T'was a Magic Elixir that won me over.....

[mjrodney]

Long a drinker of commercial brews.....those grocery store, center aisle display brands, always offered at on sale prices................you know, those "lite" beers that have the same color going in as they do going out.......

Until a new friend comes along with two bottles of home brewed ale.

"You have to try these", he said.

After drinking the first bottle, I didn't quite know what to think. It was good. Very good. "What is this stuff?"

It left me confused. I'm not used to this. Taste. Body. Mouth feel. The creaminess of the head.

The next day, after drinking the second bottle, it was all over.

Beam me up, Scotty. OMG

"I have got to do this", I said.

The next week or so was spent scouring the internet. Only a proliferation of information would sake my new "thirst".

This Home Brew Forum, and it's contributors, helped me to understand what I needed to do.

And so it starts.

My thanks to all of you.

Oh wait.

It's only been a little more than a week, and I've already spent more than $300 on equipment and ingredients. My first batch is blowing off in the tub as I speak.

I'm sending you folks a bill.

 

[Dynachrome]

...send us a beer!

Three hundred dollars? You must be pretty well set up. I started with bare bones.


...and oh yeah, you make a post about blow-off without posting a picture of your fermentor. That's being a tease.

 

[mjrodney]

Well, thanks to this forum, I remembered reading about blow off, so why not be a good boy scout and be prepared. After all, I haven't done this before.

So rather than use an airlock on my first batch, a blow off hose was installed.

Lucky me!

 

[mjrodney]

I'll learn how to attach photographs real soon. I promise.

 

[Dynachrome]

Holy crap, what a monster!

 

[mjrodney]

A monster no more.

Now a temptress.

The bubbling airlock has been re-installed.

The bubbling is slowing.

I hope my neighbor's can't hear me......

Whispering "baby talk" to my primary fermenter.......

 

[Dynachrome]

Ohhh, You're going to have it baad. I can tell.

Are you bottling or kegging?

...if you're bottling, you'll open a bottle after three days. It will taste unworthy of the phrase "Beer". You will be worried that it will not improve. ...a few more days, another bottle - still not meeting your expectations!

Remember - Patience - Patience once it is bottled. Minimum 4 weeks till it should be judged, and then gently - it may take longer.

You've seen curse of the mummy, right? The mad scientist gets impatient and boils twice the amount of Tanna Leaves and looses control of the mummy.


.......patience.

...and - its good to keep the neighbors wondering.

 

[mjrodney]

The current plan is to bottle, after two weeks in the primary and two weeks in the secondary.

After two weeks in the bottle, the plan continues by tasting one or two, taking a few notes and continuing to do so every week until little change is tasted from the previous week.

I may need to have my hands cuffed behind my back, though, to give me the restraint I'm going to need.

 

[Dynachrome]

Brew another batch right away.

That way some of the first batch may survive to a mature conditioning.

....more to taste.

Don't ask how I know.

 

[BobbiLynn]

Looks and sounds like you got it going on! Welcome to the world of homebrewing!! I think I was probably on my 4th batch before I actually waited long enough to start drinking it. But, heck, to me even half finished it tasted better than the stuff I had been drinking. Be sure to have a second batch ready to go in primary as soon as you rack to secondary!

 

[Homercidal]

Welcome to the Dark Side!

And I will also offer the advice of having a second beer ready for the primary fermenter when you rack to the secondary.

And if you haven't heard, read up on proper fermentation temps. It took me a long time to realize how important this is to making a great beer.

Good luck!

 

[Andrikos]

The current plan is to bottle, after two weeks in the primary and two weeks in the secondary.

After two weeks in the bottle, the plan continues by tasting one or two, taking a few notes and continuing to do so every week until little change is tasted from the previous week.

I may need to have my hands cuffed behind my back, though, to give me the restraint I'm going to need.

Congrats and welcome!

My advice is to leave it in primary (3-4 weeks - don't worry about secondary) and let the yeasties do their thing.
In my experience, your biggest variable of quality will be the fermentation temperature for the first few days (3-5). Keep it low and slow unless you're brewing a Farmhouse Ale or some-such.

When you're ready to bottle, have another wort ready to benefit from the plentiful yeast you already have at the bottom of the fermenter. You don't have to use the entire cake (too much yeast!) unless you're planning a monster IIPA, RIS or Barleywine. Read up the sticky how to wash yeast so you have plenty for the next brew.

I can tell you got it bad, have fun!

 

[mjrodney]

Thanks for the tips!

Two more kits are on the brown truck and heading my way now, so once they arrive and I rack my current first batch into the secondary, another batch will be started in the now empty primary.

Additionally, I'll plan on buying a Better Bottle in the near future to add to the glass collection, and I'll start a batch without using the secondary, as Andrikos suggested, leaving it in the primary.

It will be a good comparison and a way to gain more experience.

Meanwhile, as also suggested, I will look into yeast "washing".

I hope you don't need to use the clothes washer as my wife will kill me.

Thanks again.......

 

[Homercidal]

Yeah. There is no shortage of things to look into. It's a hobby for years.