First Brew- American Pale Ale

[maddcow]

Hey Yall,
Im new to the homebrew universe and wanted to introduce myself. I got the idea to brew my own beer almost a month ago when i found a "how to" online. I brewed 2 weeks ago today and have been reading this forum for exactly 2 weeks, ever since my wort entered the fermentor. I wish I would have done more research beforehand but Im glad I found this place when I did. If I hadn't, my beer would have been bottled a week ago, and I would think that my beer would be done today. Ive been ninja lurking for 2 weeks and decided it was time for my first post. I dont have hydrometer readings because I dont have a hydrometer. The instructions I used were very basic and I didnt even know that hydrometers existed til 2-3 days after brew day. My LHBS is about 70-80 miles away so just winging it this time around (This includes my methlab like set up, lol). I travel by my LHBS once a month so I will definitely pick up a few things next time Im by. So now for my beer. This is a 2.5 gallon batch

American Pale Ale

8oz 40L caramel malt (steeped at 155 for 30min)

3lbs Light DME
3/4 oz Cascade (60min)
1/2 oz Amarillo (10 min)

SafeAle 05



That ingredient combo was from direction from my LHBS. Its been 2 weeks and I am looking to bottle later this week. I go on vacation this weekend til next weekend so I figure its the best time. I dont have any direct questions at the moment but would love to hear what yall think. Or any suggestions that yall have for me for the future (or now). Im new to this so any advice of any kind is appreciated.

Thanks :rockin:

 

[andycr]

APA is a great choice for a first beer, very forgiving, very tasty. Same with US-05 as a yeast choice - not fussy, hard to make it produce off flavors. Sounds like a winner!

Best suggestions I have is to get a thermometer strip for the side of your carboy (if you don't have one already) and keep it in the right range (for US-05 the manufacturer suggests 59-75F, personally I like 62-68F) during primary fermentation. The other suggestion is, you'll want to get a hydrometer for telling when to bottle your batch - take a reading, wait 3 days, take another, and make sure they're reasonable and are the same both times. If it's still dropping, don't bottle it yet.

 

[menerdari]

I love APA, i did a 5 gallon batch a couple of months ago and I am down to a 6 pack. going to have to brew a fresh batch soon.
your recipe is a little lighter on hops than mine but sounds pretty tasty

 

[tochsner]

Welcome to the hobby. While a APA is a good beer, most people start with something much more exciting for their first beer. You should try a Russian imperial stout, barrel aged on peanut butter. Then dry hop it with a pound of hops over a couple of weeks. Then you could bottle it with a single raspberry in each bottle. Yeah, that sounds like most of the first beers we see around here.

 

[maddcow]

Thanks for the replys. Will definitely pick up hydrometer and thermometer strip along with a couple other things that I cant remember offhand. I should really get a list going, haha. And yea, Im glad APA was an easy first one. Hopefully its better than store bought. Waiting is killing me but i may just get a first taste when i get to bottling.

Welcome to the hobby. While a APA is a good beer, most people start with something much more exciting for their first beer. You should try a Russian imperial stout, barrel aged on peanut butter. Then dry hop it with a pound of hops over a couple of weeks. Then you could bottle it with a single raspberry in each bottle. Yeah, that sounds like most of the first beers we see around here.

I thought you were for real as I was reading this. I was like "Oh, No! All these guys think Im so lame for brewing an APA" <---Literally said that. Glad you were joking... I hope

:rockin:

 

[strambo]

Heh, the best beer I made so far was a strong ale similar to double dead guy. The worst beer I made so far...was when I split that strong ale batch and put half on 4 lbs of Marionberries. So, yeah, just making an APA is a great start. It's fun to experiment too, sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't, but the bulk of your brewing should be staples and experiment in smaller batches.

I've only been at it for about a year, but with the Marionberry strong ale exception, all have been as good as an average micro, some I'd call on par with a good store-bought micro...none that I'd call "great" yet.

I'm more critical though, my wife has really liked all of them and drinks them all.