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[Beer Addict]

Ok i had to take a 8 month break from brewing. I also lost a good bit of my equipment and I am finally back kinda where I was with equipment. I am going to brew a 5 gallon batch from a Brewer's Best kit. It's their Red Ale kit. Does anyone have any tips or help out there for that kit.

As a side note it is nice to get back to brewing and I do not plan on leaving again ever.

Thanks in advance,

Beer Addict

[spiderwrangler]

I brewed the Red Ale BB kit, replacing the hops in there will a massive load of Sorachi Ace, so hopping won't carry over, but I was pleased with the malt profile on the beer.

[Beer Addict]

Will the dry yeast they have in the kit do the trick or should I get something else? I also do not have a way to temp control the ferment but my living room stays below 70 all the time so will that be enough?

[EL TIZZO]

Will the dry yeast they have in the kit do the trick or should I get something else? I also do not have a way to temp control the ferment but my living room stays below 70 all the time so will that be enough?

should be okay...be sure to properly rehydrate it before pitching...there are instructions on Morebeers website about how to do that...If you want it to be a little better get yourself some liquid yeast from white labs or wyeast...as long as the OG isn't too high you should be okay in your living room...You will probably see a few degrees rise in temp and if you can put a wet tshirt or towel over it with a fan blowing on it or also immersing it in a big tub of water works good too...after a few days it should stay at whatever the room temp is without any help...

good luck...

[spiderwrangler]

I can't recall, but I think the yeast in that was either the US-05 or the Nottingham? Either way, both top level yeast as far as dry goes, so you'd be fine using that. I'd recommend rehydrating, however.

+1 on the wet fabric over the fermentor. If your room is 70, your ferment could get as high as 80 at it's peak.

[Beer Addict]

Well did my brew today and it was a good run. I hit 1050 for my starting gravity which is dead in the middle for the kit. Ended up being 4 1/2 gallons instead of 5 because 5 would have taken me below my target. I did not rehydrate the yeast and it was the nottingham pack. I will let it do its thing and see in 7 days where it is. I am going to move to a secondary when it is close to done for a bright tank effect. Gonna bottle in 22's to cut down on bottling.

I will let you know how it turns out...now i need to see what the next kit i want to make is.
Any suggestions on the next kit?

[Beer Addict]

Just wanted to get some input on the above plan I have for my beer is the secondary needed? Also how long should I let the beer sit in secondary? And lastly with proper storage how long can a red ale last?

Thanks in advance.

[Ozwald]

Unless I'm doing something out of the ordinary (fruit, wood, etc) I would never do a secondary. It's not needed, provides minimal benefit at best, and increases the chance of infection. Let her go. I left an ESB (fairly similar as far as yeast, general grain bill & types/schedule of hops) on a primary yeast cake for over 40 days after primary fermentation was done. Being nit picky & having brewed the exact same recipe a number of times, I could taste... something... but it wasn't unpleasant and I still couldn't really identify what it was and my palette is fairly sensitive to certain off flavors. I had a non-brewing friend over who had tried a few pints of previous batches. I didn't let on that there was anything different at all. After half-way through the first pint I asked how it was. "Great!" I then told her what happened and after a couple studied sips... "Great!" I wouldn't recommend intentionally leaving it on that long, but as long as your sanitation practices are solid, you have nothing to worry about, even if you forget about it for a while.