Newbie having fun and success.

[Gregg Meyer]

Wow what a deal. My first batch was amazing, a pale ale recipe given to me by a 30 year veteran brewer and instruction and care all the way through.
Second session same ale with the use of a secondary fermenter. The result a more mellow finer brew with even better mouth feel and taste.
yesterday I brewed my first wheat beer with all extract. Man did that yeast smell wonderful. Today i have a tornado of activity in the firmenter. the Krazen is beautiful and the color of the brew is really more than i could ask for. i'm so excited to get it in the secondary where it can really become a great beer. this brewing stuff is a blast.

Have to tell on myself. 6 minutes left in the boil I placed the lid on the pot and turned around to see what was on the tube, no more than 2 mins went by and wouldn't you know it, i had a boil over. it was a good mess. had to clean the entire kitchen. It turned out great and i have a spotless kitchen to go with it.
I learned that i can't be distracted from the boil and think it will be ok for the entire time I'm brewing. What a dummy. Oh well it was ok.

gregg

 

[JRGSPE73]

I know how you feel man...I'll be bottling my second batch (Canadian Red ALe) and brewing my third (IPA) on Tuesday...such a good feeling to be able to drink something that you yourself made. I can feel your pain on the boilover too...had a small one on the first batch, nothing major...and then of course tonight I somehow managed a boilover while making a starter. I turned my back for two seconds and all of the sudden I hear the stove sizzling. Fortunately it was only a starter so the boilover was minimal...but I can't wait to get brewing again once that starter is good to go.

Good luck with your brews, and be sure to let us know how they turn out...cheers!

-Josh

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Putting the lid on will tend to do it!

Glad you got it all cleaned up and are having fun.

Keep a long handled spoon handy for when things start to get out of hand. Stirring and turning down (or removing from) the heat will help. You can also keep a spray bottle full of water handy. Just start spraying when the foam gets too high.

Generally, after the foam breaks (stops forming), you are safe until you toss in some hops.

Then you may know all of this... but I'm sure some around here don't...

 

[mysterio]

It's good to hear you made the same brew back to back, with the addition of a secondary fermenter giving a noticable improvement. Sometimes I think it's just sitting there doing little more than gathering dust

 

[Gregg Meyer]

I know just looking at the secondary is kind of wierd how it looks like not much is happening but i think the time all those flavors have to mix is well worth it. I had a Busch Light in my small apartment ref. In Garage we use mainly for pop and i drank some of the Busch. You guys were so right that stuff is pure C&$P wow unbelieveable how your tastebuds change. It was so watered down and had a real bitter wang to it. I'm not a big drinker and so it was no big deal for me to pitch it. man I will probably never go back to that stuff unless I want a brew and have to buy it some where. Jeez it was bad.

 

[Gregg Meyer]

Primary wheat beer 3rd session.
Secondary waiting for the arrival of the wheat beer
Kegged and drinking American Pale Ale 2nd session

gregg

 

[Ivan Lendl]

Yeah what they say is right: a watched pot never boils, but an un-watched pot ALWAYS boils over and makes a mess. I had one recently when i was making a starter on my brand new electric stove. I had put the lid on the pot to quicken things, and turned around for maybe 1-2 minutes. It sucked ass getting that burnt extract off of the stove top.(its the kind where the burners are hidden underneath) Basically i had to take a straight razer and CAREFULLY scrape it off, being sure not to pit the surface.

as far as secondaries are concerened, ive never NOT used one, so i cant say for sure that they make a real difference. But i find no reason to quit using one.

 

[clayof2day]

It was so watered down and had a real bitter wang to it.

What are you doing tasting a beer's wang man? Ok, I know that's really adolescent, but I couldn't help myself!!

 

[Brewing Clamper]

So Gregg, care to share that recipe? thanks dude... I'm wanting to do a pale ale next...