New guy from MN

[DougK]

Hello all,

Total newbie here. I have yet to brew anything yet, though that should be changing here real soon. I ordered this starter kit: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewers-starter-kit-bundle.html through Groupon (Still active: http://www.groupon.com/deals/midwest-hydroponic-and-homebrewing-supplies-llc). The store is close enough that I'm planning to just go to the store this weekend to pick it up, rather than have it shipped.


A little about myself: I am a software engineer from the Twin-Cities metro area. My job has me travelling all around the globe. To date, I have been to Singapore, Ireland (Even had time to Tour St Jame's Gate while I was there!), Germany (During Oktoberfest even), Ethiopia (Surprisingly, they have decent beer), and Saudi Arabia (Their beer sucks!).


I can't really say I have a favorite beer, or even a favorite type. Ever since travelling to Germany, I have found I really don't care for any of the "commercial" American beers. Leininkuegal's Honey Weiss is one of my go-to beers when I go out to a bar with a limited selection.


I've been scouring the web looking for information and whatnot in regards to brewing, just soaking up everything I can find. I'm in the process of reading John Palmer's book and have been looking at just about everything I can find of interest on YouTube. I've been surprised by the width and breadth of all of the different types of brewing methods and equipment.


That's enough for now, I'm sure I'll be coming up with questions as I really get into it.


Cheers!

 

[mcbaumannerb]

Welcome to the obsession - and don't over think it. Get the kit and I'd suggest the stout as your first brew and go home and do it! Read to much and you can suffer analysis paralysis! Do a brew (just follow directions and you'll be fine) and what you read will mean much more. Good luck!

 

[Billy-Klubb]

and look into sampling as many Belgian styles as you can!

 

[DougK]

I've got my first brew in the fermenter right now.

It wasn't too bad, but I can tell I am going to need a bigger brew pot, as the one I have is just a little on the small side.


Now I just have to sit and wait.

 

[Antler]

I've got my first brew in the fermenter right now.

It wasn't too bad, but I can tell I am going to need a bigger brew pot, as the one I have is just a little on the small side.

Now I just have to sit and wait.

That's the hardest part of brewing. Waiting. Everything else is just money and research lol

 

[mcbaumannerb]

I would recommend sizing a brew pot to around 8-9 gallons if you're pretty confident you'll stick to 5 gallon batches or 15-20 if you think you'll step up to 10 gallon. That's a tough one to really know after one batch but good luck!

p.s. - Do you best to control the temptation to time the rate of bubbles in the fermenter or crack open the lid and see what's going on. As long as the temp is in range for your yeast, just let them do their work!

 

[DougK]

I would recommend sizing a brew pot to around 8-9 gallons if you're pretty confident you'll stick to 5 gallon batches or 15-20 if you think you'll step up to 10 gallon. That's a tough one to really know after one batch but good luck!

p.s. - Do you best to control the temptation to time the rate of bubbles in the fermenter or crack open the lid and see what's going on. As long as the temp is in range for your yeast, just let them do their work!

I was thinking I'd get an 8 gallon stock pot for now, as that would still work with my stove top. I figure anything bigger will require getting an actual burner, and it isn't exactly warm here right now, so boiling water outside might be problematic. Besides, having BOTH isn't such a bad thing if I decide to scale up again and/or move on to all grain.


The plan was to give it a full 2 weeks, regardless of what the fermenter is doing. Then the finished product should be ready in time for my birthday in early March.


I was actually kind of surprised to see it merrily bubbling away this morning, I had read that liquid yeasts can take a few days to start fermenting.

 

[manofleisure]

I see a few new members from MN. Welcome.

Midwest is great for supplies. I have my first batch (after a very long break) bottle conditioning now for a couple more weeks. Heading to Midwest tomorrow for supplies for the next batch. It's great that you can order online and pick up in the store. You can save a lot in shipping and still get your reward points.