New to Homebrew!

[trogdor447]

First off I want to say thank you mods & hosts for providing a wonderful atmosphere. I have been lurking on these forums for some time now and finally decided to join. My father gave me all of his old home brew equipment a while ago, and after burning a case of Sam Adams... I decided it will be hella cheaper to make my own.

I have 2 5g primaries and a secondary.

I just finished up a batch of Pumpkin Ale - Midwests recipe.. I added a smidge more cinnamon in the batch than I anticipated - 1tbsp total instead of 1/2(the measuring spoon was not set to the right setting) - I know spices pick it up fast hopefully it was not too much.

In the secondary right now is a Honey Blonde Ale - that will be bottled here in a few days.

My pumpkin Ale does not seem to be bubbling yet, it has been almost 12 hours. I know through countless threads bubbling doesn't mean anything! I'm just nervous

My questions:
Is the preferred method to mix dextrose with boiled water then put into the batch, or put directly into the bottle?

With so many threads about everything.. Is there a good thread about which grains are suitable for the best results for different styles?

Is there suggestions to avoiding boil over on glass top stoves? I havent had a problem yet but I want to minimize risk

 

[Brewmex41]

First off I want to say thank you mods & hosts for providing a wonderful atmosphere. I have been lurking on these forums for some time now and finally decided to join. My father gave me all of his old home brew equipment a while ago, and after burning a case of Sam Adams... I decided it will be hella cheaper to make my own.

I have 2 5g primaries and a secondary.

I just finished up a batch of Pumpkin Ale - Midwests recipe.. I added a smidge more cinnamon in the batch than I anticipated - 1tbsp total instead of 1/2(the measuring spoon was not set to the right setting) - I know spices pick it up fast hopefully it was not too much.

In the secondary right now is a Honey Blonde Ale - that will be bottled here in a few days.

My pumpkin Ale does not seem to be bubbling yet, it has been almost 12 hours. I know through countless threads bubbling doesn't mean anything! I'm just nervous

My questions:
Is the preferred method to mix dextrose with boiled water then put into the batch, or put directly into the bottle?

With so many threads about everything.. Is there a good thread about which grains are suitable for the best results for different styles?

Is there suggestions to avoiding boil over on glass top stoves? I havent had a problem yet but I want to minimize risk

One thing you'll learn quick is that you won't be saving any money for quite a while lol.

Question one: are you talking about carbonating your brew?

Two: what I do is ill look through the recipe database on this forum at a style I want to make. If there is a grain I haven't used yet ill do a Google search on that grain.


Three: personally I couldn't even get my water to boil on my glass stove. I had to buy a turkey fryer. You can get a spray bottle of water and spray it down when it starts to foam up.

 

[trogdor447]

One thing you'll learn quick is that you won't be saving any money for quite a while lol.

Question one: are you talking about carbonating your brew?

Two: what I do is ill look through the recipe database on this forum at a style I want to make. If there is a grain I haven't used yet ill do a Google search on that grain.


Three: personally I couldn't even get my water to boil on my glass stove. I had to buy a turkey fryer. You can get a bottle of water and spray it down when it starts to foam up.

Yes talking about carbonating a brew.

LOL well lucky for me dad purchased everything needed.. I can go through an inventor list.. All i purchased was another air lock, bottle filler for the secondary, some one step and uhh I think thats about it... What better way to get into the hobby! He loves to home brew, but he cant drink anymore..

Hmm Well mine took a while but it got to a boil after about 30m - I'll keep a turkey fryer in mind for the future. SWMBO is kind of glad that I have a new hobby.... but a bit of a nay sayer until im seasoned a bit!

 

[Brewmex41]

Yes talking about carbonating a brew.

LOL well lucky for me dad purchased everything needed.. I can go through an inventor list.. All i purchased was another air lock, bottle filler for the secondary, some one step and uhh I think thats about it... What better way to get into the hobby! He loves to home brew, but he cant drink anymore..

Hmm Well mine took a while but it got to a boil after about 30m - I'll keep a turkey fryer in mind for the future. SWMBO is kind of glad that I have a new hobby.... but a bit of a nay sayer until im seasoned a bit!

I picked up mine from Walmart for $40. Came with the 7.5 gal stock pot.

You'll want to boil the priming sugar water mix to minimize infection. Then try and cool it quickly with a lid.

You lucky dog lol. What are you doing? 5 gallon all grain? Extract?

 

[trogdor447]

the Honey Amber was a Brew House "all grain' kit - turned out pretty nice, we'll see when it is finished and bottled how out how it truly turned out!

This was a Grain/Extract - my local brew store threw it together for me, midwest's recipe basically for pumpkin ale.

 

[dozer5454]

Congrats on your new addiction. As others mentioned, the turkey fryer will be a great investment. It allows a full boil, keeps your kitchen clean and cool, and unlike topping up with water at the end of a brew day, it gives the hops a chance to affect the entire wort the way it should.

Not to mention, if you have neighbors that are close by, you could end up starting a brew club in your neighborhood.

 

[trogdor447]

Uhh my neighbors think busch and genny are beers. I live out in the woods. My uncle/dad used to brew all the time with dads equipment. Seems like when dad stopped my uncle had no ambition but when I picked up all the stuff he was quick to ask for some..

Turkey fryer may be in the future installments.. perhaps a Christmas gift from the parents etc - I'm VERY limited on space in this apartment so storage of objects becomes tough.

On a side note, at about 24 hours in... the pumpkin started bubbling, and its going very well right now. I might bottle the honey later tonight!

6lbs gold LME, 8oz brown sugar
8oz carapils, 8oz caramel
mt hood, cascade
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
safale us-05
30oz Pumpkin

Hopefully it turns out good

OG was around 1.054