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Unopened? Absolutely fine. Vacuum sealed? Totally good to go. Left out in an open cup... maybe not as good.

True - and even if you don't, just on the ingredients, you can often save money if you're only looking at the raw ingredient cost compared to buying a similar commercial beer. Even if your ingredients cost $50, that's ~$1 a bottle, cheaper than most commercial craft options. But then you've...

I know that I don't save time brewing, that's for sure. As for saving money... I kinda thought I would when getting into it (oh, it's only $30 for my 5 gallon batch, that's two cases!) but there's always something else to buy, something to upgrade. I think you *can* save money doing it, but...

I did a holiday amber one year that had ginger (and cinnamon, honey malt, and a touch of Special B, too) that came out fantastic. Used some more piney/resiny hops, which complemented it all really well. If I'm remembering correctly, I used 2oz (I think) with 5mins left in the boil, and while I...

Haven't tried with RO, but I cannot recommend FermCap enough. Saved my ass (and stovetop) so many times.

:D And now I'm not going to be able to think of squeezing any other way.

Love this yeast, and yes, I've had the same experience. Tons of blowoff - I always use a blowoff tube with it, even with 1.5gal headspace on my last batch it managed to make a mess!

Brett = honey badger?

Gonna second this one. Great, if often overlooked, style.

Hard to tell exactly from the picture, but there's a good chance those are just yeast rafts. It's day 6, was there any krausen that rose then fell?

Yeah, seems like it's going to be pretty tight for a full volume BIAB, but there's no reason you couldn't do a pour over or dunk. Or, if you wanted, just do a 2.5/3 gallon batch, full volume.

Looks pretty good to me. Might be a bit high on the crystal malts for my tastes.

SHHHH! Don't ruin this for him!

See if there's a local homebrew club. I know you said you're really busy, but some meet only once every month or two, and so if you can make it, all the better. You get to know some great people and get real feedback, which is so valuable. I definitely think it's been one reason why my beers...

I know this one all too well. Was right around 68 with Notty the first time I used it... not a fan. Avoided it for a while, then tried it again around 58 (I think...), and it was an entirely different beer.

Yeah, 73 definitely on the high end there. But, if you can keep it in the 63-65 range, that would be pretty good when you're talking about getting started. Again, the water bath could be a good idea to keep temperatures more stable.

This is great advice. I do have a cider that has been going in my basement since October... I should probably check on that at some point...

Well, low-60's pretty nice. Your beer is going to be a bit higher while actively fermenting, but it's a really good start. To keep temps from swinging too much, you can put the fermenter in a water bath, which will help stabilize the temps. I think you're in good shape there! That said, if...

Ugh, so now you're adding one more beer to the list that have to brew this year?! FIIIIINE. And now I'm thirsty. THANKS.

Totally understandable. Give it time, then take a gravity reading and see where you're at. You should be just fine! :mug: Just to add on, with that picture, I really wouldn't be worrying. It looks great!