2nd Batch

[PreTrub]

I brewed my first batch ever over a month ago and the bottles are almost done carbonating. I have one of those bottles in the fridge now and am going to try it tonight. I made a bunch of first batch mistakes that I have plans to fix on my next batch.

I brewed a Belgian Saison my first go because I don't currently have a vessel for keeping fermenter at a regulated temp. I live in Florida and I keep my temp in house around 75. I was advised to start with the Saison because it can handle the higher fermentation temps. Is it recommended to brew the same kit the second batch and try to fix all of the mistakes and compare or just brew another kit I like and keep moving?

Thoughts.

Cheers

 

[microbusbrewery]

That's not a bad idea because you'll be able to compare and contrast the two batches...and (hopefully) see how the second batch improved. A lot of people want more variety, so they'll usually do a different beer for their second batch. What's your batch size? If you're doing five gallon batch sizes, you might be really tired of Saisons by the time you get through all of it.

 

[PreTrub]

I did a 5 gallon batch so I may want to switch it up. I know most of the mistakes I made and how to correct them next brew. I may switch to a Belgian Tripel this brew.

 

[violinguy]

You will learn something with each brew, but never so much as with the first one. My "things to fix next time" notes for my first brew fill several pages while each successive brew has seen my notes dwindle.

I agree with micro-bus about being sick of saison after another 5-gallon go. There are things you can fix that are not unique to one style or another. For me, brewing is full of variables that can be controlled, and many that can't. I try to control everything I can with each new brew and I'm slowly getting there. I try to cross off more mistakes/omissions with each brew. Temp. control for all-grain brewing is something I'm still working on. I can imagine how tough it is to control temp. in Florida. I'm in GA and I haven't brewed very much in the summer for just this reason.

 

[PADave]

I brewed my first batch ever over a month ago and the bottles are almost done carbonating. I have one of those bottles in the fridge now and am going to try it tonight. I made a bunch of first batch mistakes that I have plans to fix on my next batch.

I brewed a Belgian Saison my first go because I don't currently have a vessel for keeping fermenter at a regulated temp. I live in Florida and I keep my temp in house around 75. I was advised to start with the Saison because it can handle the higher fermentation temps. Is it recommended to brew the same kit the second batch and try to fix all of the mistakes and compare or just brew another kit I like and keep moving?

Thoughts.

Cheers

Some say to brew the same thing over and over to perfect your process. I personally like variety. I've been brewing different recipes trying to find ones I like. I'm a big fan of IPA's, so that pretty much makes it easy to play around with different malts and hops, yet keep things simple. That's the great thing about home brewing, you can do what you want.

Controlling your fermentation temps is going to get you the greatest results. 75 is too warm for most yeast. There are lots of simple ways to achieve this.

 

[C-Rider]

If you are gong to do an ale that's not Belgian you need to control your fermenting temp. When I first started I placed the fermenting bucket in a large tub with water and 2 1/2 gallon bottle of ice. I swapped the ice twice a day. You can put a wet towel over the fermenter to help as evaporation caused a drop in temp. With most ale yeasts you are gonna wanna stay around 64* for the first few days.