First Brew - American Amber Ale (Extract)

First Brew - American Amber Ale (Extract)

Recipe:
4 lbs Breiss Extra Light DME
3 lbs Breiss Sparkling Amber LME
1 oz Challenger Hops (60 min.)
1 oz Cascade Hops (15 min.)
Safbrew S33 Dry Ale Yeast

2 gallons of water were boiled and added to the sanitized carboy.  3 gallons of water were brought to boil and Malt Extracts were added in (while removed from heat.)  When it came back to boil,  Challenger hops were added, and with 15 minutes left, the Cascade Hops were added.

At this point I did not have a wort chiller, so I lowered the boil pot into the sink, into an ice bath.  I stirred regularly to cool the wort as quickly as possible.  During the boil I activated the yeast in warm water with a couple tablespoons of the LME.

I had trouble siphoning the wort into the carboy, because I do not have an auto siphon.

I placed the carboy fermenter in the basement to keep it cool in a bucket full of water to help stabilize temperature change.  24 hours later there was a good krausen formed and the yeast were very active.  At 48 hours, visible bubbling had ceased.  The beer maintained a milky coloration. which concerned me.  I post the picture at www.homebrewtalk.com.  The response I got was basically "chill out, its fine, stop looking at it for 3 weeks."

Fermenter + 24 hours

Fermenter + 72 hours

Lessons Learned:
Learn to use a siphon
Find a way to cool the wort faster
Don't worry so much, let the yeast do its job and be patient!

Introduction to my Blog

Introduction to my Blog

I recently got caught the "Brew Bug."  I came across John Palmer's webpage www.howtobrew.com, and subsequently picked up a copy of his book, which is a the standard for learning to brew your own beer.  I read it cover to cover and was amazed by the science behind something I appreciate so much, beer!

Every resource I have come across highly recommends keeping extensive notes on how you brew your beer, so you can recreate a beer.  So, the purpose of this blog is to share what I learn, and to archive my notes for mine and anyone else who is interested.

Currently I have my first batch in the fermenter.  It is an extract brew of an American Amber Ale.  When I bottle that batch I will do my first All-Grain batch.

My Equipment:
20 qt stock pot
6.5 gallon True Brew fermenting/bottling bucket
6.5 gallon True Brew glass carboy
True Brew Airlock
True Brew Siphon
True Brew Hydrometer
Taylor Digital Pocket Thermometer

10 gallon Cylindrical Cooler Mash Tun (made from instructions at www.mainlinebrewers.com.)
Homemade 10 ft. Wort Cooler