well, I decided to try it

I have had 2 true brew kits in the basement for quite some time now. one is a Red Ale and the other a continental dark. I decided it was time to try my hadn at brewing one of these kits, so I could then get on to brewing the Franziskaner kit from AB. Anyhow, its 2:00 am here, and im "steeping" the grains. I must say, I really like the smell thus far! And on a plus side, it hasnt woken the wife up yet

5 more minutes and I will be adding the malt extract.

ummm boiling grains? Tell me you didn't watch the Alton Brown video.... it's not ruined.... hardly ever... but boiling grains isn't recommended. Steeping grains is...that is soaking them like a teabag for 30 minutes in 150 to 170 degree water.

Here is a great primer for the beginning brewer ( and a good source for the experienced)
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

sorry, i didnt mean boiling grains. I meant "steeping". haha, sorry, got abit ahead of myself there in the description. And no, I didnt watch the alton brown video.... Im following the directions that came with the kit.

Good, I feel better now....

Sounds like you are doing okay. And yes, there isn't much that smells better than brew day. Hope I didn't say that too loud, wouldn't want to wake the wife.... shhhh.

im wrapping the brew up now. Seems like it too quite a while, but not sure how long its supposed to take. Just tossed in the yeast, the directions say to let it rest for 10 minutes, then stir the remaining yeast into the brew?

Yes, that's a variation on rehydrating the yeast, but doing so in the wort. Doesn't seem to matter if you stir or not, as long as your temperature isn't too high. The closer to 70 the better (generally speaking for ale yeast).

My brew days can be 3 to 4 hours for an extract brew (prep, steeping grains, boil with hops schedule, ice bath, clean up, etc), but a no-boil kit may be around an hour or so. It'll get easier as you get more batches under your belt. You find the processes that work best for your equipment and your kitchen.

well, it was a late night. But, got up here abit ago, and seen a couple small bubbles in the gas lock. Came out to the garage to assemble the motor for my trans am, going to check it out again here in a while. Stoked!!

we had a batch of bb red ale and really enjoyed it. so much in fact that we picked up another kit and will be brewing tomorrow. it was the first batch that we tried gelatin to help with clearing. worked great, crystal clear.

we left in the primary for 2 weeks and the secondary for about 1.5 weeks. then carbed at 13psi. was perfect after 6 days. a week or so the keg didn't last but a couple of hours at the "un-veiling."

really having good luck with the bb kits. brewing the red tomorrow along with the cream ale. have their imperial blonde in the secondary now and polishing off the dunkelweizen keg as we speak.

how is the dunkleweizen??? My favorite beer is Franziskaner Hefe and Dunkle Weissenbier

personally i didn't care for it as much as the red but people seem to like it. i'm drinking it so don't get me wrong it's tasty. if i remember correctly we did 2 weeks in primary and another 2 in secondary. seems like it took a few extra days for it to carb up.