New Brewer

[_BullDog_]

Hey everyone....

Just starting and hoping for some great brew. I've got a 1 gallon batch of White House Honey porter going and am already wishing I had read more here before making it. This will be the lightest porter I have every had..... the instructions didn't mention crushing the grains first.

Anyways hoping for many good brews!

I have several other kits on there way and may even through a gallon of cider in there somewhere this fall. Should have lots of fun with this new hobby.

 

[sportpak]

Hello!
Your northern brew kit (I'm guessing), the grains should have already been crushed for you.

The cream ale and caribou slobber kits are pretty good too. Just control your fermentation temps and give them three weeks in the closet before chilling.

Practice cleanliness and have patients and you'll find yourself making great beer.

basicbrewing.com is an awesome place to browse. Their web casts are great to watch. Many resources available there.

 

[bobeer]

Congrats on your first batch! I agree that the kit should have come with the grains milled already so you should be good.

 

[_BullDog_]

Good to know... Still seems to be light on color... Oh well next time I'll just steep longer. Will be bottling next weekend and then starting another batch.

 

[unionrdr]

In my experiences with kits ordered online, the crush hasen't been very good. So I got a Barley Mill grain crusher that has a 7lb hopper & the base fits a 5 gallon bucket. Home Depot or Lowe's buckets work great to catch the crushed grains.
I crush them fresh even if they've already been done, since the crushes they do are usually lacking in evenness of crush. My OG's went up a bit as a result.

 

[SPR-GRN]

RDWHAHB - welcome to the hobby, which may become an obsession for you like it has for many of us.

 

[unionrdr]

Us obsessed? Well, maybe...just a little...!

 

[_BullDog_]

Already been accused of hanging out here to much.... Anyways I will be sticking to just brewing about 3 1-gal batches at a time for the near future.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, some wives, mine included, call this our beer porn! More like Mein Kampf sometimes...

 

[_BullDog_]

Fermentation has stopped (verified with refractometer readings) so I plan to bottle tonight.

Also started brewing a pumpkin ale (NB Smashing Pumpkin) and a gallon of cider, both of which look to be going well.

 

[unionrdr]

As long as it's at a stable FG you can. But giving another 3-7 days to clean up any by-products of fermentation & letting it settle out clear or slightly misty will yield better results.

 

[rmyurick]

There are two sub-styles of Porter in the BJCP guidelines--"Brown Porter" and "Robust Porter". Just call it a Honey Brown Porter.

 

[_BullDog_]

Okay I bottled last week and it isn't fully carbed yet but still tasted pretty good.... Hopefully another week should do it.

Time to start another batch... Maybe tonight.

 

[_BullDog_]

First few bottles have been good. #1 was flat but tasted good the 2nd just a little flat and the 3rd great.

Will be bottling a pumpkin ale and cider this weekend or Monday and started an Irish Red which has a very healthy fermentation going.

This hobby should keep me busy for a little while....

 

[_BullDog_]

Tried a bottle of the NB smashing pumpkin and the carbonation was a little low and the flavor wasn't quit there. Hopefully another week improves both.