brewed my first batch of beer last night!

[eddie]

Congrats on you first brew.

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

thanks guys aww man, when I started the siphon I used a tip I found online start with the starsan in the line and pour the begining into a glass and when it turns to beer pinch the line and transfer it into the secondary.... MANNNNN when I smelled that beer my mouth started watering! I dont want to jinx it but I think this batch is going to match its rave reviews! One of the reviews I read said it was preferred OVER guiness.... Not too sure about that, but time will tell. Super excited I got a lot of brewing accomplished last night... not only did I transfer my stout into the secondary but as soon as I cleaned my fermenter I brewed my second batch (autumn amber ale) and that is now in my primary! I went down to the basement and my airlock is bubbling like crazy! I think I am going to keg that batch and try out my new courney kegs/ chest freezer! I am sure I will have tons of questions and will probably start an autumn amber ale thread with a bunch of "how to" questions with how to use my co2 tank properly and what settings to put the regulator to etc.. Thats it for now!

 

[Centexbear]

Being a new brewer myself, I'm enjoying following your progress!!!

I have a few questions for ya:

You didn't sneak a taste/sample?

Are you going 3 weeks in primary and 3 in secondary before bottling?

Could you please provide a link to the type of kegs and freezer you bought? Why freezer? can you regulate the temps above freezing? Is it more like a fridge?

 

[brewagentjay]

Awesome. I did my first brew with same exact kit....It's one of my favs still.

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

Being a new brewer myself, I'm enjoying following your progress!!!

I have a few questions for ya:

You didn't sneak a taste/sample?

Are you going 3 weeks in primary and 3 in secondary before bottling?

Could you please provide a link to the type of kegs and freezer you bought? Why freezer? can you regulate the temps above freezing? Is it more like a fridge?

1.) no I didnt sneak a taste ( I was tempted) but the wait will be worth it!

2.) Yes thats the plan.. but I might shorten secondary and bottle conditioning just because I am headed back home July 12th for my birthday weekend and my dad really wants to try some. We'll see, I did notice sediment already on the bottom of my secondary so I am glad I decided to rack it into my carboy before dropping it into the bottling bucket.

3.) I dont have a link but I can let you know I bought it at Sears... its a Kenmore 9 cubic ft. you have the option of getting black or white in color. I was going to get black but they wanted 100.00 more just for the color... so I went with white. the white is 249.00 I believe is what I paid for it and the black 349.00 It came with an optional warranty but I refused because I plan on drilling the top eventually and do a tap tower. They specifically told me that would void the warranty anyway (I figured it would).... As far as temp. control I bought a temp controller from a fellow HBT'er (ajf) for 30.00 you simply plug it into your existing freezer plug turn the temp down to 40 degrees or so (whatever your desired temp is for chilling your beers) then drop the probe in the freezer and your freezer temp will drop down to normal fridge temperatures. The reason I went with a chest freezer opposed to a full size fridge was just a size issue. I have a very narrow basement stairwell with a 90 degree bend in it, and that is where all my homebrewing is taking place... I full size fridge wouldnt fit NOT A CHANCE! lol and I had no luck finding a mini fridge that would fit my courney kegs (I have 4 of those). Originally I was going to get a 7.2 cubic ft. chest freezer but when using the handy dandy sizing chart on this website for courney kegs I quickly discovered that it would probably be too cramped for what I have for a setup. The 9 cubic ft. chest freezer was the same price since I chose white in color (so it was a no brainer) I had to go bigger... when I got it home haha I made it fit down the stairs! one smal ding in the ceiling drywall but nothing that cant be fixed down the road As far as where I got my kegs I found a complete used setup on craigslist for CHEAP. Everybody on here said I got a great deal on it. Look around on craigslist first if you want to save some money. But if that doesn't work I hear kegconnection.com has good prices if you are looking to buy new. Hope that helps, good luck with your brewing process I have had a blast so far! CHEERS. Oh and I will try to find my thread on my setup for you, I added pictures to it.

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

heres the link centexbear:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/my-new-starter-kit-tell-me-if-you-think-i-got-good-deal-177853/

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

sorry no pictures of the chest freezer yet but if you'd like I could snap you some. I could take some of the temp controller too if you need to know what one looks like... they make manual ones and digital. I went with manual.... I can always upgrade later, besides ajf gave me a great deal shipped to my doorstep (thanks ajf!)

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

Awesome. I did my first brew with same exact kit....It's one of my favs still.

did you like it more then guiness?

If you were to compare between regular guiness or their extra stout... which does it taste like more? I am anxious to know if its more smooth like regular guiness or if it has a real strong kick of stout to it... Either way I'm sure it will taste good, just trying to get a feel for it now that I know somebody else on here has brewed it before!

 

[Shepherd5]

Congratulations on your first brew! I only hope it turns out better than Guiness, chances are, it will!

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

Congratulations on your first brew! I only hope it turns out better than Guiness, chances are, it will!

I will make sure to pour two glasses one of actual guiness and one of mine, and then snap a picture for yah and post it up!

 

[brewagentjay]

did you like it more then guiness?

If you were to compare between regular guiness or their extra stout... which does it taste like more? I am anxious to know if its more smooth like regular guiness or if it has a real strong kick of stout to it... Either way I'm sure it will taste good, just trying to get a feel for it now that I know somebody else on here has brewed it before!

I have pics of it. I had one yesterday. It's more a stout not as smooth as guiness. Also doesn't have the after taste guniness has. I prefer it better myself now. I did a AG stout that will be bottling in a few weeks. If it turns out as good as this one did I'll be happy. It's a great kit.

If I had to compare it to one I'd go with extra stout.