First brew in bottles!

[LoreleiHI]

Granted, I did it with a friend's help for the first stage, and it was an extract kit, but really I'm quite proud of myself.

The kit I picked up was built by a LHBS, and the directions were very clear and entertaining, even though I ended up not needing them (my friend walked me through the process).

I brought my fermenter home, did some (a lot) reading, took into account what kind of beer I'd started (a sweet stout), and decided to leave it alone for three weeks. I didn't want to rush and not have the best product I could manage.

So this morning I made sure that the kitchen was cleaned and sanitized, had my spouse carry the heavies downstairs (I'm disabled), boiled the dextrose and let it cool, moved it all over to the bottling bucket (I left about half an inch on top of the trub), and I filled bottles while the spouse capped (something she actually enjoyed).

We got 58 12-oz bottles, and taste-tested the few ounces that were left. It was a bit sweeter than I expected (I've never had a sweet stout, but the LHBS owner said he thought I would like it--he didn't try to over-sell me, since my friend directed me there, but maybe he thought because I'm female I'd prefer sweet?), but it had enough of an afterbite to compensate.

Granted, it hasn't conditioned yet!

Any ideas on what to expect? Will it get sweeter, or more blended? Or maybe the dextrose didn't get mixed enough, although I did stir it just a little, after siphoning the beer into it... (I'm a worrier, lol).

Still, I can't wait for the next 3 weeks to pass!

 

[WildOnions]

well the corn sugar will be fully fermented out in bottles, so any sweetness from that will be gone if that was what was causing it to be too sweet. Also the carbonation will create carbonic acid when consumed, balancing the sweetness a little bit. In short, it will probably be good.

 

[beergolf]

Carbonation will take some of the sweetness away and balance it out. Just give it some time in the bottles and then enjoy.

Welcome to the hobby/ addiction.

 

[LoreleiHI]

Thanks, all.

I'd brain-fogged on the fact that the dextrose would ferment out. Other than that, it already tasted pretty good. Even my spouse, who doesn't really like beer (and especially stouts) said it was nice.

I'm just glad that I'm picking up some mead this weekend! It's been conditioned more than enough, and all I have to do is bottle it. It will give me something else to play with so I'm not overly tempted by those lovely, lovely bottles.