Okay. Thanks for all the replies. I used the exact amount of honey called for in the one gallon recipe and mixed it well and cooled it to 70 degrees F before using it. The recipe and the kit mentioned nothing about a hydrometer.
I started a five gallon saison while the one gallon IPA was fermenting and for that I went to the home-brew store where they were adamant about my getting a hydrometer and gave me the saison recipe, but for this IPA I didn't use one (shame). I let the IPA sit for longer than the suggested fermentation time before bottling and drank a bottle 2.5 weeks after bottling. It had been in the fridge only a few hours after I moved it from the dark closet I was keeping bottles to condition. Should I let it sit longer in the fridge after it has been bottled?
The taste seemed a little off, like it was too yeasty, I didn't taste any honey, there was some bitterness in the aftertaste but not much of the rich IPA pine during the sip.
On a side note, the FG of the saison is fine now but I haven't had time to bottle it (grad school and work). It's in a bucket with a spigot, but I think next time I'll get another bucket for the fermentation and then transfer that to the bucket with the spigot for easy bottling. I smelled some when I took the reading and I am thinking that since there's five gallons of it I'd like to try a little experimenting. How might I go about using chili pepper in 5-8 of the bottles-worth? Just add a little pepper to the bottles? Bottle most of it and then throw peppers in the fermenter for another week and bottle the rest? Should I sanitize the peppers (lol, I'm serious).
Thanks guys. I was worried you'd all be like n00b why don't you search for this question before making a new thread but it's very welcoming. You're right it's an obsession, but I need to figure out how to make time for starting new brews cuz I'm busy as **** and have to prioritize school ya'know? Cheers!