First Brew

JJDynomite said:
Well Ok... Time for me to chime in:

I am so pleased to see that the homebrewing spirit is still alive and well. And I'm psyched to see this post on one of my favorite message boards! Congrats and cheers to a job well done!
Oh by the way, I'm a professional craft brewer who got his start by homebrewing in college. Fire away or PM me if you have any questions. I'll always try to help.

Cheers,

Jeremy
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Wow! Thanks for the offer Jeremy. I may just have to take you up on that. This seems like the kind of thing that has so many layers and levels of knowledge required. The basics are somewhat straightforward but, after talking to a few people an hearing stories about them cultivating different yeast strains, working with grains I really haven't even heard of and the seemingly limitless additives and adjuncts I have so much to learn.

I did very much enjoy my first brew and look forward to the next one!
 
outdoorsfan said:
Wow! Thanks for the offer Jeremy. I may just have to take you up on that. This seems like the kind of thing that has so many layers and levels of knowledge required. The basics are somewhat straightforward but, after talking to a few people an hearing stories about them cultivating different yeast strains, working with grains I really haven't even heard of and the seemingly limitless additives and adjuncts I have so much to learn.

I did very much enjoy my first brew and look forward to the next one!
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Atta Boy! Brew good!
 
So this past Saturday was bottling day. On a friend's recommendation, I went to this place for supplies...

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The shop was great, very helpful staff and judging by the selection of ingredients and gear, I have a long way to go and a lot to learn!

I picked up these basics...

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The sugar tabs were a tip from a buddy and I needed some additional sanitizer as well as the capper and crowns.

Here's my bottle prep...the bottles were washed well and sanitized.

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You can also see the racking cane, which is used to draw the brew from the fermenter as well as the bottling pot. The fermenter still has the airlock in it.

Here's the bottling process midway...I was alone and couldn't really figure out how to fill a bottle and snap a pic at the same time.

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A knife is always handy...

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And here's the crowns being put on.

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One sugar tab is added to each bottle (two for the big bottles) and the beer is added and then capped. The additional "priming" sugar helps to reactivate the yeast and carbonate the beer in the bottle.

Some of the finished product...

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I netted the equivalent of nine bottles as I had a bit of an issue with the racking cane. I kept losing suction and then having to re-prime the tubing with sanitizer. I should have ended up with ten bottles but, oh well, gotta break some eggs I guess....

The beer smells fantastic! It is sweet, almost syrupy, and I think should be really good.

I didn't have time to brew my second batch yet but will be doing so very soon!
 
awesome. thanks for the update. how long does it have to sit before you can drink it?
 
Wow that's a cool process! Thanks for the pics. :) :thumbup:
It's gonna be a long two weeks I bet. Can't wait to see the taste test.
 
Getting really antsy...it's like when John ships your knife and there are those final few days of anticipation.

I hope it turns out!
 
Success!

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Really pleased with how this turned out (and that it did turn out)! Very rich, chocolate notes with a touch of the maple and a little hoppyness in there too.

This was very fun and I wish I wouldn't have waited this long to do it myself. Looking forward to batch #2!
 
You're gonna make me go grab some beers from the store just so I can drink a beer. Ha!

Looks like you're having fun brewing! Nice man!
 
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