Just made my first batch

[Kenny2428]

I made my first batch of beer, using the Mr. beer kit. I bought the Cherry Brown Ale. Here is what I did:

Boil pot of water, added 1 cup of honey
Boiled another pot of water, added pureed cherries
Boiled another pot of water, added the malt extract, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, boiled for 20 minutes

Added boiled honey to the wort
Cooled the wort to 75 degrees, poured wort into 5 gallon Mr. Beer keg.
Cooled the boiled purred cherries to 75 degrees, poured into wort, that was in the keg

Poured in the yeast into the keg, capped it, and shook it around for a few seconds. The keg is fermenting at a constant 65-70 degrees. Hope it turns out ok, wish me luck! Btw, EVERYTHING was sanitized!!!

 

[Iordz]

Congrats on your first brew! Welcome to the club, it's definitely an obsession!

 

[Kenny2428]

I let the wort ferment for three weeks. Put a hose on the tap thats on the fermenter, and bottled the beer in 12 ounce glass bottles I have been collecting. I added one Coopers sugar tablet to each bottle, then capped. I let the beer carbonate at a constant 65-70 degrees, for about 14 days. I put all the bottles of beer into the fridge on Tuesday. I plan on letting it mellow out for about two weeks, but today I got a little curious to see what it would taste like. I poured it into a glass, WOW! It tasted great! I just wanted to see what it would taste like...going to wait another week, or two...maybe it'll be even better. It was carbonated just right. It's a slightly strong beer, with a hint of cherry. Definitely a brown ale. It finishes a little dry, but that may get better if I let it age. I opened a Tecate right after I finished my glass of home brew, the home brew definitely taste alot better. Me and my brother have been experimenting with the Mr. Beer kit. Soon, we are going to order a "real" kit from Midwest. But, using our own techniques with the Mr. Beer kit have produced great results.

 

[Kayos]

Very cool! I started with a Mr. Beer. WAY over priced.....before you buy any more cans from them, get into 5g batches. It costs about $30 for a 5g batch of Mr. beer and 22 for the same of fresh stuff. Great way to get in, though. Also, I just made a 2.5 gallon batch at my brothers with Brewsmith and used my Mr. beer keg as the fermenter. No need for the cans, just use it until you can afford the next step.

Finally, I suggest taking the starter kits from midwest, morebeer and northernbrewer, see what the components are that you like and build what you want. No need to buy what they say you need. You decide. Free shipping with morebeer says no need to stay local.
Better-Bottles
Better-Bottles (o--did that come out out loud?)

 

[malkore]

agreed. if you think this is a hobby you're gonna stick with, start pricing out some Ale Pails/buckets and a larger stock pot. Turkey fryer season is fast approaching. If you have a place to boil outdoors, I'd get a propane burner and stockpot, at least 8gallons.
that will work great for extract brewing, and also allow you to advance to partial mashes and all grain brewing down the road.

it SUCKS to replace equipment when you want to bump up a tier, and its very common for people to make big leaps in this hobby. beer IS a passion after all!

congrats on your first brew btw

 

[TexLaw]

Congratulations! That's a pretty ambitious brew for your first go-round, and I am very happy to hear how well it came out.


TL

 

[Cass]

Well ur screwed now, u'll be brewing all the time! Nice choice on the first brew too, sounds pretty good, quite extravagant. I tend to stay away from any of the fruit beers... keep me posted on how it turns out though, I may change my mind and give it a go!

Cass