Finally got all of my ingredients and hardware and brewed my first batch today. It was a ton of fun! I used 3 gallons of water, Muntons Export Pilsner Connoisseurs (3.3lbs), and Briess Pilsen Light DME 2 Lb, and an ounce of Cascade hops with an alpha acid of 8.9%. The alpha acid seemed a bit high, so I used about half for the whole 60 minute brew, and then the other half from the 40 minute mark. Then I scooped out about 3/4 oz of the hops, at the 50 minute mark, as I didn't want it to be too bitter. It looks good. Did an ice bath as suggested then poured it into the 6.5 gallon carboy and added 2 gallons of water (and the yeast of course).
Looking good so far. I don't have a hose on the carboy, just a standard airlock right now. It's been about 6 hours and all seems to be going well, the air lock is bubbling every once in a while. Not to often, but I'm kind of glad about that because I don't want a blowout. Although I think I'll be fine in the 6.5 gallon carboy.
Made a few youtube videos for my friends that were thinking about getting into homebrewing. It was a lot easier than expected. After sanitizing everything, I wasn't as excited as I had hoped (and maybe a bit nervous), about boiling my wort. I figured taking half an hour to get the water boiling, then another hour for the actual boil might be boring. It definitely wasn't. Playing with the ingredients, smelling and feeling them, especially the hops, was a great experience and I had a lot of fun! I did get a very slight burn on the bottom, but nothing I'm to worried about. The electric stove I was using was not really made for 5 gallon stock pots. The burn was only right where the range touched the pot and was very light.
Thank you all for all of your help, and I will let you know how it turned out in about 3 weeks!
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