I must be a lucky first timer

So I wanted to play around with the BeerAlchemy program on my Mac just to see what i looked like so to test i put my kits recipe from my first brew i just finished. It was an Irish Red Ale kit from Northern Brewer. On Northern brewer it gave the range for OG but i didn't see much more detail than that.

Freaky enough once i plugged everything into BeerAlchemy it gave me an expected OG and FG of 1.051 and 1.013 with an ABV of 5%. It kind of freaked me out because those were my exact numbers from my batch. I just thought I must be doing something right by listening to these guys on the forum because I pitched the kit directions and went with what i've learned on here.

Used the BOV. Waited 2 weeks for my Fermentation and many other great tidbits.

I bottled my batch on saturday so now i'm patiently waiting for the 3 weeks to go by where i get to finally taste the fruits of my labor. Although the test smells and tastes from my Gravity readings were pretty yummy too.

Just wanted to send out thanks from a new brewer to the rest of the forum.

nice! congrats. hoping to bottle my first at the end of this week.

good job. It's soooo nice when you get a brew right. I just tasted an alpha king clone I made and it was amazing. Kinda pissed cause the carbonation is inconsistant but the taste is great.

Alright!!! I'm STOKED for you man!!!! You're on the right track, for sure!! Now you need to stick around and hang with us on this forum! Shop around, but you'll find that we're nicer than other forums!!! :rockin: Have fun and post the results when you first taste it!

How do you like Brew Alchemy? I currently use an app for my iPhone (brew math). I hear ya about carbonation---I entered a Hefeweizen in my local competition and got between 20-28 out of 50 but the month prior (different bottle), I got 32-25 out of 50. Most of the complaints on the recent judging were based on carbonation.

But congrats on your first brew!!! It is always worth the wait, but years later, I still taste one a week until the 4 week mark, just to taste the changes.

Keep it up! Great hobby (and it pays off, too, hahaha)

Yeah I'm liking it so far. The SWMBO prob won't be happy to find out i already have the ingredients for my next couple batches in my cart ready to check out on NB.

Also, BeerAlchemy seems ok but I obviously don't know enough about brewing yet to tell if its a good product. From what i hear the guy that did brew math is the guy that wrote BeerAlchemy too.

I've got two brews under my belt, both, like yourself, from Northern Brewer. I am using BeerSmith and for all intensive purposes I too get the program to call OG dead on, but not my actual measurements. I happened to think though, I've never calibrated my hydrometer and I bet that's it. I do love Northern Brewer. Have you looked at the print catalogs? There's stuff there that I think isn't online.

Bill

There's only so much to be said for 'calibrating' your hyrdrometer. What is the result you're looking for? Specific, chemistry-degree readings or: started here/finished here? I find hydrometers especially helpful for "potential alcohol/gravity starts here-----finishes here: here's your result".

Numbers to numbers.

-J

I love this forum....There is so much information and people that are willing to give you real, tangible information.. How many times can I use that word. That being said, read and read and read. I've lost my buzz more times than not, just reading and learning. I love it. Brew #1 awesome..........Brew #2.......not ready.
I have learned the hardest lesson from this forum, hate it, but it is right. TIME is the key to a really, really good first experience. However, that being said, drink it whenever you feel like drinking it cuz you made it and it will be the bomb!!!!