So how did the process go? Any issues?

Yeah, did ya boil over??

No boil over. Process went pretty well. Only issue was cool down took a while. Didn't occur to me at first that I should have been using a sink full of ice water instead of just ice. ;)

Wish I could take credit for the Christmas lights idea. I saw that somewhere else (youtube?).

ahem....

WORT CHILLER

LOL

Ah come on, you got to do it in a ice bath a couple time before you can truly appreciate a wort chiller. :)

Lol. I hear ya. I told you I would probably eventually grab one. I just didn't want to spend any more than I already have at this point. ;)

Popped open one of my first batch of home brew (brown ale) on Sunday. It was only a week after bottling, but it actually tasted pretty good. By this Sunday I think the carbonation should be at full strength and it will be even better. Thanks again to everyone for the great advice on getting me started. :thumb:

Congrats on a successful brew. :clap: After you’re positive they’ve had enough carbonating time throw a few in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You’ll be amazed how much they mellow and blend with some time in the fridge.

Sweet dude!

The only other tip I will give you is go easy on the sharing. I know you want people to taste what you have created, but trust me, it goes FAST.

So if you do drink a lot or share a lot, just know when to start the other one so you dont have to wait as long.

Canadian Ale.

Grains:
.5# cara pils
.5# Canadian 2 row barley (or any suitable 2 row substitute)

Extract:
4# light malt liquid extract(or 1 3.3# can if your supplier does not bulk extracts)
2# light spray malt

Hops:
2 oz. willamette hops (pellet)

Yeast:
WLP001 California Ale

Steep: 20 mins. Single rinse

Boil:30 mins, first oz hops at boil, 2nd oz at end of boil.

pitch yeast at 70 deg. primary 7-10 days Secondary 2 weeks. (First at ambient, second at 40 deg.) carbonate at 22psi for 7 days. Or prime and bottle. Age 30 days before refrigerating.

You will like it.

edit. If you are still bottling, secondary should be done at ambient (60-72) Its been a while since ive bottled.

You really wont need a wort chiller as long as you are extract or partial mash brewing. When you go all grain, you will. Oh and if you have a sanitary supply of ice, you can add 5# in the fermentation bucket to cool the 2 or 3 gals of wort you just brewed, then add sanitary water to the 5 gallon line. Thats what I do, but I have fresh spring water to my faucets which I can freeze in plastic bags. I know different areas present different challenges. Still take one gallon of safe water and split it into two gallon sized freezer bags and freeze them. Drop one into each of your next two batches, then pour the hot wort over them.

I am in the middle of two batches right now which will be in primary tonight. One is the Canadian that I posted.

I will brew lagers and pils next because my basement will be up to temp enough to ferment by then.

finished. two batches tucked away in our spare room. First brews since just after the holidays. Three weeks I brew a pils and I am pondering the other lager. I get two shots at these then its back to ales.

For a completey different beer from almost the same recipe I filed above. Add 1# cara amber to the grains (single rinse still ok, bigger rinse pot needed) and change the yeast to Wyeast British Ale 1135.

The Brew goes from a lighter ale with a nice herbal nose to a maltier and more full bodied brew. Thats without even changing hops or extracts. This is a good excercise to enjoy what a different yeast can do to your beer. The pound of grains will add some body and malt, true, as well as darkening the ale a bit. But the big difference here will be the yeast.

Anyone have any good supplier recommendations (looking for recipe kits, mainly)? If not, I'm gonna try out Midwest Supplies (thanks 1moreTRich). I was using Brewgadgets but wanted to find something perhaps a little cheaper.

I have now brewed 3 batches. The first one was a brown ale and it turned out pretty well. Most people that tried it enjoyed it. The one person who said he didn't was a regular Bud Select drinker so I take that opinion with a grain of salt.

The 2nd batch was a porter. I don't know if I messed up during the process somewhere, put some in the fridge too early, or its simply not a great tasting beer. It tasted a bit sweet. I will try it again now that it has had a few weeks fermentation time and see if it has gotten any better.

The most recent one is a pale ale. This turned out well, too. While its not as great a pale as Blvd or Sierra Nevada, it is pretty good and I will definitely be enjoying drinking those. Again, I tried it after about a week to a week and a half of bottling. I know it will get better with a little more aging so I'm happy with the way it turned out. I even loved smelling those extra hops when I was brewing this one. :)