RCBIV
Well-Known Member
First brew in the books as of an hour ago. And it was ... an experience.
I was as prepared as I could have been, I think, other than underestimating how much time it would take from start to finish. Oh, hey, work. Yes, I'm coming in late tonight.
My biggest issue (other than my brew pot not being as big as advertised) was my boil. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't seem to get a good boil going over the 60 minutes. I'd get it going, then add an ingredient and do some stirring, and it would die down. Then it would boil back up a few minutes later. I'm thinking my stove might not have the stuff to keep a strong boil (brand new apartment that I'm in, so I didn't know if its power. First task: brew stinky beer!)
To compensate, I played with the lid: on, slightly on, a little less slightly on. I wanted to get a nice "rolling boil" but it'd either be ferocious or a like a soft, little kitten. I never got a happy medium, in my mind. What kind of effect would that have on my beer?
Another thing: I seemed to have a LOT of foam when I poured my wort into the fermenter. I went through a very fine mesh strainer. Is that the No. 1 culprit? It was so foamy that I could barely read my reading through the bubbles. I sort of had to guess at the OG (which was right on the dot, per the recipe). Maybe I should have waited for the bubbles to cease?...
Thanks in advance, beer lovers.
I was as prepared as I could have been, I think, other than underestimating how much time it would take from start to finish. Oh, hey, work. Yes, I'm coming in late tonight.
My biggest issue (other than my brew pot not being as big as advertised) was my boil. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't seem to get a good boil going over the 60 minutes. I'd get it going, then add an ingredient and do some stirring, and it would die down. Then it would boil back up a few minutes later. I'm thinking my stove might not have the stuff to keep a strong boil (brand new apartment that I'm in, so I didn't know if its power. First task: brew stinky beer!)
To compensate, I played with the lid: on, slightly on, a little less slightly on. I wanted to get a nice "rolling boil" but it'd either be ferocious or a like a soft, little kitten. I never got a happy medium, in my mind. What kind of effect would that have on my beer?
Another thing: I seemed to have a LOT of foam when I poured my wort into the fermenter. I went through a very fine mesh strainer. Is that the No. 1 culprit? It was so foamy that I could barely read my reading through the bubbles. I sort of had to guess at the OG (which was right on the dot, per the recipe). Maybe I should have waited for the bubbles to cease?...
Thanks in advance, beer lovers.