Ironman2

Recipes 

Wanted to start up on my second brew attempt and make a Bass Clone again because it was so good but my local shop was out of the kits so I decided on a Fat Tire Clone.

What is great about home brewing is when you get your wife involved. Over the weekend we went to the LA County Fair and bought an overpriced Miller Draft.

We used to really like that beer but you should have seen the look on my wifes face. LOL. She said its almost like water. Bravo I have turned her into an ale drinker. Therefore it is easy to spend the $$$ on home brew equip. now.

Brewed the Fat Tire last night OG was supposed to be 1.059 for 5 gallons. I have 5.5 gallons in the primary right now and my OG measured with a hydrometer at 60 degrees ( dont want to do the calculations so I cool it down in the freezer) turned out to be 1.052.

My way to calculate to see if the OG was close to the recommended 1.059 is this:

1.059/16 half gallons = 0.066188
1.052/16 half gallons = .06575

Pretty darn close.

Checked the airlock in the morning and the Nottingham yeast is causing it all to bubble away nicely.

It is so much easier brewing the second time around. Only issue I had was getting the wort cooled down to 80 degrees. Used 1 slushy semi frozen gallon of spring water and 2.5 gallons of room temp spring water. Along with the water batch this only got it down to 95 degrees. I think I need to invest in a copper wort cooler.

Looking to start a Porter for the next try very soon. Any recommendations?

Primary: Fat Tire Clone
Secondary: 5 Gal Elderberry Wine
Secondary: 5 Gal. Peach Wine
Bottled: 6 Gal Peach Cider - wondering if it is really drinkable after 1 month in bottle. Tastes a little sour.
Contemplating: Chocolate Porter

dewey316

Recipes 

A wort chiller is one of the best upgrades you can do. Everytime I use mine, I keep thinking it was probably the best $40 I have spent on this hobby. You can't go wrong, make the whole process go quicker, less worring about temps, and you make better beer. You can't go wrong.

__________________
John

Primary 1 -- Coffe and Cream Robust Porter
Primary 2 -- Vanilla Cream Porter
Secondary 1 -- Hail-Storm IPA
Secondary 2 -- Empty this week
Drinking -- NW Oatmeal Stout, Caramel Cream, Belgian/Irish N-Fusion, House Pale Ale

Beer Snob

Recipes 

I would agree that a wort chiller is a good investment. However your only cooling 2.5 gal... you can put the pot in the sink with cold water.... I did it this way for a very long time before getting a wort chiller.

__________________
Michael

"Don't worry, have a homebrew." ,"The "Bible"

Cherries in the wheat
Michael's Wheat