Newest Threads

TwoHeadsBrewing · 03-11-2008, 02:06 AM

I brewed my first batch up this past weekend...a nice pale ale extract kit, and documented the whole deal so thought I would post. Never posted pics so I'll just link to google pics:

I would've had a homebrew...but I'm making my first batch!

Ah...the cascade hop aroma!

Wort chiller in and ready to go

Straining out the hops, racking to the primary

More Pics from Brew Day March 08...

67coupe390 · 03-11-2008, 05:15 AM

Good Deal !!!!!!!!! looks like you two are having fun. Your a brave man for not using a hop bag +1 Now its the hard part ........

Waiting to drink it!!!!!! LOL

**Jaybird** · 03-11-2008, 05:21 AM

Congrats gentelmen * ahh the first batch... to be young again*

whatca gonna name her??
JJ

Blender · 03-11-2008, 05:27 AM

Waiting is one of the most trying parts of homebrewing. I would recommend that you get a good pipeline going so that the beer has a nice time to age. If you have any more of the $2.00 Cascades I take some.

**Denny's Evil Concoctions** · 03-11-2008, 05:43 AM

Good going guys. Yeah, brew some more so you don't go through a beer drought. It's nice to be able to drink some HB while brewing/waiting for the next batch.

Welcome to the forum.

**Jaybird** · 03-11-2008, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denny's Evil Concoctions

It's nice to be able to drink some HB while brewing/waiting for the next batch..

I call it insperation beer
JJ

TwoHeadsBrewing · 03-11-2008, 06:46 AM

1. Brave for not using hop bag?
- I think ignorant is a more correct term...didn't even know people used those for hops, just for steeping grains. DOH!

2. What am I going to name er?
- Well I was thinking DST Pale, but I hate daylight savings time. Still, thats the day it was brewed on so it's a bit unique. Another idea is Ben's Backyard Ale, but I'm really not sure what it will taste like. If it sucks...should I still name it???

3. More $2.00 cascades? I just picked them up at the LHBS and they seem to have plenty more. However, my LHBS was started by the founder on Sierra Nevada so maybe the current owner has a special supplier

. If you handle shipping, I'll send some for ya!

4. What's up next?
- I was thinking a wheat...probably the Citrus Wheat on the recipe page here, it looks mighty tasty. Plus, it's going to hit 90-100F here in another 2 months so a nice refreshing wheat would be a perfect beverage.

Blender · 03-11-2008, 07:15 AM

With the hot weather heading to your area you will need to plan something to keep your fermentation temps in the 60's. It really makes a difference in the taste of the beer.

PM sent on the hops.

JimC · 03-11-2008, 07:33 AM

That brewing space is way to clean and organized.

TwoHeadsBrewing · 03-11-2008, 03:51 PM

I recently got a mini-fridge from a friend that I plan to use for fermentation. It's just a tad too shallow to fit my 6.5g carboy in, so I'll need to make some modifications. It's a great little fridge, I think I just need to take the door off and make an extension out of plywood and foam board insulation. And when all of that is done, I'll need to get a temp control gauge to keep the temp steady. Like I said in a previous post, I'd like to keep this batch as natural as I can for comparison later on. When I do this same recipe again, I want to keep the temp between 62-66 and see what that does to the flavor of the beer. From what people say, my yeast strain (Wyeast 1056) is clean up to 80F and should not give any off flavors until that point but I guess I'll figure that out in a couple weeks

.

I've seen a pretty cool setup where someone took all the internals out of their fridge and built a custom box. I kind of like that route, since I could not only have a place for my carboy, but also a shelf up top for bottle conditioning. However, just making a small add-on box for the fridge would enable me to keep the fridge in perfect working condition instead of destroying it in the process.

What do you guys do for fermentation temp control?