Passow's First Homebrew

Well, it’s finished. Today’s session of home brewing beer all by my lonesome (brewed before once or twice with friends, but this is the first that I can call my own). Thought I might share some pics and the recipe (thanks to BierMuncher for the starting point!) Anyone know what style this is going to turn out to be?:

Centennial Blonde Partial Mash
4.00 lb Dark Malt Extract (Dry)
0.75 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Crystal Malt (20.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (55 min)
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (35 min)
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (20 min)
0.05 oz Fresh Cascade (10 min)
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (5 min)
1 Pkgs Muntons Gold Yeast

Original Gravity Reading: 1.031

Soaking the grain.


Pic of some fresh hops that I got straight from the vine.


Sanitize sanitize sanitize!


I also did the pot of wort in the sink with ice method. Then I took some water that I had boiled then frozen the night before and dumpted it in the wort. I think it cooled it to about 70 degrees in about 3 minutes! AMAZING!

The fermenter doing it’s thing.

Did you only use fresh hops? How did you figure how much you needed with them still wet?

Looks nice though. :rockin:

........................I won't say it.

FSR402 said:

Did you only use fresh hops? How did you figure how much you needed with them still wet?

Looks nice though. :rockin:

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Nope, did not use only fresh (see the recipe I posted in the main post above). It was mainly for aroma hopping. I know, it's my first beer and already I'm effin with the recipe. I tasted it briefly from when I took the gavaty reading....funky and hopy so I think it'll turn out as a interesting first brew, which is what I'm aiming for.

I was sitting down talking to my fried on the phone about how I'm worried about the yeast, and right then and there the ferm lock bubbled! I let out a HUGE victory chear! Then it bubbled again! Another chear shot out from my mouth! We're on our way to beer!!!!

imaguitargod said:

...Then it bubbled again! Another chear shot out from my mouth! We're on our way to beer!!!!

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The purity of that statement is so fundamentally wonderful.

Here's the air lock bubbling away!

imaguitargod said:

I was sitting down talking to my fried on the phone about how I'm worried about the yeast, and right then and there the ferm lock bubbled! I let out a HUGE victory chear! Then it bubbled again! Another chear shot out from my mouth! We're on our way to beer!!!!

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With your handle, I couldn't help but get a mental picture of your victory cheer.

Bwahahaha! Nice one, Fingers!

"WYLD STALLYNS!!!"

The only thing I might have changed would be having more extract since 1.031 is fairly low. However it should make a good session beer. Congrats on your first homebrew.

mysteryberto said:

The only thing I might have changed would be having more extract since 1.031 is fairly low. However it should make a good session beer. Congrats on your first homebrew.

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Ya, the original recipe said 4.5lbs of DME and I went with 4lbs only to cut costs slightly.

imaguitargod said:

Ya, the original recipe said 4.5lbs of DME and I went with 4lbs only to cut costs slightly.

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Homebrew is not about cost it's about great beer.

FSR402 said:

Homebrew is not about cost it's about great beer.

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True true true....it's my first time, I'm still playing with what I can and can't do....

Well, it's now slowed down and is only bubbling once every 11-12 seconds....sound about right?

Don't go by bubble time.... Check your gravity and that will be the best in determining when it is ready...

don't even touch it for 10 days. Forget that it's even there, the yeast will do the job without you watching over them.

FSR402 said:

don't even touch it for 10 days. Forget that it's even there, the yeast will do the job without you watching over them.

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+1 one on that... I hawked my first batch and upon reading more and more here, I have left batches up to 3 weeks before racking / kegging...

good luck

Duckfoot said:

Don't go by bubble time.... Check your gravity and that will be the best in determining when it is ready...

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I've got a POS way to pull the beer out to check the gravity (6 foot racking tube, place thumb on one end method...). Thing I should just get a Wine Theif and usre that to fill the cylinder for testing? I read it's not good to disturb the beer.

FSR402 said:

don't even touch it for 10 days. Forget that it's even there, the yeast will do the job without you watching over them.

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The recipe is a 5-7 day recipe using a yest that's fast to ferment....should I still use the 10 day rule? I started Friday and am thinking of checking the gravity on Wednesday.

Duckfoot said:

+1 one on that... I hawked my first batch and upon reading more and more here, I have left batches up to 3 weeks before racking / kegging...

good luck

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Thanks for the good luck wishes!

I use a thief or the racking port on my one Better Bottle... I don't generally check until at least two weeks...

So it doesn't really matter when you bottle after fermentation stops? Even if it's 5 days?

imaguitargod said:

So it doesn't really matter when you bottle after fermentation stops? Even if it's 5 days?

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No, you'll still have yeast in suspension to carbonate in the bottle. I like to let my batches sit on the yeast cake up to 4 weeks and then bottle, keg, or transfer to secondary for aging.

Nothing beats a wine thief for taking samples from anything without a racking port. Easiest way to do it and a thief really isn't all that expensive for the hassle it saves you.

mmb said:

No, you'll still have yeast in suspension to carbonate in the bottle. I like to let my batches sit on the yeast cake up to 4 weeks and then bottle, keg, or transfer to secondary for aging.

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+1- give the yeast time to clean up. They're not just good for making alcohol, they can clean everything up real nice for you too. I tend to forget about my beers now a days and they usually sit there a month. Then cold crash for a couple days, then off to Keg/Bottles