I live in Oswego NY, and I'm about a week away from the birth of my first child. My main hobbies are hiking/climbing/skiing in the high peaks of the Adirondacks. My other half knew I was interested in homebrewing, and bought me a kit for my birthday to give me a hobby at home. I truly believe that making beer may very well be the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I have an English bitter about two days away from bottling, and I am about 25 minutes from pitching the yeast on my second batch, an Amber Ale. Already planning on brewing another batch this weekend, so many recipes to choose from. I just printed out labels for my first batch, and I'm planning on using my Golden Retriever as a model on my Amber ale labels. This forum is a wealth of information, and reading through the posts is hilarious. I can't wait to tatse the sweet goodness that is fermenting in my basement.
Hello, My name is Doug, and I've lost it already and I'm on my second batch
- Thread starter hillman1
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Welcome! Sounds like you caught the bug in a big way.
northernlad
Well-Known Member
Yes,
I open the closet door and yell FERMENT FASTER!!11!!11!
I open the closet door and yell FERMENT FASTER!!11!!11!
Brewpastor
Beer, not rocket chemistry
It is not too late to simply walk away and pretend none of this every happened.
Too late to walk away. I go to work and think about making beer. I sit in bed at night, and think about making beer. I boiled wort today, and thought about making labels for beer. Does this happen to anybody else?
Brewpastor
Beer, not rocket chemistry
amber
Member
I am cracking up!!!
I think it happens to all of us.
Just sit back and enjoy the ride!!
I think it happens to all of us.
Just sit back and enjoy the ride!!
dontman
Well-Known Member
+1 It is fun to design labels, it is a fairly minor chore to put the labels on the bottle, it is a huge pita to take the trouble to remove a label from a bottle and then have to do it all over again for each batch.
I feel like I am desecrating a bottle when I put a label on a pristinely clean bottle.
As far as slipping in this obsession; I had 5 carboys going before I had even tasted my first batch of beer.
HellenicHomeBrewer
Well-Known Member
Welcome! You need help my friend; so send me a six from both batches and I will help! 
There once was a guy from Oswego
Who loved to brew beer from the get-go
With his dog on the labels
And the beer on his tables
I bet he'll be a beer Pedo!
Who loved to brew beer from the get-go
With his dog on the labels
And the beer on his tables
I bet he'll be a beer Pedo!
That was a quick profile when I just found the forum. Not just listening to Phish, even though they are my current favorite live act. If I'm driving to work, it's usually Bad Religion or something else along those lines. I'm from the northeast, and was in college in the early 90's, so I really like Phish. I'm not really a kid anymore either, more like a middle aged guy.
Brewpastor
Beer, not rocket chemistry
You are just like most of us on this forum. Somehow along the way we stumbled onto brewing and it grabbed us like an old Missouri snapping turtle. I was talking to a friend yesterday about the wide range of interests brewing connects to. In my opinion it is a perfect hobby. Again, welcome to HBT
Quick! Get out before it's too late!
I think it may be too late already you better just give in now.
I've got my bottles ready to go, and I'm filling them tomorrow. The activity in my airlock has ceased, but I'm giving it another 24 hours just to be sure. I printed some cheesy labels, but I'm not sure I want to go through with having to clean the bottles again.
Take this for what it's worth. I know you are eager to get your beer done, and sample it. However, using the airlock as an indication of fermentation completion is risky. Especially if you plan on bottling right away. The wort can still have lots of fermentables and if you bottle, you could get more CO2 than you plan on. This could lead to bottle bombs, as the bottle may not be able to withstand the extra pressure.
My recommendation is to let it go an extra week. You may even want to disturb the yeast a little bit to make sure that it is well integrated into the wort. You will likely see some extra airlock activity as you do this, which would be some of the CO2 coming out of solution. But you may also see some more bubbling from the airlock for a day or two.
I highly recommend using a hydrometer to check the gravity and see if it is where it should be, or at least holding steady for a few days before bottling. If you kegged, no big deal. But bottles can and do explode from too much sugar. Not just priming sugar, but residual sugar from an uncomplete fermentation.
Your beer will likely taste a bit better with the extra week of sitting on the yeast, which will will not only eat the sugars in the wort, but also will then switch over to eating some of the stuff that produces flavors that are considered undesirable. Of course that is not a big deal, and it's hard to fight the urge to getRdone, but that is my advice.
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As much as you don't want to because you want to get your beer bottled, listen to, and follow, the advice above! You'll be much happier!
Brewpastor
Beer, not rocket chemistry
chucke
Well-Known Member
Some advice you'll get will be, "This is my opinion. You're mileage may vary."
Then some will be, "Dude- you *really* don't want to do that!"
The advice above falls into the latter category.
If you think the sickness is bad now, wait until you have 13 fermenters. 
Hey Hill, just funnin with you about the Phish stuff. I am a Widespread Panic "kid" (32 years young) so I'm sure you appreciate the friendly rivalry the fan bases have. Glad they got back together. I caught them in Indianapolis earlier this year and had a great time dispite the rain.
Anyway, sounds like you are well on your way to brewing some great beer and I look forward to keeping up w/ you on the boards.
This may be the most important fact. You can use it in your sanity defense down the road. Even the most amazing SWMBO gets a little unnerved when you come to bed snuggling a carboy.
I just bottled my first batch, took the advice offered in a few posts and held off. Anyway, that was fun, and when I put the cap on my first bottle, I took pictures. I've got the second batch fermenting, and I'm about to fire up the stove for batch 3. I actually came up with a good name for batch 2, but it's kind of work related and very politically incorrect.
Tripod
Well-Known Member
I know tis is not the proper thread but you should post some pics of your label!
-Tripod
-Tripod
My first batch labels are kind of lame, just something to know which beer it is--I have a few styles of bottles and was going to try and organize beers by bottle style, but labels made sense at the time. The amber ale that is fermenting has a great name and a work related title. It is most likely offensive to the masses, but hilarious in relation to my workplace. I would need to tell the story that goes with it, Kind of a "you had to be there " situation. I've got those labels ready to print out...
its_manbearpig
Well-Known Member
Ya gotta run like an antelope - outta control!
Hey!
My SWMBO, family, friends, and co-workers say: "Why don't you just buy beer at the store?"
I wish that there was help for them....Everyone sure likes to drink it up though. We can only brew and share, maybe they will come around.
Keep it up Hill, you are among friends!:rockin:
I wish that there was help for them....Everyone sure likes to drink it up though. We can only brew and share, maybe they will come around.
Keep it up Hill, you are among friends!:rockin:
amber
Member
Homebrewing for us has turned into a really fun hobby for us and we couldnt be happier.
In less than a year, we have brewed 76 batches....76th just today...
and we have no thoughts to slow down!
Hurray for Homebrewing and the rewards that come from it!
In less than a year, we have brewed 76 batches....76th just today...
and we have no thoughts to slow down!
Hurray for Homebrewing and the rewards that come from it!
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Hill, I'm late to the party but again welcome to the obsession. Yes, most of us do day dream about either brewing or the next brew related DIY build. I forget who said it but yes you're amoung friends here. I've got 20 gal's. crash cooling which I'll keg this weekend and then brew up the next 20 gal's. Having a stocked pipline is awesome.
BrewToppers
Well-Known Member
Hi Doug. Welcome to the 12-step program.
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