new kid on the block

Thought I would introduce myself.

I've been reading the forums over the last few weeks. Really impressed with all the knowledge here!

I hope to get my first kit in a few days and start brewing. For now I'll probably be extract brewing since I don't have much money to devote to this new hobby, but in the future I would like to take the step to all grain.

Looking forward to sharing my adventures as I explore the art of home brewing.

Welcome, fellow Marylander.

Welcome aboard and let the wort be with you!

Welcome to the obsession that keeps on giving!
Cheers Three3Beer!

I just got back from my LHBS. Picked up a beginner's beer brewing kit (Brewer's Best Deluxe Equipment set, with a 5 gallon glass carboy) and got a beer kit (Brewer's Best American Amber).

Tomorrow is brew day, I can't wait!

I'm sure the kit comes with The Right Stuff; just remember to take it Step by Step.

So yesterday was a great experience. I successfully brewed my first batch of beer. I made a few rookie mistakes, but nothing too bad. No mistakes that will make the beer taste bad.

One mistake that I'll share is that I forgot to close the nozzle on my primary fermenter (bucket) when I poured in sanitizer. This resulted in a small puddle on my kitchen floor. I'm just glad it wasn't wort!

I added the yeast at 6 pm and as of 11:30 am I've already got a dancing airlock.

One thing I'm concerned about is that my OG was 1.072 and the recipe estimated 1.050-1.054. I'm not sure why it's so far off. Anyone have any ideas why that could have happened?

It's sometimes hard to get an accurate OG readings when doing an extract brew. It takes a while for the concentrated wort and the water you added to the fermenter to completely mix together. Id go with the OG that the directions estimated. With extracts the sugar amounts are a given. Congrats!!

Thanks, that explains it!

I'll make sure to remember that for future brews.

Did you take your OG reading from your wort before you topped off the fermenter? That might explain the high OG.

No, I took the reading after I topped it off.

Three3Beer said:

No, I took the reading after I topped it off.

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Damn - I thought I had it...

Also hydrometers are calibrated for a certain temperature, I think most are 60 degrees.

Good luck with the brew

I'm hurt no one got the NKOTB references.

Suffice it to say....I had to Google NKOTB. I thought you were talking about Chuck Yeager when you said the 'right stuff'.

DangerDanJD said:

I'm hurt no one got the NKOTB references.

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haha! it took me a while to get, but now I do. the capitalization should have tipped me off, but I'm an idiot Good one, DangerDan!