[color=blue]
>I dusted off a pretty old brewkit (TrueBrew) recently and brewed my first
> batch. The kit was a porter and I think I did everything fine cuz my
> airlock
> is gurgling nicely after more than 24 hours since putting the wort into
> the
> fermenter. I think I'm on way to beer, but have some newbie questions.
>
> 1. I discussed this in an earlier post and everyone seemed to say "go
> ahead
> and brew it to see what happens", but the kit was at least two years old
> and
> that kinda concerned me. The only thing I noticed was that one bag of the
> dried malt had some serious clumping going on. Like hard clods of dried
> malt
> extract. The smaller ones melted, but I had a large clod or two that I
> plucked out of the brew and threw out.[/color]

You have reduced the total amount of fermentable sugars by doing this, it
shouldn't be too much of a problem though it will affect the end result.

Otherwise, everything looked fine.[color=blue]
> The second bag of dried malt extract did not suffer this clumping. I
> bought
> new yeast since the original packet had expired long ago. When I pitched
> the
> yeast, evidence of fermentation began within minutes. My yeast was hungry!
>
> 2. So it has been downstairs in a plastic fermenter with the airlock on
> tight. I check on the brew now and again and it has been fermenting just
> fine. My basement is a tad on the musty side and I'm concerned about
> off-flavors. Should I place the fermenter somewhere else in my apartment?[/color]

Your basement shouldn't be a problem, the wort is in a sealed contianer, I
wouldn't be opening the fermenter down there though, it may allow some rogue
yeast or other bacteria in.

My[color=blue]
> only concern is that it can get pretty warm, even in September, where I
> live. Certainly above the 75-degree mark. Right now the wort smells like a
> sweet, malty porter when I put my nose above the airlock. Just dunno if
> anything is going to get in there that I don't like.
>[/color]

[color=blue]
> 3. When I strained the steeped grains into the wort, my strainer let some
> of
> the grains through. I spooned out as much as I could (sanitized spoon),
> but
> some 20-30 grains remained in the wort when I put it in the fermenter. I
> wasn't going to throw out the whole batch just for that and assumed that
> the
> grains would settle. Am I right? Or are some of my bottles going to be
> 'chunky style'?[/color]

Given enough time they should all settle in to the trub.
[color=blue]
>
> 4. When I started the brew, I used too much water and after adding the
> liquid malt extract, realized my error. I Dissolved the can of extract
> completely into the water and then poured off about a pint or two of the
> mixture so that the remaining ingredients would fit in the brewpot. I
> suspect this will reduce my alcohol content.[/color]

Just like before, it will reduce the OG of the wort but shouldn't have too
much of an impact, if you make this mistake again it would be a wise idea to
make a smaller final batch (ie, make a 4 gal batch instead of 5)
[color=blue]
>
> 5. How many days do I wait? I thought I heard three days and then seven
> days
> and then "wait until the airlock shows no activity" and also suggestions
> that I take hydrometer readings to be sure that fermentation is complete
> (I
> took a reading in my logbook before pitching the yeast). When do I rack
> and
> fill?[/color]

Use your hydrometer, once you get the same measurement two days in a row
it's time to rack (syphon) to a secondary container, if you don't want to
rack the wort to a secondary vessel then wait at least 1 week after
fermentation stops, this will help your beer to clear. Try to avoid leaving
your beer in the primamry fermenter for more than two weeks after the
completion of fermentation.
[color=blue]
>
> I think that's it. Thanks in advance for any advice. Even if this brew
> doesn't turn out right, at least I got to do a dry run (and I enjoyed it a
> lot) so the next one goes more smoothly.[/color]

Because of the age of the kit the hops aromas might not be as noticable as
they should be but your beer should still turn out OK, let us all know how
it goes.[color=blue]
>
> JM
>
>[/color]