is cool, rack to fermenters (that are
already filled some with water)
12:15 - Pitch Yeast
Night Before - Start yeast starter - Get equipment organized and get my    plan together.
9am - Get steeping grains a'steeping.  Prep equipment....
9:30am - Start boil.  Prep equipment....
~10am - add 60 minute hops.  Prep equipment.....
NOON - chill and dump to fermenter AEREATE
12:30pm Pitch yeast ....CLEAN SO SWMBO DOSN"T KILL YOU
Cleaning will take a while.  I would just make sure you have plenty of time for the first couple of brews.  It takes a lot of the stress off.
Also if you haven't before take a look here...
TravisA very silly place...  
Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.
-Dave Barry

Biff

No mention of sanitizers yet.  This is one of the single most importnat steps in brewing make sure you get everything as close to sterile as you can.
Be anal about sanitizing stuff. Do not use bleach, go spend some money and get sarsan or idophor.  They are loads easier and wont leave off flavors if properly used.
Also,  Relax.  This is a hobby and its meant to be fun.  If you can hook up with some one local and spend a day with them brewing.  It will make your brew day that much easier if you know what its supposed to look like.
Good Luck
Sean
p.s. F lufahThree out of four people make up 75% of the worlds population.
Sean's Brewery & House of Ill Repute

seanhagerty

Thanks so much for the quick replies!  First, let me say I'm definitely
relaxed.  I've read most of the Papazian book (so far, the first 50 pages or
so is what applies to me right now).  I've been listening to the BN since
Christmas or so, and have been catching up on the archives.  I've also
joined the LHBC (www.kroc.org), and finally visited the LHBS!
Whatever thing I get into, I like to do all the background I can on the
subject first.  Most of the questions that were in my initial post had to
do with process.  IMHO, process is the thing that's talked about least in
the homebrew community, and also the thing that will vary most from
brewer to brewer.
First, responses to your answers
- I got some frosting buckets from the local Sam's Club.  They had just
got done using them that mornin, and they cleaned up pretty good.  So,
they must be food grade, and I think they'll be ok
- I will be doing a partial boil for a 5 Gallon batch, then fermenting that
between two 5 Gallon buckets
- I'll definitely get a stopper from the LHBS, thanks for the tip!
- Out the door with the grommet idea, I'll just go with a stopper!
- Good stuff on the starter -- The night before it is!
- I'll revisit my timeline...
- I'll be making my wort chiller today.  Coil of copper, some garden hose,
won't be hard, and chilling 2.5 Gallons should go fairly quickly
- I was looking at the difference between "The Bubbler" and the "Three
piece" -- I was leaning towards the latter anyway, thanks for the tip!
- I was also planning on doing Star San for sanitization
- I'll be doing bottled water for my topoff water
One more question for you all...  Can I (should I?) do a blowoff tube with
a bucket, then switch to the 3 piece?
My revised brewing schedule is....
Night before ('bout 7pm) I'll get my starter going
Night before ('bout 8pm) I'll get all my equipment ready
8:30am - Steep specialty grains, sanitize equipment, prep equipment
9am - Start Boil
11am - Chill and dump to fermenter (AERATE)
11:45am - Pitch Yeast, and cleanup
Lastly, please share any nifty procedural things you do.  It can be very
hard or even impossible to transfer "experience" with words, but I'd
appreciate your effort in doing so!
Cheers all -- I'm probably going out today to get my equipment, and then
get the starter going this evening, and brewin tomorrow! (I get off work
for Presidents Day).-Steve

seanhagerty

Mark your bucket/carboy with lines on them that show gallons, so you know how much liquid you got

Do the same thing with your stir spoon, mark it so you know how much liquid you got in your boil kettle

Do a dry run with all your equipment first.  Its a PITA, but it will make sure you know the flow of things.Three out of four people make up 75% of the worlds population.
Sean's Brewery & House of Ill Repute