And now we wait...

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FSR402

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I just got done with my very first brew.. Yea me... :ban:
Man that was a lot of work I can't even begin to imagine what an all grain brew would be like. I started setting up at 4 pm and was done and all cleaned up by 8 pm. Took a lot longer then I thought it was going to.

The OG was 1.050 - 1.052. It was hard to tell with the bubbles around it. The kit from Brewer's Best (Irish Stout) said that it should be 1.048 1.050 so it looks like I was right there.
I hope it's good and I did not screw anything up. lol
The kit had you doing a partial boil but I went with more of a full boil. I put 5 gallons in the pot, brought it up to 160* then dropped in my two grain bags for 20 minutes. Pulled the bags out and brought it to a boil. Then put in the dark LME that I had the cans sitting in hot water for the last half an hour to make them pore better. Then added the malt stuff (I can't remember the name right now) and the bittering hops. Boiled for 45 minutes and dropped in my wort chiller, boiled for another 10 minutes (55 so far) and put in my finishing hops. Boiled for 5 more minutes and then cut the heat and kicked on the water. It was down to 70-75* with in 5 minutes and then I "auto siphon" it thru a stainless strainer into the primary fermentor. I then had to add about 3/4 of a gallon of bottled water to get it to the 5 gallon mark. Mixed it up really well and checked the OG. Pitched the yeast and capped it up. Now it's sitting in my "Fermenting room" down stairs at 64* and in the dark.

So has any of you sat there watching it so that you would see the first bubble? I was thinking about that.. :D
 
Congrats! I hated the waiting on the first brew, but it was completely worth it. I went 1-2-2 before I broke into my first 5. Once you can drink the first it'll make doing the next so much easier.... or at least less thirsty so no worries!

RS
 
FSR402 said:
So has any of you sat there watching it so that you would see the first bubble?
No...never...and I never lie...

Congrats! You got it right in the title: WAIT! Have some patience...you'll be rewarded! Your brew times will begin to decrease by quite a bit as you gain experience. I can complete an AG batch in about 4 hours if I'm doing a simple mash of well modified grain, sparge somewhat fast, and do a short (45-60 min) boil. My AG times are usually more like 6 hours start to finish.
 
Congrats!

Carboy watching is a favorite hobby of mine.
One thing though, be careful when making adjustments to kit recipes. Using more water in the boil will allow for greater hops utilization. The end product might end up hoppier than the kit was designed for. (this might not be a bad thing)
 
FSR402 said:
I just got done with my very first brew.. Yea me... :ban:
Man that was a lot of work I can't even begin to imagine what an all grain brew would be like. I started setting up at 4 pm and was done and all cleaned up by 8 pm. Took a lot longer then I thought it was going to.


Well, like anything...it becomes easier and more efficient (in general) every time you do it. You'll figure out what you need to do, what you don't have to do and what you should never do pretty quick.

Congrats! :mug:
 

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