First brew is in the bottle!

[YankeePicker]

After a little more than 4 weeks in the carboy, I finally bottled my very first brew! (SA Boston Ale Clone from AHS)

Everything went just fine. The beer smells awesome and tasted great! I remember doing a little taste after 2 weeks. The difference from then and now is HUGE. The extra time did wonders for the taste, aroma and the clarity. Should be even better after a few weeks in the bottle.

Next up, Nut Brown Ale!

 

[smagee]

Congrats . I can definitely vouch for the differences some time makes; I'm just revisiting an IPA I bottled a few months ago and while it was borderline tasteless before, it's doing great now, and crystal clear. Good luck with the brown!

 

[edie]

congrats - get the next one going!

cheers

 

[sils13]

Congrats welcome to the addiction

 

[chapa]

Congrats and good job letting your first batch sit for a whole month! It will definitely be worth it!

Welcome to the obsession, and one of the only ones that you can really enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Better get cracking on the next batch. The more you have in the pipeline, the easier it is to be more patient, and the more variety you'll have. I should have about 11 different kinds within the month, once everything is kegged/bottled and conditioned. Half of them are already conditioning, and now that some of my carboys are freeing up, its time to start more!

 

[kapbrew13]

Best advice I got from my LHBS. Ferment a minimum of 3 weeks while the instructions stated 2 weeks. After 2 weeks it tasted harsh..

 

[YankeePicker]

Thanks all! Indeed the additional time appears to have been very beneficial. I'll report back once the beer has had time to get happy in the bottle. Think I'll brew up that Brown Ale on Saturday.

 

[ryandlf]

Mmmmm...Nut Brown Ale. One of my faves!

 

[gregger]

I think I'm most impressed at how patient you were. We have problems posted here by newbies time and time again where the only answers are along the lines of... "you should've waited longer", "You should've let it sit two more weeks", "10 days in primary isn't enough time," blah blah blah.

I always go for no less than 4-5 weeks. With the exception of what I have brewing right now, it's a light body ale and I'll probably bottle after 3 weeks. I don't do gravity readings and I always end up with great beer. I'm no expert yet but I've NEVER had these concerns that most of the new crowds have. So glad you did it right the FIRST time. That just means you set your bar and you know how beneficial it is just to let it sit undisturbed.

 

[YankeePicker]

I think I'm most impressed at how patient you were. We have problems posted here by newbies time and time again where the only answers are along the lines of... "you should've waited longer", "You should've let it sit two more weeks", "10 days in primary isn't enough time," blah blah blah.

I always go for no less than 4-5 weeks. With the exception of what I have brewing right now, it's a light body ale and I'll probably bottle after 3 weeks. I don't do gravity readings and I always end up with great beer. I'm no expert yet but I've NEVER had these concerns that most of the new crowds have. So glad you did it right the FIRST time. That just means you set your bar and you know how beneficial it is just to let it sit undisturbed.

Reading this board is exactly why I waited as long as I did. I saw so many posts talking about more time in primary was better and that 4 weeks should be considered minimum. I took that advice seriously and I wanted to do it right the first time. I've always tried to teach my kids "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to do it again?". I think this holds true for brewing.

Thanks for the encouragement all!

 

[gregger]

Reading this board is exactly why I waited as long as I did. I saw so many posts talking about more time in primary was better and that 4 weeks should be considered minimum. I took that advice seriously and I wanted to do it right the first time. I've always tried to teach my kids "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to do it again?". I think this holds true for brewing.

Thanks for the encouragement all!

I really hope your kids grow up to be in charge of the country.

 

[YankeePicker]

Thought I would give an update on this brew. After two weeks in bottle, I put one in the fridge for 24 hours, and I opened it last night! Nice carb, very little head, pretty clear with a slight haze, very nice hop aroma, and the taste was really nice. Gonna give it another week in bottle before I try another and compare.

I'm VERY happy with my first brew!

I'll post a couple pics when I open the next ones

Tom Petty was right, The waiting IS the hardest part.

 

[unionrdr]

That's what I said waiting for my 1st to be ready! The waiting IS the hardest part. And we used to say at the plant,do it right the 1st time,& you won't have to do it again.

 

[gregger]

If you have more beers on hand (previous brews) that you can drink it really starts getting easier to wait on stuff still fermenting. That's the comfortable zone you want to reach.

 

[unionrdr]

The wife & I are gunna be able to start on that one tomorrow. Pipeline,hear we come with two fermenters!

 

[YankeePicker]

If you have more beers on hand (previous brews) that you can drink it really starts getting easier to wait on stuff still fermenting. That's the comfortable zone you want to reach.

Aye, I have a brown ale that I want to start, just have not had the time to spend on it yet. Should be moving within a couple months so I'll have more brew storage area, that will also help. I'm a bit limited now.

Cheers

 

[kapbrew13]

Aye, I have a brown ale that I want to start, just have not had the time to spend on it yet. Should be moving within a couple months so I'll have more brew storage area, that will also help. I'm a bit limited now.

Cheers

And the wife is probably thinking I have more shoe and clothes storage area. Lol

 

[Zokfend]

congratulations! i know how you feel, because i bottled my first ever batch of irish red back at the end of february. very exciting.

just don't do like i did, and start a second batch the sanme day i drank the very last beer from my first batch. now i have to drink store-bought beer for 6 to 7 weeks before i can enjoy my second batch (which is a belgiun amber ale i got from high gravity in tulsa).