Well I did it!!!

[jay8s]

I brewed my First beer today, a Wit from Brewers Best. I think I did pretty good. I had the biggest trouble cooling my wort, it took well over an hour. I just missed my og by .001. I guess we will see what happens in a monthish.

John

 

[nickjam]

I just finished my first brew today too and I was .001 off my supposed starting gravity, must be in the air!

 

[Reverend JC]

being off by .001 is not a huge deal at all. Congrats to both of you and welcome to your new obsession. You will realize what i mean in about.............ohhhhhh...............i give you 3 months. At that point you will start buying equipment and trying to figure out how to turn that garden hose into a counter flow chiller.

 

[DeathBrewer]

.001 sounds like you did just fine...anyway, did you adjust for temp?

doesn't matter...as long as it tastes good and has alcohol!

congrats on your first brews!

 

[dibby33]

Congrats. 1 brew of 10,000,000...

 

[jay8s]

There will be more, much more. I really enjoyed the whole process.

John

 

[jpuf]

Welcome aboard! Don't sweat the hydro, the brew will be fine.

 

[jay8s]

I have lots of bubbling this morning. All looks so good as of now.

John

 

[BierMuncher]

I brewed my First beer today, a Wit from Brewers Best. I think I did pretty good. I had the biggest trouble cooling my wort, it took well over an hour. I just missed my og by .001. I guess we will see what happens in a monthish.

John

Nicely done...

A couple of bits of advice:

1) Order more and get brewing again. If you need to get another fermenter, get one...get two. Brewing again will help you forget that one and you'll be less likely to dick around with it.

B) When you bottle, set aside a six pack and completely forget about it. You'll be able to dip into those beers over the next few months and see how beer improves with age. You'll also have an extra bottle or two for a one-year brewing anniversary. Cracking a bottle on it's one year birthday is very satisfying.

4) I disagree with "don't sweat the hydro..." Hydrometers will tell you how the beer is progressing. Without taking readings you won't know...is the beer finished fermenting...what is the ABV% of my beer...what can I expect next time if I do the same recipe...do I need to tweak the recipe to get a higher or lower ABV%...

I'm 160 gallons into this year and I stil l rely heavily on my hydrometer. It's how my beer "talks" to me...

D) When in doubt, refer to item #1.

 

[jay8s]

Whoo hoo another St. Louis person!!! Where are you located in town? I am in the Overland area.

John

 

[Moonpile]

I brewed my First beer today, a Wit from Brewers Best. I think I did pretty good. I had the biggest trouble cooling my wort, it took well over an hour. I just missed my og by .001. I guess we will see what happens in a monthish.

John

How were you cooling the wort? What size is your kettle? Were you doing a concentrated boil?

We have a 5 gal pot and usually do a concentrated boil of about 3.75 gal. Walmart sells keg tubs for $8. Put the kettle in and fill it with water. Wait until the water starts to get hot. Remove the kettle, dump the water, put ice and water in there and replace the kettle. That usually cools our wort in 20 to 30 min.

 

[jay8s]

I did a water bath with ice in it. I was quick to 100, but slow to 70. I did a 4 gal boil in a 6 gal pot.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Nicely done...

A couple of bits of advice:

1) Order more and get brewing again. If you need to get another fermenter, get one...get two. Brewing again will help you forget that one and you'll be less likely to dick around with it.

B) When you bottle, set aside a six pack and completely forget about it. You'll be able to dip into those beers over the next few months and see how beer improves with age. You'll also have an extra bottle or two for a one-year brewing anniversary. Cracking a bottle on it's one year birthday is very satisfying.

4) I disagree with "don't sweat the hydro..." Hydrometers will tell you how the beer is progressing. Without taking readings you won't know...is the beer finished fermenting...what is the ABV% of my beer...what can I expect next time if I do the same recipe...do I need to tweak the recipe to get a higher or lower ABV%...

I'm 160 gallons into this year and I stil l rely heavily on my hydrometer. It's how my beer "talks" to me...

D) When in doubt, refer to item #1.

BierMuncher is 100% correct. I ordered one equipment kit and I was hooked. Less than 3 months later I've brewed 10 batches, ordered a 2nd complete equipment kit, a bottling bucket, a 6.5 gallon glass carboy, 12 cases of bottles, a burner, an immersion chiller, and I'm already trying to work my way up to AG.

Most addictive thing I've done. I thought poker was bad, but this is way more addictive. When I sit at the poker table I don't always win. When I brew a batch of beer, I *always* have 2 cases of my brew to drink in a few weeks.

Oh, and a hydrometer is a brewer's best friend... along with a big ass burner and an immersion chiller.

Enjoy the obsession!

 

[jay8s]

Well I bottled today.

I have the bug now. I am starting to look into DIY Ag setups. I found the whole process very relaxing, and quite fun.

I will be holding onto the VERY FIRST bottle bottled and capped. Might have that one for a while, but I will be keeping a few for their one year making day.

Thanks for all your help guys, I am looking forward to more help, and more fun with this!!!!

John