First brewday done.

[lumpy5oh]

Brewed up a 5gal Cream Ale from Brewer's Pantry.
All in all it went ok. I definitely have some things to do differently next time. My OG was 1.040 and the target was 1.047. I now have an idea how my turkey fryer works. The wort is in the fernenter sitting in a 60F room with a blanket on it to keep the light out.
Fortunately for me the wait will be easy because I need the time to drink more to aquire the empties I need.

 

[NivekD]

60f may be a little too cool...but congrats.

 

[reinstone]

Congrats. That's a big step. And.......

 

[lumpy5oh]

I had hoped to have a fermentation chamber going but I was sent a 220V temp controler instead of the 110V. If it is still cool in the morning I will work on getting the area warmer.

 

[BigRob]

60F should be fine. Your fermenter will be hotter than that during the most active phase of fermentation, but even still 60F is within the range of the yeast you most likely used (Wyeast 1056 I'll guess).

I assume since it's your first brewday you bought the extract kit, so if your OG is off, most likely either your volumes are off, or you added some top-off water and the sample wasn't mixed thoroughly.

 

[NivekD]

It'll still kick at 60....I try to shoot for 68-70...but you should be fine.

 

[bleme]

My first brew was a NB Cream ale. It used US-05 yeast and stayed at 59-61F the whole time. It turned out PERFECT!

 

[unionrdr]

US-05 is a good,clean yeast with a lower bottom end temp range that works well.

 

[lumpy5oh]

I used wyeast 1007. I have a heater in with it now until I get my chamber set up.

 

[BigRob]

60F room temp is different than your fermenter temp. If you use 1007 in a 60F room, you're probably at optimal temp inside the fermenter without any external sources of heat.

 

[lumpy5oh]

Bottling Day!

 

[RM-MN]

I hope you realize that the bottles need to be at room temperature to carbonate properly. I'd take them out of the fermentation chamber and put a new brew in there. BTW, congratulations on the bottling.

 

[timewasted]

Congrats and welcome to this rather addictive hobby!

 

[lumpy5oh]

I hope you realize that the bottles need to be at room temperature to carbonate properly. I'd take them out of the fermentation chamber and put a new brew in there. BTW, congratulations on the bottling.

The chamber is set for room temp. It is the best dark place I have at the moment. I have a small batch drool clone to brew up next and it should fit in there as well. I was too excited to get started and I haven't thought everything thru yet as to where to put it all.

 

[RM-MN]

I put mine in boxes and close the lid if there is one or lay something opaque over the top if I don't have a lid. I have several boxes with beer in them sitting at room temp. The oldest of the beers is a dark beer and it has matured extremely well at a year and a half. I chill what I intend to drink for at least a couple days, usually a week or more.

 

[lumpy5oh]

Here is the finished product.