Hello from Portland, OR

[Dawnhulio]

Cheers from Portland! Stopping in to say hello, just got started on my first homebrew and am excited to see how it ends.

Thought you might enjoy a funny NooB brewers mistake... poured my freshly made wort into my primary bucket, sprinkled the yeast on top, capped the bucket, and went to place the air-lock in the top of the cap into the little rubber o-ring... it didn't seat as tight as I thought it should, so I pushed a little harder, only to see the o-ring come half out of it's hole, precariously hanging into the bucket. 'Ohmygawd, I'm gonna lose it!!!' I yelled, and grabbing a fork, used one of the tines to attempt to pull it back up around the hole. In slow motion the o-ring popped out and dropped directly into my freshly cooled wort. A naughty word escaped my lips. 'Oh s*(^!!! Now what???'

I hastily pulled the lid off, sanitized my arms with one-step up to my armpits, and plunged an arm into the wort, barely remembering to try not to rile the yeast up. Gingerly I moved my hand along the bottom of the bucket, and after five minutes finally felt the o-ring move beneath a finger. I pulled it out of the bucket, sanitized it, re-sanitized the bucket cap and air-lock, and placed all back in place. I was quite proud that I was able to 'handle an emergency' so to speak...

Only to realize that I did not take an initial hydrometer reading...

So, we'll see what ends up happening. I managed to rack the brew into secondary this weekend and right now it has orange clumps along with what appear to be some calcified looking spots floating in and on top of the brew... but I am not going to worry about it - have a feeling it's yeast doing it's work. And you never know, it could turn out to be a drinkable first batch. LOL! Wish me luck.

 

[BonnieJ]

Awesome!
I'm in Newberg, not too far away. I've been buying stuff at Above The Rest in Tigard but I want to visit more places in Portland and check out what is available. Where do you buy your brewing supplies?

I just started, too, by the way. I started a batch thinking I'd be able to bottle just before I was due to deliver our first baby but she came early! I ended up bottling when she was about a week old

I also have just worked with a primary fermenter and it's gone wonderfully. It was super-simple for me, and from here to the near-future I'm going to stick with it. Partly because it's working and partly because I'm a fulltime student with not too much free time. I had been planning a secondary fermenter and I think you might want to let the fermentation cease before you rack it next time. But I don't know if it really matters, either. What do I know

Oh, and you might want to start thinking about brewing another batch, SOON. We (my husband and I) practically finished off the beer in just over two weeks. I saved four botles for aging longer and gave away two sixpacks to friends who loaned me a pot and bottle capper. I wish I had done two batches to begin with!

This is an awesome forum. The search feature is the best. Chances are, whatever issues come up have been addressed before and you don't have to wait for people to answer

PS. There is even a thread with "What is the worse thing you did with your beer and still turn out OK?" You might want to add your story there in a few weeks I'm sure it'll turn out great.

 

[Dawnhulio]

Awesome, Bonnie! Congrats on the new addition to your family! And sorry to hear your first batch is gone...bummer

I have stopped in a few times at Homebrew Exchange, its in N. Portland off of Kilpatrick Street. It's a small hole in the wall but they have a great selection of brew gear and a nice hop and grain selection as well. Plus, they didn't laugh at me when I've called with what I was certain were dumb questions. Lol

This will prove to be quite the learning experience, I'm sure... I'll let you know if its notable in a few weeks! Cheers...

 

[craig_reed]

Welcome!

Maybe I will bump into you at OBF if you are going! Should be a good time and welcome to the addiction!

 

[Sea]

Welcome to the obsession.

Go Ducks.

 

[BirdmanBrewingCo]

welcome dawnhulio!

 

[Dawnhulio]

Welcome!

Maybe I will bump into you at OBF if you are going! Should be a good time and welcome to the addiction!

I'd say it's pretty likely! Looking forward to it...

 

[Dawnhulio]

Welcome to the obsession.

Go Ducks.

Indeed! haha

 

[Dawnhulio]

Thanks all, seems to be a lot of knowledge available here... and a lot of Oregonians. Dare I say 'Keep Portland Weird?'

This is going to be fun...

 

[NorthRiverS]

Well I'll jump into the melee. I live in Gresham and plan to go to the Brewfest tomorrow. Never been, so I'm excited to go. I have been brewing for over a year and a half, and I never seem to run out of ideas for my next brews. It's fun. I'm sure the OBF will give me even more ideas for brewing.

NRS

 

[Dawnhulio]

Might see you there NorthRivers!