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Congrats man! It's always 1000x more enjoyable when the cold one you wind down with after a long day is one you have made. Welcom to the first of many of these moments, and may each first bottle/glass of every batch you make give you the same satisfaction! Cheers!

Use a hydrometer. Only way to tell when fermentation is complete. Also the only way to calculate ABV to impress your friends! :)

I am in the non-secondary camp, but even I like to age big beers after long primaries. Personally, (remember, this is my opinion, and brewing is all about freedom of choice!) I would rack it to secondary after AT LEAST a month long primary. I just racked a tripel I made to a keg after an almost...

No idea, but I'm curious also. I would imagine that when you secondary beans to get a coffee flavor, it will infuse into the whole batch, and I would imagine that brewed coffee might not infuse as well. But I'm sure I'm most likely wrong.

Welcome! I'm sure it will be great! Always nice to see another new homebrewer!

A spray bottle with StarSan in it is just as valuable! Comes in handy for tons of things!

Sanyo 4910, 4911, or 4912 are always popular. Tons of build threads on here. Built mine from a 4912, and was able to keep all the shelves in the door, and have a 5 lb tank with a DUAL regulator setup and 2 kegs inside. I use a motorcycle bungie net with hooks on it to hold the CO2 tank against...

Can't go wrong with an immersion chiller and StarSan. I would for sure get these to add to what you already have. After bottling a few batches you may want to think about purchasing some kegging equipment, as it's much less of a hassle to keg than it is to bottle. I wish I would have considered...

Like everyone else said, the only way to tell if your beer is done fermenting is with a hydrometer. I would wait at least a week to 10 days and then check your gravity two days in a row. If the reading hasn't changed, the fermentation is complete; if it has changed, wait a few more days and try...

I'm far from an expert, but the answer to your overall question is YES! You CAN get awesome beer with dry yeast. One of the biggest differences between dry yeast and liquid yeast is the number of varieties. Dry yeast only has a few varieties and there are tons of slight variations of liquid...

Then let it sit until fall/winter, it will get even better! Brew a cream ale or something that doesn't take as long to ferment and drink that towards the end of July, beginning of August and buy commercial stuff for month or so. Small price to pay for an awesome aged beer!

Just sent out a bunch to another guy in Cali, and all told it cost about $60 for 5 different 4 packs of Surly and $31 to ship it all out there. I might need to wait a bit to send the next batch, this tapped me out a little cashwise.

I'm interested in any of the breweries you mentioned, and I think you've got a pretty good handle on what I would like to try. I'm sure my Belgian habit could get spendy for ya, so I can let you know what I spent on the Surly products if you wanted to keep the costs somewhat even. Most Surly...

I only have 2 bottles of 2010 Darkness left and one of those is going to be traded for a Dark Lord, and the other I'm plan to keep to continue aging. Sorry! ;) But the others I can get you depending on what they have in stock these days. I can stop by the liquor store tonight and see what...

Looks like you're (the OP in this thread) from southern and he's (the guy above me I responded to in the other thread) from northern Cali, so this might work well for me. Just like I told the other guy: I can hook you up with some Surly. What kinds would you like? I like browns, strong...

I can hook you up with some Surly. What kinds would you like? I like browns, strong belgians (dubbels, trippels, quads etc.), porters and stuff like that. Not really a fan of the whole overly hoppy beers, but I like good balanced ales also. Don't really know what I can't get out here from...

Yes Please!

They did that once here back in the late nineties when a radio station was switching formats. Played it for days during the switch. I now hate that song.

I'm not sure what you'll find in a liquor store in Winona, but some of the better MN craft brewers other than Surly are Flat Earth, Summit, Lift Bridge, Fulton and Brau Brothers.

Perlicks + Bowie Bottler setup = Amazing.