So I just finished my first ever homebrew.

[DaBills]

I just finished brewing a partial mash Dead Ringer IPA kit. Wow is all I have to say. That was a hell of a lot of fun. It smelled so good it made my stomach growler. I got the itch now I'm gonna brew a Bavarian Hefeweizen kit I got. It went pretty well but my gravity was a little high so I had to add some water to get it down to the desired 1.064 but I landed at about 1.0625. Do you think this will cause anything out of the ordinary to happen? Well I'mm off to brew my Hefeweizen.

 

[WhiteEagle1]

Nope...your're good! Brew on!!

 

[krispy3d]

Congrats, man. If you're like many around here, that "itch" may become incurable. Happy brewing!

 

[beergolf]

Congrats and welcome to the addiction...

I brewed 4 beers before I even tasted my first.....

 

[DaBills]

Nope...your're good! Brew on!!

Cool. Good news!

 

[DaBills]

Congrats, man. If you're like many around here, that "itch" may become incurable. Happy brewing!

Thanks, now I can't wait to make the upgrade to AG. But I spent a pretty penny on my current equipment so that's way down the road.

 

[DaBills]

Congrats and welcome to the addiction...

I brewed 4 beers before I even tasted my first.....

Thanks. That sounds a little like me. I bought eight kits(all partial mash but one) before I even brewed my first one! So I'm lookin at about 40 gallons of beer a little ways down the line. I'm not complaining!

 

[Hamsterbite]

Nice. I haven't yet had the pleasure of a Bell's, but of course I'm familiar with the name...It shows up on a lot of best of lists. Sadly, they do not yet distribute to CA. I may have to try this one in extract, or convince my Sister in Atlanta to ship me some.

Did you brew extract prior to PM?

 

[DaBills]

Nice. I haven't yet had the pleasure of a Bell's, but of course I'm familiar with the name...It shows up on a lot of best of lists. Sadly, they do not yet distribute to CA. I may have to try this one in extract, or convince my Sister in Atlanta to ship me some.

Did you brew extract prior to PM?

No I jumped right into Partial Mash. Just sounded tastier to me. I knew it would be a little more involved but I just read up on it (scoured these boards) and it went off without a hitch. Now if it ferments I'll be in good shape

 

[DaBills]

P.S. the kit was form Northern Brewer: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/dead-ringer-ipa-extract-kit.html

 

[Gitmoe]

Congrats! Hopefully your brew comes out great. I just finished a 9 hour brew day myself... The itch starts to fade right around the 4th or 5th hour usually... lol

 

[DaBills]

Congrats! Hopefully your brew comes out great. I just finished a 9 hour brew day myself... The itch starts to fade right around the 4th or 5th hour usually... lol

Haha no chance. Everytime I added a new round of hops I giggled. Hahaha. Just starting my 2nd brew of the day because my fiance wants to see what all the hubub is all about. She's in for a treat.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks, now I can't wait to make the upgrade to AG. But I spent a pretty penny on my current equipment so that's way down the road.

Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you can't afford the <$5 for a paint strainer bag? That's really all it takes to get yourself started. Do a search on BIAB and look for easy stovetop BIAB. You could be doing all grain tomorrow.

 

[DaBills]

Well all just finished my 2nd batch. Bavarian Hefeweizen from Northen Brewer. Not quite as aromatic as the first but lovely nonetheless. This was the only recipe out of the 8 that is not partial grain but I've heard rave reviews about it. Long day of brewing. Can you believe some people get paid to do this?

 

[DaBills]

Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you can't afford the <$5 for a paint strainer bag? That's really all it takes to get yourself started. Do a search on BIAB and look for easy stovetop BIAB. You could be doing all grain tomorrow.

You know I have heard of this method and I should give it a try. I read a sticky where someone had the bag attached to a pulley that they used to drain the bag - looked super cool. I already have the paint bags but the thing that might cost a little bit is a nice size pot. Right now I'm using an enamel canning pot but I can only put about 3.5 (maybe 4) gallons in it. But there is a guy around here that is trying to sell me a keggle for $45 and a wort chiller for $35. So if I had those two things I'd be well on my way. Although I do not have a propane burner so I don't know if I'd be able to get enough heat off the stove top to make that keggle boil. What do you think? Would it boil? If not I would have to buy a propane setup and that would set me back some more yet (not sure how much they cost). Do you think $45 is a fair price for a keggle. Anyways I'm content for now and I'm lovin the homebrewing. Cheers!

 

[mechanic65000]

I have seen keggles for sale on the classifieds on this site sell from $75 to $150. Wort chillers? About $30 to 60. Depending on length and diameter of copper. At least a dollar per foot. You could always buy them and sell them on here if you don't like them. Propane burners can be found often seconhand usually around $25 to 30. Go for it!

 

[dfc]

Congrats, man. If you're like many around here, that "itch" may become incurable. Happy brewing!

I believe there's a cream for that.

 

[RM-MN]

You know I have heard of this method and I should give it a try. I read a sticky where someone had the bag attached to a pulley that they used to drain the bag - looked super cool. I already have the paint bags but the thing that might cost a little bit is a nice size pot. Right now I'm using an enamel canning pot but I can only put about 3.5 (maybe 4) gallons in it. But there is a guy around here that is trying to sell me a keggle for $45 and a wort chiller for $35. So if I had those two things I'd be well on my way. Although I do not have a propane burner so I don't know if I'd be able to get enough heat off the stove top to make that keggle boil. What do you think? Would it boil? If not I would have to buy a propane setup and that would set me back some more yet (not sure how much they cost). Do you think $45 is a fair price for a keggle. Anyways I'm content for now and I'm lovin the homebrewing. Cheers!

I have a turkey fryer pot that lets me do a 5 gallon batch but sometimes I use my 5 gallon pot and just do a half size batch. In fact, that is how I started all grain. Just a half size batch to see if I should upgrade. I still do those half size batches sometimes for a new recipe in case I don't like it. It also lets me do all my brewing right in the kitchen, cooling the wort in the sink on those days I want to brew but the weather is bad. A half size batch will get you a case of bottles filled when done.

One warning, all grain is addictive. Once you make a batch, you'll want to do more. So many grain and hop combinations that aren't available in an extract kit and less expensive too.

 

[DaBills]

I have seen keggles for sale on the classifieds on this site sell from $75 to $150. Wort chillers? About $30 to 60. Depending on length and diameter of copper. At least a dollar per foot. You could always buy them and sell them on here if you don't like them. Propane burners can be found often seconhand usually around $25 to 30. Go for it!

I have a turkey fryer pot that lets me do a 5 gallon batch but sometimes I use my 5 gallon pot and just do a half size batch. In fact, that is how I started all grain. Just a half size batch to see if I should upgrade. I still do those half size batches sometimes for a new recipe in case I don't like it. It also lets me do all my brewing right in the kitchen, cooling the wort in the sink on those days I want to brew but the weather is bad. A half size batch will get you a case of bottles filled when done.

One warning, all grain is addictive. Once you make a batch, you'll want to do more. So many grain and hop combinations that aren't available in an extract kit and less expensive too.

No problem with that! Thanks for the info guys.