dmcman73
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- Joined
- Apr 28, 2013
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So I made my very first extract brew about a month ago, a Heff, and I was able to finally drink it this weekend and I am very pleased with it.
Thanks to this Forum I took the advice from some of the other threads and skipped bottling and went right to kegging my very first batch and forced Carbed it with CO2 and I am glad I did. I was looking at the 48+ bottles I had saved up on and was dreading having to clean and sanitize each and everyone of them, it reminded me of when I used to make fresh tomato sauce with my grandparents and having to wash and sanitize all of the Ball Mason jars, was not a fan.
The first thing I did do was upgrade my Brew kettle. I had purchased a "beginners" (read, really thin walled) kettle and after I finished brewing I noticed what looked like faint scorch marks at the bottom of it. They weren't bad, they actually outlined the electric coil from my stove, a sign that the bottom of the kettle is just too thin. I bought a brew kettle with a thicker base to evenly distribute the heat.
My next brew is going to be a Pumpkin Ale, I'm just waiting for my ingredients to arrive. It's a great learning experience and an awesome hobby that helps you relax during the brew and after it's all done, that is until the keg is empty.
The only thing I'm up in the air about, and there are dozens of topics on it but with no real "answer" is secondary fermenting. Are there certain brews that benefit from secondary? Are there some brews that should NOT be fermented using a secondary and should just remain in primary? Or is it all out of preference or what you feel comfortable doing?
Thanks all!
Thanks to this Forum I took the advice from some of the other threads and skipped bottling and went right to kegging my very first batch and forced Carbed it with CO2 and I am glad I did. I was looking at the 48+ bottles I had saved up on and was dreading having to clean and sanitize each and everyone of them, it reminded me of when I used to make fresh tomato sauce with my grandparents and having to wash and sanitize all of the Ball Mason jars, was not a fan.
The first thing I did do was upgrade my Brew kettle. I had purchased a "beginners" (read, really thin walled) kettle and after I finished brewing I noticed what looked like faint scorch marks at the bottom of it. They weren't bad, they actually outlined the electric coil from my stove, a sign that the bottom of the kettle is just too thin. I bought a brew kettle with a thicker base to evenly distribute the heat.
My next brew is going to be a Pumpkin Ale, I'm just waiting for my ingredients to arrive. It's a great learning experience and an awesome hobby that helps you relax during the brew and after it's all done, that is until the keg is empty.
The only thing I'm up in the air about, and there are dozens of topics on it but with no real "answer" is secondary fermenting. Are there certain brews that benefit from secondary? Are there some brews that should NOT be fermented using a secondary and should just remain in primary? Or is it all out of preference or what you feel comfortable doing?
Thanks all!
