It's a yeastie feastie!!

I brewed my first batch ever on Friday night and had such a GREAT time!! I did make a few mistakes along the process, but nothing that I believe is going to "mess up" my beer in the end.

It is a brown ale, LME and DME from Briess, Cascade hops and maltodextrine in the recipe...the boil took FOREVER on my electric range but that was fine. The only time I got irritated was in trying to cool the wort. I now know why so many folks insist on a wort chiller! I was using Munton's yeast which I did decide to rehydrate after reading up on at length. I wanted to give the Yeastie Boys a nice start on their new life as beer makers.

I stuck the fermenter in the swamp tub to sit and when I went to check the next day, the fermenter is venting at a nice and slow but steady pace which it has been doing since

Wow, I went and stuck my nose over the airlock and it smells fantastic!! I am very happy with this brewing thing so far!

Congratulations, W! Sounds like you had fun

Congrats! Just be careful, this is an addictive hobby

Thanks, it WAS fun and I AM addicted now

Agreed that it can be frustrating trying to cool the wort... I got myself in trouble when we stayed up til midnight waiting for the wort to cool (we started at 7:30pm!!) and we were just hanging out drinking some whiskey and beer.. ended up going to work with a hangover the next day since it took so dang long to cool! D'oh! Congrats on your first batch.

Wort chiller and a pre-chiller for best results. Best (near) $100 you can spend toward your brewery IMO.

fineexampl said:

Wort chiller and a pre-chiller for best results. Best (near) $100 you can spend toward your brewery IMO.

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I use a counterflow chiller with a bucket of ice water. 2.5 gallons of water, 25 pounds of ice and a little pond pump can cool 5 gallons from boil to 65 degrees as fast it it pours through the system on gravity. About 5 minutes.

Or don't waste water/money, poor the hot wort into the fermenter and pitch the next morning!

Thats what I do every time and have NEVER had a problem with clarity

Germelli1 said:

Or don't waste water/money, poor the hot wort into the fermenter and pitch the next morning!

Thats what I do every time and have NEVER had a problem with clarity

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I am already trying this experiment as of yesterday. I didn't pay for my wort chiller so i love it dearly. :rockin:

Germelli1 said:

Or don't waste water/money, poor the hot wort into the fermenter and pitch the next morning!

Thats what I do every time and have NEVER had a problem with clarity

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If i did not get to collect hardware, i am not sure i would enjoy brewing as much. I enjoy having the gear.

BrewMoreBeers said:

If i did not get to collect hardware, i am not sure i would enjoy brewing as much. I enjoy having the gear.

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I understand completely! For me I enjoy MAKING the hardware...so I guarantee you if the price of copper drops significantly, I'll have a IC build within a week.

Even if I never use it, I love to build it

you could always build them and sell them... that would give you a chance to innovate the design and turn your hobby into a side business. You can then take a loss every 2 of 3 years on your taxes.

You have to love a hobby that becomes a business and leads to tax deductions (most of the time).

Fine Print - this is not tax advice... consult your tax professional.