ohiobrewtus
Well-Known Member
Hey all,
First I've got to mention how great of a resource this forum has proven to be to me. I've been lurking for a couple of months now just trying to absorb everything that I possibly can. Reading countless topics here made my decision to try 5 gallon brewing and see what the end product would be.
I had messed with the Mr. Beer kits a few years ago but never produced anything that was much above cat urine with foam. I got 1 equipment kit from beer & wine hobby with an amber LME, followed their instruction to the T (with the exception of the hops) for my first batch. That batch will be going to bottles this Friday (4/13) and so far I'm very pleased with the overall taste, color and aroma of it.
I quickly discovered why so many people say welcome to the obsession because before I had even racked my first batch to secondary I had another equipment kit on the way (that comes with a standard ingredient kit) and a Lawnmower Ale kit.
Now that I have to wait for batch #1 to condition in bottles and won't be taking batches #2 and #3 to secondary until Friday I've had some time to think about some of the really important homebrew questions
1. How much of my homebrew should I allocate to my budweiser guzzling freeloading friends? I want them to try it and all, but do you find yourself keeping the really good brews that you make mostly to yourself and family? Example - I have a poker game at the house once a month - should I count on them depleting my precious brew that I patiently waited for or should I just not even offer any of it up? I'm trying to find the line between being known as 'the guy who always has free beer WOOHOO!' and 'the guy who makes his own really great beer and lets us have a few when we come over, but we still need to bring our own if we want to get wasted'.
2. Is it just me or should one always have a batch of <enter her favorite beer here> around for the SWMBO so as to decrease the amount of nagging. That way she can be told to RDWHAHB.
3. Is it bad that I don't even have a bottled, carbonated batch yet and I'm aldready dreaming of an AG setup with 27 Gallon conical fermenters? If SWMBO ever gets wind of this (see #2 above) I figure I can always strap a windmill and some solar panels on top of the thing and tell her that I'm trying to find a way to use beer as an alternative fuel source and my research could one day save the environment.
4. Is it ok to tell your friends who don't like your homebrew that they wouldn't know a real beer if it came up and smacked them in the face, then dump a can of Bud on them?
5. Are Hallertau pellets supposed to have the same effect on dogs that hardcore narcotics have on people? I accidentally dropped one while I was measuring out for batch #2 and I swear that my dog was ready to hump the trash can.
Alright, enough joking around. There is some serious merit to some of the questions above, but I'm dead serious about the content in this forum. Thanks again all and I'll be sure to post results of my first 3 brews once I can taste the finished product!
First I've got to mention how great of a resource this forum has proven to be to me. I've been lurking for a couple of months now just trying to absorb everything that I possibly can. Reading countless topics here made my decision to try 5 gallon brewing and see what the end product would be.
I had messed with the Mr. Beer kits a few years ago but never produced anything that was much above cat urine with foam. I got 1 equipment kit from beer & wine hobby with an amber LME, followed their instruction to the T (with the exception of the hops) for my first batch. That batch will be going to bottles this Friday (4/13) and so far I'm very pleased with the overall taste, color and aroma of it.
I quickly discovered why so many people say welcome to the obsession because before I had even racked my first batch to secondary I had another equipment kit on the way (that comes with a standard ingredient kit) and a Lawnmower Ale kit.
Now that I have to wait for batch #1 to condition in bottles and won't be taking batches #2 and #3 to secondary until Friday I've had some time to think about some of the really important homebrew questions
1. How much of my homebrew should I allocate to my budweiser guzzling freeloading friends? I want them to try it and all, but do you find yourself keeping the really good brews that you make mostly to yourself and family? Example - I have a poker game at the house once a month - should I count on them depleting my precious brew that I patiently waited for or should I just not even offer any of it up? I'm trying to find the line between being known as 'the guy who always has free beer WOOHOO!' and 'the guy who makes his own really great beer and lets us have a few when we come over, but we still need to bring our own if we want to get wasted'.
2. Is it just me or should one always have a batch of <enter her favorite beer here> around for the SWMBO so as to decrease the amount of nagging. That way she can be told to RDWHAHB.
3. Is it bad that I don't even have a bottled, carbonated batch yet and I'm aldready dreaming of an AG setup with 27 Gallon conical fermenters? If SWMBO ever gets wind of this (see #2 above) I figure I can always strap a windmill and some solar panels on top of the thing and tell her that I'm trying to find a way to use beer as an alternative fuel source and my research could one day save the environment.
4. Is it ok to tell your friends who don't like your homebrew that they wouldn't know a real beer if it came up and smacked them in the face, then dump a can of Bud on them?
5. Are Hallertau pellets supposed to have the same effect on dogs that hardcore narcotics have on people? I accidentally dropped one while I was measuring out for batch #2 and I swear that my dog was ready to hump the trash can.
Alright, enough joking around. There is some serious merit to some of the questions above, but I'm dead serious about the content in this forum. Thanks again all and I'll be sure to post results of my first 3 brews once I can taste the finished product!