Very happy with my 1st attempt

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YouFUMS

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Dec 14, 2016
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My wife bought me the kit as an early chrimbo present, and I commenced the brew on 1st December. It's a Youngs American IPA, and I followed the instructions given. 30 pints was racked to a pressure barrel, and 10 pints into bottles.
On Friday I decided I could wait no longer and had my first pint of what I had produced. WOW!!! I cannot believe how good it is! 50 days from starting the brew to drinking, and it is a really nice drink. Perhaps not as hoppy as I was expecting - I dry hopped for 4 days before racking - but you do get a nice flowery initial taste before this succumbs to a bitter/sweet copper after taste. I'd liken it to one of my favourite commercial beers, Kelham Island Easy Rider.
The beer from the barrel is bright and clear with a good head that sustains right down the glass. The bottled beer is clear until the last half inch which is a bit milky/cloudy.
The ABV is around 6.2%, so the 4 or 5 pints I had on Friday was more than enough :thumb:
Next on the cards is a BeerWorks kit - Dragon's Spéciale Kentish Bitter.
Does anyone have any experience of this one?
 
Well done!! There's nothing like that first taste :)

Looks like you are hooked by the hobby :thumb:

I only started last September and now have something fermenting/conditioning in every corner of the house!!
 
Well done pal,
A great description of your first taste, and that temptation hasn't set in to either cut corner in your brewing technique and tasting then well before there due.
Now your hooked, learn as much as you can and if serious in the hobby look at what's to offer with exact, partion AG brewing.
To me the getting the learning into the best product you can, but enjoy all the time.
This forum has help me no end, friendly and unlike some forums there's not a "read or search the forum" that puts you off straight away...it's not u want when you just starting off...
Mind i ask all the time..even obvious questions...and I've been HB'ing for ova 30+ years lol.
N don't forget humour pal...it's makes the read more enjoyable and even sharing mistakes doesn't mean your dumb but only human..
For an example yesterday I brewed a AG Centennial Brown Ale and forgot to set the mash temp on my GrainFather (GF) sussed it eventual...only coz I am slow with my brain and didn't use my check list!!
There's nowt wrong at first writing everything down, in fact it's a great tool for learning...
This is my hops additions n helps me no end!!

I hope you enjoy the hobby and venture out into what's to offer the in HB'ing
Finally if your a bit apprehensive to ask in the open forum...why not PM a member? Don't think there to laugh and mock...courtesy and manners go a long way in this hobby, we're all still learning.
Btw the IPA kit was a good choice to get your teeth into..dry hopping and some of the more advance percedures means your getting there with the old 'How to' and use the forum.
Once again well done.
 
Thanks for kind words.
Yes I am most definitely hooked. Always on the lookout for additional equipment, and picking up new knowledge from folk on this forum and beyond.
As I mentioned above, my only slight disappointment was the sediment in the bottom of the bottles. So I am going to find out the best way of minimising that. Using a secondary fav before bottling, cold crashing, or any additional filtering that I can use.
Next brew will begin in the next week or two, and the aim is to bottle all of that one so that I can share with family and friends, and also it means that I don't have to wait before brewing again as I will have a pb available.

Thanks again
 
Thanks for kind words.
Yes I am most definitely hooked. Always on the lookout for additional equipment, and picking up new knowledge from folk on this forum and beyond.
As I mentioned above, my only slight disappointment was the sediment in the bottom of the bottles. So I am going to find out the best way of minimising that. Using a secondary fav before bottling, cold crashing, or any additional filtering that I can use.
Next brew will begin in the next week or two, and the aim is to bottle all of that one so that I can share with family and friends, and also it means that I don't have to wait before brewing again as I will have a pb available.

Thanks again

One way to cut down on bottle sediment is to be as careful as possible when racking/syphoning and not disturb any of the trub even if it means leaving a pint or two behind. You could also use a FV with a valve on it that is positioned above the trub level and just draw of from that into a secondary/bottling bucket/PB.
 
Thanks for kind words.
Yes I am most definitely hooked. Always on the lookout for additional equipment, and picking up new knowledge from folk on this forum and beyond.
As I mentioned above, my only slight disappointment was the sediment in the bottom of the bottles. So I am going to find out the best way of minimising that. Using a secondary fav before bottling, cold crashing, or any additional filtering that I can use.
Next brew will begin in the next week or two, and the aim is to bottle all of that one so that I can share with family and friends, and also it means that I don't have to wait before brewing again as I will have a pb available.

Thanks again
You can safely leave your beer in the FV provided it is sealed up for a few weeks if you want. At the end of this period the yeast should have settled out. Putting it in the coldest place you have and racking off to a secondary FV help (although some people don't rack their beer). Without investing in a lot of expensive kit there is no way homebrewers can filter out yeast, the cells are too small. However gravity and time will do it for you, assisted by finings which a minority of homebrewers use, although some yeasts settle better than others. You could try a rule of thumb to obtain almost clear beer by leaving it in the FV for at least 15 days from when the SG bottomed out, with the last 2-3 days in the cold. And although your beer may look clear it will still contain yeast cells which will then go on to carbonate your beer, although it may take longer than 'not-so-clear' beer. In the end you will find out what works for you best.
Anyway the yeast in your Youngs AIPA doesn't settle very well in my opinion, so if you bottled soon after the SG had bottomed out you will have had a lot of yeast carried forward. The good news is the AIPA is ready to drink early (compared to other beers) and is not likely to improve and the hop hit you got from dry hopping will slowly fade with time, so get stuck in
If you invest in a standard PB you might find this useful
Guide to a Standard Home Brew Pressure Barrel
 
Well done pal,
A great description of your first taste, and that temptation hasn't set in to either cut corner in your brewing technique and tasting then well before there due.
Now your hooked, learn as much as you can and if serious in the hobby look at what's to offer with exact, partion AG brewing.
To me the getting the learning into the best product you can, but enjoy all the time.
This forum has help me no end, friendly and unlike some forums there's not a "read or search the forum" that puts you off straight away...it's not u want when you just starting off...
Mind i ask all the time..even obvious questions...and I've been HB'ing for ova 30+ years lol.
N don't forget humour pal...it's makes the read more enjoyable and even sharing mistakes doesn't mean your dumb but only human..
For an example yesterday I brewed a AG Centennial Brown Ale and forgot to set the mash temp on my GrainFather (GF) sussed it eventual...only coz I am slow with my brain and didn't use my check list!!
There's nowt wrong at first writing everything down, in fact it's a great tool for learning...
This is my hops additions n helps me no end!!

I hope you enjoy the hobby and venture out into what's to offer the in HB'ing
Finally if your a bit apprehensive to ask in the open forum...why not PM a member? Don't think there to laugh and mock...courtesy and manners go a long way in this hobby, we're all still learning.
Btw the IPA kit was a good choice to get your teeth into..dry hopping and some of the more advance percedures means your getting there with the old 'How to' and use the forum.
Once again well done.
where did you get the hopper from? looks ace
 
Unfortunately with natural carbonation, some sediment is inevitable. This can be miniomised by ensuring the beer is fairly clear before going into your bottles, and by using a yeast which is good at falling out of suspension and sticking to the bottom of the bottle. Some common ones we use on here are Gervin GV12, (which is the wilkos 'Gervin Ale Yeast') Nottingham ale yeast (Very similar, possibly even the same as GV12) and Safale S04. These are all pretty good for clearing quicky, but do have fairly neutral flavor profiles.

There are also lots of options for fermenting with Liquid yeasts (more work, but there are interesting speciality strains available) or even culturing yeast from a bottle-conditioned beer!
 
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