That Was Easy

Today was the big day to pop my home brewing cherry. Last night I had trouble falling asleep, just like the night before Christmas. I couldn't wait to get right to it, a brand new experience that was sure to present some hiccups. Truth be told, it was quite easy since the kit was idiot proof. Granted, I should wait to see how it tastes, but overall it was an easy process. Sanitize the shit out of everything, bring water to a boil, add hopped malt extract, put mixture into fermenter with water, add the dried yeast, voila! Now the hard part of waiting for the fermentation process to finish begins. Two excruciating weeks until bottling, then another two weeks for carbonation. The only thing keeping me from wanting to try some is knowing it would ruin the beer. Here are some photos of the experience.

The setup, in the middle of sanitizing everything.


Hopped malt extract and the packet of dried ale yeast. The extract pours as thick as molasses, even after having the can soak in hot water for over half an hour.


My goofy ass pouring the malt extract into the finished boiling water. I wasn't lying that the extract was thick. Side note: first time I have ever used the timer on the camera. Came out alright.


Added dry ale yeast to the wort in the fermenter. See the clear patch free of bubbles but tons of floating crap? There's the live yeast organisms doing their thing.


Sealed and ready for fermentation. A loooong two weeks until the bottling and carbonation step.

I'm not going for any groundbreaking brews on the first try, especially with ready made extracts. This recipe should produce an American Pale Ale, but a pretty weak one at that, only 4% abv. If I had used another unhopped malt extract instead of the booster pack it came with, the estimated abv would be above 6%. The hops were already included in the extract, which will produce an estimated 10 IBUs of bitterness, so this will be a pretty light pale ale, especially compared to other brews we consume. However, I didn't want to be too ambitious with the first batch, especially if I fucked up royally. Now while I wait, I begin to plan my next brew, something with a little more pop. Happy Home Brewing!