1st brew day in 20 years....

Well, today I am doing my first homebrew since about 94'

Back then I did a couple of all grain batches (an Imperial Stout and an IPA) and I honestly got roped into it by a friend.

Lots has changed in the past two decades. Back then there was no real internet to speak of unless you counted Usenet, and I got into brewing because my friend did it.

Back then I really didn't know much about beer or really enjoy it all that much, but I too have changed a lot and now I'm back at it with a refined palate and much more patience.

So today I'm just doing a simple extract kit from Brewers' Best (I think it's called).

It's their Irish Stout kit. Pretty nice kit to be honest. Great instructions, etc... All the ingredients seem top notch and fresh. Hops smelled perfect and still green, yeast has a good 20 months till the exp. date, so it all seems good.

Right now it's boiling. House smells great.

So I just wanted to say hello (new here) and share the fun.

Next up will be a Biab Flower Power IPA clone.

Welcome back! The internet makes everything easier. I didnt know what I would do without Youtube instructional videos

Cleveland,OH! Yet another Ohioan winds up here. Maybe we should all get together on the stae forum toward the bottom of the list. Midwest or something like that. I guess a lot of us miss all the brewing history in this state. Good farm land for growing grains & hops,good local spring water. Makes the rest of the BS around Ohio tolerable.
It took me some 24 years after quiting wine making to get to brewing beer like pop did for awhile when I was a teen. Started with Cooper's microbrew kit with their OS lager kit-n-kilo brew. Turned out prety good. Now I'm into (I think) my 5th partial mash/partial boil BIAB & I'm loving being able to combine different grains to get different styles tradditional flavors tweaked a bit. Got a partial mash NZ hopped Moari IPA slowing down on the initial fermentation atm. Things brewing are way easier now than when pop was brewing his extra stout...

I've brewed the Irish stout from Brewer's Best Kits and I thought it turned out good but that was a few years ago and I've learned a few thing since then. First is to keep it cooler during the ferment. It makes better tasting beer that way. Second is to not rush it, give it more time in the primary and it tastes better and is ready to drink sooner. Third is that the darker the beer the longer it takes to mature and get the smooth flavor I want. I now keep a stout in the bottles for at least a couple months before I sample and it might be another month before it hits it's peak flavor. To be honest, your IPA will be ready to drink before the stout is and it may be all gone before the stout hits its peak flavor.

Welcome back. And I agree with the above poster. Aside from sanitation temperature is huge. I know it's different by style but I usually keep mine around 68.

My basement is about 68 so I think that will be just right. I plan on leaving it in the primary for about a week, then transferring over to a glass carboy secondary for another week, then bottle. I'll wait at least a month to try it.

So I'm looking at mid June on the stout. Dumb idea probably brewing a stout that'll be ready in the middle of summer...haha Oh well, I love it anyway. The IPA will be timed just right, and the stout will always stay into the fall and winter months so no worries.

I've contemplated a stout but Summer here disagrees. My basement also stays about 68 but I've put mine in a swamp cooler for the first 2 days when the beer temp can be higher than room temp. Initial fermentation can really kick up temp inside your fermenter.

I took a 10 year hiatus before picking up home brewing again. Now it's been 18 months of non-stop fermenting. So, welcome back and enjoy every last drop.

PS a stout is still delicious in summer. Especially on a cool evening next to a fire.

welcome back dude!

I started brewing near the end of my college days and until my son was born and stopped for 18 years. Started up again 2 years ago and am amazed how much better my beer is. Much, much better ingredients all around and easier access.
I wish I would have restarted long ago.
Welcome back to the obsession!

Well things went pretty well.

OG of 1.048

Clean up was a breeze. The only thing I had trouble with was the damn airlock believe it or not......

I was always a glass carboy user....these pails are flimsy and some of the vodka got sucked down into the pail when I pressed the airlock into the small hole and pressed the lid in as well. When the lid popped back up....suck!

Oh well...... A little vodka never hurt anyone.

Like riding a bike!

Just cracked my first watermelon wheat and I highly recommend it!

aryoung1980 said:

I took a 10 year hiatus before picking up home brewing again. Now it's been 18 months of non-stop fermenting. So, welcome back and enjoy every last drop.

PS a stout is still delicious in summer. Especially on a cool evening next to a fire.

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Cool summer evening my butt. Try barely getting into the 80's. Still stouts are good regardless.

Welcome back.

Welcome back to the addiction.

Husk said:

My basement is about 68 so I think that will be just right. I plan on leaving it in the primary for about a week, then transferring over to a glass carboy secondary for another week, then bottle. I'll wait at least a month to try it.

Click to expand...

no. leave it in primary for 3 weeks, bottle it, leave it in the bottle for 3 weeks or more, then chill

Husk said:

My basement is about 68 so I think that will be just right. I plan on leaving it in the primary for about a week, then transferring over to a glass carboy secondary for another week, then bottle. I'll wait at least a month to try it.

Click to expand...

Welcome back. Things have changed in 20 years. I would agree with johnnyhamer, use a swamp cooler for the initial active part of the fermentation. Your basement may be 68F, but your beer will probably be in the mid 70s or higher for a few days.

Also, do yourself and your beer a favor and forget about a secondary after a week. Personally, I would leave a stout in primary for at least three weeks. Unless you are adding fruit, wood, or something else like that, or bulk aging, there is nothing to be gained by racking your beer to secondary. There is nothing about a secondary that magically makes a beer clear (or do anything else) better than it will do anyway in the primary. Let the yeast do their job and you will be rewarded.

Okay guys, I will defer to your superior experience and do a 3 week primary. Sounds good to me. I'm lazy anyway. haha Then a month in the bottles.

So I pitched my yeast at about 70 degrees. It was the yeast included in the kit. Dry Ale yeast in a very tightly vacuumed packet. I rehydrated it first and it got all frothy and nice, looked like it should. I boiled some water, let cool then put the yeast in and covered with tin foil. It was rehydrating for a good hour and a half or 2 hours even.

After I pitched the yeast I put the lid on and shook it around for a good 5 minutes vigorously to get some O in there.

I put it in the basement and put a digital thermometer on the bucket, it's reading 68 degrees down there and the airlock is bubbling away nicely today at 6am when I checked it. About one little glug every 3 seconds or so. So I'm encouraged. So far so good.

I have read Palmers book, and another little thin book which is very simple and to the point and both have given me a lot of knowledge.

For this brew I decided to follow the kit instructions to the T just to see what the results would be. I didn't alter a thing. Well, it said not to squeeze the grain bag but I will admit after I took it out I put in in a collander over a bowl and let it drain some more and then gave it a wee squeeze and put that back in the pot. Didn't want to waste any precious sugars!

I was curious why then only had you do a 20 minute grain steep though? Whatever, we'll see how this turns out just as they instructed. Then I can have a baseline of what to expect and make changes later. I took notes so it's all good.

At 5 gallons my OG was 1.050 so I added an extra quart of water and that brought it down into the target range at 1.048 plus now I'll have a bit extra that will go to waste with the trub.

I decide not to use a campden tab for this batch just to experiment. We shall see in about 7 weeks I guess!

Fun stuff.

sounds like you're in for some good stuff, then. as far as yeast rehydration, 15 minutes or so is plenty, and don't sweat not using a campden tablet. the only time i ever use that is when i'm making wine

I took a break from '94 until October of last year

welcome back to the obsession!