Autumn Amber Ale from midwest. 1st time.

[cknittle]

Alright, so I started with a Mr. Beer kit and did that for a little while before upgrading to the 5 gallon kit. Got the beginners kit from
Midwest on a groupon special ( couldn't pass up the offer). And now I feel like a chemist. I have already bought a 5 gallon better bottle for secondary fermentation. And have my next extract kit in the mail! First kit is an amber ale I brewed it on 6/18 and siphoned it into secondary on 7/2. I know it doesn't need secondary but I wanted the full experience so it's familiar later on.
Next one is a cream ale from northern.

 

[mmarty1]

Hi Cknittle, awesome to see pictures from your brewing! Reminds me of the pictures I've forced on all my Facebook friends over the last couple months, since I've just got back into brewing this year. I have an old Mr Beer Kit that I started with but I till use the Primary since it holds 7.5 gallons and has a nice big lid on it. I've used it for my first two batches (Brewers Best American Amber and Bass Ale Clone from Brew Clones book), but for my most recent batch a Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout clone I've already purchased a Pale Ale Bucket as I've gotten so hooked I needed two Primary's at the same time.

 

[silentflow]

I just brewed that same exact Ale this past Wednesday using the same exact groupon from Midwest supplies. What was your starting/original gravity before pitching? Also, mine seem to only ferment for 12-18 hours, how long did yours go for? Sorry for playing 20 questions, it's my first brew too and I want to make sure I did it ok.

thanks,

Matt

 

[dcodd87]

I just brewed that same exact Ale this past Wednesday using the same exact groupon from Midwest supplies. What was your starting/original gravity before pitching? Also, mine seem to only ferment for 12-18 hours, how long did yours go for? Sorry for playing 20 questions, it's my first brew too and I want to make sure I did it ok.

thanks,

Matt

Well you may have only noticed the airlock bubbling for 12-18 hrs, so did mine. That doesn't mean it's done fermenting. Give it about 2 weeks in the fermenter and take a hydrometer reading. Wait another 2-3 days and take another. If the numbers are the same then generally it means it's done.

With my amber ale if I remember right, I started off with about 1.046 OG and ended with 1.018 FG. There were a few things I could have done better like better aeration and temp control. Hey it was my first brew. I ordered the pumpkin ale kit from Midwest supplies with my coupon and it's currently in the primary. Amber ale is still bottle conditioning.

Good luck, it's definitely addicting!

 

[beerbuckeye]

I just brewed that same exact Ale this past Wednesday using the same exact groupon from Midwest supplies. What was your starting/original gravity before pitching? Also, mine seem to only ferment for 12-18 hours, how long did yours go for? Sorry for playing 20 questions, it's my first brew too and I want to make sure I did it ok.

thanks,

Matt

I'm actually really glad you posted this. Mine started bubbling about 8 hours after going in the fermenter and then continued for about 24 hours and stopped.

 

[cknittle]

Mine didn't start bubbling til about 36 hours after pitching, it bubbled slowly for another 36 hours then stopped. My OG was 1.046 and I transferred to secondary at 1.017 (3 days same reading) after 10 days. It's still in secondary as I haven't had the time to bottle yet. But I will this Sunday and there will be more pictures then!