Recent content by CdrDave

I should have clarified: The 2nd kit has only been in the fermenter for 5 days, so it shouldn't be ready and I need to get it right. @Tipsy: Great idea. I tried that, but couldn't hear anything from either. Of course, my hearing is far from perfect also :/

Ok, made my first really dumb mistake as a new brewer. I'm sure this will give you ol' timers a decent smile. I had just received my 2nd fermenter bucket with a NB label. My beginner kit has a BB label. Easy enough right? Two buckets, different labels, easy to tell the difference. I...

Awesome, thanks. Well, I pulled my auto siphon and items from the bucket but left the starsan in the bottling bucket. I should get my next ingredient kit tomorrow and do the boil in the next few days. It's good to know I'm not wasting some good product. I can't believe I didn't discover...

I apologize if this has been discussed, but I didn't find anything on it this evening. So, I just boiled my 2nd kit ever, a Caribou Slobber :D, and had a 5 gallon bottling bucket with Starsan as my prep bucket. Now that I'm done with this kit, and have another coming in tomorrow (a NB Red...

I think I'll hold off on another brew until I can piece together a temp-controlled chest freezer. Not sure I want to turn another 2-week brew kit into a 6-month kit lol.

I like the way you think :P As long as it's bearable and somewhat tasty...I guess it's good to not be too picky.

I'm brewing a Brewer's Best American Pale Ale Kit (1lb Caramel 20L specialty grains, 2oz cascade hops, 1oz Citra hops, and 6.6lb light LME in cans.) I was told this was one of the more forgiving kits to start with. 6 months - ouch! :(

I wasn't aware of the STC-1000. Looks like an affordable option. Did you have to wire it yourself, or did it come with everything needed to install? I may have to start shopping for used chest freezers.

Ok, I haven't even bottled my first extract brew yet (a few more days!!) and I'm already wanting to learn how to customize recipes to experiment with creating beers. :mug: I am limited to extract brewing at the moment (my choice), but I understand - if you know what you're doing - you can...

Oh, I'm gonna cry lol. With timeframes like this, I'm going to need at least 4 fermenting buckets going at all times :cross:

I did check the temp of the wort and made sure it was in line with the kit instructions (70 o) before pitching / transferring. I'm lucky to have a 'man-cave' in this place - my basement (at least this time of year) was staying right at 70 o which I realize is almost at the max suggested range...

Well, it's 2.5 days after my boil and it seems that activity in the fermenter has stopped. I've hung around as long as my patience will allow and have seen no more action in the airlock. 36 hours after pitching, I was getting a bubble every 5 seconds which I'm told is pretty good movement...

Ok! Finally did my first boil and learned a few things (and definitely made some mistakes). I now know what was meant by, "...be careful to not allow the malt to carmalize on the bottom of the boil pot..." :/ I now have a nice, doughnut shaped circle of unmovable blackness on the bottom of...

Wow, wish I had seen that before I made my purchase - thanks. I'll probably grab one of those on a future payday.

I've read through the instructions several times today and am getting pretty excited. Considering it's 2-3 weeks from brew day before I can even enjoy one of these, not sure I can wait to the weekend. I might have to start tonight LOL!