BeerBorg

Oh how young I was. LOL

Posted 14 January 2010 - 04:36 PM

I just bottled my first batch yesterday. I took a sip out of the fermenter and it tasted like warm flat beer, but it was a little bitter. Did I bottle it too soon? Our water around here is horrible, so I boiled up a bunch and used that for brewing. Hopefully that worked. Is that bitter taste something to be concerned about?

Of course it was bitter, it was the WCPA. I've learned so much since then.

A little context for my first post, it directly followed a post which was a video clip from an Austin Powers movie. The clip was about his "enlarger pump".

December 28, 2010 7:30PM

"Just got mine Christmas morning too (MB, not the pump in the prior post)!! January 1 is my brew day. Have read some great stuff on here already, and I'm sure I'll have questions along the way. Here's to a great new obsession (like I need another one...)"

My next post was on January 1, 2011 at 7:56PM

"I just finished brewing my first batch. The Cowboy Golden Lager is my guinea pig batch. I really want it to turn out well, so I can try some of the more creative recipes.
Overall, I was really impressed with how easy it was. Sanitizing was easier than I thought (assuming I did it right), and I can't think of anything that I may have done to screw things up. The waiting is going to be the hardest part I think. Planning on fermenting for 2 weeks, carbonating for 2 weeks and cold conditioning for 2 weeks.
Any tips at this point to make the Golden Lager better, or am I on the right track?"

After being quickly schooled on my conditioning time by Swen and YD, my 4th post proved that I was indeed obsessed on January 3, 2011 at 10:51AM

"Thanks again for the responses. While I'm being patient waiting on my first batch (looks like it is fermenting, foam on top), I thought I would plan out my next 2 brews and place an order while the sale prices are still on. Along with the Cowboy Golden Lager, my kit also included Classic American Blonde Ale and Octoberfest Vienna Lager. I decided on the Jamaica Mon for the Blonde Ale, and Bohemian Bronze for the Octoberfest. While I'm filling out the ingredients for those 2 brews, I'm also ordering a few more accessories. I have another plastic bottling system (gives me a total of 16 plastic bottles while I'm working on emptying some glass ones), a locking spigot and wand combo, and a nylon bottle brush. Anyone have any suggestions on other items to order? Thinking about a 2nd keg, but I don't have the bottle inventory built up yet to do more than one batch at a time. Any essentials that I'm missing?"

Yep. My first brew was barely in the keg for 48 hours and I was ordering more crap already. These past four years have seen that mound of crap...er...brewing equipment continue to grow where I have taken over a large portion of basement storage space much to SWMBO's dismay.

Never would have made it to this point without the Borg, so thanks to everyone who helped and continues to help along the way!

Here is mine

Posted 20 December 2009 - 10:21 PM
I did bottle my beer too soon. I didn't know until after I had bottled it, I tasted the stuff left at the bottom of the keg and it was sweet.
I bottled it because it had been 8 days, no yeast was at the top, the beer was clear, and there was a lot of sediment at the bottom.
This was my first batch. I was thinking if the bottles were hard too soon that maybe I could crack the lids just long enough to relieve the pressure. I would rather risk flat beer than have to buy another set of bottles. does this make sense?

Here is my second post:

FrozenInTime wrote:
Welcome to the Borg The_Professor!

Thanks.
Please don't assimilate me...

Then someone who's account has been deleted over there (Guest__*) wrote:

Too late, u dun ben assimilated'd'd'd!

The old posts don't go back as far as I was active on that forum I think. I can't find any totally "newbie" posts, but I wasn't actually a "newbie" then anyways, just a "returning from retirement" as such.

The oldest post I found was this in reference to a post/pic by "More Beer Here" (remember him?) regarding a Coopers IPA kit/beer porn he posted.

I actually have a batch of this very thing that I split between 2 Mr. Beer fermenters conditioning right now. Won't be cracking one of them open for a few more weeks at least, but I sure hope it comes out as yummy as yours looks. It was pretty tasty when I sampled my hydrometer test considering it was all trubby.
I have another batch of a coopers "Real Ale" that I hopped up with some cluster that I'm going to be bottling in just a few days. I did a hydrometer reading today, and think it's done but going to wait just a wee bit longer and let it clear a bit more. It also tasted pretty good for a flat bitter green trubby beer.
I was skeptical but found that I like the yeast that comes with the cooper kits, and just use it when I have it.

I believe I actually wasn't as big of a fan of the finished Coopers IPA after conditioning as I was with the Real Ale. The Real Ale made a good steam beer with the cluster. The IPA was not bad, but had that Pride of Ringwood twang on the finish.

Found my first post....

"I really goofed up. I forgot to sanitize the cardboard box that I stored my bottled beer in. Am I going to have to throw them all away now?"

That was answered by quite a few folks, who all said I should send the beer to them for proper disposal.

joechianti wrote:Found my first post....

"I really goofed up. I forgot to sanitize the cardboard box that I stored my bottled beer in. Am I going to have to throw them all away now?"

That was answered by quite a few folks, who all said I should send the beer to them for proper disposal.

And it was this very post that, as a gullible noob, the Brewbirds created their mantra:

Thanks JoeC I've been sanitizing my boxes ever since.

As far as I can tell, this was how I popped my cherry:

Posted 29 January 2010 - 10:54 PM

I'm new to this as well - just poured my first WCPA tonight as well but never thought about taking pictures and posting here as beer porn [http://community]

I did 2 weeks fermenting, 2 weeks carbonating (??) and 2 days in the fridge. The beer was clear and crisp, tasted pretty good but didn't have much carbonation either. I've kept the keg and bottles in my closet where the temp is between 65-70 (estimating) and am wondering if the carbonation will increase if I leave them in there for a few more days before moving the fridge?

My plan was to move to the fridge for a few days before drinking but not spending an excessive amount of time in there. I got the deluxe kit so I'm using the 1-liter PET bottles and thought at first that maybe the caps weren't screwed on 100% tight, but from reading in here tonight it seems that carbonation is a common issue.

So....will more time in my closet or fridge help this batch? The taste was great, just want more bubbles.

Now to go place an order for my next batch! Woot!

Woot indeed. Now look what you've done!

Yikes! What a newb!

Hello everyone!

I'm a new homebrewer and thought I'd share my experience so far. I started out with the Classic American light Ale that comes with the kit. I got everything up and running with no problem. Fermented for two weeks, Bottle conditioned for two more and put in fridge for another two (2-2-2). I couldn't wait to try my first bottle... and when I did I wish I hadn't. There was little to no carbonation and pretty cidery. I was bummed. After stressing out a bit, I sought out some advice from Mr. Beer himself (I sent an email to Mr. Beer). I got some pretty good advice in return. I took the beer out of the fridge and let it bottle condition another 3 weeks further. When I tried it again... Success! I now had a great head with plenty of carbonation and the cidery taste had mellowed considerably. I would still say it's a bit more full bodied and malty for a light ale, but not bad.

I still have the remaining bottles warm conditioning and I pull one bottle out at a time to chill as necessary, Each bottle is a bit better than the last.

Lesson learned is to be very patient. I also think I could do a better job of controlling the ferment temp. I live in Florida and room temp is about 77 or 78. I'm going to try to put the fermentor in a cooler to control the temp and reduce the cidery taste next batch.

I have a batch of Oktoberfest bottle conditioning now. Can't wait to try one, but I will.

By the way. I would like to have a profile pic, but this new forum seems to not let me do it. I get the "oops" page when I try to add a picture. Any Ideas on that?

Cheers

My first post:
http://community.mrbeer.com/topic/12731 ... questions/

Talk about a coincidence - it was exactly 4 years ago TODAY!!

It was a typical newb carbonation question.
First responder? Beerlabelman.
Many responses in the thread from: swen.

Ah, the memories...
This community is the best, man!!

08-FEB-2011:

Hi all –
This is my first post – I’m one of the stereotypical “Christmas gift newbies,” you might say. Seems like a nice community here. I’ve learned a good deal already, just by lurking. While I didn’t intend for this hobby to take up much of my time and effort, I can already feel “the urge” taking over! Hopefully, as time goes on, I’ll be able to give back to the forum, but for now, I’ve got some questions.

I received the Deluxe Edition kit for Christmas, and brewed the West Coast Pale Ale standard recipe that came with it, trying to keep things simple for starters. Admittedly, I messed up a bit on my math and went a little heavy on the adjuncts by adding 1 cup of honey, in addition to the pouch of Booster and the WCPA HME.

Into the fermenter it went, for 2 weeks at 70 degrees. Then I bottled, using 20 ounce plastic Coke bottles, primed with 1.25 tsp of organic cane sugar, and put it back into the 70 degree location for 2 weeks of carbonation, to be followed by 4 weeks of conditioning.

On the occasion of the Super Bowl, I decided to open one bottle a little early. After the 2 carb’ing weeks, I chilled it in the fridge for 5 days and opened during the big game.

The beer poured with very little head, and what head there was dissipated very quickly. While the beer was certainly carbonated (there were a few noticeable "bubble trails" as it sat in the pint glass), it seemed a little on the flat side.

My questions: are those two factors related? And is there anything I can do to help address them in future batches?

I realize that the WCPA w/ Booster (especially the way I made it) is a not exactly a full-bodied beer, and because of that, as I drink it I think my brain might be "expecting" something along the lines of a macro, with large amounts of carbonation. I'm not specifically looking for that going forward, but I'm also not looking to brew 2 gallons of flat beer due to my own ignorance, and would like to avoid that. Also, the lack of any head worth mentioning is a little disappointing and something I'm curious about.

While I’m asking newb questions, I’ll add this one: how long should I expect my home brews to keep? I’ve read that they’ll last a few months, and then I’ve also read that some recipes take that long just to condition! I realize that different styles will result in different time frames, but are there limits to how long I should expect to be able to store future batches before they’d “go bad?” (Mind you, I suspect I’ll have no problem downing 2 gallons before spoilage becomes an issue! But, I’m just curious.)

Thanks in advance for any insights you can provide on my carbonation/head questions.

My first post at MrB:

Posted 07 May 2012 - 07:00 PM

This guide was awesome and I'm glad I read it before I started to brew my first batch on May 5th. I've been watching the LBK bubble and the yeasties go flying around in there with amazement. It's like a science experiment that you can end up drinking! So, I'm going to wait at least 2 weeks before cold crashing and then bottling.

It's the waiting that sucks!!

Thanks for the great info!

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I guess I'd read the "Simple Guideline" before brewing......that's an A+ for a newbie!!