Feels good to brew again

[MrSpiffy]

It's been way too long since I last brewed a beer... I'd forgotten what it felt like to wrap up a brew day and put the carboy away to ferment and feel content and productive. Oh, how I've missed brewing.

I finally have space to brew again, and my wife gave me the lovely gift of a brew kit. I'd been brewing AG recipes, but since it'd been nearly 2 years since my last brew it was nice to start with the basics again and just brew an extract kit.

The kit is for a "whiskey barrel stout". I'm excited to try it when it's ready (6-8 weeks out, according to the instructions). Brew day went smoothly. No major issues or hiccups. And I introduced a couple friends to homebrewing. So, all-in-all, a really good day.

Anyone else sneak in a brew day this weekend? If so, what did you brew?

 

[tim_c7]

It's been way too long since I last brewed a beer... I'd forgotten what it felt like to wrap up a brew day and put the carboy away to ferment and feel content and productive. Oh, how I've missed brewing.

I finally have space to brew again, and my wife gave me the lovely gift of a brew kit. I'd been brewing AG recipes, but since it'd been nearly 2 years since my last brew it was nice to start with the basics again and just brew an extract kit.

The kit is for a "whiskey barrel stout". I'm excited to try it when it's ready (6-8 weeks out, according to the instructions). Brew day went smoothly. No major issues or hiccups. And I introduced a couple friends to homebrewing. So, all-in-all, a really good day.

Anyone else sneak in a brew day this weekend? If so, what did you brew?

Welcome back and congrats on your brew. I did brew this weekend...but it wasn`t really snunk in. LOL. Its a Simco APA and I expect to drink it end of April....I can`t wait.

 

[rnm410]

Same boat. Had to stop for two years due to moving across the country and leaving my setup behind.

In the past month I've done 4 all grain batches for 15 gallons.

2x Centennial/Cascade Pale ales (Wy1272 and S-04)

Cranked out 2 batches in 7 hours just now.
Vienna Lager and an English Brown

My first two batches, so many hickups, third wasn't quite there yet, the lager... found my sweet spot. 3 hours from strike to yeast pitch.

Welcome back and good to be back too!

 

[MrSpiffy]

Thanks for the warm welcome! Those all sound like some great beers!

I stopped brewing for similar reasons. I moved into a small apartment, and my wife really doesn't like the smell when I brew so I need to do it outside. Without any space to brew, I didn't have many options. But, now that we have our own place again, I can brew out on the porch.

rnm410, you're definitely ambitious brewing 2 batches back-to-back in a single day. Nice job!

I'm looking forward to brewing up a batch of the lemon-lime hefeweizen recipe here. That stuff is delicious on a warm summer day! I'll have to look for more recipes and start planning my next bunch of beers.

 

[Braufessor]

I had a 5 year break from brewing at one point when life just got too busy. Like you, when I came back I did a couple kits to start things off again to keep things simple. Did an extract, then an all-grain kit.

That was maybe 6 years ago, and been brewing regularly ever since.

Brewing my standard house Session IPA here in an hour or so. Got a couple lagers on deck this next week.

 

[2trout]

Good on you!

I'm a bit of a seasonal brewer, so my season is wrapping up. Ill be bottling a Classic American Pilsner today, and a batch of Biermuncher's Outer Limits IPA on Wednesday.

 

[MrSpiffy]

Thanks guys! Hopefully I won't have to put down the craft for that long again. I missed it. Definitely looking forward to more brewing. Even contemplating a smaller trial batch system, like a 1-gallon. Just to play with things.

 

[catdaddy66]

I know what you mean about the satisfaction of brewing. I have been beyond lazy since the holidays (4 months!) but finished an extract batch yesterday evening. Felt great!

If you brew regularly there's always a task(s) to do each day. That feels productive and keeps my A$$ outta my chair. Lol

Congrats on restarting your brewing odyssey!

 

[bobeer]

It's been way too long since I last brewed a beer... I'd forgotten what it felt like to wrap up a brew day and put the carboy away to ferment and feel content and productive. Oh, how I've missed brewing.

I finally have space to brew again, and my wife gave me the lovely gift of a brew kit. I'd been brewing AG recipes, but since it'd been nearly 2 years since my last brew it was nice to start with the basics again and just brew an extract kit.

The kit is for a "whiskey barrel stout". I'm excited to try it when it's ready (6-8 weeks out, according to the instructions). Brew day went smoothly. No major issues or hiccups. And I introduced a couple friends to homebrewing. So, all-in-all, a really good day.

Anyone else sneak in a brew day this weekend? If so, what did you brew?

Congrats on your first brew day in a while! I also had my first brew day yesterday since about mid January. I had to move and we're settled enough now that I could finally get at it again. I missed it as well.

My brew day wasn't as smooth as yours though. It started out fine but when I was doughing-in I realized I had too much grain and water than my mast tun could hold... I can't believe I didn't realize that when I was crunching my numbers before I started brewing. I have a 5.5 gallon mash tun and I was trying to mash 13 lbs of grist with 4.2 gallons of water. So, being the stubborn-headed person I am, I tried to squeeze in all the grain and the tun overflowed a little on to the kitchen floor. I opened the ball valve to drain a little of the water out, about a quart, so I could add the rest of the grist into the mash.

Then, when it came time to chill down the wort, I realized that my deck has no hose spigot and it has no steps down to where the hose is. So I had to Indiana Jones my hose from the backyard up to the deck, attach my IC to it, run back down, turn the hose on, chill it to 180*F for my hopstand, run back down to turn the hose off, run back up to the deck to drop the hops in. Needless to say I had to keep running up and down, up and down, and it sucked pretty bad. Ha. Lesson learned is: Don't brew on the deck and to brew in the back yard.

I also realized somehow during the move the hosing cracked on my IC inlet so a little hose water got into my wort... Luckily it wasn't too much but I did miss my gravity by a few points. It'll still be a good beer though. I brewed a rye IPA using heady topper's yeast, pale malt, and a ton of American juicy hops.

Here's to us brewing again!

 

[MrSpiffy]

Bobeer, I can totally relate! My first batches sound like a similar experience. I needed to cool my wort, then realized my larger pot wouldn't fit in my sink to swamp cool it with ice water. Had to float sanitized zip top bags in the pot to cool it. Felt like I ran every which way in the kitchen and couldn't remember want I was trying to do. Then there was a small boil over in the stove... Ugh.

Now I brew outside because my wife hates the smell in the house. But it has the added bonus of being a much smaller deal if I make a mess.

 

[Calder]

Took 7 years off myself. It is a good feeling to have completed that first batch back. You will soon be back brewing AG (or partial mash depending on what you can manage).

Been back 6 years.

I brewed a Citra/Mosaic IPA yesterday - smelled great. But ..... 24 hours later, and it is still not going. First time in 6 years that brew has taken over 18 hours to get started. Yeast was washed slurry - no reason to think there was a problem with it. I'm sure it will take off sometime tonight.

 

[MrSpiffy]

IPA must be the beer to brew lately! I'm not really an IPA guy, but I'll try one, if it's more citrusy than bitter. I just don't do loads of hops. But every now and then one will surprise me.

I'll drink a white IPA from Odell's, or the Citradelic from New Belgium, if there's not another better option for me.

 

[bobeer]

IPA must be the beer to brew lately! I'm not really an IPA guy, but I'll try one, if it's more citrusy than bitter. I just don't do loads of hops. But every now and then one will surprise me.

I'll drink a white IPA from Odell's, or the Citradelic from New Belgium, if there's not another better option for me.

Yea IPAs are the bees knees these days it seems. It's all about a big late hop addition otherwise known as a whirlpool. It provides a nice chewy hop flavor without getting the bittering out of them. You could probably do a nice pale ale this way if you don't like the big bitterness from IPAs.

 

[razyrsharpe]

Work kept me from brewing since November. First batch on 3-12 was a milk stout. Back to what I adore... Beer!

 

[MrSpiffy]

Nice! Did you use a kit or recipe?

 

[razyrsharpe]

A kit my wife bought from our LHBS.

 

[MrSpiffy]

I'm definitely a fan of a good, sweeter stout or porter. Hope it turns out great!