First Brew Day!!

[imlvngded]

I had my first ever brew day yesterday!!! Things could not have went smoother. I avoided the dreaded boil over by taking the pot off the heat and added a half an ice cube. NO MESS!! Although SWMBO did not appreciate the smell, so she took the kids to the pool. Excellent day overall. Still no airlock activity after 15 hours but I'm not worried. We'll see how she looks when I get home. I'm hooked and already planning brew#2.

Here's a couple pics...

 

[s1080]

WOOOOOO! Congrats and my SWMBO hates the smell as well. Whats up with that. I think its the greatest smell in the world...o well im not gonna let that stop me

 

[nebben]

Cool man! That 1/2 ice cube is PRECISION! The pics look a lot like my first real brew, after the Mr. Beer experience many years ago.

As far as SWMBO not liking the smell...it'll happen. If she didn't like the brewing smell, wait until she smells the fermenter...the airlock gaseous discharge is compared to "rhino farts" for a reason!

So really what I want to know is, what is next? I mean, by two weeks from now, you'll be so excited you'll need another fermenter and you'll need to fill it immediately. At least that's how it works in my case!

 

[SevenFields]

I have that same pot. Did you do a 2gallon boil?
Im thinking about trying to fit 3gallons in there and watching it like a hawk.

 

[Arkador]

Gratz on your first brew! Sounds like you did some research before you started the brew!

We will look forward to your tasting in several weeks.

do yourself a favor, start another batch in a week or 2.... once you finish your first batch of homebrew, you won't want to wait too long to drink more.

 

[imlvngded]

I have that same pot. Did you do a 2gallon boil?
Im thinking about trying to fit 3gallons in there and watching it like a hawk.

I boiled almost 3 gal. Just watch that pot!! As soon as I saw the foam start to rise I pulled it off the heat, half a cube, and right back on the heat. I broke the surface tension and went right into the boil no problem. Money!

 

[imlvngded]

Gratz on your first brew! Sounds like you did some research before you started the brew!

We will look forward to your tasting in several weeks.

do yourself a favor, start another batch in a week or 2.... once you finish your first batch of homebrew, you won't want to wait too long to drink more.

I read 3 books cover to cover before I even ordered my gear. I think it payed off!

 

[imlvngded]

I'll probably do an apfelwein for SWMBO since she is not a big beer drinker. Then I want to try a belgiain strong ale of triple. I've fallen in love with Victory's Golden Monkey and would love to do something similar.

 

[imlvngded]

**UPDATE**
I have recently found out that RDWHAHB is some hard advice to take. Not only do I not have any home brew on hand yet, but it seems my ferment has taken forever to get started. I was hoping to see some cool airlock bubbles but so far it has been very anti-climatic. I put a sattelite bottle out and have been peeking on it periodically. Today at lunch I came home to this:

That was 46 hours after pitching.
Then six hours later I came home to this:

I'm gonna let it do its thing for a while but was just wondering if this is the krauzen? I haven't seen it in person yet and would like to know if that is what I'm seeing.

 

[michael.berta]

Hates the smell? That's too bad. I live for the smell of hops being added to the boil. That's what gets me out of bed in the morning...

 

[android]

satellite bottle? never heard of those before... is that little amount of beer fermenting in different conditions than the rest? or just in a bucket so you can't see?

a lot of people will tell you not to use airlock as a sign of fermentation, there might be a leak or something where the CO2 is escaping... looks like the satellite is kickin. congrats!

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Some times it is hard to just relax, but it looks like everything is going well, just give it a week or more before you open it up again to take a reading.
And +1 on starting that next beer soon, you want to fill up that pipeline so you can relax.