A home-brewing addict is born!

[BrewForce]

Hello everyone,

I'm in the USAF and I'm currently stationed in Korea. I came to the conclusion a few weeks ago that I really need a hobby to pass the time over here, so I took up beer making.

About three weeks ago I ordered the Coopers micro-brew kit along with their wheat beer kit. I mixed the ingredients together and followed the directions closely...well, excluding the part where I replaced the 300g of dextrose with 1.3kg of Honey. I know that is a grossly disproportionate amount of fermentable...but I wanted to experiment and boost the ABV a tad.

My OG landed roughly around 1054, smelled great, and the wort was at a perfect 25° C when I pitched my yeast. I kept a fairly steady temperature of 22° over the course of the fermentation process, however, there was a day or so where it dipped down to around 19° because for some reason the dorm managers thought it would be appropriate to turn off the building's heat in the dead of Korean winter.

Well, I bottled my first batch of beer today. It was an amazing feeling! It's been fermenting for 7 days now and had a sustained SG of 1011 for the last 2 days, so I think that ended up being my FG. I probably could have/should have let it sit for another 4-5 days...but I'm new and impatient haha.

I think i'm going to order another set of bottles so I can get to brewing my next batch right away. This is really addicting. I have the Coopers lager kit right now. Do any of you more experienced guys suggest modifying the recipe in any way? What do you think I should order for my next beer to brew(after the lager of course). Any suggestions, comments or advice would be more than welcome!

Thanks and I'm glad to be here...I can't wait to crack open my first home brew!

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Welcome

Apart from steeping specialty grains I wouldn't mod anything for the first few brews. It is a good start to see what the base line is and build from that.
Definitely get the extra bottles and get that pipeline going though! You will get a serious depression when you run out of the nectar.

 

[kryolla]

whats wrong with Soju lol

 

[BrewForce]

Thanks for the advice LGI!

Haha, nothing is wrong with Soju...it's delicious, except it has been outlawed in the dorms because some pilot thought it gave you wings. So, basically he jumped off a 2 story building and did the majority of landing with his face. Luckily, brewing in the dorms isn't banned...yet! Better keep that hush-hush!

 

[kryolla]

Thanks for the advice LGI!

Haha, nothing is wrong with Soju...it's delicious, except it has been outlawed in the dorms because some pilot thought it gave you wings. So, basically he jumped off a 2 story building and did the majority of landing with his face. Luckily, brewing in the dorms isn't banned...yet! Better keep that hush-hush!

The magical powers of Soju, I was in USMC but had a girlfriend in the AF and a lot of people that was in Korea would bring it back, ahh the good old times

For your next beer try a APA or IPA

 

[iron_city_ap]

I was going to say... while you are over there, why not try to learn how to brew Korean beers.

 

[BrewForce]

I was going to say... while you are over there, why not try to learn how to brew Korean beers.

Well, if I run across a truly remarkable Korean-type beer...i just might, but so far all I've had is Cass, OB, and Hite...all of which taste like domestic light beers for the most part...nothing special.

Perhaps I'll craft a beer that becomes popular in Korea and get rich! Unlikely...

 

[iron_city_ap]

I've never been over there, but I guess I just assumed that just about everywhere has a local or regional type of beer. If its pretty much nothing special, then keep on keepin' on.