My First Brew! Pics and Video.

So I did my first home brew, Saturday night. I had read a book, and been itching to do it for a long time, so I finally took the plunge. I was intimidated at first, lots to remember, and the possibility of spoilage, etc.

I was originally going to follow the starter recipe in the book I have, which involved just using hops flavored malt extract in a can. This seemed weird to me, but I figured i'd try it and see.

Luckily, the guy at the brew supply place (Doc's Cellars in San Luis Obispo) was very friendly and informative, he lectured me for almost an hour about the proper procedures and what to do and what not to do. He respected that I was on a fairly tight budget, and worked with what I could afford.

I ended up buying the ingredients for a "Summer Ale." It uses malt extract syrup and hops pellets. I was worried about the hops pellets, because I knew I would have to strain them from the wort, and i was worried about contamination. It ended up not being a problem at all.

Oh, and thank you, sir, for turning me away from Bleach, and on to StarSan! That stuff is GREAT!

So here are some pictures, and a little video of the fermenter, happily bubbling away the next day!

And a big thank you to all the members of this forum! The information contained within has helped me GREATLY!!! (LOVE the wiki!)

cheers!

Congratulations on your first brew. I think the Summer Ale is wise choice to start off with.

Congrats! I'm a fairly new brewer as well. Let me guess, you read The Complete Joy of Homebrewing? I read that too before I got my equipment kit. I also did a lot of reading on here and filled in some of the gaps/less than ideal procedures from the book.

I still have the book and am referring to it for recipe ideas, and I will read the all-grain section when I convert (no idea when that'll be though).

Anyways, welcome to the wonder world of brewing!

MBasile said:

Congrats! I'm a fairly new brewer as well. Let me guess, you read The Complete Joy of Homebrewing? I read that too before I got my equipment kit. I also did a lot of reading on here and filled in some of the gaps/less than ideal procedures from the book.

I still have the book and am referring to it for recipe ideas, and I will read the all-grain section when I convert (no idea when that'll be though).

Anyways, welcome to the wonder world of brewing!

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Thanks! Yes, it was the Complete Joy of Homebrewing. From what everyone at the brewing supply shop has said, and what I've read here, it isn't the greatest source of knowledge, however, it certainly got me started in the right direction. I love the "Relax, have another homebrew" philosophy!

cheezerman said:

I ended up buying the ingredients for a "Summer Ale." It uses malt extract syrup and hops pellets. I was worried about the hops pellets, because I knew I would have to strain them from the wort, and i was worried about contamination. It ended up not being a problem at all.

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Welcome to the hobby... or obsession, which ever you prefer

Some may say otherwise, but next time, don't worry about straining the hops from the kettle to the carboy, just dump it all in! No harm can come from it. Or, just be really careful when pouring the wort into the carboy and stop when you get down to the green muddy stuff. But alas, it is a matter of preference.

Let us know how it turns out!

Congrats! I have been glued to HomeBrewing for Dummies for months now, you may want to give it a shot as well.

Congratulations! Welcome to HBT. Welcome to the homebrewing community. Prepare yourself.

cheezerman said:

Thanks! Yes, it was the Complete Joy of Homebrewing. From what everyone at the brewing supply shop has said, and what I've read here, it isn't the greatest source of knowledge, however, it certainly got me started in the right direction. I love the "Relax, have another homebrew" philosophy!

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I don't know anyone that consistently makes bad beer as a result of following Charlie's advice.

Congrats and welcome, I'm back into brewing again after 20 year absense..

I see you also had your first boil-over too..oy.

I hope your beer turns out nicely..good job on the pics and video.