Happy Holiday Ale - First brew

[raegis]

I brewed Midwest's Happy Holiday Ale about 2 weeks ago. We did it at my buddy's house who is a homebrewer as well and has done about 5 kits. Everything seemed to go fine, boil and sanitation-wise. Followed the instructions to the T.

I just wanted to ask if anyone has made this kit before and can give me some advice from their experience. Like, How long in primary? How long in bottles? Or anything else i should know.

Like i said almost to 2 weeks, so I'm hoping to bottle soon. After I get a FG of course.

 

[RM-MN]

Leave it in the primary for at least another week before you even take a hydrometer test. My beers seem to mature quicker if I leave them on the yeast cake longer than what the kit's instructions call for. Once bottled, you still have a waiting period for it to carbonate and another wait for maturity. Mine didn't spend as long in the primary and took nearly 3 months from brewing to maturity.

Once your beer matures, try to have it gone in 6 months as the spice flavors seem to dissipate if left too long.

 

[raegis]

Well I was hoping to give some away for the holidays.

Maybe enough flavor will be there to enjoy a little at the end of December?

 

[JRL]

Three weeks in primary, three weeks in the bottle. Start another batch to keep it coming. Congrats and welcome to the obsession.

Of course take your gravity reading and make sure its done before bottling.

 

[raegis]

Yeah that's kinda what my plan was gonna be. I'm just getting anxious to bottle!

 

[h22lude]

Three weeks in primary, three weeks in the bottle. Start another batch to keep it coming. Congrats and welcome to the obsession.

Of course take your gravity reading and make sure its done before bottling.

^^^This is what I was going to say.

I used to keep my beer in primary for at least 4 weeks but after reading what Yooper had to say, I'm going to start kegging after 2 weeks...as long as you pitch a good starter (the correct amount of yeast) and keep good temp control.

 

[coastwx]

I use to ferment at least 3 weeks, but lately, 2 weeks seems to be sufficient for low or mid gravity beers, especially if the bulk of the fermentation is done after 5-7 days. We actually had a pale ale that won a smaller contest that was fermented in a primary only for 2 weeks. It had been bottled for 7 weeks at the time of the contest.

 

[Strangelove]

This was my third brew. It was mid-August. I've tried a bottle or two since. It's not bad, but it gets better with time. Mine will be 4 months old for Christmas dinner. Can't wait.

 

[raegis]

Thanks for the great info guys! I'm becoming obsessed with this hobby, already figured out my next brew!

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for the great info guys! I'm becoming obsessed with this hobby, already figured out my next brew!

WHOA!! You already know your next brew?

Oh yeah, I guess I've already made plans for the next 4.:cross: