First Brew

This is my first post.

I just wanted to stop in and say hello. I've lurked a bit but made a username today.

I brewed up an ingredient kit (Big Ben Pale Ale) 15 days ago, using a kit that I bought from Midwest Supplies (two 5 gallon buckets, glass carboy, various other supporting equipment) and have been patiently waiting since. This morning I let it get the best of me and measured my specific gravity and was pleasantly surprised to see it come out to what it should be around.

My starting gravity was around 1.048 and now it is around 1.012. I tasted my sample as well and it definitely tasted like warm flat beer. It had a funny bitter aftertaste to it that tasted kinda chemical-y (not a pleasant hoppy taste really) which was a bit disappointing. Other than that no remarkable flavors which was also a bit disappointing, but since it is my first batch I'm not going to hold it against myself too much. I know I should wait longer but I'll probably bottle in a few days so I can start drinking it in a few weeks and see what it properly tastes like.

Anyway, hello - I'll be poking around more in the future.

 

It'll be much better when carbonated and served at the correct temperature. Good luck brewing and poking around

 

Don't forget to take another hydrometer reading in a couple of days to see if there is any change.

 

Also as it conditions in the bottles the tastes will meld together even more so will definitely improve when you go to try them about 3-4 weeks after bottling.

 

This was how my first batch was, but I didn't temp control. What are you doing for fermentation temp control?

 

The hops in flat new beer can be a little weird,as the beer's still green. Wait till the third day & test it again. If the readings are the same,you can give it another 3-7 days to clean up any by products of fermentation & settle out clear or slightly misty. Then bottle.

 

Thank you all for the tips and encouragement. @ElJefeBrews - I just left the fermentation bucket in the basement. I took a couple air temp readings down there and it seemed to stay around 62-67 throughout the first fee days. I could certainly do something more but I wanted to limit my investment in equipment until I had a few batches under my belt. 62 is a little cold for my yeast (read it was supposed to ferment between 65 and 70) but I also heard that the temperature of the sort fermenting rises a bit higher than air temp due to the process? I will definitely wait a few days to bottle since I realized today that I have no caps... However I also want to get the stuff into bottles so that I can start another batch.

//Edit: Also, I was thinking about it and I wonder if the chemical taste came from my turkey baster I used to extract the sample. I heavily sanitized it with Star San and when I was washing it out afterward I noticed liquid was always getting trapped in the bulb that was hard to get out without taking it apart.

 

Get a stick on thermometer for your fermenter(s). Makes it easier to tell what the internal temp is,which is what listed temps are for regarding the yeast. And def don't bottle till the beer is at a stable FG,tested a couple days apart.

 

What's the difference in value between good beer and so-so beer? A new bucket fermenter will cost you about $15. I'd rather pay that and leave my other beer where it is for a bit longer with the hopes that it would become a better beer. Beers usually do improve with more time in the fermenter.

 

Well, it may end up waiting regardless as I realized the other day that I don't have any bottlecaps. Shipping estimate is December 17th... even though I got two day shipping from Amazon (marketplace item).

However, there is some value to me in saying "Yes, I made a brew that is drinkable and isn't going to poison me - I can do this and now that I know that I can start improving". I don't know if that makes any sense, but I am really excited to get the first batch done! I got pumped when I drank out of the fermenter, even though it didn't taste great .