First 5-gal Batch Going Now

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ThomasO

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Bought a kit for English Brown Ale from the local home brew supply store and started it last week. Hope to start siphoning it in a week to a second pale for priming and then bottle. I got the Dunkel Weizten kit as well and want to start that soon too. So far, so good. Keeping this and the Mr Beer kit busy right now as I start my own 'pipeline' and get some extras together for the office Christmas party. Promised a dozen bottles of 4 types and it looks like I'll meet that goal in time.
 
Welcome to the addiction that's masked with a hobby label. 1st advice to you would be to not rush things. Unless you're just brewing session beers, that seems like an ambitious goal you set for the party. Good luck to you.
 
Congratulations. I just did my first batch this weekend. A celebration clone that I hope to crack on Thanksgiving.
 
I've got 3 bottles of a Mr Beer Blond Ale sat aside, and plan to put aside 3 each of the MB Cowboy Lager and the 5 gal English Dark Ale, but might increase the number of each of those to make 12 without waiting on the Dunkel Weitzenbier. We'll see. The Cowboy Lager and the Dark Ale are due for bottling this weekend. Will probably start the Weitzenbier on the 13th or 14th then. I shared my Mr Beer Bewitched Red Ale with my soon-to-be son-in-law and he enjoyed it. May have a new homebrewer in the family shortly with him. At least, so far I have not had a bad batch. Not everything has come out as expected, but it's all gone down well. Now to learn the fine art of siphoning. :)

Tom
 
a dozen bottles of 4 types...meaning 48 beers? I have six homebrews on tap right now and that's more homebrew then I'd be willing to give away...Whattawort gave you good advice. Good work on the brewing...save some for you!!!
 
Bottled and lagered the MB Cowboy Lager last night. With a bit of a head cold, I didnt want to mess up while transferring 5 gallons of brown ale and bottling. My next issue comes to how long I can leave it in the pale before bad things start happening if I dont make time to bottle. Wednesday makes 14 days. On a good side, I noted that the basement has maintained a pretty steady 64 degrees over the period, so being as it is on the low side of the recommended temperature, I think it will still be okay if I transfer, prime and bottle on Saturday. I plan to drop a hydrometer in on Saturday morning to be safe, but an intial taste sample came out very good. I figure I can bottle this weekend and then start the dunkle weitzen next weekend.
 
Bottled and lagered the MB Cowboy Lager last night. With a bit of a head cold, I didnt want to mess up while transferring 5 gallons of brown ale and bottling. My next issue comes to how long I can leave it in the pale before bad things start happening if I dont make time to bottle. Wednesday makes 14 days. On a good side, I noted that the basement has maintained a pretty steady 64 degrees over the period, so being as it is on the low side of the recommended temperature, I think it will still be okay if I transfer, prime and bottle on Saturday. I plan to drop a hydrometer in on Saturday morning to be safe, but an intial taste sample came out very good. I figure I can bottle this weekend and then start the dunkle weitzen next weekend.

Nothing bad will happen if you let your beer sit on the yeast. I've let a batch (nut brown) sit in the bucket for over 4 weeks. Believe it or not, I just forgot it was there. You can bottle whenever. Also, don't drop your hydrometer in the bucket (not saying you were going to). That's when bad things can happen.
This is just my personal opinion, but if you're aiming for a banana flavor in your dunkel, let her go on the warmer side of the yeast suggestion.
 
Thanks. Wasn't 100% sure on putting the hydrometer in the bucket or using a tube for it. Seems I see it done both ways in the books I've been reading. I tend to err on the side of caution, so I will use a tube for it instead. Between the cold I had and a few pesky gnats buzzing around the kitchen, I was hesitant to open the pale this past weekend. A cold snap has pretty well taken care of the gnats and my cold is going away, so this weekend looks like a pretty sure bet for the job at hand. Hadn't really thought about aiming for a flavor on the dunkel yet. My memory of drinking beer in Germany is more around how much I enjoyed it than around remembering how it really tasted. I'll have to tinker a bit and see. I enjoyed the local Cluss as well as the Stuttgart and Hofbrau beers served in Heilbronn. Big difference from the Schmitts that was the mainstay around Fort Monmouth, NJ the last few years before I retired in '95. I think my goal is to get the tastes I remembered enjoying in Germany. One thing I have been doing since I started home brewing is bying the seasonal sample cases of different craft beers available at the local air base Class VI store. That has helped me sort out flavors I enjoy, but to be honest, I dont think I have found one yet that I didn't like. :D
 
Thanks. Wasn't 100% sure on putting the hydrometer in the bucket or using a tube for it. Seems I see it done both ways in the books I've been reading. I tend to err on the side of caution, so I will use a tube for it instead. Between the cold I had and a few pesky gnats buzzing around the kitchen, I was hesitant to open the pale this past weekend. A cold snap has pretty well taken care of the gnats and my cold is going away, so this weekend looks like a pretty sure bet for the job at hand. Hadn't really thought about aiming for a flavor on the dunkel yet. My memory of drinking beer in Germany is more around how much I enjoyed it than around remembering how it really tasted. I'll have to tinker a bit and see. I enjoyed the local Cluss as well as the Stuttgart and Hofbrau beers served in Heilbronn. Big difference from the Schmitts that was the mainstay around Fort Monmouth, NJ the last few years before I retired in '95. I think my goal is to get the tastes I remembered enjoying in Germany. One thing I have been doing since I started home brewing is bying the seasonal sample cases of different craft beers available at the local air base Class VI store. That has helped me sort out flavors I enjoy, but to be honest, I dont think I have found one yet that I didn't like. :D

I would give anything (ok not anything) if they would let us civil servants use the class VI store here on post.
You have the right idea about trying different beers to find the right style for your upcoming brews. I have a hell of a time trying to choose what I want to have on deck. Between the good beers I've made and the adventurous ones I want to make, it's never an easy choice. I finally got the yarbles to make up my take on an old ale this weekend. I probably wouldn't have done it if most of the ingredients hadn't landed in my lap for free. Looking forward to see how this one comes out. The wort after the mash smelled and looked exactly as I expected and the taste after the boil was like candy!
 
This year has been about learning. Got my Mr Beer kit for Christmas, bought all the related books, got the Ale Pale kit given to me, collected bottles, and have made around 7 or 8 Mr B brews and my first regular batch. Next year will be more about experimenting, finding that elusive Weinachtsbier that memory tells me was so good but for the life of me I have no real recollection of taste. Even though I've been tinkering, I am going to a beginner class in November at the local home brew supply store, and will keep reading into the intermediate level. It can only get better with more training and experience. I've enjoyed everything I've made so far. Not everything came out the way it was supposed to, but it all tasted good to me, and the little bit I have shared didnt get any complaints. The test will come with what I take to the staff Christmas party.
 
I've bottled the batch and await trying the first bottle. It was an interesting time. I broke the seal to work with transfer, adding sugar and stuff, and about half of the water in the bubbler thing immediately drained into the mix. Happily the batch made the recommended ending gravity after compensation for actual temperature. Glad I read over the hydrometer instructions one more time. :) So far, so good. I'm going ahead with the next 5-gallons on Sunday with the Dunkel Weizen kit. I learned a lot as I went with the first batch, this one should be even better. I'll be trying out the first of 48 bottles I got out of the first batch on the 27th.
 
Had the first bottle on the 29th, and wow. Great stuff. More than a hint of chocolate, very creamy and great head retention. Now working on a second 5-gal batch, this time the Dunkel Weitzen. Brewed on Sunday and slowly fermenting away. I'm not noticing any bubbling in the airlock, but temp is just above the 65 degree mark, so may just be slow. We shall see in a few weeks.

Tom Oxley
 
Since temps have been on the low side, I have left my Weitzenbier for an extra week. Picked up 48 bottles at Brewtensils and will be working on bottling this Sunday. If this stuff tastes as good as the Brown Ale, I'm totally hooked on this new hobby.

Tom Oxley
 
From bottling day to opening that first bottle, time has flown. I had my first dunkleweitzen on Monday night and it was excellent. Having 2 batches come out so well has really given me some confidence. I have the kit for my third one, a Scottish Ale, ready to go for this weekend. I know I want to do a stout in February so it's ready for March but am not sure what to do for January. Perhaps my first IPA.

Tom Oxley
 
Sounds like your having a blast. I also look forward to my next brew day. I have a German Altbier i bottled 3weeks ago that I'm really wanting to taste. Think I'll put a few in the fridg. tomorrow for Saturday.:ban::mug:
 
My next kit, a Scottish Ale, was brewed 3 weeks ago Sunday. I put the fermentor in the basement, where the temp is usually around 65 all year round. The fermentor temp settled out at about 68 for a couple of days. Then we had the sudden below 0 temp drops, and my basement hit 55, fermentor temp around 58. I brought it back upstairs and slowly back to 68 over 3 days, trying not to shock the yeast. Now it hasnt had a single bubble in the air lock and I'm a bit concerned. I plan to let it sit for one more week then bottle as normal. I've been told that these things dont always bubble away, and the batch of Dunklewietzen I'm nearly done with didnt bubble at all but has been a really great batch. I'm hoping I can repeat that success with this Ale. My fear is that I will reawaken the yeast with the sugars when I prepare and bottle it and end up with exploding bottles. Thanks for your thoughts.

Tom Oxley
 
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