Going to give homebrewing a try

[Anthony]

Yeah, brewing outside is not really a viable option in Upstate NY (at least not from November to May)

 

[badhangover]

In this weather, I agree. But wort can be gooey messy. And hella' hot! I'd rather mess around with it over the lawn.

 

[Anthony]

Thanks to all the great knowledge between here an the HBT forums, I felt very comfortable making it through my first brew day. Everything went smoothly for the most part.

A couple of minor hitches:
1. While cooling the wort, I used a digital thermometer to monitor the temperature drop and it hung up around 130 degrees. I was starting to get frustrated that it was taking so long when I figured I should check with another thermometer. Sure enough, it was actually down to almost 70 degrees. (Stuck the digital probe right in the ice bath to see what would happen - went down to 120, stupid thing isn't working)

2. Expected OG for the recipe was 1.041, and I ended at 1.049. Mixed the wort really well, checked it twice. Realized later the recipe called for 5.25 gallons - not 5 gallons, so maybe that's part of the issue.

Anway, I now have an AHS Sessions American Amber Ale in primary. Currently sitting at 65 degrees, just waiting for the yeast to get to work.

Oh, and I tasted it when I checked my OG before pitching the yeast. It was actually pretty good - like sweet flat ale.

 

[Anthony]

Airlock is bubbling away! And the stuff definitely smells like beer.

 

[mcavoyd]

Thanks to all the great knowledge between here an the HBT forums, I felt very comfortable making it through my first brew day. Everything went smoothly for the most part.

A couple of minor hitches:
1. While cooling the wort, I used a digital thermometer to monitor the temperature drop and it hung up around 130 degrees. I was starting to get frustrated that it was taking so long when I figured I should check with another thermometer. Sure enough, it was actually down to almost 70 degrees. (Stuck the digital probe right in the ice bath to see what would happen - went down to 120, stupid thing isn't working)

Get you a wort chiller. Much easier to cool down. Very important to cool as fast as possible to desired temp.

 

[sporkd2]

Thanks to all the great knowledge between here an the HBT forums, I felt very comfortable making it through my first brew day. Everything went smoothly for the most part.

A couple of minor hitches:
1. While cooling the wort, I used a digital thermometer to monitor the temperature drop and it hung up around 130 degrees. I was starting to get frustrated that it was taking so long when I figured I should check with another thermometer. Sure enough, it was actually down to almost 70 degrees. (Stuck the digital probe right in the ice bath to see what would happen - went down to 120, stupid thing isn't working)

2. Expected OG for the recipe was 1.041, and I ended at 1.049. Mixed the wort really well, checked it twice. Realized later the recipe called for 5.25 gallons - not 5 gallons, so maybe that's part of the issue.

Anway, I now have an AHS Sessions American Amber Ale in primary. Currently sitting at 65 degrees, just waiting for the yeast to get to work.

Oh, and I tasted it when I checked my OG before pitching the yeast. It was actually pretty good - like sweet flat ale.

I went through a bunch of thermometers which caused me to mash way to high 3 batches in a row. Spent 100$ on a thermapen so i never have to worry about it again lol

 

[smellysell]

Thanks to all the great knowledge between here an the HBT forums, I felt very comfortable making it through my first brew day. Everything went smoothly for the most part.

A couple of minor hitches:
1. While cooling the wort, I used a digital thermometer to monitor the temperature drop and it hung up around 130 degrees. I was starting to get frustrated that it was taking so long when I figured I should check with another thermometer. Sure enough, it was actually down to almost 70 degrees. (Stuck the digital probe right in the ice bath to see what would happen - went down to 120, stupid thing isn't working)

Get you a wort chiller. Much easier to cool down. Very important to cool as fast as possible to desired temp.

That's actually basically been disproved. Seems to be one of many "laws of homebrewing" that aren't actually true.

 

[Anthony]

It was still cooled in under an hour, so I'm not too worried. There are guys that do 'no chill' brewing with good results too.

Anyway, today's been 10 days in primary, tomorrow I'll take my first SG reading to see where we are. So far everything has been good.

 

[souldog]

That's actually basically been disproved. Seems to be one of many "laws of homebrewing" that aren't actually true.

Really? Tell me more. My LHBS owner swears by a wort chillar...

 

[jfields]

That's actually basically been disproved. Seems to be one of many "laws of homebrewing" that aren't actually true.

Really? Tell me more. My LHBS owner swears by a wort chillar...

I've already started wondering if a wort chiller is necessary. It only takes me about 15-20 minutes to get the wort cooled down in my sink, changing the water a few times.

 

[sporkd2]

That's actually basically been disproved. Seems to be one of many "laws of homebrewing" that aren't actually true.

Really? Tell me more. My LHBS owner swears by a wort chillar...

You get two main benefits from chilling your wort quickly:
1. You can pitch your yeast quickly so that any infections wont have time to make a home inside your beer.
2. By chilling quickly you get "cold break" which causes some proteins in your beer to bond together and fall out of suspension. However, letting your beer crash cool for a few weeks takes care of this too (ie. kegging). The only people that really need to chill quickly IMHO is bottlers whose beer doesn't get chilled until they get ready to drink it. This is often why you get "chill haze"

 

[mcavoyd]

Thanks to all the great knowledge between here an the HBT forums, I felt very comfortable making it through my first brew day. Everything went smoothly for the most part.

A couple of minor hitches:
1. While cooling the wort, I used a digital thermometer to monitor the temperature drop and it hung up around 130 degrees. I was starting to get frustrated that it was taking so long when I figured I should check with another thermometer. Sure enough, it was actually down to almost 70 degrees. (Stuck the digital probe right in the ice bath to see what would happen - went down to 120, stupid thing isn't working)

Get you a wort chiller. Much easier to cool down. Very important to cool as fast as possible to desired temp.

That's actually basically been disproved. Seems to be one of many "laws of homebrewing" that aren't actually true.

I'm going to have to disagree with you here. Your chances increase as time passes in which bacteria/contamination can come into contact with the wort. Therefore I do feel it is important to get the wort to desired temp as quickly as possible. Just my opinion.

 

[souldog]

That's actually basically been disproved. Seems to be one of many "laws of homebrewing" that aren't actually true.

Really? Tell me more. My LHBS owner swears by a wort chillar...

You get two main benefits from chilling your wort quickly:
1. You can pitch your yeast quickly so that any infections wont have time to make a home inside your beer.
2. By chilling quickly you get "cold break" which causes some proteins in your beer to bond together and fall out of suspension. However, letting your beer crash cool for a few weeks takes care of this too (ie. kegging). The only people that really need to chill quickly IMHO is bottlers whose beer doesn't get chilled until they get ready to drink it. This is often why you get "chill haze"

And what is chill haze?

 

[jfields]

Chill Haze

 

[sporkd2]

Chill Haze

exactly:

When a beer is chilled for drinking, these proteins partially precipitate forming a haze. As the beer warms up, the proteins re-dissolve. Only by rapid chilling from near-boiling to room temperature will the Cold Break proteins permanently precipitate and not cause Chill Haze. Chill haze is usually regarded as a cosmetic problem. You cannot taste it. However, chill haze indicates that there is an appreciable level of cold-break-type protein in the beer, which has been linked to long-term stability problems. Hazy beer tends to become stale sooner than non-hazy beer. The following are a few preferred methods for cooling the wort.

 

[smellysell]

I've done probably 10 batches of 'no chill' and will never go back. I haven't noticed any off flavors and they are just as clear as any beer I've made with a chiller (granted they're kegged). To each his own, but if you're interested check out the following link.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/exploring-no-chill-brewing-117111/

 

[Martin2D]

This thread has turned into: "too much thinkin' not enough drinkin'."

 

[smellysell]

This thread has turned into: "too much thinkin' not enough drinkin'."

Get these balls

 

[Anthony]

So anyway... everything looked good this morning when I checked on my brew. SG is at 1.012 (right where I was expecting).

In the fermenter:

Grav:

Not carbed or cleared yet, but the color is about right:

 

[smellysell]

Looks like beer! Congrats

ETA - How'd it taste?