First Brew Day

[pksmitty]

Just put my first brew in primary!!! :rockin: Brewer's Best American Amber. Everything went well. No surprises. Hit the target gravity at 1.044. Rehydrated and proofed the yeast with great results. Pitched and stirred at about 70 degrees.

Boiled 3 gallons, topped off with two gallons. Cleaned and sterilized everything I could think of, plus a couple others.

My wife and son complained about the smell; I thought it smelled great

Only possible issue is when I carried the primary downstairs, some water from the airlock must have been sucked into the bucket. I'm hoping that's no big deal???

 

[android]

not at all, you'll be fine. congrats on the first brew!

 

[size]

Only possible issue is when I carried the primary downstairs, some water from the airlock must have been sucked into the bucket. I'm hoping that's no big deal???

BAH, throw it out. it's no good now, completely infected. you better invest in a hazmat suit just to dump it down the drain.

just kiddin, congrats on the first brew!

also, about the smell: just be glad you don't have a roommate who whines and ******* until you give up and just start brewing at a different location.

 

[Rick500]

I wouldn't worry about the water from the airlock.

However, you can use cheap vodka for your airlock fluid instead of water if you want. (Or even expensive vodka, I suppose.)

 

[khiddy]

+1 on the vodka suggestion. At worst, the vodka will get sucked back into your brew, upping the ABV. At best, it doesn't bubble up and foam over. Vodka airlock juice FTW!

 

[BillTheSlink]

Congrats. I am just on number 4 at the moment. If you are like me you'll find brew day goes smoother and smoother as you go a long. A big time saver for me was learning what to store where. I keep most of my stuff in the basement in the corner. I sort of figured out what I needed on brew day, bottling day, and testing stuff as you go along and it really simplified things by keeping them separate, so as not to have to wade through every thing. Also anticipating when at each stage in brew day you have time to clean, sanitize, etc. will become habit and will be a lot less mess and will save time, but then of course I am pretty messy.

Rock on,
Bill

 

[pksmitty]

I actually found that I had a lot of "standing around time". I had done a lot of reading and had the process down in my head.

I had about two gallons of sanitizer sitting in my fermenter, and just kept dipping whatever I was going to use into it. Then, when I was ready to pour the wort into the bucket, I move some sanitizer into a smaller container, used a paper towel to wet the entire inside of the fermenter real well, and dumped the rest of the sanitizer out. I used what was in the small container for the last few things, (airlock, etc.)

All in all, I was real happy. Also, when my wife complained about the smell, I told her that if I had a turkey fryer, I could do this outside, and she wouldn't have to smell it!

 

[Whut]

Congrats! I brewed inside once - just once! After that "my girls" (ie. SWMBO & daughter) kicked me and my new found hobby outside where we've been ever since. Get's a little warm in the summer but . . . .

 

[SmugMug]

Congrats! I brewed inside once - just once! After that "my girls" (ie. SWMBO & daughter) kicked me and my new found hobby outside where we've been ever since. Get's a little warm in the summer but . . . .

I have a feeling that this is going to happen to me. All was well with the last batch until the second round of hops went in. That's when I caught some flak. Just as well...SWMBO won't be in my bidness and I can just do my thing without the whining.

I hope.

 

[MgMt_Home_Brew]

Yeah if they don't like the smell tell them the remedy for that is a burner... which could be a pretty nice gift for your birthday or fathers day!

 

[Whut]

Yeah if they don't like the smell tell them the remedy for that is a burner...

Ha, that's exactly what SWMBO did but she didn't wait for any holiday. She scored one from someone she works with. I like to think it was my idea to move it outside but in hind site, I'm now thinking she kicked me and my hobby out. But, she does leave me alone when it comes to brewing.

 

[Rick500]

I can't imagine not liking the smell of wort boiling. It makes my house smell like Grape Nuts! mmmm

 

[pksmitty]

When I got home from work today, I checked the fermenter....Bubbles!! It's now putting out a big bubble every 2 -3 seconds. Fermenting at 68*.

I think I'm making beer:rockin: