My very first home brew...

[rcdirtbuggy]

time goes by so slow when your waiting for your first brew. the best thing to do is to brew another batch while you're waiting. it keeps your mind off the anticipation.

 

[Junebug]

Thanks, Fritz, fleas and dibby...
fleas, yay! Another Madison resident! The Wine And Hop guys are very cool. They even help haul stuff out to the car, which I appreciate. The Pol...god, I can't take it if I have any more boil-overs...it took me hours to clean up that mess. I'm hoping that the consequences were such that I will remain ever vigilant for the rest of my life...however, I know that repeat boil-overs are more than likely to occur again, however infrequently.

Is it like this for everybody the first time they home brew? I am giddy! It seems that the brew is doing just what it should be doing and I am thrilled that I may have done this correctly, however simple this batch may be.

 

[rcdirtbuggy]

it's not only like this the first time you brew but damn near everytime. the wait is worth it though.

 

[Junebug]

time goes by so slow when your waiting for your first brew. the best thing to do is to brew another batch while you're waiting. it keeps your mind off the anticipation.

You know...I've been thinking of doing just that, especially after what Melana said. I have a big plastic Ale Pail that could serve as another fermenter. Plus, I have a different Ale mix upstairs. I wonder if I should start it now or wait a week or so...which leads me to another hopefully not stupid question. How many fermenters do you folks have on average? I purchased this stuff from a guy at my gym for twenty bucks...I have a 6.5 gallon glass carboy, plus a big Ale Pail, the size of which I am uncertain but could certainly discover. I imagine that at some point I will be brewing beers that require secondary fermentations. Or however that should be worded. I really want to have more than one thing going at once and would appreciate hearing about the number of fermenters/other gear you folks have.

Thanks in advance...

 

[Junebug]

it's not only like this the first time you brew but damn near everytime. the wait is worth it though.

Ah...I can see I am going to enjoy this!

 

[The Pol]

I have a 6.5 gallon carboy for primary ferments, and a 5 gallon carboy for secondary ferments. The great thing is that your primary is generally only needed for a week, transfer to the secondary, refill the primary and you can leave that beer in there for weeks if you need to until your secondary is open again. I ALWAYS brew a batch when I bottle or keg one, that way it is ready when the other batch is gone. In most cases... my Helles will be a couple months being a lager, but you know what I am getting at.

Pol

 

[rcdirtbuggy]

I have a 6.5 gallon glass carboy and two 6 gallon buckets. i use the carboy and a bucket as my primaries so i have two batches going at all times, and i keep one of the buckets open for my bottling bucket/kegging bucket. I used to bottle but now I only keg my brew.

 

[Yooper]

You know...I've been thinking of doing just that, especially after what Melana said. I have a big plastic Ale Pail that could serve as another fermenter. Plus, I have a different Ale mix upstairs. I wonder if I should start it now or wait a week or so...which leads me to another hopefully not stupid question. How many fermenters do you folks have on average? I purchased this stuff from a guy at my gym for twenty bucks...I have a 6.5 gallon glass carboy, plus a big Ale Pail, the size of which I am uncertain but could certainly discover. I imagine that at some point I will be brewing beers that require secondary fermentations. Or however that should be worded. I really want to have more than one thing going at once and would appreciate hearing about the number of fermenters/other gear you folks have.

Thanks in advance...

I have two 7.5 gallon buckets, several carboys, and a few 3 gallon carboys and 1 gallon glass jugs. I usually have one in primary, one in secondary, and one recently bottled but right now I'm running low because I haven't brewed in a while. I usually have several wines going, too; right now I'm picking dandelions and cutting rhubarb and have a apple wine bulk aging in a jug.

Welcome to the obsession!

 

[dibby33]

You can never have too many barrels.

A secondary is normally used to clear / age the beer, when it is racked off the primary the trub (gunk at the bottom, made up of dead yeast cells, hops etc) should be left behind.

 

[magnus]

wow, beer brewing women! *SIGH* why are all the good women on computer sceens? =]

 

[Junebug]

I have two 7.5 gallon buckets, several carboys, and a few 3 gallon carboys and 1 gallon glass jugs. I usually have one in primary, one in secondary, and one recently bottled but right now I'm running low because I haven't brewed in a while. I usually have several wines going, too; right now I'm picking dandelions and cutting rhubarb and have a apple wine bulk aging in a jug.

Welcome to the obsession!

Whoa...that sounds serious, Lorena! What are the one gallon jugs used for? I've thought about making wine, too. I saw some ingredients at the shop the other day that were intriguing, things like oak cubes and what have you. I'm taking my mom out shopping today, maybe I should swing by the Wine &Hop place and pick up a couple more carboys. Umm, more bottles, too.

 

[Junebug]

wow, beer brewing women! *SIGH* why are all the good women on computer sceens? =]

The online world is like Lake Wobegone, where all the women are strong and all the children are above average...or however that goes, lol!

Annette

 

[Yooper]

Whoa...that sounds serious, Lorena! What are the one gallon jugs used for? I've thought about making wine, too. I saw some ingredients at the shop the other day that were intriguing, things like oak cubes and what have you. I'm taking my mom out shopping today, maybe I should swing by the Wine &Hop place and pick up a couple more carboys. Umm, more bottles, too.

I make small batches of wine, from using Welch's juice to apple cider to other fruits. I've made mead, too. You can make wine from almost anything!