bottled the first batch!

[wortchillergoal]

Originally Posted by The collector

Oh and the head retention is insane!

If you want to make sure you keep that good head retention, make sure the glassware you serve your beer in is clean. Dirty glassware will kill head retention faster than the cop knocking on the car window.

Dru hoping is easy and there is no need top sanitize the hops. I just add mine to the secondary when I rack in to the secondary fermenter.

[Mikegobrew]

I just dump the priming solution in the bottom of the bucket without waiting for it to cool. It cools real fast with a small amount in the bottom of the bucket. Then I transfer the wort on top. No need to stir, but I usually take the siphon hose and gently swirl the beer a little bit. You are better off not stirring this as the transfer will mix it than oxidizing by stirring too much. I doubt you will get bottle bombs. The only time I've ever had one was when I didn't get a bottle clean enough in the bottom edges because I used to share then ask for bottles back. People don't clean them well enough. Now, I don't share.

And I wouldn't do the wisk like Malty said, unless you find a solid one and only use it for brewing. The airstones are nice setups and you don't have to use oxygen, they make in-line filters to sanitize the air if you want. I don't worry about it and use unsanitized air and have never had a problem myself.

[Mill Rat]

This is one those "relax, don't worry..." moments. I still use muslin bags for leaf hops, because they tend to clog the pickup tube for my counterflow chiller. The muslin won't melt and stink like the nylon might. I also hang the hop bags from a clip on the side of the kettle when I'm drawing it down and get more wort out of the spent hops. The pellets just go straight in, and I whirlpool the wort prior to chilling so I can get the trub and hops to pile up in the middle and I can draw from the side, then.

[The collector]

UPDATE
Yes I still have some left lol. Want to order my next kit maybe this week.
It turned out really well. Gave away about 8 of them and had nothing but great reviews. But I did have one volcano and another that was close to it.