Good, bad, or otherwise, the deed it done.
Okay, first, I'm not new to brewing, just to this board. I've done extract brewing off and on since the early 90's. So, to make a long story short, I got distracted by life, and along the way lost the equipment. But this 5 gallon carboy, the sole survivor of an earlier era, has been sitting here staring at me... so now, I'm in a new Townhome, in a new town, and got the bug again. Only this time, due to space constraints opted for the Mr. Beer route. I thought to myself, Self, how bad could it be? I already had some background.
I then found this site, and this tread specifically. After reading through it, it got me jazzed up. Then today my MB came in the mail. I had already made a trip to the LHBS and picked up a pound of Light DME and some US-05. I found a lovely little fermentation spot in the lower bathroom, inside the cabinet. (I would have used the spare bedroom, but in a couple weeks, I'm getting married..... thank you, thank you... and we have to host the new Mother In Law. I don't want the fermenting process interrupted by curiosity.) And since my birthday is in the middle of November, I figured I didn't have time to wait until after the Big Day.
So, today, I used the ever popular WCPA, 1# DME, and the whole package of US-05 yeast. I added the DME to the water, began to bring it slowly to a boil, and just before boiling poured in the LME, while whisking away. I prefer a whisk. Boiled for just a few minutes then pitched the baby wort to the MB keg (filled partially with cold water and some ice). Topped off with more water to 8.5 quarts... and using the 'wrist on the side of the keg' method, I found the temps to be close to room temps... low 70's if I had to guess. So I pitched the yeast and after a few minutes whisked again. The whole shebang is now resting comfortably in the cabinet. (Yes I wished it goodnight, thank you).
I also have a room thermometer tucked away under there too. The temps will be pretty consistently in the mid 70's. Maybe as high as 78. I know this can be a little high, but I'm not worried.
I drew a shot glass worth of the wort (before the yeast pitch) for tasting. Had to be done. It has amazing flavor, despite being utra-green.
I plan to ferment 3 weeks, bottle condition for 3 more, then refrigerate for 1 before I consider them 'finished'. Of course only tasting will determine the outcome, but have I missed anything obvious? Since, this is my first homebrew in quite a few years, I'm gonna consider myself a noob again.
I am slowly gathering my 5 gallon brew equipment stash, again, but realistically, as long as I'm in this Townhome, I don't see having the room to use it. (Will be here until the end of the school year... roughly May). So until the day I can spread out a little, the MB keg will be my little buddy.
Oh, and one last thing, since I finished this batch about 5pm Eastern Time, I am thinking of calling it Equinox Pale Ale (though there is nothing special about the recipe).