Newbie Here!! - First Brew - Bock Beer

[DeafSmith]

We used today to Celebrate the Country's Birthday by Bottling our First Bock Beer!! Finally! Totally, guys! It was kind of a chore... Makes me totally want to go out & buy that keg!!

Congratulations!

Yeah, bottling is a bit of a chore, but if you start kegging, don't throw away all your bottles - you'll probably still want to bottle from the keg occasionally. In fact I filled some bottles Monday from my keg to take to a 4th of July party.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Congratulations!

Yeah, bottling is a bit of a chore, but if you start kegging, don't throw away all your bottles - you'll probably still want to bottle from the keg occasionally. In fact I filled some bottles Monday from my keg to take to a 4th of July party.

Ha! We will keep all bottles.... We even had bottles left over... Even the hubby said that we were gonna keep bottles & need more bottles... So, we did just that!! Got us some Moosehead Lagers - green bottles, but eh, I think I will keep them.. My purple container is dark & with the lid on, it's even darker... Pilsner 100 Centenario - pretty good & some... ShockTop - White Wheat! That **** is delish!!

 

[Stauffbier]

Sassy, great job on getting your first batch all bottled up. It will get faster and easier everytime you do it from here out. I have two recommendations for you..

1) I noticed some beer got left behind in your fermenter. I'd say about 3 bottles worth of beer. If you slowly tilt the carboy as you rack it to the bottle bucket you can get almost all of it! After all of your toils and troubles making it, getting every last drop of the nectar is ideal! Like everything in this hobby....... practice makes perfect!

2) ** This one I HIGHLY recommend! ** Take a 6 pack of your newly filled bottles and hide it away in a dark, deep place. Forget about that 6 pack for 6 to 8 months, so you can go sample one every now and then. It's a great testament to your first batch, and a great way to compare how you've grown as a brewer after that time!

Cheers, and Happy 4th of July!

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Sweet. VW's are fun. My neighbor has a not so new New Beetle (97) that we're doing a bit of work to. Fun little car. There's some great American cars, but with my wife and two boys, we need something that can take a beating and is still fun for me. I think German made is the way to go. I'm keeping my old car with the blown motor, it's a '99 Grand Prix GT with a lot of mods. When I can afford to, I'll get a new motor and switch the mods over.

I love VWs!! I had a 2000 VW Jetta while i was in college - & seriously, my favorite car of all time!! it was like fire engine red... black leather seats... black tinted windows... monsoon radio system, tweeters... The radio system had a tape palyer & a 6-changer CD... in the trunk... But any who! There are some good American cars... I like Chevy.. Had an '01 Chevy Silverado back when I was in high school... Ha. What was your first car? Mine was a '77 Chevy Impala.... Crashed it into a tree 5 months after my 16th birthday, but I loved her. The hubby drives a '90 Ford F150.. Stil runs like a champ, but only has like 70,000 miles on it... it's not the family car...

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Sassy, great job on getting your first batch all bottled up. It will get faster and easier everytime you do it from here out. I have two recommendations for you..

1) I noticed some beer got left behind in your fermenter. I'd say about 3 bottles worth of beer. If you slowly tilt the carboy as you rack it to the bottle bucket you can get almost all of it! After all of your toils and troubles making it, getting every last drop of the nectar is ideal! Like everything in this hobby....... practice makes perfect!

2) ** This one I HIGHLY recommend! ** Take a 6 pack of your newly filled bottles and hide it away in a dark, deep place. Forget about that 6 pack for 6 to 8 months, so you can go sample one every now and then. It's a great testament to your first batch, and a great way to compare how you've grown as a brewer after that time!

Cheers, and Happy 4th of July!

Thank You. Thank You.
1) We only left that much beer because the hubby was frustrated as it was his first go... & remember? I didn't use the 5-gal bucket for the primary fermenter... It sat in the carboy for the 15 days... I didn't want to get the sludge.. I think we lost about 4 beers...

2)Al Already done! I remember, I think you, saying that earlier... Wanted to save a couple for later. Definitely.


Peace. Love. & Beer.
Cheers!!

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Well... Well... Well...

We went with the Belgian Triple... It's cooling... We are waiting to pitch the yeast...


What's up!!?


Peace. Love. & Beer!

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Hey! Hey! Hey!


The hubby & I are still in the bottling stage of the Bock we brewed a couple of weeks ago....
We have, however, had conversations about the tasting party for our friends!

As for now, we have moved to our second brew - a Belgian Triple.
I have a new thread running on the new brew - A Couple of Noobs 2nd Brew - Belgian Triple Nipple under the Beginners Forum.
Check out my second beer & celebrate with a home brew!!

Here's a little peak of what we brewed last night!

The smell aroma is amazing & the color looks pretty good, too!!

Looking forward to another FUN Adventure of Brewing with our First Belgian using Extracts, Hops, & Grains Underway!!



Peace. Love. & Beer!
CHEERS!


UPDATE for the BOCK BEER coming soon!!

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Hey!! Hey!! Hey!!


Well, it's been 2 weeks since the hubby & I bottled our Bock Beer!
The hubby & I can't take it anymore!! We have to try one!! We want the EXPERIENCE!! & we want to know how the process works. Can't ever learn if you don't ever try, right!?
We wanna know!!

So, while our Beers are waiting for the hubby's arrival home from work....

They are chilled & ready to go!!

I will let ya know what a 2 week old beer tastes like when we pop the tops!


PEACE. LOVE. & BEER!
CHEERS!

 

[DeafSmith]

I think it's generally recommended to put them in the refrigerator a couple of days before opening them to let the CO2 be absorbed from the headspace into the beer, so they may not be fully carbonated, and will still taste green, probably, but, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Actually, it's probably a good idea to sample one now so you'll have a basis for comparison to see how it develops as it conditions over the next few weeks.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I think it's generally recommended to put them in the refrigerator a couple of days before opening them to let the CO2 be absorbed from the headspace into the beer, so they may not be fully carbonated, and will still taste green, probably, but, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Actually, it's probably a good idea to sample one now so you'll have a basis for comparison to see how it develops as it conditions over the next few weeks.

Totally agree. Let them chill for at least 48 hours to let the co2 in the headspace dissolve into the beer. And definitely try one (or two), but expect them to be young and not yet in their prime. It's a good learning experience, and you seem to be all about learning by experience, so go for it, just save the bulk of the batch for when it's in it's prime, probably 4-5 weeks from bottling with a beer like that one.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Agreed, trying them early lets you truly appreciate what time in bottles does. Make sure your primary is always full so you get a decent pipeline and never have to crack them early.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Hey! Hey! Hey!


Can you tell my mood!!
We are SUPER excited!!
Tonight - We bought a Family of Shiners...
We bought a 6-pack of Shiner Hefeweizen....

Okay.... I wanna get down to it!!

OUR FIRST BOCK BREW IS AMAZING!!
It's so good!
Honestly... We put 2 in the fridge yesterday...
24 hours later... We popped the first top...
WE COULDN'T BE HAPPIER!!

Excuse the last pic... It was "edited" on Instagram & then my computer wouldn't let me upload the original copy of my picture!! So Sad. The picture on Instagram makes it darker than it appears to be on the original...
The flavor is good... it's a very buttery , almost butterscotch flavor at the beginning & as it goes down.. it's a bit of licorice.. We decided to call it the "BUDDERBOCK"... We think it fits perfectly!! We think that the BOCK BREW for our FIRST was AMAZING! The carbonation sounds just about right for opening a bottled beer & flavor is PLENTIFUL!! YUM-O!
it's so good! We like it so much!!



Seriously, it's good, guys!!
I am proud of us!! :rockin:
& I thank you guys for your help during the FIRST BREW!!
It's been a fun ride & good experience!!

We are NOT done!!
We have a COUPLE of tastings to do!!
Two are this weekend - one Saturday & one Sunday!!
I will keep you guys posted & let you know what our friend's think of our FIRST BOCK BREW!! :rockin:

Good Night & Good Beer!



Peace. Love. & Beer.
CHEERS!!

 

[JerryCraft]

Congrats! Nice job!
What are you planning for Oktoberfest?
Jerry

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Congrats! Nice job!
What are you planning for Oktoberfest?
Jerry

Humm... Actually, we are thinking of doing a hefe & a Saison next.. Its hot enough in Texas that I can just set the Saison on my closet...
There is a Belgian Triple in the fermenter right now... We have 2 more weeks until we bottle the Belgian..
It's starting to get exciting around here!!

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Happy Sunday Funday!


Today - the hubby & I are going to our friend's house for a beer tasting!!
These are the friends who got us into the beer brewing hobby & we are gonna check out the "BudderBock" with them!

Let you guys know how it turns out!!


Happy Sunday Funday!!