Advice for a beginner, please?

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KarenHauck

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I just started home brewing. I don't really like beer very much, but my husband does. I began this as a gift to him. I bought the "kit" of supplies, and let him chose "the flavour!" He chose Russian Imperial Ale. Ok, maybe not the best first choice. It spent five weeks in the fermenter. And I bottled it nine days ago. It looks good, very clear. He taste it as I was bottling, before carbonation and says it will be really good!! I'm happy about that, but am now reading that it musT bottle condition for rather a long time. His birthday is early November, maybe by then!!
In the meantime, is there a good, fairly hoppy ale that I can make that will be drinkable sooner?
 
+1 on the deadringer from northern brewer. Midwest supplies also has one called hop cult you should take a look at.
 
I might be wrong, I'm a noob too, but 5 weeks in the fermentor and 4 Months in the bottle seem like plenty to me. It will at least be carbed and taste good. I've yet to brew a RIS, so it may need more time to reach it's peak. Not sure I could wait much longer.:D
 
A Russian Imperial is probably a big beer that will do better with long aging (several months in the bottles) A pale ale or an IPA (more hoppy) should be ready long before the R.I. is ready.

For something simple I liked Northern Brewer's Chinook IPA.
 
Austinhomebrew.com has free shipping on most of their kits now and they have a VERY large selection. Look under the IPA section and you're sure to find one you like. Or if your husband likes a particular commercial brew they have a large selection of clone recipes as well.
 
I really appreciate the advice! I think the thing that most disappoints me is that I had no idea it would be so long for this particular beer. I got the ingredients , in a box, from Brewer's Best. The outside of the box was marked Russian Imperial Ale. The instructions inside are marked imperial Pale Ale. Not being a beer drinker, I don't know if those are the same or different.
The instructions said nothing about how long to leave in the fermenter. "The guy at the store" said four weeks. It ended up being about five and a half, he was sold out of bottles. The instructions said to bottle condition for maybe two weeks. Or "it might take longer." Very non-specific! The "guy at the store" said a week to ten days to bottle condition. It's been ten days and is no where near carbonated! And last night I finally started reading online and found it could be a few months.
It's ok, I just wish I had known!
So I want to do something else that Hal will like, that won't take quite so long. On the side for Adventures in Homebrewing, we found Adventures Amber Ale that he thought sounded good. Before I buy it, any comments?
I'm not even close to giving up on this! If anything, I'm more determined!!
 
I would try a bottle much sooner- I would bet it will be tasty soon, but continue to get better in the bottle as it ages. As a first batch, you may have had some issues with fermentation temperature control and using enough yeast (two of the biggest problems for beginners) so there may be some slight off-flavors you might want to mellow out in the bottle. I say at least try one or two in the coming weeks to see how things turned out. A well made beer, even a big alcoholic one, can be ready to drink just a few weeks after it goes into the bottle. Your beer may take a little longer than most to carbonate, but it shouldn't be months and months.
 
daksin said:
I would try a bottle much sooner- I would bet it will be tasty soon, but continue to get better in the bottle as it ages. As a first batch, you may have had some issues with fermentation temperature control and using enough yeast (two of the biggest problems for beginners) so there may be some slight off-flavors you might want to mellow out in the bottle. I say at least try one or two in the coming weeks to see how things turned out. A well made beer, even a big alcoholic one, can be ready to drink just a few weeks after it goes into the bottle. Your beer may take a little longer than most to carbonate, but it shouldn't be months and months.

He tried a bottle last night. There was a small hiss, nearly no head, tiny bit of lace that quickly disappeared quickly. He said it did tast pretty flat, but had a very good flavour! So, we just let it sit for a while, and try another bottle in a bit!
 
I have another question. If additional water needs to be added to the wort before fermentation, does it need to be boiled first?
 
You'll get differing opinions on that. Personally I don't think you need to, but if I was topping off I would probably just buy bottled water which should be fairly sanitary to begin with and toss it in the freezer, so it's really cold when you add it to your wort. That way it helps with chilling, which can be a challenge for partial boil folks. It definitely would not hurt to boil though and doesn't take very long if it gives you more peace of mind. 5-10 minutes should be fine.
 
I have another question. If additional water needs to be added to the wort before fermentation, does it need to be boiled first?

I've never boiled my top off water. Haven't had an issue yet. I just use the filtered tap water that comes out of my fridge door. Usually use 1-2 gallons.
 
On the bottling time, regardless of what the guy at the homebrew store tells you, the consensus around here is to keep the bottles in a dark closet (cabinet, whatever - just keep them away from light!) as close to 70F as you can keep them, for 3 weeks at a minimum. The higher the gravity of the beer, the more likely it'll be that they'll take longer to carbonate.

Now, it does sound like there's a little confusion about exactly what you brewed... It first sounded like you brewed a Russian Imperial Stout, then it sounded like an Imperial Pale Ale - one of these will mature a lot quicker than the other. Kinda sounds like there was one label on the outside of the box and another on the inside - am I right? If so, what is the color of the actual beer? Is it black like coffee? If not, you probably have an Imperial Pale Ale on your hands, and it should be ready well before November - but your hubby will probably quickly find that homebrew matures given time. Once it's fully carbonated, sure, it's ready to drink. But it'll probably be a much better beer a couple weeks after that. And sadly, the last one is usually the best one. ;) Only makes us want to brew more, usually.
 
Thanks to all for the advice and information. Mid to late July my husband declared the Russian Imperial Ale ready to drink!! I had only gotten 30 bottles. Several bear loving friends also tasted it. (Drank some!) everyone had decided it is very, very good. My husband especially likes it! There are two bottles left. I must get busy again!!
I didn't want to start anything else until the verdict was in on the Russian. He'd like for me to try a pilsner now. And I want to make myself some cider.
 
Thanks to all for the advice and information. Mid to late July my husband declared the Russian Imperial Ale ready to drink!! I had only gotten 30 bottles. Several bear loving friends also tasted it. (Drank some!) everyone had decided it is very, very good. My husband especially likes it! There are two bottles left. I must get busy again!!
I didn't want to start anything else until the verdict was in on the Russian. He'd like for me to try a pilsner now. And I want to make myself some cider.

A pilsner is a very difficult brew. It's a lager, so it needs to be fermented at 50 degrees and then transferred and then held at 34 degrees for 6-8 weeks. I'd recommend trying any ale and put a lager on hold until you have a good grip on brewing, yeast starters, water, and fermentation temperature control.

Most ales are far more forgiving and even if there are a few off-flavors they don't show up quite as much as in a pilsner.
 
Thank you!! I had not really looked into the brewing of a lager. I can't really do that right now! Maybe in the winter?!

I'll look at some ales. Any suggestions of a hoppy ale that isn't too difficult to brew?
 
A pale ale is a great place to start, but if you really love hops, IPA is the way to go. Both are excellent styles to brew for beginners. There are a ton of great recipes on this site, and a ton of great recipe kits you can buy off the shelf too.
 
Yep, good for bittering but also great all around in American ales. I often include it with other American hops to keep them from getting too fruity. The dead ringer kit from northernbrewer that was mentioned earlier in the thread is a very popular kit that is an all-centennial brew (based on Bell's two-hearted). If you're still looking for something to brew it's hard to go wrong with that one.
:mug:
 
My all centennial hop brew doesn't seem to be as successful as I had hoped. I just bottled it yesterday, but I had three or four ounces left and saved it for my husband to taste. His face wasn't really a happy one. He said it has a "tang" to it. We'll see after it carbonates. And maybe not do that one again!
 
My all centennial hop brew doesn't seem to be as successful as I had hoped. I just bottled it yesterday, but I had three or four ounces left and saved it for my husband to taste. His face wasn't really a happy one. He said it has a "tang" to it. We'll see after it carbonates. And maybe not do that one again!


The all centennial hop, I named it "Old One Hundredth", isn't a favorite of my husband. After a month in the bottles it reminded him of Blue Moon, not a beer he likes. So I gave some of it away at Christmas, and took the last of it, a case, to our church choir retreat this past weekend. The Blue Moon thing seemed to have gone away with time. Everyone seemed to like it quite a bit. I brought home a case of empty bottles!!
Remember, I the home brewer who doesn't like beer, so I didn't taste it. I had left one of my 7ounce "test" bottles at home. It was the only one left. Hubby will try it.
I guess I should make some beer just for the choir retreat next January!!
 
I'm not sure what I'm more impressed with. A non-drinking wife so dedicated to her husband that she brews his beer for him, or being able to share your bounty with the church choir.

I hope your husband returns the favor. Perhaps making you a hard cherry lemonade or something. lol

Happy brewing!
 
I've made a discovery! My dear husband, and he truly is wonderful!, is a CPA. Numbers are his first language, I often think. He's always said he doesn't like "citrusy" beers, like Blue Moon. He prefers hoppy, bitter beers. The all centennial beer I made for him he described as "citrusy." My fellow church choir members didn't think it was much like Blue Moon at all. Hal and I talked about it and he finally said that maybe what he meant was a "metallic" taste. I think I see the problem. Well, I think it's maybe one or two problems.
We do all sense tastes a bit differently. And maybe he just doesn't have the verbal ability to describe what he's tasting.
He loves things like Two Hearted, Stone IPA, things that I read described as "citrus." I think he just isn't able to describe what he's tasting. Is there a way to help him learn - other than drinking everything we can find!!!
He likes centennial hops!
Oh, but after the Choir Beer being in bottles for about a month or more, he did like it better. That was also after I had told him how the choir described it.
Beer brewing is a great challenge!, it might be easier if I liked beer. Maybe I should try it again?
 
I'm not sure what I'm more impressed with. A non-drinking wife so dedicated to her husband that she brews his beer for him, or being able to share your bounty with the church choir.

I hope your husband returns the favor. Perhaps making you a hard cherry lemonade or something. lol

Happy brewing!


Thank you! What a nice complement!
Hard cherry lemonade sounds great! Got a recipe?
 
This thread here on HBT and and several videos really helped me along the way. It's pretty easy to make. Somewhat costly, but still pretty easy. Toward the end of this thread on the last 4-5 pages or so, I posted some pictures of my process and results. It's turned out to be a crowd pleaser and I owe all of that success to my friends here on HBT. There are a ton of variations of this recipe, I compiled a lil from each one to make my own. Somewhere along that thread is the recipe that I used. Good luck!
 
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