First Homebrew Batch Complete!

[Scarpozzi]

I picked up a homebrew kit 2 weeks ago because I have some time and brain cells to kill. My first selection was a Bavarian Hefeweizen...it's malt extract, hops, and water....hard to screw up. OG was 1.045 after cooking it for an hour. I let the wort ferment for a week in a primary bucket and moved it last Wednesday to a plastic carboy for second fermentation. I wasn't seeing much action in the airlock the past few days so I decided to go ahead with priming and bottling.

Final Gravity was 1.010 which yields ~4.74% ABV. I got 46 bottles out of this batch after transferring the beer twice and leaving a lot of sediment, hops, and generally bad stuff behind. The beer smells great and from the stuff I spilled on my hands during bottling tastes good, but I won't know about the body and final flavor for another 2-3 weeks after the yeast does its job and carbonates my beer.

Wish me luck! I'm excited about my first batch...it did come from a kit, but it's a safe way to get into brewing and possibly get some support from my wife in this hobby. She's finally supporting my gun hobbies after some coaxing and a few trips to the range. :beer:

 

[dougp]

I kindly request that you send me some for testing.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

It's a fun hobby. Once you get beyond the "damn, I hope this works" stage you quickly move to the mad scientist phase where you try all sorts of odd recipes and new ingredients.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Congrats! You should always check to see if the final gravity matches the suggested f.g. for the type of brew rather than making a judgement on the level of activity you saw. I don't know the batch size you were using but, a standard 5 gallon batch usually makes 54 bottles or, two cases and a six pack. Good luck!

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
It's a fun hobby. Once you get beyond the "damn, I hope this works" stage you quickly move to the mad scientist phase where you try all sorts of odd recipes and new ingredients.

I'm just caught up in the whole science of it. It was really fun calculating the alcohol and seeing that the yeast actually did something. I got a good video of the bubbles coming out of the airlock. I have a feeling this is going to turn out MUCH better than that Mr. Beer kit my parents got me 4 years ago.

An auto-siphon made the whole process a breeze. It made it possible to transfer beer easily and bottle without rigging a spigot that might leak. I'd be tempted to get into kegging once I get over the sticker-shock of the equipment I just bought to get into this. Good equipment doesn't mean good beer, but it does help reduce the risk of contamination (right equipment for the job) and makes the process much easier.

 

[Barfo]

Congrats on your fancy moonshine.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Congrats! You should always check to see if the final gravity matches the suggested f.g. for the type of brew rather than making a judgement on the level of activity you saw. I don't know the batch size you were using but, a standard 5 gallon batch usually makes 54 bottles or, two cases and a six pack. Good luck!

The final gravity was suggested to be 1.08-1.012....I split the difference at 1.010....so not bad.

When I measured 5 gallons, that included the hops (pellet form) and was a bucket measurement as I did a reduced boil. I'm thinking I threw out a decent amount of beer in the first week because I just left it in the bucket... I hated to waste so much, but didn't want that gunk in my finished product. As I get more confidence in the second firmentation to bottling, I probably won't be as picky about what all I transfer over. My second firmentation was pretty clear when I started with nothing floating in it and the only sediment on the bottom was a white film....very nice for a hefeweizen. I'm thinking this is going to turn out nicely despite me being down 8 bottles from the max output.

If it were a darker beer, I probably wouldn't be as picky...but this has a nice light brown color to it....very smooth and balanced.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Did you have any trouble getting hops? My local homebrew store has a pretty strict limit on how much you can buy.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Did you have any trouble getting hops? My local homebrew store has a pretty strict limit on how much you can buy.

Try growing your own. A buddy of mine started some, and they'll grow like a weed, they do here in MD anyway.

 

[TallBill]

Mmm, sounds like a fun hobby.

 

[Adam8281]

Congrats on your new hobby! I've been homebrewing for about 4.5 years and have made about 16 batches. I get a similar yield as you, normally 46-50 bottles, due to the sediment you leave behind. I second your love of the autosiphon. After about 14 batches I finally bought one, and I couldn't believe what I was missing! One of my favorite things about homebrewing is that it is a great way to build relationships. I often give away 4-packs or 6-packs to colleagues, professors, etc., and I've found that it's a great way to start building a friendship.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Did you have any trouble getting hops? My local homebrew store has a pretty strict limit on how much you can buy.

I actually used a kit...I'm not into the recipes yet...just getting my feet wet at this point. I'll be doing more specialized recipes when I try to get my production costs lower. Right now, the kit I'm using is running me $1.31/beer. I plan on getting it to .40/beer if I get a real setup to cook some mash rather than relying on the extract.

I haven't heard of any limits on hops through the shop I'm dealing with....but my kit included pellets so I didn't buy any. I'm sure there might be limits depending on where you are what their stocks are. A brew shop without hops wouldn't sell much of anything...they may just be holding out so they can keep everyone coming back. As soon as a place turns someone down completely because they're out of something, they'll start looking for another source. I'm tempted to try growing my own since my family has plenty of land...I think it'd be cool to save a little here and there if they're not too much trouble to maintain.