What Brew Lessons Did You Learn From Your First Batch?

Hey all,

I just completed my first brew on Saturday. I used a NB Irish Red Kit and bolstered it with a pound of dme, some late additions, and US-05 yeast (wanted to make a West Coast Amber/Red- 35 IBU's). Everything went smoothly, hit my gravity, and the primary is bubbling away really nicely! Some planning and foresight is invaluable on brewing day. Anyway, my goal was to brew a batch of beer to give away for Christmas that many would enjoy! A nice mild red ale with tons of aroma hops would be great for my in-laws who won't touch anything but Bud Light.

When I tasted the gravity sample, and thought "man, this is pretty bitter for 35 IBU's, but the hopville calculator spit out these #'s, so it should be ok" I wrote down in my notes, "bitter, tastes like an IPA."

Today, planning my next batch, I started messing with hopville calculator for another recipe. The recipe called for a target of 45 IBU's, but insisted on a late extract addition. On the calculator I noticed the little button that says "late additions." So, I clicked it, and the IBU's jumped into the 70's. Curious, I went back and ran the #'s from Saturday's batch. My 36 IBUs jumped to 57!

I have read everything on home brewing and scoured forums before my first batch, I failed to realize that late extract additions made your beer much more bitter.

The Bad News? I made an IPA that I doubt many of my in-laws will enjoy.

The Good News? More for me! I love IPA's and it was going to be my next brew anyway!



Q: What Lessons Did You Learn From Brewing Your First Batch?

A: Late extract additions significantly impact your hop utilization and can potentially make your beer much more bitter, so plan accordingly.

Patience
Clean the equipment immediately after bottling otherwise its like trying to scrub concrete out of the inside of a carboy
Everything does not need to be absolutely precise, which is the opposite of how my brain is wired.
Dont bother trying to share your accomplishment with people who drink piss water, they will fail to appreciate your efforts.

Brew often. Somehow homebrew just doesn't last as long as the equivalent amount of commercial beer.

+1 for brew more often. While I don't drink near as much as I used to, it seems homebrew doesn't last (whether it be a party, gifts, whatever...). I just bottled a batch and have 5 more batches that will be bottled soon. As soon as all my fermentors are empty I'm going to fill them back up.

Also, I can't say enough good things about an autosiphon, and a vinator.

And lastly if I'd known then what I know now, I wouldn't have paid attention to the "one week primary, one week in bottles" that your kits instructions probably tell you. 3 and 3. No secondary.

Get more than one carboy/bucket/better bottle. One batch fermenting at a time is not enough!

And controlling the fermenting temperature results in much better beer.

Watch the brew pot. It does boil over

Ironically, my first batch came out better than my second batch, and that's probably because of over-confidence and a lack of attention to details. Until you get very proficient with your brewday procedure so that it's pretty much second nature, it's a good idea to plan everything out in advance and write down the steps. If you forget to do certain things in the proper order, it can cause unnecessary delays and stress.

From my first batch? Don't brew in flip-flops.

+1 for Patience. That and to just relax and enjoy the process.

Practical stuff I learned:

Have an extra bucket with sanitizer around... It will come in handy.

also, "mise en place"...Have everything nicely organized on the table before getting started.

+1 on brew more often, organisation, and patience.

Also, after brewing my first batch (from a kit), I've learned that big beers (I added more sugar to bump the ABV) take longer to mellow out, and will not be balanced until after a while.

Proper pitching rates and fermentation temperature control. After I started paying attention to both my beer significantly improved.

+ 1 Patience !!. Wait days for fermentation to be completed, wait days for conditioning, wait days for bottles to cool down....

+ 1 also for brew more often, I bottled my second batch last Saturday, will bottle my third batch next weekend and brew my fourth batch this Friday.

Being sure to have good water to brew with..... not the crappy tap water where I live, and again like most said patience..... Dont let that green beer turn you away from home brewing.

It's important to clean AND sanitize, not just one or the other. Also, let your priming sugar cool down after boiling it in water, otherwise you may kill some yeasties.

Jaysus said:

From my first batch? Don't brew in flip-flops.

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I've brewed multiple batches successfully barefooted.

EllisTX said:

I've brewed multiple batches successfully barefooted.

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I still do it fairly often, but man, I learned an lesson that day.

What I learned...read everything you can get your hands on.

Oh yeah, the "search" function on this website is invaluable when you have questions.

tjs3,

I hear you on the bucket. I had a 3.5 gal frosting bucket with star san and water.....that was sooo nice to have to keep utensils and implements clean!

Jaysus said:

I still do it fairly often, but man, I learned an lesson that day.

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Lol. I do BIAB and while pulling my bag out of the sparge water the rope broke and I got a gallon or so of 172 degree wort all over my legs and feet. I wore flip flops this last time

Honestly though, planning ahead for problems is the best thing I can think of. Have one extra of everything if you can.

chlorinated brew water = 5 gallons of liquid plastic.