McCall St. Brewer
Well-Known Member
Well, my first AG batch, an ESB, has had some time to condition in the bottles. I didn't really have any big problems that I noticed on brew day. I had a number of extract/steeping grain batches under my belt and had also done a couple of extract full boils with my turkey fryer and wort chiller.
I didn't have any major problems with my AG equipment. I bought the 5 gallon system from Northern Brewer. I think I hit my water temps fine. In general everything went pretty well.
So now, the bottom line: a session beer? No, more like homebrew flavored O'Douls. This stuff is some weak-*ssed beer! Plus, it tastes a little sweet, almost as if it didn't really fully ferment. (By the way, I refuse to buy a hydrometer, so I have no idea what my OG was or my efficiency, for that matter. It looked, smelled and tasted like wort when it went into the brewpot to boil). My ferment in the primary started up on schedule and seemed pretty vigorous. I pretty much followed the 1-2-3 rule on this one, with maybe a little longer in both primary and secondary.
On the plus side: the flavor seems much cleaner and purer than my extract brews. If the next two batches in the pipeline turn out a bit stronger, but taste good like the first one I will be a happy camper.
I didn't have any major problems with my AG equipment. I bought the 5 gallon system from Northern Brewer. I think I hit my water temps fine. In general everything went pretty well.
So now, the bottom line: a session beer? No, more like homebrew flavored O'Douls. This stuff is some weak-*ssed beer! Plus, it tastes a little sweet, almost as if it didn't really fully ferment. (By the way, I refuse to buy a hydrometer, so I have no idea what my OG was or my efficiency, for that matter. It looked, smelled and tasted like wort when it went into the brewpot to boil). My ferment in the primary started up on schedule and seemed pretty vigorous. I pretty much followed the 1-2-3 rule on this one, with maybe a little longer in both primary and secondary.
On the plus side: the flavor seems much cleaner and purer than my extract brews. If the next two batches in the pipeline turn out a bit stronger, but taste good like the first one I will be a happy camper.