Newbie with reservations

[LB4of6]

Hello all, As stated in the title I am new to this and have zero experience other than watching 187 You Tube videos! I think that makes me an expert doesn't it?

My first batch will be a Vanilla Java Porter. My question is:
I plan on brewing this in my home on the electric stove. What kind of odor will this put off? Do I have to worry about stinking up my whole house, pissing off the wife, and sleeping on the couch for a week?

Thank you for any information!

 

[Steveg229]

It smells glorious!!! All kidding aside...it all depends if she decides she likes the smell or not. Hopefully she likes beer too?? There is only 1 way to find out though.....and it is easier to ask for forgiveness. Good luck.

 

[flars]

When I'm cooking a beer on the stove top my wife says, "I make the house smell so good".

 

[mongoose33]

Might I make a suggestion? I don't know the recipe you have, but I think it is wise for all new brewers to brew simple recipes the first few times. This allows the new brewer to become comfortable with the process without complicating matters with a complicated recipe.

As far as aroma from boiling: my wife hates the smell. I like it, but depending on what's being used for hops, it clearly can make things smell a certain way. This is one of the reasons I don't brew in the house. In fact, I have to pull her car out of the garage when I brew so the car doesn't adopt the aromas of brewing.

Anyway, good luck, welcome to brewing, and as you move forward, think about where you want to be three months from now and plan for that.

 

[porterpounder]

Turn a vent fan on. It'll be fine. Using extract doesn't boil off as much off the smelly stuff as using all-grain as the extract process boils the wort and gets rid of some of it. Everyone has her sensitivities though. A week on the couch is worth a month's worth of beer.

 

[Mainer]

You'll be just fine. I do all my brewing stovetop. It will create a lot of steam, but it will just smell sweet and grainy. My wife loves the smell, but doesn't love the steam. If you have an outdoor-venting hood fan on your stove (I don't), use it!

A couple other suggestions/pro tips I wish people had given me when I started, in case you didn't already have them:
1. Never cover your wort during the boil. Not only will it increase the likelihood of a boil-over (which *would* stink to high heaven), it can also cause the temp to get hotter than you want and caramelize some of your sugars.
2. During the boil, it can be helpful to offset your pot, so that the heat source is under one side more than the other. This will set up a rolling convection boil, which will keep your wort circulating and help avoid the dreaded boil-over.
3. Lay down towels in your kitchen if that's where you're going to transfer from the kettle to the carboy. Any wort you spill on the floor that dries there will make the floor sticky, and my wife minds that much more than any smell.

Best of luck! It'll be great!

 

[yourlastchance89]

Depends on the person. My girl doesn't totally despise it, but she says it does remind her of the smell horse stalls from when she would ride. She's crazy though and despises even universally good smells like bacon (she's a vegetarian).

 

[LB4of6]

Thank you for all of the input!

 

[passedpawn]

Hello all, As stated in the title I am new to this and have zero experience other than watching 187 You Tube videos! I think that makes me an expert doesn't it?

My first batch will be a Vanilla Java Porter. My question is:
I plan on brewing this in my home on the electric stove. What kind of odor will this put off? Do I have to worry about stinking up my whole house, pissing off the wife, and sleeping on the couch for a week?

Thank you for any information!

You need to be more worried about boilovers. It's very likely and makes a heck of a mess when it does.

The GREAT solution is Fermcap-S. Do a google search. Your homebrew shop should have some. A few drops in the boil and you avert a problem with the lady - priceless.

 

[Domminigan]

I had an issue with difficulty getting my full five gallons to boil at once. I solved this and the boil over issue on my second try by wrapping towels around the pot and securing them to the handles with a ton of safety pins so they could not slip.
I kept the towels 3-4" above the burner and, like you intend; used an electric burner. The towels insulated the aluminum pot I used, making it vastly easier to keep temperatures steady, and caught the boil over that I wasn't expecting at first.
After the first time, I grabbed a fiberglass welding blanket from a local place to be less of a hazard than the towels. I still use it when cooking in the large pots at home.

 

[yourlastchance89]

I had an issue with difficulty getting my full five gallons to boil at once. I solved this and the boil over issue on my second try by wrapping towels around the pot and securing them to the handles with a ton of safety pins so they could not slip.
I kept the towels 3-4" above the burner and, like you intend; used an electric burner. The towels insulated the aluminum pot I used, making it vastly easier to keep temperatures steady, and caught the boil over that I wasn't expecting at first.
After the first time, I grabbed a fiberglass welding blanket from a local place to be less of a hazard than the towels. I still use it when cooking in the large pots at home.

I'm fairly new too with only 2 batches under my belt. I had many of the same concerns you do. I even bought a propane burner for the eventual inevitability of having to brew off-site. To piggy back off this, I probably made the biggest mess bottling my first batch. I had initial trouble siphoning and spilled alot of beer, the apartment reeked of it. I still also have fears of creating a catastrophic mess. My most recent batch had an OG of 1.062. I'd find myself waking up in the middle of the night to sleep by my fermenter in anticipation of it blowing from overcarbonation. Airlocks are fine, but I'd be aware of what your brewing and utilize a blowoff tube if you want to avoid a big mess

 

[CCTjohn]

My wife doesn't like beer at all and the smell doesn't bother her...

 

[Maddog]

Here is another vote for Fermcap-S. Like 5-10 drops in the kettle will help you greatly. Boilovers suck and are especially messy in your kitchen. In fact, I would recommend you seriously consider garage brewing. If you can, invest in a decent kettle (I have a 15gal Chapman) and a propane burner and look at brew in a bag, all grain brewing. Its easy and tasty. I agree on simplifying the recipe as well. Make an easy ale for your first brew. Won't turn out that great anyway. It takes a couple of brews to smooth the process.

 

[PlexVector]

wives are funny...they either like it or hate it...It's like asparagus pee...you have the gene that smells it or you don't...there is no middle ground...good luck...