Bottled my first batch tonight

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ctalbot

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I guess I just felt like sharing.

A little over three weeks ago, I spent an evening brewing up an extract kit -- my first time homebrewing. I'm absolutely positive I made a few mistakes along the way, but I had a lot of fun making my "soup" and slowly starting to get a few ideas about the science and the art of homebrewing.

I'm not really here to write about what I did and did not do right, though. I'm just here to say that I spent the evening bottling the beer. This was the process I was most worried about, but I actually enjoyed myself. When I got that siphon working (I bought an auto-siphon device to help things along), I almost did a dance of joy. :D

As my mother used to say, small things amuse small minds. Well, I guess I'm a small-minded person, then. I spent easily three hours or more working with everything before I finally finished -- and after all that, I had really only created a small puddle on the floor and only broken one bottle (while capping :eek:).

The beer in question was a Thomas Coopers Irish Stout extract kit. I didn't do everything the kit recommended, so I'm kind of referring to it as my "half-assed stout," but I'm considering this as a live and learn situation. There was a little bit left after I finished bottling, so I dumped that into a glass and tasted it. I swear I tasted citrus -- and while I understand there are some hops that offer up a citrusy taste, I'm not sure if that's common in stouts. It could just be that the beer had an odd taste because it was flat, but I am just a little worried some kind of bacteria made its way into my beer after all.

No matter what, I'm pretty sure I've found a hobby I'm going to be enjoying for years to come. :D

Chris
 
Chris,

Now you reach the hardest part of being a homebrewer. Waiting for the beer to be ready to taste. Gve the beer a try at two weeks and see what you think. It will get better the longer you wait, but you can't wait too long. There is nothing better than trying your own beer. Welcome to the hobby!

Darren
 
Congrats, man!

I am currently working on my first homebrew as well. I went with the EPA instead of a stout. I hope my beer turns out as good as yours apparently did.

Cheers!

Rob
 
Phew! So that's a normal taste at this stage, eh? Well, I'm breathing a sigh of relief, then.

Next up is another extract kit for a blonde, but I'm also collecting what I need to try my hand at mead (just need to find a local supplier of honey). I've been bitten by the brewing bug. :)

Chris
 
Congrats bro! Glad to hear it turned out well. I know what you mean about being bitten by the bug. After I tasted my first brew, I couldnt wait to try mead and cider and wine and and and....

Its a great hobby :mug:
 
Yes indeed brewing is the passtime of kings. Please don't try that brew for two weeks though. I used to drink too many before it was "ready" because it was carbonated and decent tasting. I understand testing one along the way, but I think that's my biggest reccomendation besides supreme sanitization. I was that fool who by the time the beer was awesome, I'd already drank most of it. NO MORE MY FRIENDS! Two weeks til I test, then save the rest for one more week and it will be great. AS FOR THE HONEY: if you guys have any type of wholesale food stores up in Canada, look there for honey. I just picked up 5 pounds of Dutch Gold honey for 6.99US, which is a great price because honey can get expensive. Congrats on your first-born brew, I remember mine well!
 
ctalbot said:
So far, a week in the bottle and no glass grenades. I'm taking that as a good sign. ;)

Chris

It doesn't take much to please you, does it? :D

Well, have you tried one yet? I bet you have...............................
 
Yooper Chick said:
It doesn't take much to please you, does it? :D
Not really, no. ;)

Well, have you tried one yet? I bet you have...............................
I figured I'd let them sit for two full weeks before touching them. But this Friday, I'll be opening up at least one to give it a taste. :)

Chris
 
I finally opened the first bottle this afternoon, and it's ... not bad. Some of that citrus-y flavour is still evident, but it's mellowed a fair bit. I think I'll put some of it away to age to see what happens to the taste in a few weeks' (or months') time. The rest, I'll drink ... and share with my beer-drinking friends. :)

I was a little worried about the carbonation process, but it seems like I was worrying too much. The head is kind of weak, but it's a nice, dark colour with a stout-ish taste (oddly enough ;)). It doesn't suck. :D

What would it take to get a Guinness-like head on a homebrew?

Chris
 
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