first batch of homebrew

[foolioGrimz]

how's it going? I recently got interested in homebrewing. I ordered a belgian ale kit from listermanns.com. U used a 5 gal plastic bucket and order an airlock from them. I ended up cutting pieces of a balloon to seal the airlock onto the pour spout of the bucket. The kit said 5-7 days fermentation? I should have bought a hydrometer but I have to admit I have no idea how to use one correctly. I might have been a little hasty bottling my first brew. I hope I don't get any beer bombs. I waited 5-6 days and when I didn't see any more bubbles coming out of the airlock I went ahead and bottled it.

I couldn't wait to sample the first beer so I just popped one open and it doesn't taste too bad. Not like any kind of beer Ive ever tried b4 so I hope it fermented right. Its not quite carbonated yet but there was quite alot of foam when I opened the bottle. Ive made cheap hooch b4 with baker's yeast and I haven't died yet so we'll see if this wort stuff made real beer.

It doesn't taste bitter, but it isn't quite sweet either, not much character. well, I guess not even the trappist monks made chimay on the first go

 

[0202]

I left my batch in primary for 3 weeks and it's on it's 2nd week
in bottles and it's continuing to get better each time I sample.

I'd give it some time!

 

[FxdGrMind]

Well, time will tell. Glad you found this site. Read arround. Dig deep into some of the Search and Stickies up top on each forum topic page.

LOADS of great info here. I'm a noob, and I read more and more daily. Funny how old posts solve your problems even before you know you think you have one... he he he

Without a SG reading, there isn't a way to tell if you will have bombs or not. So if you don't have them in a box... I'd put them in something to contain the potential.. just in case.

Welcome to the joy of brewing your own!

Your beer only gets better from here on out. You are over the first hurdle... deciding to try it for yourself.

Cheers

 

[slomo]

like yourself i've just started brewing too. I've come to the conclusion that we are the worst thing for our beer, and the the best thing to do after fermentation and bottling is to relax and forget about your beer for a month.

 

[Dennis1979]

Make sure you have all the right basic equipment and next batch give a little more time. Just because the airlock slowed down doesn't mean it was done fermenting. I suggest 3 -4 weeks in the fermenter, then at least 6 weeks in the bottle. Try all that and then taste it, it will blow you away how good it is and you might think you had a monk somewhere in the family.

I just started brewing about 6 months ago and I have learned a ton since then. My first batch I did everything too quick and the beer wasn't good. Guys on this site gave me good advice and I have learned patience from them. My beer has turned out great ever since.

Dennis

 

[foolioGrimz]

yeah, I'll give it some more time next batch. I'll probably buy an ale pail too since my bucket foamed through the airlock a bit. About the only thing I hated doing was washing the bottles. I used a bottle brush and a light bleach solution to sterelize them. I wasn't sure if just runing them through my sucky ass dishwasher would be enough. I'm tired of using bottles already. how hard would it be to mini-keg?

 

[Hilbert]

U used a 5 gal plastic bucket and order an airlock from them. I ended up cutting pieces of a balloon to seal the airlock onto the pour spout of the bucket.

The kit said 5-7 days fermentation? I should have bought a hydrometer but I have to admit I have no idea how to use one correctly.

I waited 5-6 days and when I didn't see any more bubbles coming out of the airlock I went ahead and bottled it.
:

Sounds like you rushed it a bit. I would give it at least 2 weeks next time. The kits seem to rush stuff. Time and patience is always a good thing for beer. The good news is now that you have one batch bottled you may be less likely to rush the next.

Hydrometer is really easy to use. Put a sample in the tube, drop the hydrometer into it, let it float and take a reading.

I'm confused on the bucket with the balloon. What does that mean?

 

[foolioGrimz]

I'm confused on the bucket with the balloon. What does that mean?

I bought bucket lids with pour spouts. I couldn't find any stoppers for the cheap bubble lock so I drilled a small hole in the pour spout and placed the bubble lock in the hole. The pour spout sticks up out of the lid a couple inches so to get an airtight seal I cut sleeves out of the skinny part of a thick balloon and stretched it around the pour spout and the bubble lock to get an airtight seal. Like I said I'll probably just buy an ale pail next batch with the proper stopper. U know, with hooch aka toilet wine. they use a rubber glove sometimes, with a tiny hole poked into it to allow airflow out when there's enough pressure to stretch the material.

 

[tedski]

yeah, I'll give it some more time next batch. I'll probably buy an ale pail too since my bucket foamed through the airlock a bit. About the only thing I hated doing was washing the bottles. I used a bottle brush and a light bleach solution to sterelize them. I wasn't sure if just runing them through my sucky ass dishwasher would be enough. I'm tired of using bottles already. how hard would it be to mini-keg?

To cleanse my bottles and remove the labels, I fill up my picnic cooler 3/4 the way with warm water. I add a scoop of oxyclean and stir to dissolve. I put all of my bottles in there and let them sit for an hour or so. When you open the cooler back up, most of the labels will just be floating on top. The worst labels just need a little spudging with your fingers.

Then to sanitize my bottles, I fill the same cooler back up with warm water and put in the correct amount of sanitizer (I use Iodophor currently). I submerge all of the bottles in the sanitizer. I setup a drying area on my counter top and then pull all of the bottles out and set them out to dry. While they're drying, I get everything else ready for bottling.

I find it goes pretty quick and easy this way.

 

[foolioGrimz]

well, just opened my second bottle of brew. Its really cleared up alot. Still hasent carbonated all the way. This beer isn't as dark as I really wanted but maybe some of my lightbeer drinking friends will see the benefits of homebrewing. Definately tastes better than budwiser. I cant wait to get started on my next batch! (next paycheck) anyone know of a kit that produces beer similar to st. pauli's girl extra dark? I'm already starting to think about kegging, but I know I cant really afford it. maybe some of the larger grolsche bottles? these 12 oz bottles are a pain. what would really be cool would be to use all those chimay bottles I drink, but then I'd have to figure out how to put a cork in.

 

[steelerguy]

Once you have a bunch of bottles without lables it isn't so bad. If you rinse you bottles right after you pour, sanitizing them is a breeze. Get a bottle tree to let them dry on, I use Star-San so even if they are a bit wet I bottle anyway.

Chimay bottles are basically wine bottles so the whole corking thing is tough. Try getting 22 oz. bottles when you can (Stone makes a bunch of beers in 22 oz and I love Stone beers). So nice to use those, less cleaning and capping.

After a week pretty much all of the fermentation has happened, so I doubt you have to worry about bottle bombs. I wouldn't bottle that soon myself, but you are probably okay. If your beers are not carbing up quickly you can move them to a warmer area and give each bottle an upside down and back. That can help it carb a bit quicker.