My 1st Homebrew

[Lee Shephard]

63EC261E-DD93-4243-9B7B-79C181068F4B

• Lee Shephard
• Sep 10, 2018

This is my very 1st brew! A block party Ale. It came out nicely carbonated and very tasty with...

what was your first ever brew? Was it a success or a failure?
Post a pic and tell us of your your first brewing experience.
My 1st ever Homebrew. A block party Ale. Nicely carbonated with tones of caramel and honey.
Very pleased

 

[myndflyte]

My first brew was many years ago so I have no pictures. But all I can really say about my first homebrew was that it was beer. It was a really simple kit so it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either.

 

[Lee Shephard]

So you must be a seasoned professional by now! What do you consider to be your best ever brew! (I should make this a new thread)

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

63EC261E-DD93-4243-9B7B-79C181068F4B

• Lee Shephard
• Sep 10, 2018

This is my very 1st brew! A block party Ale. It came out nicely carbonated and very tasty with...

what was your first ever brew? Was it a success or a failure?
Post a pic and tell us of your your first brewing experience.
My 1st ever Homebrew. A block party Ale. Nicely carbonated with tones of caramel and honey.
Very pleased

My first was a mead that is still aging from this summer but this is a pic of my first beer just finished carbonation this weekend and a cherry/honey mead with ale yeast I made a couple of months ago that i am currently enjoying

 

[JimRausch]

My 1st was a 'Truebrew Oktoberfest' kit back on 12/26/2011 (Christmas gift). It turned out surprisingly well and hooked me solid into this obsessive hobby. Did I say obsession? I have 20 books on brewing and at any one time might have more than 15-20 separate batches sitting in insulated boxes in my garage.

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

My 1st was a 'Truebrew Oktoberfest' kit back on 12/26/2011 (Christmas gift). It turned out surprisingly well and hooked me solid into this obsessive hobby. Did I say obsession? I have 20 books on brewing and at any one time might have more than 15-20 separate batches sitting in insulated boxes in my garage.

I haven't bought any books yet but I'm on my 5th book for mead and beer already and I am at 6 months or so of brewing. Do you mind sharing what you own book wise. I'm always looking for another book to read

 

[Hopsimus]

My 1st was a 'Truebrew Oktoberfest' kit back on 12/26/2011 (Christmas gift). It turned out surprisingly well and hooked me solid into this obsessive hobby. Did I say obsession? I have 20 books on brewing and at any one time might have more than 15-20 separate batches sitting in insulated boxes in my garage.

Hey, that was my first brew too! I also had it turn out very nice. And, that kit is what started me down the home brew obsession!
Small world.
For me, that was back in May of 2015. I've done about 35 brews since then. I generally only have 1 brew going at a time (often with another bottle conditioning).

Cheers!

 

[small_b_brewing]

My first brew was an extract recipe for a Scottish Ale. Lots of online reading to learn about the process, & had a friend with a couple brews under her belt come over to hang out while I brewed so I could ask questions.
I enjoyed the beer and brewed it again once I had finished it!

 

[Derp]

My first brew was a bottled 5-gallon ESB extract kit from MoreBeer in May of 2010. I've done about a hundred more brews since then, graduating to all-grain, 10-gallon batches fermented in a temperature-controlled chamber and served from a 4-tap keezer. Now I make starters, build my water from RO, and generally know what I'm doing.

 

[Lee Shephard]

My first was a mead that is still aging from this summer but this is a pic of my first beer just finished carbonation this weekend and a cherry/honey mead with ale yeast I made a couple of months ago that i am currently enjoying View attachment 587624View attachment 587625

I like the sound of the Cherry Meade. I bet that tastes delicious ?

 

[Lee Shephard]

My first brew was a bottled 5-gallon ESB extract kit from MoreBeer in May of 2010. I've done about a hundred more brews since then, graduating to all-grain, 10-gallon batches fermented in a temperature-controlled chamber and served from a 4-tap keezer. Now I make starters, build my water from RO, and generally know what I'm doing.

You sound like you really know what you’re doing . A true brewing professional. I am looking to brew a Mosaic Hops and Double Otter fusion. I’m looking for a pale yellow finish with a fruity flavour and a gravity of 6% or above. What tips could you give me to achieve these goals?

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

I like the sound of the Cherry Meade. I bet that tastes delicious ?

It does it has a nice sweet flavor and a tart after bite. It's a good dessert wine

 

[FatCat Brewing]

My first brew was a one gallon extract kit of "Caribou Slobber" from Northern Brewer. Definitely not my best effort but totally drinkable. I have a couple more under my belt since then and each one better than the one before. This has e k.e my hobby/obsession of choice!

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Post a pic and tell us of your your first brewing experience.
My 1st ever Homebrew. A block party Ale. Nicely carbonated with tones of caramel and honey.
Very pleased

Was that the Northern Brewer block party amber ale? That one was my 3rd brew and a pretty good one, I'm still finishing off the last of the bottles. My 1st was the NB Chinook IPA extract kit. Turned out solid, people who tried it said they liked it and I was happy with it for my 1st one.

 

[Enoch52]

I don't have a picture of my first, but it was a Blue Moon clone recipe. My dad's a homebrewer and we both like a Belgian witbier, and that was the only one we knew of. It turned out really well (better than Blue Moon, in my opinion), but if I wanted to really replicate it I would switch the butter orange peel for sweet orange and reduce the coriander.

 

[Derp]

I am looking to brew a Mosaic Hops and Double Otter fusion. I’m looking for a pale yellow finish with a fruity flavour and a gravity of 6% or above. What tips could you give me to achieve these goals?

I assume that the mention of Otter means that you're using Maris Otter? I brewed a clone of a famous-ish Texas IPA, Yellow Rose. It uses all pilsner malt and Mosaic hops and it's pale yellow and very fruity, coming in about 6.7% ABV. I posted the recipe in this Yellow Rose thread:

Mosaic S.M.A.S.H. (yellow rose clone)

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I am looking to brew a Mosaic Hops and Double Otter fusion. I’m looking for a pale yellow finish with a fruity flavour and a gravity of 6% or above. What tips could you give me to achieve these goals?

I'm going to be brewing a Smash recipe with Maris Otter and Mosaic soon, probably next. If color is important to you put your recipe into software and see what the SRM is. I use brewersfriend.com, a lot of people use Beersmith. You can add corn sugar to increase your gravity without imparting any color if you're trying to brew something stronger. I'm not sure if you'll get pale yellow using mostly Maris Otter though, probably more like a golden color. My recipe calculates SRM of 7.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/2017/05/07/beer-styles-srm-color-chart-2017-update/​

 

[IreWay78]

My first brew was a Mangrove Jack's Chocolate Ale extract. Turned out phenomenal, but not without a few errors!! Instead of conditioning the bottles in room temp after packaging, I threw all of the bottles in the fridge for a week!! But after pulling them all out and letting them sit for 2 weeks, I love it!! And so does everyone else that's tried it!! I actually think it helped with the clarity, to be honest! Good luck my friend!! [emoji482][emoji482]

 

[Lee Shephard]

I'm going to be brewing a Smash recipe with Maris Otter and Mosaic soon, probably next. If color is important to you put your recipe into software and see what the SRM is. I use brewersfriend.com, a lot of people use Beersmith. You can add corn sugar to increase your gravity without imparting any color if you're trying to brew something stronger. I'm not sure if you'll get pale yellow using mostly Maris Otter though, probably more like a golden color. My recipe calculates SRM of 7.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/2017/05/07/beer-styles-srm-color-chart-2017-update/​

Thank you very much. Very helpful tip. I will look at Beersmith and Brewers friend.
I love you guys. Always ready to help us newbies.
Lee

 

[Lee Shephard]

My first brew was a Mangrove Jack's Chocolate Ale extract. Turned out phenomenal, but not without a few errors!! Instead of conditioning the bottles in room temp after packaging, I threw all of the bottles in the fridge for a week!! But after pulling them all out and letting them sit for 2 weeks, I love it!! And so does everyone else that's tried it!! I actually think it helped with the clarity, to be honest! Good luck my friend!! [emoji482][emoji482]

Sounds lovely. Didn’t know you could revitalise the fermentation in the bottle after putting them in the fridge?
That’s cool(excuse the pun) I think I put my bottles in the fridge too soon (a fortnight after original bottling) however the beer tastes great! And it carbonated well. I still have half a dozen bottles that have been priming in the shed for about 4 weeks that have not been refrigerated yet. It will be interesting to see how they compare?

 

[IreWay78]

Sounds lovely. Didn’t know you could revitalise the fermentation in the bottle after putting them in the fridge?
That’s cool(excuse the pun) I think I put my bottles in the fridge too soon (a fortnight after original bottling) however the beer tastes great! And it carbonated well. I still have half a dozen bottles that have been priming in the shed for about 4 weeks that have not been refrigerated yet. It will be interesting to see how they compare?

Yeah!! I'm leaving a bunch in the closet to see how they do in the long term. My second batch turned out super nice too!! I wont make that same mistake again!! But I'm glad that it didnt ruin the complete batch!!

 

[Soulshine2]

No pics ,but my first brew was not all that long ago ,about 1 1/2 yrs ago, I actually still have a case left. AG kit from ChicagoBreWerks ,called "Don't Tread on Weiss". Basically this was a really nice Hef and yes it was a great success,still is. Seems it gets better as it ages. I made it for my wife since its her favorite style of beer. When we met , she didn't even like beer. Probably because most of the beer she had come into contact with was the cheap swill brands on the store shelf.

 

[Soulshine2]

Yeah!! I'm leaving a bunch in the closet to see how they do in the long term. My second batch turned out super nice too!! I wont make that same mistake again!! But I'm glad that it didnt ruin the complete batch!!

my beer stays in the 68-70*F basement unrefrigerated (in a cardboard case in the far corner out of any sunlight or drafts)until 2 days before I plan on drinking them. They age up a bit , I think it lets the yeast take its time to carb up appropriately.

 

[IreWay78]

my beer stays in the 68-70*F basement unrefrigerated (in a cardboard case in the far corner out of any sunlight or drafts)until 2 days before I plan on drinking them. They age up a bit , I think it lets the yeast take its time to carb up appropriately.

Have you experimented with alternative priming solutions?

 

[Soulshine2]

Have you experimented with alternative priming solutions?

such as?

 

[IreWay78]

such as?

Syrups, brown sugar, molasses, fructose, etc etc. I've only used fructose and had good results, but want to experiment with other sweeteners such as honey, molasses, or brown sugar to see if the flavor profile changes any. I know it's only a small amount.

 

[Soulshine2]

let me back up and explain what I said before. I left out my reason . When I started brewing I read a lot as I do all my other hobbies before I jump feet first into the deep end. To be clear, I batch prime in the bottling bucket ,let that mix itself as I gently hose rack (whirlpool) the finished ferment into the bucket on top of the priming sugar water. I'll give it a gentle swirl stir with my SS spoon. Bottling wand it into long-neck bottles and cap with a red baron wing capper.

Instructions told me I could drink my beer 2 weeks after bottling. So, naturally I did because I got impatient and it said I could. Who here wasn't excited to taste their first homebrew,right? I found the first few bottles were ok, it was beer but lacked a little something. Maybe it was a bit flat and probably a bit "green" . Nothing bad, mind you, just not optimal. So, as I went through the 2 cases of it I didn't have a dedicated fridge to cool my brews , I had to put them in a few at a time. As I got through it ,the ones that sat out longer at room temp got better. Better carbonation, the head bubbles got tinier ,the flavors developed smoother yet more intense if that makes any sense. I just happened to figure out what worked. It still does. My Oatmeal stout is the same way. First bottles were good. The ones that were allowed to rest as it were, improving nicely , more of what I expected. Head foam is almost like merengue,nice and light but stands firm.

 

[Soulshine2]

Syrups, brown sugar, molasses, fructose, etc etc. I've only used fructose and had good results, but want to experiment with other sweeteners such as honey, molasses, or brown sugar to see if the flavor profile changes any. I know it's only a small amount.

my last brew I put 3/4 lb of local honey into the last 15 minutes of the boil. However, I primed with regular priming sugar (corn sugar?) that came with my kit. Still conditioning . I'm about to leave for a month for a job out of state so I wont get to taste it until I get back, sometime in mid to late October.

 

[Radboud]

My first beer was a Coopers Draught. At the time I thought it was sublime. It was a nasty acetaldehyde bomb.

 

[Lee Shephard]

let me back up and explain what I said before. I left out my reason . When I started brewing I read a lot as I do all my other hobbies before I jump feet first into the deep end. To be clear, I batch prime in the bottling bucket ,let that mix itself as I gently hose rack (whirlpool) the finished ferment into the bucket on top of the priming sugar water. I'll give it a gentle swirl stir with my SS spoon. Bottling wand it into long-neck bottles and cap with a red baron wing capper.

Instructions told me I could drink my beer 2 weeks after bottling. So, naturally I did because I got impatient and it said I could. Who here wasn't excited to taste their first homebrew,right? I found the first few bottles were ok, it was beer but lacked a little something. Maybe it was a bit flat and probably a bit "green" . Nothing bad, mind you, just not optimal. So, as I went through the 2 cases of it I didn't have a dedicated fridge to cool my brews , I had to put them in a few at a time. As I got through it ,the ones that sat out longer at room temp got better. Better carbonation, the head bubbles got tinier ,the flavors developed smoother yet more intense if that makes any sense. I just happened to figure out what worked. It still does. My Oatmeal stout is the same way. First bottles were good. The ones that were allowed to rest as it were, improving nicely , more of what I expected. Head foam is almost like merengue,nice and light but stands firm.

Agreed !

Definitely worth waiting a week or two longer to let the flavours mature and get better carbonation.

“All good things come to those that wait”