This is killing me

Its KILLING me I say!

My first ever batch is bubbling away in the bucket. I can sit and watch it for hours...

The thought of not being able to drink it for another 3 weeks or so is KILLING ME.

Hopelessly addicted.

:cross:

 

You should buy yourself another bucket and get the 2nd batch started right away. There's a little thing we like to call "the pipeline". If you take care of it, you'll NEVER run out of homebrew to drink.

 

Agreed. I've got 2 going right now and it's driving me nuts to see how it turns out.

 

Yep, brew another one. Because it take about 5 weeks minimum from brew to carbed in the bottle, and 50 of your delicious 1st homebrews wont last that long. Plus most of my homebrews didnt get really good til about 6 weeks in the bottle. They were good at 3 weeks, but awesome at 6 weeks.

 

You really are six weeks out from drinking. 3 weeks in primary and then another 3 weeks in the bottles. Hate to break the news to you, but it is best to wait.

 

Welcome to the addiction, the journey has just begun.

For this first batch you will need:

1. Patience, lots of patience and then, more patience. So much patience that your head will explode due to the patience back-pressure.

2. Many bottles of craft brew (Maybe a case) to keep you RDWHACBing until your homebrew is ready, remember after it is bottled/kegged it will take appx. 3 more weeks for it to condition (unless it's a wheat).

3. Another fermenter (maybe two) for the next batch(s), again to keep you RDWHACBing until your first batch is ready. This will take up some of your idle time because one can not live on " . . . .bubbling away in the bucket. I can sit and watch it for hours . . . ".

4. Home brewing books to read while sipping on craft brew contemplating the first swallow of your very own first homebrew.

RDWHAHB and keep on brewing my friend

 

We were all there once. Start a pipeline; start making your second batch, and so on ...

 

More like another 5-6 weeks if you just brewed it up a day or two ago (unless your kegging)

 

Actually I dont have bottling equipment yet, but I do have a corny keg and co2 system. Once kegged, I should only have to wait a few days for it to carbonate, correct?

I would love to start another one, but my wife may kill me...

 

IMO, kegging is the same duration as bottling, Some people force carbonate so they can drink green carbonated beer. I usually carbonate kegs or bottles naturally.

 

Hehe mine too. And she said, "You're not buying any more beer stuff"

So I'm running to the store shortly to buy a 6.5 gallon carboy to start another.

 

The wife will adjust. The addiction will only get worse

 

It does go away, but can come back. I haven't brewed since June and finally have a Pale Ale in primary from Sunday. It's going to be forever until it's ready

And I do the 2 week set it and forget it method for kegging. usually start drinking after one though.

 

Brew another batch. Brewing beer is like dating women.. If you are only doing one at a time you're going to go insane. Like women, I recommend you keep a minimum of three brews around at all times.

 

I live with 5 women...hence the need for a lot more brews!

 

Take some tasting samples along the way to quell the anxiety.

It is beneficial to taste your beer every step of the process and understand how it evolves, from wort to fermenting to conditioning etc... Take good notes.

 

Wow. Hope your not married

 

I agree with the above. My first brew just came ready to drink over this past weekend and the amount that I drank plus the neighbors makes it go quickly. I have a stout that's ready to be bottled and a scottish that been fermenting for a week. Get the pipeline going and you will relax a little about the waiting. It still hurts, just not as bad.

 

Nope, I'm the bachelor highlander. (There can be only one.)

 

I have two batches going right now, an IPA and Pumpkin Ale.

The IPA went smooth, but the Pumpkin Ale I had a horrible time cooling the brew (2+ hours!!!). I am looking to buy a wort chiller now and hoping for the best for the Pumpkin Ale.

 

Put your purse down and brew up another one anyway.

 

Yea yea, you only live once, I'm sure the dog wants a nighttime cuddle buddy.

 

I see the problem here, you need a mancave and a bunch of stinky brew buddies.:rockin:

 

one tip: don't rush and drink it all before it's ready. Wait at least three weeks after bottling before you refrigerate one overnight as a test!

 

Its your beer. You can do whatever you want with it... always keep that in mind. If you want to follow the directions and drink it in 3 weeks, go ahead. Hell, drink it flat in 1 week, it really is up to you. The people who tell you to wait six weeks are telling you that based on how they like their beer. You might never really understand what they are talking about if you don't experiment on your own.

 

I know what u means this past week was week three and just bottled now I have 2-3 more weeks for conditioning. I must admit that the little bit I had in the bottling bucket got mixed with a bass and I must say it was delicious. Ohh yea i made and extract kit from Midwest raspberry red ale for my first batch. Going to order two more kits from Midwest possibly a bass clone or a cologne kolsch anybody got an opinion?? Really want to make a magic hat #9

 

I just brewed my first batch Friday night. Saturday, I went to my uncle's and helped him brew and istout. He says the thing has blown the lid off the bucket twice. Mine seems to have gone nuts while I was brewing on Saturday. Yesterday morning I was getting about a bubble a second. Last night it was at every other second and now about once every five seconds. I guess I'll be moving to the carboy soon enough.

 

Don't rush it. Let it have plenty of time in the primary, like 3 to 4 weeks. From there you can secondary or if your hydrometer says it's ready, bottle or keg it. I've had some very drinkable beer on week 4 by leaving it in the primary for 3 weeks. When I bottle early, I get pretty good beer in about 6 to 8 weeks.

 

Why does it need so much time in the primary? And if I can go straight to bottles, what purpose does the secondary serve? Also, I wasn't able to get an OG reading due to a thermometer mishap, is this going to be an issue?

 

It doesn't need that much time normally. That 3-4 week thing is a mind virus around here. It really depends on the beer, the yeast, the temp. A consistent hydrometer reading over a period of days and an FG that is close to what's expected is the only real way to know if it's done. If you want super clear beer, leave it for a couple of weeks. I get the same result in two days by cold-crashing my fermenter and have ** bottled moderately strong ales after 8 days in primary.

Good question. I bottle lagers from primary that turn out beautifully.

Other than not knowing the exact ABV of your beer, no.

 

I'm still not clear. Do I wait for steady hydrometer reading before I move to the carboy, or before I bottle? If before I bottle, then when do I know I'm ready to transfer to the carboy?

 

Both. However, I strongly recommend you don't secondary. You can if you feel you must, but I find no reason to do it and either do some highly respected and highly awarded homebrewing experts. It's just another chance for infection or oxidation to ruin your work. Bottle straight from primary after you get a stable hydrometer reading and the yeast have dropped out.

 

OK, that makes sense. I decided to do my primary in my bottling bucket (the lid has a whole in the top for the airlock) with the intention of moving to a 6.5 gallon carboy for my secondary. If I don't do the secondary, will I be OK to bottle straight from the primary? In the future, should I just do my primary in the carboy and then transfer to the bottling bucket, or is my carboy unnecessary altogether?

 

Finally, someone else not telling him to wait forever.

 

I am more anxious to brew my next batch than to taste my first.

 

Primary in your 6.5 gallon carboy if you are comfortable with glass. It can be dangerous if handled improperly. Think severed arteries and tendons with permanent nerve damage. I keep mine in milk crates when full always and never handle them empty without work gloves. That being said, it can't be beat for the volume they offer, transparency to watch the ferment, and ability to be cleaned without question. Plastic can always harbor bacteria in scratches if you're not careful.

There are times when a secondary is needed, such as adding fruit or aging with secondary yeast or bacteria strains. For plain old beers, I would just bottle straight from primary.

BTW, if you do plan on using a secondary, get a 5 gallon carboy. A 6.5 gallon carboy will leave way too much head space and you will oxidize your beer. For a typical 5 gallon batch, I'm assuming.

 

OK, that's what I will do for my next batch, but what about this one? It is currently fermenting in my bottling bucket. Can I just bottle form there?

 

Ditto.....

 

If you like your beer flat, without carbonation or if you like your beer with lots of yeast sediment and pieces of hops, sure you can bottle right from the fermenter. Most of us like to siphon the beer into a separate container so we can leave the spent yeast and hop pieces behind trapped in the yeast cake at the bottom of the fermenter and then mix our priming sugar that will create the carbonation in the bottles into that second container and then bottle from there. A second bottling bucket with spigot should cost under $25 and will be well worth it over the years you can use it. It will allow you to ferment one batch in the bucket you now have and a second one in the large carboy.

 

It doesn't NEED that long. I've bottled with the beer in the fermenter only 1 week. The problem with that is you get a huge amount of sediment in the bottle because you didn't give the yeast time to settle out and the beer takes so much longer to mature without the time on the yeast cake. By going to a longer time in the fermenter, my beer tastes really good about 2 to 3 weeks sooner than that which I bottled after only a week. I don't know about you, but I prefer good beer to fast beer. Why if I only wanted fast beer, the store is only 10 minutes away and they sell it in 6 packs, 12 packs, and cases.