Celebration Post

[BluesNBrews]

Last night I opened my first brew-at-home beer, an American IPA, and I really liked it. I'm excited, but also surprised. I felt that I made a lot of mistakes along the way, and the waiting during fermentation and after bottling drives me crazy. I brewed at a brew-your-own place in October, and doing this from beginning to end was an incredible experience. I'm addicted!!!

During the process, I realized that there is so much I didn't understand. I had a boilover... All I read said that I should not have them.... What did that do to my beer I wondered. My original gravity was low... So was the final, coming pretty close to target in the end... I sat nervously for two weeks not knowing whether I was supposed to siphon some of what I now know is called the yeast cake at the bottom of the carboy (I thought crap was the technical term for it) into the bottling bucket... How on earth would the priming sugar do its magic? I was not as sanitary as I should have been, I'm sure...

I can't wait to brew my next beer, which is an Ommegang Hennepin clone that I got at the local home brew shop. I realize that I will need to either plan the brewing to coincide with the Super Bowl (where I plan on my friends emptying out a lot of my bottles for me) or buy a lot more bottles.

I cant figure out what I'm going to do with all the beer... I can't help but be curious how many batches I can expect to brew in a year.... Do I need to get more friends to help me drink this?

 

[unionrdr]

I take it you don't drink a lot of beer? And 48 bottles or so isn't a whole lot. Even if you only drink a couple after work each day. The numbers do add up.
Just do a lot of reading on here & like forums & you'll see where your mistakes can be corrected. Even better yet,read the stickies at the top of the forum for beginners.

 

[3PegBrew]

I take it you don't drink a lot of beer?

Hey now...they just need a bit of schooling

Although, if you think an American IPA is the shizzz yo, you need to broaden your horizons and tone it down with a nice German Wheat or maybe even a blonde. Heck, go for a dunkel

 

[Ramitt]

Too much beer, 1st world problems.

 

[obsoletist]

As a newbie myself, who hasn't even finished/tasted his first homebrew yet, I can't really give you any technical advice just yet...and I know what you mean about mistakes (see my first thread regarding priming sugar)! All I can say, regarding the latter half of your post, is:

1)You have good taste in beer, and an ambitious attitude toward your new hobby. Good luck with the Ommegang!
2)Get your friends to save their empties for you, AND buy more bottles! You don't yet know how deep you're going to get into this, so it's best to be prepared! Better to have and not need, than to need and not have.
3)What are you going to do with all the beer? Whatever you want, it's yours! Drink some, give some away, put some away to age, pour some on the ground 'for your homies'...just don't sell it, I'm pretty sure that's not legal.

Cheers!

 

[Ramitt]

pour some on the ground 'for your homies'...

Save that for the Colt 45.

 

[Ramitt]

Damn, now that wants me want to bottle some home brew in those quart malt liqour bottles for gifts.

 

[BluesNBrews]

Hi uniondr, my wife would disagree with you on the consumption. Mixing the homebrew with the regular craft beer bar visits (visiting new ones, plus the ones near where I work, has also become a hobby in itself) while throwing in an occasional high gravity beer I've been cellaring during the last couple of years is the challenge... Hahaha. Thanks for the tips!

 

[3PegBrew]

You sneaky Pennsylvanian man....sneaky sneaky sneaky man. You never mentioned you were a traveling alcoholic!

 

[BluesNBrews]

Hi 3PegBrew, taking advantage of the best in local beer when visiting an area can be fun... I used to go to Chicago often enough but unfortunately, did not get to experience as much as I would have liked...

 

[Daybis]

BluesNBrews, congrats on your first homebrew! Don't worry about the mistakes. I've been brewing for a few years now and I haven't had a beer where something didn't go the way I had planned it, but I've managed to make a lot of great beer even with all my mistakes.

 

[unionrdr]

Hi uniondr, my wife would disagree with you on the consumption. Mixing the homebrew with the regular craft beer bar visits (visiting new ones, plus the ones near where I work, has also become a hobby in itself) while throwing in an occasional high gravity beer I've been cellaring during the last couple of years is the challenge... Hahaha. Thanks for the tips!

I stand corrected. Y'all still drink a lot of craft brew suplimented with home brew. That's different. Most HB'rs here are the other way around. But ok,whatever floats your boat.
* 7555,Zager & Evans post!

 

[Fizzycist]

I just got into the hobby as well and I'm trying to scrounge up bottles for my first batch. My problem: SWMBO is pregnant and I gave up drinking to support her. We got one more month of no booze, so I can't empty bottles for myself. I gotta beg them from my friends, and most of my friends drink BMC from a can.