First Batch

Just put my first batch into the fermenter!

SWMBO got me a kit from the local LHBS (as did everyone else I feel!), it's a British Pale Ale. OG reading is 1.044 which was expected so I'm pretty happy!

Now sitting in my basement as the yeasty beastie's do their thing over the next couple of weeks!

Gonna get to the LHBS to get me an Irish stout kit to get ready for St. Paddy's day next.

Sounds like you enjoyed it, that's good. You will enjoy it even more when you're drinking it.

Just remember a few things sanitation with something like Starsan.
Don't worry if it takes awhile for bubbles to start, or if they quit sooner than you think they should, the yeast is doing its job.
It's probably not an infection that's just the yeast.
Read about yeast. Learn what they like and don't like. Learn to pitch enough of it.
Patience is the one important ingredient the brew store can sell you.

Brewing is a fun hobby, and drinking what you make is a lot of fun too.
Enjoy!

Yeah I did thanks. Wasn't as much 'action' as I thought haha!

Not got any bubbles yet, not too sure if it's because my basement is a bit coolish. I've brought it up carefully to the 1st floor to see if I can help it on it's way a bit. I'll probably just put it back down in the basement and forget about it. Need to get more bottles to get a pipeline going though.

I would rather be a little cool than warm.
Something else you can do is wrap it in a blanket or coat if you think it's too cold.
The fermenting wort generates heat.

I've put a little blanket under it as it was sitting on the concrete floor so that might help it. I'll put something around it as well if I don't see anything happening. I really need to get a temperature gauge so I know how hot/cool the basement actually is.

Knowing what your temperature is is important for two reasons.
First, you want to try and keep it in the recommended range.
Second, when things work, or don't work, you want to know so that you can know what you want to do in the future.

One more thing I would recommend is to get a notebook and keep detailed notes.
If something goes wrong you want to remember that. If you like the way things turn out you want to be able to duplicate it.
The more detailed the notes, the better. Be sure to include the date. That will help with knowing the fermentation temperatures based on the seasonal basement temperatures.
If you get real serious you will get something to control the temperature while fermentation is going on. Something like a chest freezer with a temperature control for when it's warm, or an insulated box with regulated heat.
A light bulb might be enough heat in a small space.
Don't worry about that sort of thing now. Your basement will work fine and you don't want to dump a bunch of extra money before you know how serious you are going to be about brewing.

By the way, your wife is a keeper if she got you setup for brewing.
She may regret it if you go overboard like some of us. You may find the equipment pile growing. There's always something else to add.

Haha yeah she is! I've actually got a diary that I'm using to record brew dates, gravity readings etc. Temp gauge is on the shopping list!

A regular kitchen thermometer for cooking is cheap and works well for checking wort temperature.
You can find one at the grocery store and when you aren't brewing you can leave it in the basement near where your beer is fermenting.

Cheers for that. I'll make sure to get one.

After nothing happening at all before I went to bed I left the fermenter with a blow off hose and went down this morning to see lots of bubbles and the popping away nicely! Now the waiting game!

Welcome to the addiction!!! As a relatively new brewer, I have found patience has been my most difficult challenge...any beer I rushed showed it in the final product.

I would advise tasting it every time you do a hydrometer reading. I have found that to be very educational to learn how the flavor changes over time. I am amazed how something that I thought would be terrible based on early samples turned into something fabulous by the end of the process.

Enjoy!!

I tried tasting it but nearly threw up as I was slightly hungover and it just tasted like flat beer!