I thought I liked this hobby

[RCBIV]

After two brew days I thought I enjoyed this hobby. I liked figuring out what beer would come next, what hops to buy, what grains would do the trick, what equipment would help streamline the process.

Then, I cracked open my first home brew today. Nine days in the bottle, with the last two in the fridge.

And I officially love this hobby.

Drinking the first beer -- with carbonation, mind you -- is a game changer. Think you love brewing beer but you haven't had your own bottle yet? Well fasten your belt. Or, unfasten it if you want to enjoy a nice long night of drinking your home brew.

So thank you to everyone who has posted tips and been so helpful; I've been stalking this board for months now and can finally taste the fruit of my labor (and I can taste the hours of reading this forum, too). There isn't a better community on the Internet -- on home brewing or not -- than all the people that make this place click.

P.S.: I can't wait to drink the beer when it's actually "ready" in two weeks.

 

[Clann]

Congrats on the beer and welcome to the obsession.

 

[phuff7129]

Oh no, you got it bad

 

[Jayhem]

Was it the pale ale you tried first? I can't wait to try mine which is ready to bottle next week. I'm hooked on home brewing! I love the process and now that I have all the equipment I can make a 5-gal batch of craft brew for less than the cost of 2 cases of miller lite!

 

[danorocks17]

a truly wonderful moment indeed, that point when you know this is more than just a passing fad hobby. Welcome!

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,that's always a bonus! I can brew my IPA for 57c per bottle,& it uses 6oz of hops. My APA costs less than that,& I'll be checking the FG 2nd time Sunday. Congrats on a successful conclusion. Now give it another 2-3 weeks. You'll be amazed at how good it it'll become!

 

[Sippin37]

Yeah seriously, and try your hardest to save a few until atleast 2 months in the bottle. It should be FANTASTIC by then. Enjoy!

 

[HawksBrewer]

Welcome to the (obsession) club. When you wake up in the middle of the night to make an addendum to a recipe I'll bet there's a smile ear to ear. Cheers.

 

[Logzor]

Yeah I can't wait, mine will be bottled for 1 week on Saturday. I plan on throwing one or two in the fridge to see how they're coming along.

 

[RCBIV]

Here's a picture:

Was it the pale ale you tried first? I can't wait to try mine which is ready to bottle next week. I'm hooked on home brewing! I love the process and now that I have all the equipment I can make a 5-gal batch of craft brew for less than the cost of 2 cases of miller lite!

Yes, the Lake Walk Pale Ale. The recipe is on this forum. It is mighty tasty. The Simcoe hops jump right out of the glass.

Yeah seriously, and try your hardest to save a few until atleast 2 months in the bottle. It should be FANTASTIC by then. Enjoy!

I have NO idea how I would be able to accomplish that.

Welcome to the (obsession) club. When you wake up in the middle of the night to make an addendum to a recipe I'll bet there's a smile ear to ear. Cheers.

I believe it ... and now I have an empty fermenter to fill up! What the hell am I doing here talking to you guys?!

 

[djfriesen]

Amen to that. Get your brew on dude.

 

[Huisache]

Cheers to that!

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I am one cranky person when my primary is empty... Get to brewing and building that pipeline!!

 

[passedpawn]

Way to go! More more more!

 

[BrewMU]

I know how you feel. I just cracked a bottle from a new batch last night. It was a little soon - 9 days conditioning, an hour in the freezer, hour in the fridge - but it headed up nicely. Pretty orange beer, delicious hoppiness - I can honestly say there is nothing like it on the shelves. I've got another batch right behind it - think I'll take a chance and try one tonight.
Beer looks nice.

 

[Piratwolf]

Great post, OP! It's such a blast to find you can make beer that's as good as or better than most commercial brews! And nice starting brew: LWPA is the s@$t! My second favorite home brew so far

You know what else is cool? You have so many more great moments ahead... First rave review from friends, first recipe you make that turns out killer, first BJCP 40+ score, first keg of home brew....

I love this hobb-session!!!

 

[Atonk]

That's a great post - you said it very well!

 

[RCBIV]

Great post, OP! It's such a blast to find you can make beer that's as good as or better than most commercial brews! And nice starting brew: LWPA is the s@$t! My second favorite home brew so far

You know what else is cool? You have so many more great moments ahead... First rave review from friends, first recipe you make that turns out killer, first BJCP 40+ score, first keg of home brew....

I love this hobb-session!!!

Thanks! I almost didn't brew the LWPA with Simcoe, but I decided to order the hops online to stay as true to the recipe as I could. LHBS didn't have Simcoe, so he recommended Summit. I'm glad I made the online order because the Simcoe is delicious. I put the Summit to use in my IPA that's dry hopping.

For anyone looking for a pale ale, try the Lake Walk. Very tasty.

Out of curiosity: What's your favorite home brew, if LWPA is second?

 

[Piratwolf]

I modified the Mojave Red recipe from the recipe section into a 9+% ABV, insanely hopped monster that I call Coronado (as in So Cal) Imperial Red. It's hands-down my favorite homebrewed and one of my favorite beers ever. Several friends and acquaintances have said similar things unprompted. But I'm entering it into a BJCP contest in March to get objective feedback. If it gets good reviews, I'll post it to share! But first I want to make sure it's not the enthusiasm and the ABV talking

EDIT: oh, yeah.. And great call on the Simcoe. It makes the LWPA. It's also big in my CIR. Love me some Simcoe!!

 

[RCBIV]

I modified the Mojave Red recipe from the recipe section into a 9+% ABV, insanely hopped monster that I call Coronado (as in So Cal) Imperial Red. It's hands-down my favorite homebrewed and one of my favorite beers ever. Several friends and acquaintances have said similar things unprompted. But I'm entering it into a BJCP contest in March to get objective feedback. If it gets good reviews, I'll post it to share! But first I want to make sure it's not the enthusiasm and the ABV talking

EDIT: oh, yeah.. And great call on the Simcoe. It makes the LWPA. It's also big in my CIR. Love me some Simcoe!!

Got a PM recipe of your modified version? My fermenter is empty and I am looking for ideas, says my signature...