New brewer here, just brewed my first batch yesterday and all seemed to go well. Quick report...
I spent a couple of evenings late last week prepping my equipment. I had to run my SP-10 burner for a while to burn off some paint, I boiled water in my 10 gal aluminum kettle to build a layer of aluminum oxide, and I cleaned and soaked my immersion chiller in diluted white vinegar to make it all shiny. Then it was finally time to brew!
I made an American Amber Ale extract kit from MoreBeer. The process was pretty uneventful with no major screw ups as far as I can tell. I'm sure the brew day will get a little more efficient now that I have done it once.
I racked it into my 6 gallon plastic carboy with my auto siphon (seemed easier than pouring from a ten gallon pot into a funnel) and took a gravity reading. The sample tasted pretty decent!
It came in at 1.060 instead of the expected 1.051-1.054, but after reading the reviews on the kit, it seems like that happens to a lot of people. I then swirled and shook the carboy for a while before pitching a packet of Safale US-05 that I had rehydrated in 4 oz of water that I had boiled and cooled to 88 degrees. Popped on an airlock and put it in a dark closet in my garage that stays at 63-68 degrees this time of year.
No activity last night, but I checked this morning and the airlock was bubbling softly about once every second, so fermentation started somewhere between 10-18 hours after pitching. It's bubbling just a little faster tonight, and the yeasties are definitely churning away in there. The fermometer says 65 degrees. I think the cool temperature is creating a nice, slow fermentation.
Waiting is the hardest part, but I have a few more beer bottles to empty and clean before bottling day in about three weeks!
I spent a couple of evenings late last week prepping my equipment. I had to run my SP-10 burner for a while to burn off some paint, I boiled water in my 10 gal aluminum kettle to build a layer of aluminum oxide, and I cleaned and soaked my immersion chiller in diluted white vinegar to make it all shiny. Then it was finally time to brew!
I made an American Amber Ale extract kit from MoreBeer. The process was pretty uneventful with no major screw ups as far as I can tell. I'm sure the brew day will get a little more efficient now that I have done it once.
I racked it into my 6 gallon plastic carboy with my auto siphon (seemed easier than pouring from a ten gallon pot into a funnel) and took a gravity reading. The sample tasted pretty decent!
It came in at 1.060 instead of the expected 1.051-1.054, but after reading the reviews on the kit, it seems like that happens to a lot of people. I then swirled and shook the carboy for a while before pitching a packet of Safale US-05 that I had rehydrated in 4 oz of water that I had boiled and cooled to 88 degrees. Popped on an airlock and put it in a dark closet in my garage that stays at 63-68 degrees this time of year.
No activity last night, but I checked this morning and the airlock was bubbling softly about once every second, so fermentation started somewhere between 10-18 hours after pitching. It's bubbling just a little faster tonight, and the yeasties are definitely churning away in there. The fermometer says 65 degrees. I think the cool temperature is creating a nice, slow fermentation.
Waiting is the hardest part, but I have a few more beer bottles to empty and clean before bottling day in about three weeks!
