Recent content by debo

Update time - my classes this spring didn't allow me to come home until now, so my brew sat in the secondary a week/2 weeks longer than I had planned. Anyway, I bottled today, and it appears as though this brew should be just fine. The O.G. was right on the money for this kit, and I measured...

Hell yeah! Another person rockin' an Aerostar as their first car...haha. You seriously cannot kill those things (minus the transmission on the later models). My dad's was running strong at 260k before some jackwagon pulled out in front of him.

1996 Ford Aerostar. If it was a 1995 or earlier, I'd love it more. The transmission on the '96 is garbage relative to earlier Aerostars. Anyway, I love that damn thing, but it's becoming too much of a money pit/liability, so I'll be purchasing my first car in the next month or so.

The cheap paint can opening tools and caribeaners (sp?) work pretty well. I'm hoping to finalize plans for a wall mount opener tomorrow and have it fabricated later in the day. It'll be pretty slick - I have some 1/4" scrap that is shaped like a bottle cap - it's just too fitting to not use!

I used the method someone else used on here (I can't remember his name): I cooled the brew to 100 and transferred it to my bottling bucket. To that, I added chilled, distilled water until the volume reached what was required by the recipe. That brought the temp down to 80 degrees. Then, I...

Yeah, I'm definitely planning to do that.

A bit of an update: The company I ordered from has shipped me a replacement kit (which was really generous and not expected). Aside from getting an opportunity to run the same kit properly, they definitely restored my faith in them - that's pretty solid customer service/response if you ask me...

Tonight was my first brew, too. My advice is this: Make sure you have the proper yeast...lol Good luck with the brew!

Yeah, I'll definitely update this process. From what I read in my scramble to find a solution tonight, it appears as though I shouldn't have undesirable values for gravity, ABV, etc., but the taste will almost assuredly carry some kind of stale bread notes. I don't think it'll clash too poorly...

Had I not been in a bit of a panic as I was about midway through the process, that advice would definitely have been heeded! First brew, rookie/overzealous mistake noted on my end. I do appreciate everyone's input, though! I have much to study up on over my spring break, and all of these...

Had I noticed before I added the malt extract, that's definitely the route I would have gone. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I did contact the supplier just to levy options (truthfully, just a promise of "we won't do this again" would be ok with me - I'm not seeking a replacement, but...

Thanks for the support. My ego took a bit of a hit tonight...haha. I'm not one to listen to intuition/"gut feelings", but I'm kicking myself a bit for not picking up some supplies while at the liquor store/brew supply near my university before heading home for break. Oh well. I'll live...

Oh, by no means am I going to toss the brew (if that's what you implied). Even if it's not particularly pleasing, there's always something I can learn from the process - namely, I need a slightly larger brew kettle. I'm mostly mad at myself for not slowing down to start and double checking my...

Unfortunately, I'm about 150 miles from a brew supply/location to obtain yeast, so that's out of the question. I've also pitched already, so I'm stuck. Over the past hour or two, I've come to grips with my likely disappointing brew...lol It'll still be drinkable, but it won't be quite...

For the sake of not bumping an older thread, I'll post my experience with my first brew so far here: In my eagerness to get started, I steeped my grain pretty much immediately after sanitizing everything that arrived with my brew kit. As I started to steep, a creeping feeling that something...