hello, first timer

[weissbier91]

Just brewed my first batch after weeks of research and video watching.

Got a midwest brewery Platinum starter kit.

Even after watching and reading all the information out there, until you actually do it, there is some things that you wont get a handle on.

Now, i only had 3.5 or so gallons of wort at the end, but had boiled some water earlier in the week and froze that in a sterilized container, and used that to help with the wort, and added 1 gallon of distilled water at the end to top it off. Hope that is okay, cuz my kettle wont handle more than 4 gallons without overflow danger

Made their Front porch pale ale. Got the temp from boil to 85 in about 13 minutes, and then after adding the gallon of extra water, it took it down to high 70s.

Yeast in, and airlock on Is the airlock the key to seeing if there is something going on in there, or do i 'peek' in there from time to time?

 

[55x11]

Just brewed my first batch after weeks of research and video watching.

Got a midwest brewery Platinum starter kit.

Even after watching and reading all the information out there, until you actually do it, there is some things that you wont get a handle on.

Now, i only had 3.5 or so gallons of wort at the end, but had boiled some water earlier in the week and froze that in a sterilized container, and used that to help with the wort, and added 1 gallon of distilled water at the end to top it off. Hope that is okay, cuz my kettle wont handle more than 4 gallons without overflow danger

Made their Front porch pale ale. Got the temp from boil to 85 in about 13 minutes, and then after adding the gallon of extra water, it took it down to high 70s.

Yeast in, and airlock on Is the airlock the key to seeing if there is something going on in there, or do i 'peek' in there from time to time?

Welcome! Sounds like you did a great job.
I would avoid "peeking", you should see some activity in airlock, and a krausen form, within a day or so. Brewing teaches you a lot of patience, be patient.

For beginners, I would recommend focusing on sanitation, fermentation temperature control, yeast health, limiting oxygen pickup post-fermentation during packaging, clarifying/cold-crashing to remove yeast and make beers taste cleaner and more presentable - you can make a great beer by paying a little attention with very basic equipment.

 

[Challenger440]

I'd also recommend to keep an eye on your lid. If you are seeing yeast in your airlock, you might need a blowoff tube. If you see the lid start to pucker up, get a blowoff tube on sooner than later.

 

[violinguy]

I'd also recommend to keep an eye on your lid. If you are seeing yeast in your airlock, you might need a blowoff tube. If you see the lid start to pucker up, get a blowoff tube on sooner than later.

I do the blowoff tube on every batch no matter what. Rather safe than sorry.

Congrats on your first brew!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Welcome and congrats on your first brew!

 

[Sammy86]

Congrats on the first brew! Do not peek! You will allow that nice layer of CO2 to escape which protects the beer!

If you really want to see use a flashlight and hold it against the side of the bucket to see the Krausen and when it drops!