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Newbie in beer land!
Hello to all, or should I say Cheers!
I am so excited! I have my VERY first batch in the bucket and I love watching the air lock bubble! I can't wait for a taste of my first brew. I want to learn how to brew from scratch, but for now I am brewing a John Bull Pilsner. I want to try all the different ones out there and find my dream drink. I am not familliar with stout, but I will give it a shot. I am open to any recipes or suggestions, as well as DO NOT'S in beer making. Help me if ya can.....I am shooting blind on this. I bought my bottles (12 ounce) and i plan on washing them in my dishwasher. If you think of things I need to do, let me know.
Thanks for your help and to this forum!
chuckstardust
Hey Chuck, relative newbie myself as well. I'm doing my second batch today. You can wash your bottles in the dishwasher, but make sure you sanitize them afterwards, and let them air dry. You can get bottle tree for around $25 which makes drying easier. The only other thing I can tell you is be patient. I wanted to keep popping my primary open to catch a peek, but I was told that's a no-no. The sweet smell doesn't make it any easier. My first was an Amber ale that came with my kit, and today I'm doing a high-gravity wheat ale. Also, having an extra helper makes racking more smooth, at least I thought it would doing it solo. And remember, just because you are using extract, you still are brewing from scratch. Not many people start off with all-grain right away. Either way, it's YOUR beer, you made it, even if you're following someone elses recipe....cheers!
You can do the dishwasher trick, but DO NOT USE DISHWASHER SOAP! Just the hot water will sanitize them adequately. The soap will stick to the inside of the bottles - it doesn't take much to give the beer that soapy taste. The bottle tree is a huge help, I'd also recommend a sanitizer thingie that sits on top of the tree. It shoots the solution into the bottle, a couple of pumps, pop it on the tree, and you're good to go once they dry.
Hey...Thanks for the words of encouragement and help. Makes me really glad I found this place.
IThanks,
Chuck Stardust
Welcome to the hobby.
Working with kits is a great way to get started. Then you can start to see what you like and what techniques work for you and how other people change their processes to suit their needs.
I would encourage you to start doctoring kits slightly after you have a few batches done to start learning how different ingredients change the final product.
Then you are well on your way to quality recipe development.
As for bottling, I would use a no rinse sanitizer after the dishwasher. That way you don't have to wait for the bottles to completely dry before packaging. When I got around to bottleing I wanted it to be done as soon as possible, I never wanted to wait for bottles to dry.
Good luck.
Ok all, I waited 1 week to sample it, and Saturday I busted one open to try.....OH PRETTY GOOD! A little bitter aftertaste, but I bought the book by Palmer and if I understand correctly, another week or two and it will mellow out. My overall impressions are that it is a FANTASTIC beer, one I might very well try again. I went out this week and bought me a Brewferm Triple beer extract and three pounds of Amber Malt. I followed the insructions in Mr. Palmers book, and let me tell ya, the fermintation began a LOT faster than just pouring the yeast in the fermenter. I cooled down some sterile water and poured in the dried yeast, then pitched it when the temperature was right. I took meticulous notes on what i did this time, I EVEN shot an OG on this one, so MAYBE I will know the alcohol content. This is a fascinating hobby! Thanks to you all, my learning is accelerated!
Brewed: John Bull Pilsner
Fermenting: Brewferm Triple Abbey
Later,
Chuck 
Hi, one thing I would like to add. Get a secondary fermenter, it will greatly improve the taste and clarity of your brew. You can also use it to add flavors such as fruits (try a cherry wheat). Another added bonus - you can ALWAYS HAVE TWO BATCHES GOING!
I would like to add that I have used the dishwasher to drip dry my bottles. Since I can't buy everything I want all at once I decided that the bottle jet washer would be first and maybe a bottle tree later on but for now, after sanitizing the bottles I rinse them and place them in the freshly run dishwasher racks to dry.
It has worked so far.
I just use the dishwasher without soap, on the "Hot Wash" cycle & let them dry. Put them in the box, lay some plastic wrap on the top to keep 'em sterile, fill, plastic back on top, cap. I use the 22oz. bottles.
No problems.
hello fellow bewer. i am also new to this about 6 months and six batches. i would also recomend a second fermentor makes the beer much better. Cherry wheat is a great beer i am just starting my second batch. first one used extract this one real fruit. The best beeer i have made so far has been an irish red yummy!! good brew= good times.
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