Brewed my first yesterday

[huskie26]

Brewed using an American Amber kit from Brewers Best. A few thoughts on the overall experience thought I would share:

DME is sticky stuff, which made sense after thinking about it for 5 seconds. I just didn't expect it.

"Watch for boil overs." Thought I was too good for that instruction. Wrong.

I need a better strainer - More stuff from the bottom of my brew kettle made it into my primary than I wanted.

Watching the bubbles coming through the airlock this morning is one of the coolest things ever!!!!!

 

[cervezarara]

Congrats on the first batch! When that air lock starts bubbling, the hook gets set pretty deeply in your jaw, huh?

Don't worry about the stuff that went into the primary. After fermentation, it will fall to the bottom and you can rack your beer from just above it when you bottle or secondary (if you end up doing that.)

If you can find something called Fermcap S, a few drops in the wort will really help eliminate boil over. I am amazed how well it works, and it has made my life so much simpler.

I hope your first batch turns out amazing. Welcome to the hobby!

 

[chapa]

Congrats on the first batch! When that air lock starts bubbling, the hook gets set pretty deeply in your jaw, huh?

If you can find something called Fermcap S, a few drops in the wort will really help eliminate boil over. I am amazed how well it works, and it has made my life so much simpler.

I hope your first batch turns out amazing. Welcome to the hobby!

+1 - Any kind of defoamer is awesome! Only takes 1 drop per gallon, and NO BOIL OVERS! Its great stuff! Makes for a much more relaxed brew day. I also remember reading(when I was using extract)that is was a good idea to put it in a bowl first, then pour it in, without getting too much steam in it. Just made it easier to handle, and doesn't stick to the bag.

I believe my 2nd batch was this same kit, and it turned out very good!! Hopefully you enjoy it as well!

Welcome and congrats!

 

[DogFace_Brewing]

"Watch for boil overs." Thought I was too good for that instruction. Wrong.

Small spray bottle filled with cool water next to your brewing pot....boil gets to high, couple small sprays of the water on top settles the beast down!

 

[RM-MN]

I need a better strainer - More stuff from the bottom of my brew kettle made it into my primary than I wanted.

This is the easiest one to fix. Just change your wants. Extra trub in the ferenter won't hurt anything. Let the beer have plenty of time in the fermenter and it will all be stuck on the bottom and you can rack your beer off above it. I've been leaving my beer in the fermenter for 3 weeks with good results.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Good to hear, welcome to the addiction. I just did my second batch and it's bubbling away as we speak. I'm already deciding what I'm gonna do for my third. It's insane..........

 

[huskie26]

I should have said this a couple of months ago - thanks for all of the advice!! I have been drinking the beer for a few weeks now and it's pretty good just a little on the hoppy side for me.

I just ordered a Kolsch kit from Northern brewer for my next brew.

Thanks again for the tips guys!