Greetings from snowy Waukegan, IL!
I'm not sure how much I'll end up posting on this forum...but I have to say that this forum has such an overwhelming amount of useful information regarding homebrewing and it has been such an invaluable resource for me so far...so thanks very much for making this forum available! I'll try to contribute when I can.
I've only been brewing for a few months now. I'm currently brewing with extract and trying out some original recipes (with a little guidance from "Brewing Classic Styles" and these forums). So far, so good! I'm hooked!
Seems like I've experienced plenty of typical newbie problems - but I've been lucky so far and haven't brewed anything that is undrinkable...to me, at least. I'll share with you some of my oopses that have been probably covered in these forums umpteen-times:
1. If you're steeping grains, don't wring out the bag into the boil!
2. If your tap water is treated with chlorine or chloramine, you should either get rid of the chlorine/chloramine before using it for brewing or find a different source of brewing water. Oops.
3. Siphoning problems. Resorted to sucking the hose the first time. Tried "suck through fist hole" method the second time, but, well, I must not have been doing that right. I ended up buying an auto-siphon.
4. It definitely helps to read how others do their brewing process instead of just relying on a single set of brew kit instructions. I tried doing a full 5 gallon boil (against the suggestion of the brew kit instructions) and as a result was ignorant to the fact that I didn't have any way to cool the wort off after the boil was over. I ended up burying the fermenter in snow before pitching the yeast.
5. Panicked about having flat beer. As I found out, yes, some beer takes longer to carbonate in the bottle than others.
Anyway...thanks to everyone who posts here! This is great!
Jason Smith
I'm not sure how much I'll end up posting on this forum...but I have to say that this forum has such an overwhelming amount of useful information regarding homebrewing and it has been such an invaluable resource for me so far...so thanks very much for making this forum available! I'll try to contribute when I can.
I've only been brewing for a few months now. I'm currently brewing with extract and trying out some original recipes (with a little guidance from "Brewing Classic Styles" and these forums). So far, so good! I'm hooked!
Seems like I've experienced plenty of typical newbie problems - but I've been lucky so far and haven't brewed anything that is undrinkable...to me, at least. I'll share with you some of my oopses that have been probably covered in these forums umpteen-times:
1. If you're steeping grains, don't wring out the bag into the boil!
2. If your tap water is treated with chlorine or chloramine, you should either get rid of the chlorine/chloramine before using it for brewing or find a different source of brewing water. Oops.
3. Siphoning problems. Resorted to sucking the hose the first time. Tried "suck through fist hole" method the second time, but, well, I must not have been doing that right. I ended up buying an auto-siphon.
4. It definitely helps to read how others do their brewing process instead of just relying on a single set of brew kit instructions. I tried doing a full 5 gallon boil (against the suggestion of the brew kit instructions) and as a result was ignorant to the fact that I didn't have any way to cool the wort off after the boil was over. I ended up burying the fermenter in snow before pitching the yeast.
5. Panicked about having flat beer. As I found out, yes, some beer takes longer to carbonate in the bottle than others.
Anyway...thanks to everyone who posts here! This is great!
Jason Smith
