It is time.....

ChshreCat said:

How do you STAND the WAIT?!?!?!?

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That's why the pipelines get so long!

Congrats on your first. It's all obsession from here on out.

Bottling Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ChshreCat said:

Bottling Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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God c'mon already, the suspense is killing me...*whines* you mean I gotta wait three more weeks for it to be carbed an bottle conditioned so you can drink it?




So what'd you do? You did rig up my bottling bucket dip tube so you can capture every ounce of beery goodness, didn't you?

You got your priming sugar measure correctly?
Got enough caps?
Sanitized everything, right?
Don't forget to take a grav reading so you can calculate you abv.

Get cracking 'CAT

Cat is hero-like. More than 800 posts before bottling his first brew. That's epic but still behind the Gnome.

Revvy said:

God c'mon already, the suspense is killing me...*whines* you mean I gotta wait three more weeks for it to be carbed an bottle conditioned so you can drink it?




So what'd you do? You did rig up my bottling bucket dip tube so you can capture every ounce of beery goodness, didn't you?

You got your priming sugar measure correctly?
Got enough caps?
Sanitized everything, right?
Don't forget to take a grav reading so you can calculate you abv.

Get cracking 'CAT

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Hey, I went ahead and posted the recipe. You just on the edge of your seat to hear how it tastes?

Didn't set up your dip tube yet. What little bit I can't get out of the bucket by tipping, I'll just pour in a glass, quick chill in the freezer and taste.

Caps ready. Threw the last of my bottles in the tub with oxyclean last night and my daughter got up and rinsed and delabeled them this morning.

Got my suger and we're actually on our way to Target to pick up a digital scale. 3/4 cup per gallon, right?

shecky said:

Cat is hero-like. More than 800 posts before bottling his first brew. That's epic but still behind the Gnome.

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That's only if you count the 799 posts rattling tinfoil hats in the Debate forum.

ChshreCat said:

Got my suger and we're actually on our way to Target to pick up a digital scale. 3/4 cup per gallon, right?

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I hope you're kidding. It's about 5 ounces/5 gallons...

I got my scale for 19.99 at target, so don't pay more.

Yeah, yeah, go with 3/4 cup per gallon. Then place a webcam right next to the bottles so we can all see the ensuing fireworks.

Ya got me pulled into this thread! Congrats on the inaugural brew. Now get cracking on the next one. Trust me and what others have said; the more you have in the piepline, the easier it is to wait patiently!

Yes, I was kidding. Hence the

We might splurge a little bit on the scale. SWMBO is diabetic and there's one that calculates your carbs automatically that we were looking at.

Actually, I got to thinking. Maybe I'll take the last bit that won't fill a whole bottle and put it in a clean plastic pop bottle. Then I can feel when it's tight, pop it in the fridge and get an early taste of it carbed but young. I can still taste my hydrometer sample.

ChshreCat said:

One week to bottling. One month and I get to taste it!

How do you STAND the WAIT?!?!?!?

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Congrats on the inaugural brew.


We keep ourselves busy by brewing more beer. Always have one on the way. I have 15 gallons in primary as we speak did my porter yesterday and had 10 gallons of Biermunchers Oktoberfast going since Sunday. Thinking Edworts Haus ale this weekend.

ChshreCat said:

Then I can feel when it's tight, pop it in the fridge and get an early taste of it carbed but young.

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I've been spending too much time with Gnome. That made me giggle in that junior-high, pre-pubescent kind of way.

ChshreCat said:

Actually, I got to thinking. Maybe I'll take the last bit that won't fill a whole bottle and put it in a clean plastic pop bottle. Then I can feel when it's tight, pop it in the fridge and get an early taste of it carbed but young. I can still taste my hydrometer sample.

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Yes, this is what I do. I cap it and leave it on the counter so I know when the others have carbed. After awhile you can chill it and drink it to see what oxidized beer tastes like, all that headspace leaves it very stale. "Know your off flavors", it's the next Letterman segment...

Thanks for all the good words everyone.

Ya know what's really odd... this thread has over 1200 views! LOL

ChshreCat said:

Ya know what's really odd... this thread has over 1200 views! LOL

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That's 'cause we're all beer geeks here...We all are "Riding that fine line between cool and dorky."

So you should be done by now...right???


Didja think to take picures? Hook up a webcam???

Didja Didja???

Revvy said:

That's 'cause we're all beer geeks here...We all are "Riding that fine line between cool and dorky."

So you should be done by now...right???


Didja think to take picures? Hook up a webcam???

Didja Didja???

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Just sanitized all my bottles, hoses and whatnot and am waiting for the sugar water to cool a little more before racking into my bucket.

Not sure if I'll have time to take pictures because we need to get done in time to make dinner. SWMBO is giving me the look already.

ChshreCat said:

Not sure if I'll have time to take pictures because we need to get done in time to make dinner. SWMBO is giving me the look already.

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Two words...Pizza Night!

I don't know why I ignored this thread so long, anyway congrats I'm very excited for you. There is nothing like your first home brew, the waiting is the hardest part. Make sure you have some good beer on hand to drink to fill the need to drink your beer green. Also make sure you get on making another batch cause the first one is going to go fast.

GAAAAH!

Everything had gone so well on my first brew, but of course it doesn't happen that way.

Priming sugar in the bucket. Siphon my beer onto it. Gently mix it. Everything was perfect.

Set the bottling bucket on the counter above the dishwasher (still the best, simplest idea ever) and everything seemed fine. Then the spigot starts leaking! Like, out of no where! Nobody even touched it! Beer just suddenly starts coming out between the seal and the wall of the bucket!

About 2-3 drops per second.

I wiggled it around, tried twisting it a little, but nothing slowed the leak down. I had one moment of stoooooopid when I considered plunging my arm down into the beer to tighten it on the other side but hanging out here and reading thousands of posts won out over that impulse.

So, it became a race against the leak. My daughter/assistant filled as quick as she could and I capped as they came off. I lost a bottle or two to it but that's about it.

EVERYTHING IS STICKY!!!!

time to go clean the kitchen and start dinner so I can RDW and HAMB. Then again... my apfelwein is 2.5 weeks in the bottle...

ChshreCat said:

GAAAAH!

Everything had gone so well on my first brew, but of course it doesn't happen that way.

Priming sugar in the bucket. Siphon my beer onto it. Gently mix it. Everything was perfect.

Set the bottling bucket on the counter above the dishwasher (still the best, simplest idea ever) and everything seemed fine. Then the spigot starts leaking! Like, out of no where! Nobody even touched it! Beer just suddenly starts coming out between the seal and the wall of the bucket!

About 2-3 drops per second.

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Well....you know....you could have sanitized you arm and hand and gone inside the bottling bucket and tightend the nut on the spigot as well...I've done that.

A spray bottle of sanitizer is great for that.

but oh, well, live and learn for next time!

I thought about that. But figured that one or two bottles is a worthwhile sacrifice for the chance of having a little something under one of my finger nails that the sanitizer doesn't reach.

I think you made the right call, not sticking your arm in there. What fun would it be if you didn't get a challenge thrown your way now and then? Besides, I bet it'll be a cherished moment that lasts a lifetime - you and your daughter against the leaking spigot!
Next time, just make sure to tighten the spigot a little more, or just put a small bucket under the leak.

Chris

Looking back, I just hope my priming sugar stayed mixed. We were in such a rush to get it all bottled that I didn't stop to re-stir it during the process. But the plus was with our assembly line bottling, it only took us about 15 minutes from the first bottle to the last.

I rack directly onto the sugar solution, never stir, but make sure the hose is along the edge of the bottling bucket to make a nice swirly motion and have had consistent carbonation (except the bottles with leaky gaskets). Good job on your first brew, even if you do have an 822:1 post:brew ratio

hehe the way I figure it, I knew what I was doing going into my first brew. Little experience, but I'd sucked the knowledge out of everyone here already.

I think I did even better than the swirl. I slowly moved the hose in the bucket in circles, so it kept currents moving all through it. I'm sure I'm fine, but I'd planned on gently swirling the spoon through it ever dozen bottles or so just to make sure.

But, I'm not sweating any of my process. I'm sure my first brew'll be great.

Revvy said:

Two words...Pizza Night!

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Yep. My wife and I do pizza night (or other takeout) once a week. I work on beer stuff such as racking or breaking down kegs, and she works on her scrapbooking. Works great!

I admit I shamelessly stole the idea from BierMuncher and his Thursday brew nights. :rockin:


I have never worried about the priming sugar mix and my bottling has always been fine.

WTH!?!? I bottled last night. I popped one open this morning and it's all flat and green tasting! What's wrong!?




Just kiddin'

ChshreCat said:

WTH!?!? I bottled last night. I popped one open this morning and it's all flat and green tasting! What's wrong!?




Just kiddin'

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LOL!

You know that was for you, Revvy.

Yeah I figured....


For You!!!!

I have a case of Julelale on hand and my apfelwein will be 3 weeks in the bottle this weekend. The wait won't be that bad.

Set some of the apfelwein aside and wait until it's 6 months old before drinking it. You will be amazed at how good it gets.

Saccharomyces said:

Set some of the apfelwein aside and wait until it's 6 months old before drinking it. You will be amazed at how good it gets.

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Mines coming up on a year old in January...it is pretty awesome. Heck, it didn't lose that harsh burn upon drinking taste until 6 months or so...

Yeah. I'll be trying one of my small bottles I carbed this weekend, but most of it will be hanging around a while. I'm planning on bringing some with me when I go home for christmas so we'll see how it is after a couple months then. I'm thinking about waxing one of the still bottles and saving it for my daughter's 21st birthday. That's 5 and a half years away.

I did manage to get one picture last night before we had to just bottle as fast as we could.

That's my daughter/brewery assistant taking care of the siphoning process.

My half-full pop bottle I put the last of my beer in is nicely tight, so I popped it in the fridge. I'm sure it'll be green and horrible, but I'm going to drink it tomorrow. Just cuz I gotta...

Went ahead and cracked open the half a pop bottle of my beer today and had a taste. Just a little taste. That was about all I could stand. LOL I'm not drinking a jubelale, trying to get the awful taste out of my mouth.

Bitter and sharp. Little bit of the dreaded soy sauce flavor. I'm thinking I may have boiled too long at too low of a volume. We shall see in a few weeks or months.

Over halfway through my 3-week waiting period. Can't wait for my first taste.

Revvy said:

Yeah I figured....


For You!!!!

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Hey... Look what day it is!

I read this whole post today and am dying from suspense....SO!
How is it?:cross:

My first was a little Blah, but my second was...well, Oatmeal Stout is my favorite recipe for a reason.