The brewing starts - TODAY!

[SevenOaks]

Greetings all. Today I will begin my home brewing career with my first batch, Caribou Slobber, from an extract kit. I will start with a one gallon, stove-top batch and quickly succumb to the predicted addiction, then clean out the garage get the 5-gallon equipment and get going!

Thanks for all the great information I've already gleaned from this site!

 

[tre9er]

Welcome, good luck. Pay special attention to the details of time, temperature, and sanitation. At each stage, these are important. Feel free to ask questions.

When you go to 5g AG batches, I recommend just getting a large enough pot to do single-vessel BIAB. That is the cheapest/easiest way to get 5g batches of all-grain cranked out.

 

[adpostel]

What else do you do on a rainy day?.... I'm down the street from you in Clear Lake, I haven't done my first batch yet, but I have everything ready to go, including two mini-mash kits.... Glad to see I am not the only one in the area taking the plunge. Good Luck! Keep us updated on how it goes......

 

[SevenOaks]

Well, the brown ale is in the fermenter and I am enjoying a Big Bear Black Stout. Unfortunately, that is more of a consulation than a celebration. My recipe kit was short the 7 gr pkg of hops so all I had was the 3.5 gr pack so I added that at the beginning of the boil instead of the last 15 minutes. Who knows how that will turn out, but I will brew the Honey Porter kit tomorrow and I've already confirmed that the kit is complete. At least I've found a local source for this most excellent California stout!

 

[adpostel]

Awesome!! I'm still working on my itsy bitsy brewery in my garage and re-arranging things to accomodate everything. Will do some more today, then Monday and Tuesday.... Wish I had time, I'd have gone over for moral support....

 

[Rhumbline]

It's an exciting time init?

I'm only a few brews ahead of you but the best thing I've learned is to just chill. Everything usually works out just fine.

Happy brewing!

 

[SevenOaks]

I have some amazing news. I had ordered my one-gallon startup kit from Northern Brewer so I sent them an email just to let them know about the shortage on the hops. No big deal, really, just thought they should know. To my pleasant surprise I got a reply just a few minutes later saying they would send me another Caribou Slobber kit or the recipe of my choice. I took them up on their most-appreciated offer and will get to try brewing the brown ale again as soon as next week. That, my friends, is GREAT customer service and Northern Brewer is certain to continue to get my business!

In the meantime, after brewing up the Honey Porter this morning (without a hitch, BTW), I have both brews sitting in my swamp cooler and the whacked brown ale is fermenting away at 68F. I expect the porter to get busy before too long, too.

Now the hard part - patience ...

 

[Cyclman]

Welcome to the group, good to hear a supplier standing behind their products.