Recent content by japhillips87

I brewed this probably 2 years ago. I was just starting out and didn't have a good understanding of the brewing process. I ended up with 4.5 gallons instead of 5.5. I assume this made my beer 20% stronger. I broke my hydrometer so I don't know what the gravity was. It turned out to be a...

Kegged this Wednesday at lunch. Force carbed it Thursday morning. Here is a picture of my first pour. It looks a little light. It only got down to FG 1.013 from OG 1.052. It tastes great already and the head retention is incredible.

Sittinbull, start reading at page 93 of this post. It has a lot of mentions of sulfur. People say that is clears with time.

The wait is killing me. It has been in the fermenter for 10 days. Things are still swirling around and the airlock still bubbling every 15 seconds. I took a gravity reading and it is still 11 points too high (1.02, OG was 1.052). I tasted it and I think it is going to be amazing. I guess I'm...

After two years I'm brewing again. I borrowed equipment from a co-worker for my first 3 brews, (2 of the three were this beer). He moved and I didn't have necessary equipment. I have moved since then too. Now that I'm settled in my new house I wanted to pick it back up. Several months ago I...

Finally drinking this now. It is an awesome hefe. Flavor is spot on with a hint of banana. I feel that I nailed it especially since this is my first ever brew. Josh

Definitely use a blowoff. The first day I had a half gallon of blowoff come through the tube with a gallon of head space.

Mike, Your wife must have a heck of a punch :D. I would stick to the WLP300 or Wyeast 3068 for an authentic Hefe. These strains of yeast ferment vigorously and as stated earlier in the thread can produce 10ºF of heat when fermenting. If you put it in the basement it would probably get you to...

Here is a picture of one bottled. Josh

Mine was pretty light but not transparent. It was lighter in the test tube but seemed to be the right color in the bottle and in the carboy. I will post a picture of one in a clear bottle when I get home tonight. Josh

Just bottled this tonight. I ended up with a FG of 1.010 but I came up a gallon short. I will post again when I drink the first one.

Brew day is over. Pre-boil gravity 1.042. OG of 1.051. Can't wait to finally taste it. This is my first time brewing and I don't think things could have gone any smoother. Thanks Ed and everyone that has contributed to this thread. It really helped a lot. Josh

Got it boiling now. Pretty much hit mash temps (153 for first half hour. Stirred and had to add hot water to get back to 151-152). Waiting for the sample to cool to see pre-boil gravity. Overall a pretty smooth first brew.

I am new to brewing completely. This will be my first brew ever. I'm completely skipping extract. This may not be the best idea but I'm willing to take the risk. I really like hefe's and I can't wait to brew this. I'm still in the process of building my equipment and will probably brew this a...