Bottled my first batch today

[Brownbeard]

I put my first batch in bottles today. This was also the first time I got to taste my beer. With gravity readings and pure leftovers, I probably had close to a pint. It was great. It was as good as most commercial ambers I have had. It did have sort of an alcohol kick in the end. I wonder if that will lessen with aging. I don't have a quick siphon deal, so I had some fun with that. In the end, I got a mouth full of Vodka, and siphoned it redneck style. No offense to any rednecks, I am from the sticks myself, probably why I can siphon so well.

[wortchillergoal]

Now comes the hardest part of this hobby, waiting for that beer to carbonate. I always get anxious to see how it turned out.

[paul84043]

Woo Hoo!!
Yup...now the hard part...waiting.

I have found that a little higher temp, say 75 to 80 helps the carbonation process along. I put them in an upstairs room for a week.

Tasting your own beer is quite a kick isn't it!!
Now you know what Green beer tastes like...some are better than others at this stage, but they all go through very profound changes as they mature.

Green, primed beer is typically flat and sweet, but you can pick out the base elements.

Give it a week and try one, if it's fizzy, move it to the basement, hopefully a few degrees cooler, optimally 55 degrees..yeah, right...

Your first batch is going to be gone in a flash, I hope you got your second, and third going.....

My personal theory is "Patience through sheer volume!!"

[Brownbeard]

I really don't drink a lot of beer at home right now. I am stocking up for the hockey season. So, it will last a while. I plan on starting another batch this week. I did the amber for the first batch, I am thinking a pale ale for the 2nd. I met a guy this weekend that has been brewing for several years now, and is going to have me over next week to check out an all grain brew. I think I am ready for that next step. He says he uses a method with an igloo cooler, anyone familiar with that?

[MagTheGrate]

here's a link to a Cooler Brewing System (http://www.morebeer.com/detail.php3?pid=B3-150)

personally, i can't bring myself to do it that way. I'm saving my nickles and dimes and building a 10 gallon stainless steel system.

-Mag

[sullydavid]

Congrats on the first ones in the bottle. I just started back up with plans of having about ten cases stacked up by the start of football season. Well that is now less than a month away and I only have about 4, and that is not from lack of brewing. At least I have a few more pounds of insulation to get me through the winter :)

[YamahaXS]

good job brownbeard!

now, be sure to let that beer sit for at least a week... 10 days will be better.


Spend you anxious energy getting a second batch going, because believe me, your first batch will last all of 2 weeks once you start drinking it.

:D

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by Brownbeard
I really don't drink a lot of beer at home right now. I am stocking up for the hockey season. So, it will last a while.

Yeah. Right. Whatever you say. I thought along those lines when I first started. However, once you taste how good it is, you will want to drink and make more. The more you make the better it gets. The better it gets, the more you drink. You see the pattern here. Then there is the showing off. You want to share with your friends to flaunt your newest best batch. That means even more brewing and drinking.

Whew! I'm rambling. All this talk has made me thirsty. You know what that means.

Seriously, way to go on your first batch. Here's to many more.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Brownbeard
I really don't drink a lot of beer at home right now. I am stocking up for the hockey season. So, it will last a while. I plan on starting another batch this week. I did the amber for the first batch, I am thinking a pale ale for the 2nd. I met a guy this weekend that has been brewing for several years now, and is going to have me over next week to check out an all grain brew. I think I am ready for that next step. He says he uses a method with an igloo cooler, anyone familiar with that?

Congrats on your 1st. I agree with everyone here - it'll go a lot faster than you think. Start a new batch now.

I love all grain brewing. To me, it adds a certain communing with the beer.

One piece of advice, if you know you're going to stick with this obsession and you have the means then consider switching to kegging. I'm forever happy that I did.

[Brownbeard]

I don't really have room for traditional kegging right now. I have told the wife I want a tap-a-draft for christmas.

[MagTheGrate]

I ended up buying a $20 full sized fridge at a garage sale. I can fit a fermenter, 2 kegs and my co2 tank. Fits great on the patio of my apt.

This weekend i installed a faucet in the door.. woot!

[mmmBeer...]

I don't have a quick siphon deal, so I had some fun with that. In the end, I got a mouth full of Vodka, and siphoned it redneck style. No offense to any rednecks, I am from the sticks myself, probably why I can siphon so well.

Before I got my autosiphon (great tool btw), I found the best way to start a siphon was to fill the racking cane and bottling tube with water, and clamp the end. Insert the cane into the bottling container and start the flow into a cup…when beer runs clear clamp and start bottling. Never had any problems with infections, just a little more wastage, but probably safer than using your mouth!

[Beerconnoisseur]

An auto-siphon is a great investment, since it makes transfers a snap, and you don't have the risk of bacterial infection that you might get from starting siphon flow by sucking using your mouth.
Here (http://www.northernbrewer.com/siphon.html) is the link.

One of the things I do when bottling is place an ordinary bucket about half-full of sanitized water directly beneath my bottling bucket with beer. This way, if the hosing slips off, or you do something silly like "turning off" the bottling bucket spigot twice, there won't be a big mess to clean up. I lower the bottles in, and fill them from there. It's nice, since you can quickly rinse any overflow from the bottle, it minimizes wasted beer between bottle transfers, and if a cap slips out of your hands, you can just pick it up and re-cover the bottle. With practice, you can move one bottle while you fill another. Place full bottles on a towel, and you're done...

All-grain brewing is fun for that extra-fine control, but it's not necessary when you're just starting out. There are some styles which demand all-grain brewing, like doppelbocks and a few stouts. But you can get most of the maltiness of an all-grain by soaking added flavoring grains for longer lengths of time. I would try brewing a lager first, although you will need a cold climate (or spare refridgerator and FE600 from morebeer.com) for aging.

[paul84043]

I use the autosipohn exclusively for transferring my beer, It's also fantastic for rinsing out tubing, just conect the tube, place the autosiphon in sanitized solution, or rinse water (I usually have a 5 gallon bucket of solution ready when I do beer stuff) and pump it a few times, it forces the solution through with a decent amount of force. This also rinses out the autosiphon itself.

I usually just line all of my bottles up on a table, taking care not to get them too deep, you don't want the filling hose to catch on one adn knock it over.
I hook up my bottling adapter, bleed off any sanitizer and air into the pan that I boiled my priming sugar in (and subsequently poured out...) and bottle away.

I bottled two batches tonight. My Arrogant Vertical Epic ale and a Black and Tan that is going to be freaking awesome!!!! It smelled Sooooo Gooooodd!!!! ( I had to refrain because I had to run tonight.)
The Black and Tan always amazes me, it's such a simple recipe, but it is so good.
Two batches is a little much for one night, I had to clean nearly 100 bottles and it took me an hour just to bottle.
But...it's worth it!

The belgian wit is awesome and the B&T speaks for itself.

[Brownbeard]

I actually had a buddy give me one of the phil starters. The ones you shake, I suppose that will work for this next batch, then I am getting the auto-siphon sounds really handy.

[Brownbeard]

I checked a couple of my bottles today, I was too curious not to look. There is a thin layer of white at the bottom of the bottle, I am assuming this is from the condtioning. Am I being paranoid. Better add, it has been in the bottle since sunday, 4 days. They are stored at about 72 degrees. Amber ale, FG 1.015.

[Beerconnoisseur]

Yes, sediment at the bottom of the bottle is perfectly normal. The only points I would raise about this are first, you won't want to drink the sediment, so leave the last 1/2" to 1" of liquid in the bottle, and when you pour out the sediment, be sure to rinse the bottle really well with hot water. This last you don't appreciate until you are cleaning bottles for your next batch, yet it makes a HUGE difference in time & elbow grease.

[Brownbeard]

Yeah, I have been drinking some homebrews my buddy gave me for the brew. So, I figured out the bottom inch deal. I think I am gonna brew batch 2 monday night. I realize it is too soon, but I am gonna have to break one out. On monday I mean.

[paul84043]

It's perfectly normal, it's the yeast and protiens left in suspension, mostly yeast. Actually it's the stuff that makes homemade beer so good for you...It's loaded with the entire vitamin B complex, all kinds of minerals, protiens, and tons of soluble fiber.
I hardly even worry about pouring carefully anymore, there's not enough to worry about, it just settles to the bottom of your glass, and it's good for you. Unless you get one from someone that for whatever reason has like 1/4" in the bottom of the bottle!!! I wouldn't drink that much. If it's just a thin layer, don't worry about it at all.
If I'm pouring for a freind or guest, I leave about 1/4" in the bottle, 1" is too much wasted beer.

When drinking a Hefeweizen, I mix it all in.

If you happen to be one of the unfortunate few that are sensetive to it, it could have you running for the bathroom in a couple of hours, but there are those that would also consider that to be a benefit!!

If you are at risk for, or end up with colon, or prostate cancer, you doctor will recommend that you drink either a glass of red wine, or a beer every day. Homebrew is that much better.

No worries mate!!! It's all good, have you tried one yet? I would..

[Brownbeard]

I tried it at bottling, it was actually pretty tasty then. 4 days isn't too soon? Maybe tomorrow for dinner, I will chill one tonight. WOO HOO!!!:D

[barley ben]

I never worry about how much I leave in the bottle. Pour slowly and as soon as you see that creamy looking trail of beer starting to make its way out of the bottle, it's time to stop. As long as you are pouring smooth and slowly, when you see that, you will only lose about 1/8 of an inch beer at the most. Like Paul, I could care less if it gets into my glass. It's probaby the healthiest part of my day.

[Brownbeard]

Doesn't have a bad taste to it?

[barley ben]

Not unless there is alot of it in your bottle. I alway try to leave as much behind during each transfer as possible. That way all you get in your bottle is a tiny amount the was suspended in the beer. I've heard stories of people having a homebrew that had a 1/4 inch in the bottle. I only end up with a tiny film of yeast when I'm done. I don't know if they were makin it sound worse than it really was. Sure seems like a lot to me.

Personally, I think a touch of yeast adds to the natural flavor. Just my opinion.

[MagTheGrate]

The layer of yeast is more then just what was left in suspension. It's the byproduct of the yeast fermenting the corn sugar or dme you added at bottling. It's the trade-off you get for carbonated beer.

On another note, I just kegged a pomagranate heffeweizen i made for my wife tonight. OG 1.052 FG 1.012.

Since the fruit is not in season, I searched around for pure 100% juice. Naked Juices had one that they had added some lemon juice in but wasn't concentrated. Pom brand had on that was from concentrate, but had nothing else added. I went with the Pom, and dumped the big size bottle into the bottom of the keg at racking.

I added it at kegging because I wasn't counting on the sugars in the juice for fermentables, I just wanted them for flavor.

I'm not a huge fan of fruit beers, but even flat this one tastes good. The tart fruit is a good addition i'm thinking! Definately an easy drinking session beer.

-Mag

[Tom C]

I threw 3-4 slices of lemon slices in a keg of german weiss and it gave great lemon flavoring as well. I have been finding that adding some fruit taste at kegging works best.

Tom C