Angst and hand wringing time

I do this EVERY time I brew up a batch. I will be second guessing myself on some level for a couple of weeks as I obsess over how THIS time I screwed up something or left out an important step or something.

I brewed up another batch today - a Pale Ale using two cans of Coopers LME light, a bag of "60 Lovibond" crushed crystal, one ounce of Centennial 9% and two ounces of Perle 6.6% (50/50 each - beginning of boil and last five minutes) and Nottingham yeast.

I have found these pale ales are about fool proof (though I always remember how ever time you think that something is fool proof, you find bigger fools, i.e, me!). And so far every one one has come out great.

But THIS time, it is different! I'm sure of it - I MUST have left out a critical step somewhere...



Two weeks to bottling.

You have NOT! It is my opinion that the more you brew, the less you worry.

You are experiencing the same thing we all have! Keep forging ahead! I am confident that this beer, same as your others, will be just great!

Rhoobarb is right...the more you brew, the less you worry. Your beer will come out great and in a short time, you'll be telling us how great it is. The smoother it gets, the more you think you left out a step.

Hehe, I know this feeling.

I run to my fermenter every fifteen minutes or so just to check on it until the airlock starts bubbling...and then every twenty minutes or so until it's done.

Rhoobarb said:

You have NOT! It is my opinion that the more you brew, the less you worry.

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Is this because those who brew more have more brew on tap?

I looked at the airlock yesterday - bubbling away. So far so good.

This is my seventh batch or so, so I am only now getting to where I have an intuitive (although very modest) understanding of what I am doing. I tried to take notes of my first couple of batches but later found that whatever I wrote was useless. Possibly when I get to Batch Fourteen, my notes from this batch will be equally useless but I am trying again, if nothing else to record ingredient mix.

I was going to buy another case of bottles, but at $9.75 for a (fourth) case of empties, I figured I would rather buy a case of full brown bottles of something like Stoudt's for about $25 and save the empties. That seems like a high price to pay for a bunch of empty bottles.

SteveM said:

I was going to buy another case of bottles, but at $9.75 for a (fourth) case of empties, I figured I would rather buy a case of full brown bottles of something like Stoudt's for about $25 and save the empties. That seems like a high price to pay for a bunch of empty bottles.

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My roommate and I have been working through a few cases of Warsteiner to strengthen our reserve of empties, but I'm pretty tempted to just invest in some kegs and be done with it.

Into the bottles yesterday - boy, did it smell great - very hoppy and rich. I can't wait. For some reason my siphon-fu was not what it should be - I left more behind than I like, so my yield was "only" 52 12 ounce (355 ML) bottles.

All in all, not bad, but I can usually squeze out four to six more than that.

It's like anything you do... the more you do it the more confident you become.

First bottle tonight...

The current state of my last batch (not a fair comparison, to be sure - it has been in the bottle a couple of months now) is clear and deep red, and sharp and full tasting. The new one is more of a dark reddish amber, and has not yet achieved either the clarity or the depth of flavor. But it's there - it will be - it is - another winner! And in a few weeks, woo hah!

Stop worrying so much! It's the surest way to ruin your beer. As they say, "Relax. Enjoy a homebrew."

Fermentations that stop too soon drive me crazy! Nothing worst than 10.20 and stuck. I keep some dry champaign yeast around to kick it.

I always worry a bit, as I mentioned in the beginning - this after maybe eight batches so far and not a bad beer yet. It's just my nature. The guy who I buy my supplies from gave me two pieces of advice when I started out. Remember that it is only beer, and santize everything. Those have held true.

Edit - note that this thread is a month old - I have traced my most recent batch from its beginnings. No angst now that it is done.