2nd Ever Brew and 1st Partial Mash - Success!

Update: I bottled this batch today. I was right on with the final gravity called for in the recipe. It would have been nice to put this into a secondary to clear up a bit, but I have no secondary at this point. I couldn't resist a tasting. The flavors were all there and it was very similar to Newcastle, albeit a very flat Newcastle.

Next up: Finish my mash tun, drill & install a bulkhead fitting into my new SS 32qt. pot, get a secondary and go AG.

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This was only my second brew, my first being an American Wheat that was an all extract kit, and I must say that I much prefer partial mashing to all extract brewing. I actually felt like I was brewing beer. This time I went with a Nut Brown Ale that my LHBS helped me put together.

My initial brew effort was rather uneventful and too easy. I got all I wanted and more with this brew. I can now say that I have been initiated into the brewer's community with my baptism by wort boil over of epic proportions. What a mess. All in all, the brew day went great and aside from my monumental boil over, everything was ok. I even hit my specific gravity, go figure. The recipe wanted a SG of 1.049-1.051 and I was right at 1.050.

The brew is in the fermenter and sitting nicely at 66*. I'm really excited about this brew, probably more so than I was about my first brew. This next week won't go by fast enough.

Bored with extract after the first try? My my, looks like someone is about to go AG.

Nice work!

Congrats! Glad it went well. Next time keep an ice cube or two on hand for those potential boil overs (or I've read that some people use spray bottles of cold water). And leave your beer alone for more than 1 week, the beer will turn out better.

Well done!! Might as well go to all-grain now.

Beards Brews said:

This was only my second brew, my first being an American Wheat that was an all extract kit, and I must say that I much prefer partial mashing to all extract brewing. I actually felt like I was brewing beer. This time I went with a Nut Brown Ale that my LHBS helped me put together.

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I'm with ya. I did two PMs and then went AG. More work but more fun at each step, and the end results keep getting better and better.

- Eric

I've looked at getting an AG setup. I might slowly build one and by the time I have it finished, I'll be ready to move up. I am definitely going to get a MLT so I can work on improving my efficiency.

This does bring up a question. I have a smallish brew pot that has been ok for my past two brews, but I need a bigger pot. If I'm looking to eventually step up to AG, what size pot would be best suited for me now? I was looking at a 30qt. pot, but am beginning to think I may need a bigger pot if I intend to go AG at some point.