First brew finally in the glass!

[Mothman]

Broken Chair Brown Ale lives!

3 weeks bottle conditioning, 3 days in the fridge, and the carbonation is not too bad. Still a little undercarbonated but not too far off. My fears of overcarbing (earlier thread) were unfounded)

Will move the rest of the bottles down to the crawl space soon (cooler down there) and refrigerate as needed, should be good to go. (Assuming they all carb the same)

The head didn't last long, but all good.

The beer isn't the best I've had by any means but it is not too shabby! I'm enjoying it!

Big thanks to all of those here who helped me get my first batch into my glass.

 

[Mothman]

Aaaand, sorry for the sideways photos.... I blame the iPhone I'm posting this on. Lol

 

[BigStew84]

What temp are you carbing at? Just make sure the crawl space isn't too cool...you want like 65-68 degrees...also you can turn your bottles upside down to kinda wake the yeast back up...looks good tho brother!! Keep up the good work!! [emoji482]

 

[Mothman]

The bottles have been at around 68-69f for the conditioning.

This bottle was 3 weeks then in the fridge for a few days.

My thought was another week is probably going to be good for carbonating, then move to the cooler crawlspace ( temperature, not sure....cooler than room temp though... Maybe 55?) to store.

Bad idea?

 

[BigStew84]

I wouldn't move them to that temp until they are fully carbed and ready to go...tilting the bottles and letting them sit for a few more days should help get that nice big head

 

[doug293cz]

...

The head didn't last long, but all good.

The beer isn't the best I've had by any means but it is not too shabby! I'm enjoying it!

...

You can't expect to hit a homerun your first at bat. You made drinkable beer on your first try! That's a base hit your first at bat. Congratulations. You will get better with experience. Keep learning and keep working to perfect your processes; you will be rewarded with great beer if you do.

p.s. Nice label

Brew on

 

[BigStew84]

You can't expect to hit a homerun your first at bat. You made drinkable beer on your first try! That's a base hit your first at bat. Congratulations. You will get better with experience. Keep learning and keep working to perfect your processes; you will be rewarded with great beer if you do.

p.s. Nice label

Brew on

Amen to that!!! [emoji482]

 

[Mothman]

I wouldn't move them to that temp until they are fully carbed and ready to go...tilting the bottles and letting them sit for a few more days should help get that nice big head

That's the plan.

 

[Jtk78]

Looks very good. Really digging the label too. My first beer was, meh. Been a lot better since. Congrats.

In regards to the bottles, I've laid them on their side a few days. Then rotated them 90 degrees to another side. Just make sure you give them a while upright. I didn't want the yeast to settle right where I pour the beer and then leave junk there when I fliped them back over. The neck area would then be dry, so it wouldn't have the beer to help it move back to the bottom. Ymmv.

 

[RM-MN]

It may take another week of conditioning to get a head that lasts. My beers are stored at 66 to 72 (mostly at 72) and they change over time, becoming more mellow and easier to drink, especially the darker beers.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Beer tadaaaaa!

 

[Mothman]

It may take another week of conditioning to get a head that lasts. My beers are stored at 66 to 72 (mostly at 72) and they change over time, becoming more mellow and easier to drink, especially the darker beers.

How long do you store at those temperatures? I was just making an assumption that cooler storing is better...

 

[SlitheryDee]

My first beer wasn't great either, but the first sip was still a revelatory moment.

"This started out as a sticky sweet syrup? It tastes just like beer! What is this alchemy?"

 

[RM-MN]

How long do you store at those temperatures? I was just making an assumption that cooler storing is better...

I've never stored any beer longer than 2 years but that last one sure was a smooth drinker. High gravity and darker beers age very well at room temps. I try to not keep a pale ale or IPA more than 3 months as the hop aroma/flavor are fading then.

 

[Mothman]

Yeah, ok, I don't really plan on having anything stored for longer than a number of months... unless I forget about them... lol.

So... now I am second guessing myself a bit... if I condition the bottles sufficiently, at around 70F, is there any HARM in storing them in the cooler location? My whole long term plan has been to use the crawl space for storage.

I would rather not have to make room in the bedroom closet to allow storage at room temp.

 

[BigStew84]

Yeah, ok, I don't really plan on having anything stored for longer than a number of months... unless I forget about them... lol.

So... now I am second guessing myself a bit... if I condition the bottles sufficiently, at around 70F, is there any HARM in storing them in the cooler location? My whole long term plan has been to use the crawl space for storage.

I would rather not have to make room in the bedroom closet to allow storage at room temp.

No as soon as they are carbed storing them at 55 will not do any harm especially if your plan works and those tasty beers are gone sooner than later

 

[Mothman]

No as soon as they are carbed storing them at 55 will not do any harm especially if your plan works and those tasty beers are gone sooner than later

OK good to know. Maybe for fun I'll leave one bottle in an upstairs closet and see if I can tell the difference after a period of time.

(That will be the one I forget and find 2 years from now during a closet clean out lol)

 

[NSMikeD]

All that worrying over a few missteps and you have a good beer. Congrats

 

[BigStew84]

OK good to know. Maybe for fun I'll leave one bottle in an upstairs closet and see if I can tell the difference after a period of time.



(That will be the one I forget and find 2 years from now during a closet clean out lol)

Haha that's what we call an "Irish hand grenade" weather it's a forgotten beer or just one that you left under your bed for when **** hits the fan...grab it..crack it..down it..and hope for the best Hahaha