First Time

Well I brewed my first batch of beer this weekend. It was a Red Ale from Brewers Best. It all went as smooth as I could expect for the first time I guess. My stove had a hard time with the boil, I think I may have had too much water in the pot, and there was about 3 gal in there. Because of this I had to occasionally put the lid on to get the water back up to a roiling boil. I am not sure how much this will affect the finished product but we will see. I have already decided to get a turkey fryer set up so I can do my next batch outside or in the garage. I also had to keep mixing up sanitizer because I would forget to clean something so I think that I will try to get some no rinse stuff for next time too. All in all I think I did ok for my first time I kept notes on what I did so I will know better next time (oh yes there will be a next time) I think I just need to be better prepared and not as hung over when I do it. The only questions i really have are #1 what to brew next time. #2 I am thinking i want to go straight to Kegs instead of bottling (maybe bottle a few just to see the difference) what is the most basic set up i will need to accomplish that? #3 Which is the best no rinse sanatazier? I know if i just keep searching this forum i will find the answers to all of these questions but any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.

SDH

Congrats on completing the first brew!

You are correct in thinking that using a no-rinse sanitizer will save you some hassles. I mix up a few gallons and just keep it in a bucket while I'm brewing. After I use something it goes in the bucket, that way when I need it again, it's sanitized. I don't know what the best one is, but I use OneStep.

All you need to keg is money. Check out kegconnection.com and look at his kegging kit. Get the kit, and pick up a Sanyo 4912M and you're ready to go.

Brew whatever you want, that's the beauty of homebrewing.

Congrats on your first brew

AFAIK the worry about putting the lid on during the boil is that it can stop unpleasant cardboard-tasting compounds from evaporating out of the beer, which is why the general advice is to leave the lid off if you can. Having said that, I unknowingly left the lid on when boiling my first batch - I tasted it yesterday, and there was nothing cardboardy about it. So I expect you'll be absolutely fine.

As for what to brew next, I'd brew what you most like to drink.

You always remember your first!:rockin:

OK, some of us don't remember our last, but you get my point.

Congrats!

first of all congratulation :rockin:

in my opinion the best beer is in the bottle but I know many people prefer keg

keep brewing

Congrats on your first brew! My first was also a Brewer's Best Kit. The IPA.

I've put the lid on my pot here and there to sustain the boil. I usually do 2 or 2.5 gallons. Once I start adding hops I usually leave it off. I've done late extract additions on my last couple of brews and when I removed the pot from the burner to add the extract and stirred until dissolved, I've put the lid on (re-sanitized of course) to get it back to boiling as fast as possible. I've never noticed any carboardy flavors in my beer. RDWHHB and you'll be fine.

I left the lid on my first batch because I was using a stove top as well...no off flavors, beer came out much better than I ever expected. BUT...now that I know, will not take my chances again...Good luck

Just to clarify, cardboard flavors are from oxidation and are very rare in homebrew because of the amount of time required for the flavor to develop. Homebrew tends to go fast.

DMS (dimethyl sulfides) are what you get when boiling covered.

david_42 said:

Just to clarify, cardboard flavors are from oxidation and are very rare in homebrew because of the amount of time required for the flavor to develop. Homebrew tends to go fast.

DMS (dimethyl sulfides) are what you get when boiling covered.

Click to expand...

I wanted to ask about this, I usually will leave the lid on part way so that there is still a place gasses and steam to come out. I assume that's okay for the most part?

Can't say i've ever noticed the flavor, some times while mine is real young, i detect like a soapy taste but it goes away with some extra time in the bottle, or even letting it decant a couple minutes after i pour.

david_42 said:

Just to clarify, cardboard flavors are from oxidation... DMS (dimethyl sulfides) are what you get when boiling covered.

Click to expand...

Yeah, my bad. In my post I meant to say "cabbage", not "cardboard", as I gather the unwanted aromas of DMS are like cabbage or corn.

http://www.homebrewzone.com/dimethyl-sulfide.htm

Either way, it's good to avoid them.

Congrats on your first brew. I too left the lid on halfway a few times to get back to a roll, no off flavors to speak of. Man I can't wait to get another one going.