Howdy from Texas

[creepyjackalope]

I've been lurking here for a month or so and wanted to finally poke my head in and say hi. After 2 or 3 months of reading, video/tutorial watching, equipment gathering, and pestering the nice guys at my local homebrew shop, I'm ready to get brewing my first batch Friday. It wasn't easy deciding what to brew first but I decided on a pretty straightforward ESB. I ordered 6lbs of Maris Otter extract and am planning to fortify that with a pound of light DME and steep a pound of Crystal 90. I'm gonna hop it with 2 oz each of East Kent Golding and Challenger. According to the Brewer's Friend recipe builder/calculator. I'm right in the range for the style. (well, maybe a fraction of a teensy bit dark, but I ain't letting no website tell me what to do.) I got a good deal on a quantity of Ozarka water recently which I'm planning to use because the water at my house tastes like my pool. Any tips/advice/encouragement are welcome.
Thanks.

 

[tedclev]

Welcome to the addiction. Sanitize well or suffer the consequences. Also, make sure you don't boil your steeping grains; keep the temp between 140 and 160 (preferably in the middle). Don't pitch your yeast too hot. Have fun. It'll be great!

 

[Cyclman]

Welcome to the group. Read the forum stickies, great / free advice. Best of luck!

 

[BigFloyd]

Welcome fellow Texan. What area are you from?

Since you're in this nice, warm (except for the past week) part of the country, start keeping your eyes pealed for a good used fridge/freezer (check Craigslist) to ferment in. If you have the room for it, having a fermentation chamber with a digital controller like an STC-1000 will make your beers much better and your brew life easier.

For the ESB (one of my favorite styles), I'd suggest that, instead of a whole pound of C90, you steep 8oz C40, 8oz honey malt and 4oz special roast. That combo makes a very nice ESB. I usually shoot for 40-41 IBUs and use an ounce of EKG or Fuggles at the finish. If you opt for 1968ESB or WLP002 for the yeast, be sure to make a starter and ferment in the 64-68*F (beer temp) range, slowly raising it after it begins to slow to keep it from prematurely dropping out.

 

[BrewinBromanite]

Welcome. McKinney, TX resident here. I find drinking lots of beer (especially while brewing!!!..otherwise, what's the point?!?), reading as much as possible on this forum and elsewhere, and good temp control from mashing (or steeping) and throughout fermentation are great places to start.

+1000 on trying to get a fermentation chamber or chest freezer and a temp controller ASAP will be in your best interest. At least research swamp cooler at a bare minimum. Keep those fermentation temps in the mid to low range recommended for your chosen yeast, especially during the first 3-5 days! My worst beers were the very first few, following the LHBS instructions to just place in the coolest, darkest spot in your closet. Worst advice ever, especially in TX for most of the year. If room temp is 70 (already at the high end for most ale yeasts), then your beer is probably 5-10 deg hotter during active fermentation. I held on to a few bottles from those early batches for almost 2 years, and they kinda sorta mellowed out a little bit...

 

[creepyjackalope]

Thanks for the advice y'all.
BigFloyd, I'm up in North Garland.
I think I'm gonna go with the 1968 for my yeast.
And yeah, fermentation temps have definitely been on my mind. I've been monitoring the shower stall in a spare bathroom and it stays right about 66. I've managed to drop it a few degrees by sitting a couple of frozen 2 liter bottles in there. It'll work for now, but once summer comes I'm gonna have to come up with another solution.
The beer calculator I'm using projects 49 IBUs which is pushing it for the style, but I'm more than fine with that.
I'm planning on doing a secondary with the ESB. As much for getting a handle on the procedures as for conditioning/clarity. I also want to free up my primary and get a second batch going ASAP.
Being a not too shabby cook that prides myself on making things from scratch, I initially planned on jumping straight into All Grain, but the more I read/watched, the more I realized that I should listen to those that came before me and learn to walk before I tried to fly.

 

[Homercidal]

Good luck! Sounds like you are all ready to go and the 66 is a good temp and better if you can drop that just a couple for the hot portion of the fermentation. I wish I'd recognized how important ferm temps were when I started.

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

Welcome from McKinney also. Good luck. Steve Earle fan, huh?

1968 is a great yeast! When monitoring your temps, remember that the beer can ferment up to 10* higher than the ambient temp in the room. Ice bottles will help. Get a couple thermometer stickers for your carboy. It will give you a pretty good idea of what the actual beer temp is. Good luck

 

[BigFloyd]

Thanks for the advice y'all.
BigFloyd, I'm up in North Garland.
I think I'm gonna go with the 1968 for my yeast.
And yeah, fermentation temps have definitely been on my mind. I've been monitoring the shower stall in a spare bathroom and it stays right about 66. I've managed to drop it a few degrees by sitting a couple of frozen 2 liter bottles in there. It'll work for now, but once summer comes I'm gonna have to come up with another solution.
The beer calculator I'm using projects 49 IBUs which is pushing it for the style, but I'm more than fine with that.
I'm planning on doing a secondary with the ESB. As much for getting a handle on the procedures as for conditioning/clarity. I also want to free up my primary and get a second batch going ASAP.
Being a not too shabby cook that prides myself on making things from scratch, I initially planned on jumping straight into All Grain, but the more I read/watched, the more I realized that I should listen to those that came before me and learn to walk before I tried to fly.

If you're going to use the 66 degree tub, try to chill the wort to below 65*F before pitching. Otherwise, it will end up being too warm when it gets active.

Forget about the secondary for an ESB. You really don't gain anything and you'll increase the risk of oxidation. Just give it 2-3 weeks primary, check gravity twice over a few days, and bottle when it's done.

Some may not agree, but I think you're wise to run a few extract batches and get set up with a fermenter fridge before making the jump into AG. Those extract batches will help you become comfortable with the process.

 

[creepyjackalope]

Had to move Brew Day back a day but I finally got it done. Managed to score the very last pack of 1968 in the store and after talking to a couple of people I decided to do a full boil instead of a partial boil. (After all, I went thru all the trouble to make a wort chiller.) Everything went smoothly. My OG was right at about 1.060. If anything I think I went overboard on the sanitation (even spritzed down my yeast pack pretty thoroughly.) The most trouble I had was peeling the gigantic sticker/label off of my kettle. Keeping my fingers crossed tho.

 

[Cider123]

Welcome to site.

Funny how where you live can dictate how you brew. I had some trouble maintaining a good ferment temp myself just recently, but in the other direction. I had a porter in my cellar and thought the temp was just right. Well, the basement was in the mid 50's. I thought my porter had finished fermenting when actually I put the yeast to sleep. I have it in the warmest part of the house which is maybe 63F during the daytime. At night I cut the thermostats down to conserve fuel oil everywhere but the bedroom. Maybe I need to take my porter under the covers
I have trouble in the wintertime finding a spot where the temps are in the mid 60's for 24 hours. I'm at lagering temps in the garage.

One beer you might try down the road is a siason or some Belgian ale where you can use a yeast like 3711. These strains like it in the 70's to 80's.

Oh yeah, my sticker is still on my kettle after a year. I couldn't be bothered.