I just completed my first brew and I am totally hooked!
I think everything went pretty good... But before the boil I was totally unprepared...
Besides the plastic fermenter, etc. I was pretty much ready to go except I discovered that my kettle could only hold 4 gallons. I suppose I could have done a partial boil, but being a first timer I didn't want to risk a catastrophe. So off to the store I went...
Everyone there was pretty cool to me. I asked them about their kits and they helped me pick out an American Pale Ale recipe kit. When I asked about brew pots, he suggested I buy an 8 gallon one with double-sided walls and a ball valve fitting. It also has a fitting for a thermometer. Twas a bit more than I wanted to pay but I considered the long term and I thought I was good first upgrade to my gear.
Anyway, got the kit, got the kettle... warp speed home.
Unpacked the kit, clean/sanitized my equipment ... Super excited!! ... And then I realized I didn't pick up any water...
Fast forward ...OK so now back from the market, water in the sweet new brew pot, getting ready to steep my specialty grains... and realize... I have no muslin bags. A little defeated at this point, I turn to Google to see, if by the love of everything holy, there was a closer HBS near me. Prayers answered, and it was 10 minutes away. I need to get out more...
The boil went pretty good with the exception that I couldn't get one burner on my stove to put out enough juice to boil all that water. I decided to try turning on 2 burners and positioned the pot to sit over both. It worked. The other issue I had was... the utensil I used to stir the wort was a little uh ... short. Burnt my fingers a bit but I bet it's gonna be worth it in the long run.
I learned a few things on my first brew:
1) Be prepared
2) Don't Panic
3) Be patient
It's been in the fermenter for about 9 hrs now. No activity yet but I'm sure it'll happen soon.
I think everything went pretty good... But before the boil I was totally unprepared...
Besides the plastic fermenter, etc. I was pretty much ready to go except I discovered that my kettle could only hold 4 gallons. I suppose I could have done a partial boil, but being a first timer I didn't want to risk a catastrophe. So off to the store I went...
Everyone there was pretty cool to me. I asked them about their kits and they helped me pick out an American Pale Ale recipe kit. When I asked about brew pots, he suggested I buy an 8 gallon one with double-sided walls and a ball valve fitting. It also has a fitting for a thermometer. Twas a bit more than I wanted to pay but I considered the long term and I thought I was good first upgrade to my gear.
Anyway, got the kit, got the kettle... warp speed home.
Unpacked the kit, clean/sanitized my equipment ... Super excited!! ... And then I realized I didn't pick up any water...
Fast forward ...OK so now back from the market, water in the sweet new brew pot, getting ready to steep my specialty grains... and realize... I have no muslin bags. A little defeated at this point, I turn to Google to see, if by the love of everything holy, there was a closer HBS near me. Prayers answered, and it was 10 minutes away. I need to get out more...
The boil went pretty good with the exception that I couldn't get one burner on my stove to put out enough juice to boil all that water. I decided to try turning on 2 burners and positioned the pot to sit over both. It worked. The other issue I had was... the utensil I used to stir the wort was a little uh ... short. Burnt my fingers a bit but I bet it's gonna be worth it in the long run.
I learned a few things on my first brew:
1) Be prepared
2) Don't Panic
3) Be patient
It's been in the fermenter for about 9 hrs now. No activity yet but I'm sure it'll happen soon.