Hello from Illinois!

[RnQBrew]

hey everyone- newbie here from just outside of chicago.

I've been wanting to get started in this hobby for a looooooooong time now, and my wife finally made it possible this past christmas.
I have a Perfect Brewing deluxe hardware kit, a 30 qt turkey fryer, and a fresh copy of Palmer's "How To Brew".
Oh yeah, and my first batch is in the fermenter as I type.

Anyway, I look forward to getting to know all of you and learning from you!

wish me luck!

-Chris

 

[Mista_Sparkle]

Hello to Illinois from Illinois.

Welcome to the forums, they are an amazing resource, also great for last minute questions.

I must say, you wife doesn't know what she has started, or she is totally awesome... or both.

 

[Pops]

Good Luck and welcome

 

[Nuggethead]

Welcome to the forums. I have had numerous hobbies over the years, but this one is by far the best. Good luck and happy brewing.

 

[frazier]

Hey welcome, we're almost neighbors. There's a homebrew club in Round Lake, I haven't checked it out yet but am planning to soon.

 

[glenn514]

Hello Illinois from Illinois! Welcome to this little corner of insanity and addiction! Now that you've got your first beer fermenting, LEARN PATIENCE! That, I believe, is the hardest part of brewing! And I know where Round Lake Beach is!

Enjoy!
glenn514

 

[SathingtonWilloby]

Your wife has no clue what she got herself in for. You've started ahead of most of us with the 30 qt kettle. I started with a 5-gallon pot... And bought a bigger one within a couple months. Good luck on the first brew. And yes, there's lots of homebrew clubs in the area. Give us a shout if you need help finding one.

 

[mobly99]

Welcome, from just a few towns over.

So what was your first batch that you just brewed?

 

[RnQBrew]

First batch was a pale ale, I'll be bottling that tonight.

2nd batch started on Saturday- a Fat Tire replica recipe. Fermentation started VERY slowly, actually kind of scared me a bit... I thought I had screwed something up. But it seems to be moving along nicely now.
Once I get the pale ale bottled I'm planning to transfer the "Flat Tire" into that bucket for secondary fermentation this coming weekend.

I can already tell that this is going to become more of an obsession than a hobby. I've been looking at some clubs in the area, I know of BABBLE...

As for my wife- I think she did this with purely selfish intentions. After all, she's going to get to drink everything I make!

 

[mobly99]

I assume that the "Flat Tire" came from Perfect Brewing Supply? I really liked that kit, I think it was the second or third extract kit that I made.

I also liked their Mickey Finn's Abana Amber and Ober-Easy kits.

 

[wcarter1227]

welcome from aurora.

 

[RnQBrew]

Yep, the kit was from Perfect Brewing Supply. So far those guys have been an amazing resource for me.
I'll have to try that Ober-Easy kit in the near future.