BeerBorg

I got a brew demon as a gift, I made the ale that came with it, and it came out really good, my wife liked it and she only drinks "64", she said it had a good taste.
I followed the instructions, but now as I am reading maybe I should pull it back out of the fridge for a week or 2.
I already ordered an oatmeal stout to make next. I really like porters and stouts so I am looking forward to seeing how that turns out.
I was thinking about adding some flavor by soaking a few vanilla beans in some bourbon and using that in with the water for the wort .
Or maybe I should try it the way it comes.

Everything is a learning experience, we will see !

Welcome to the Borg!
I love me a good stout too! Good luck on your next experience. Please let us know how it turns out.

Hello and welcome to the site.
That oatmeal stout from brewdemon is pretty good, I sure liked it. They occasionally run sales too, to make it even more affordable, and to try out several different types of beer.

Welcome to the borg. Please feel free to ask questions

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!! Glad you found us and great to have you here. If you're new to brewing it's best to stick with a base recipe before changing things. That way you have a base for said beer and know what changes you have made bring to the table. Keep notes of everything no matter how trivial you might think they are. 6 weeks from now if it turns out to be the best beer ever, you will be able to replicate it.
(Disclaimer, I have notes that say "Swatted green fly into chilling wort, fished out and continued.") Ended up being a pretty good beer, but I don't think I'll follow the exact recipe next time.

Bottom line......Have fun, enjoy, make beer and ask questions. Odds are this crew has been there, done that and is willing to share.

Welcome. Glad you found us here.

welcome to the forum

Tricounty wrote:I got a brew demon as a gift, I made the ale that came with it, and it came out really good, my wife liked it and she only drinks "64", she said it had a good taste.
I followed the instructions, but now as I am reading maybe I should pull it back out of the fridge for a week or 2.
I already ordered an oatmeal stout to make next. I really like porters and stouts so I am looking forward to seeing how that turns out.
I was thinking about adding some flavor by soaking a few vanilla beans in some bourbon and using that in with the water for the wort .
Or maybe I should try it the way it comes.

Everything is a learning experience, we will see !

You implied you refrigerated it young, so by all means pull it back out and let it condition for a total of 4 weeks, not counting the refrigerator time.

In the future, ferment for 3 weeks at a wort temp, not air temp, of 65. Then carbonate and condition for 4 or more weeks, only refrigerating what you are ready to drink 3 days later.

Welcome to the Borg!!! Great group here, if you have a question please ask!!!! The vanilla bean soaking, you will get the best of that by adding it to the fermenter after the krausen has dropped. Adding to the boil, as it is fermenting will blow off most of the aroma and flavor from the tincture.

Welcome to the forum! IMHO, if you want to get fancy with a brew, esp. being a newbie, I always recommend brewing the first batch as is so you know what to expect. If you doctor the batch with no base to go on, how will you know what you need to do to kick it up a notch? I'm not saying don't do it, I bet it comes out good but I never recommend a newbie get fancy until he has the basics down and understands what to expect. It does not take too much altering the grist to make a big difference.

I also recommend ferment for 3 weeks, condition for 3-4 weeks at room temp then atleast 1 week in the fridge before drinking, 2 is better. Do you have a hydrometer? They are indispensable for brewing.

Welcome aBorg!

If you do decide to add the vanilla bean... As was mentioned, do it after primary fermentation has completed...

Maybe even better, soak the vanilla bean in just enough vodka to cover it, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit a day or two...

That will sanitize the vanilla bean so no unwanted baddies get into your wort.

Then, with a few days left in the whole process, toss in the bean and the vodka.

An ounce or so of booze is not gonna raise the ABV any, and will not be noticable aside from the vanilla flavor that it picked up whilst soaking the bean!

Happy Brewing and let us know when and how you proceed, and how you find the result to be.