First homebrew in the books!! Citra IPA

Congrats. For your first beer, I'd say you're well above the bell curve for newbies.

 

Looks good. What is this IPA Super Structure Extract? Sounds interesting.

 

Nice one man. Sounds like you got a sweet set up. I'll be dry hopping my second batch of the zombie dust clone today. The first one turned out so good the wife begged me to make it again. Unfortunately the keg of the first batch just kicked yesterday before the current batch was ready :-( empty keg =sadness.

 

I've never used it, but super structure is an extract that northern brewer sells that is supposedly specifically formulated for IPA/IIPA.

 

Congrats on doing research and jumping in loaded for bear. Temp control, yeast pitching rates, and sanitation are the most important things to address assuming you have a decent recipe and general technique down. In no time you will be consistently making great fresh beer. Oh and it helps to be a trust-fund baby. Otherwise, be patient/decisive about upgrading equipment.

 

Sounds like you are on the right track. I wish more people would do some reading before jumping in. This post is so much better than "Is my beer ruined?" or "How can I make an 18% ABV beer?"

 

Congrats on the first brew!

Read about your fermentation temps, and was thinking someone was going to have to post the difference between ambient temp and wort temp. Then I scrolled down and saw the ferm chamber...and I thought the world had been turned upside-down As others have said, you're definitely going about this properly.

 

Yes, but he has avoided a lot of the fun that awaits the typical newbie homebrewer.

In general, I think that raising the temperature after the most vigorous fermentation is completed is a really good idea. It helps to clean up things like diacetyl and encourages the yeast to finish their job. I like to raise the temperature a couple of degrees a day, finishing in the low to mid 70s for a typical ale and mid 60s for lagers. Along with this it pays to be patient before packaging the beer. A bit longer than necessary in the fermenter is better that a bit shorter than necessary.

 

Congrats.. It sounds like your research and reading has paid off, and it sounds like you made some smart investments in brewing gear as well.

Temp control, chilled to proper temp for pitching yeast, were some of the best things you could do for your beer. Unheard of for new brewers, so you have a leg up already.

I suspect you will have a nice beer if handled properly to avoid oxidizing it, and you'll have that chamber filled in no time.

 

Nice job, wingnutter. I wish that I had chosen a single-hop citra beer for my first brew, but I probably would never use any other hop again since I love that hop flavor so much. Enjoy your beer when it's finished.

 

CONGRATS!!! I am a few days out from my first bottling!!!

 

I think every fermentation is different. Some might be understated, some might blow the airlock off (makes a mess too )

Heheheheh....you said Johnson probe....

Carboy because it's glass and totally airtight...plastic still allows air to reach the wort/beer. Plus I like to be able to see whats going on in there as far as when the krausen has peaked and whatnot. Some stay away from glass carboys because cleaning is harder and the chance for breakage but I'm pretty sure handed so I'm not fussed about it...as far as cleaning, definitely get a carboy brush and you're all set.

 

Just a point of reference, my 4th batch was a very successful partial mashed Oatmeal Stout. The recipe and partial mash instructions are in the Recipe Subforum-- here's a link if you're interested http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/jamils-oatmeal-stout-partial-mash.185290/
I was still a total noob, so don't be afraid to jump into partial mashes.

Buckets are great because they are easy to clean and easy to rack into (just dump your kettle contents in... through a strainer if you want). Also, they are already cut off from light, but since yours is in a chamber light won't be a problem. The oxygen permeability of the plastic is only an issue when aging or conditioning the beer for a long time. If you do that, racking to a glass carboy secondary fermentor is the way to go. I used to use a 6 gallon carboy for primaries, but for years now I only use buckets and then carboys for optional secondaries.

 

Congrats. I am about to start my second batch. Will be making a Citra Bomb. Can't wait. What are you using to cool? I bought a immersion wort chiller for my first batch. Wanted to do it right the first time. Sounds like you are in the same boat. I don't have a beer fridge yet though. Good choice.

 

congrats and im curious on you final thoughts, my initial reaction was it the recipe felt light on hops, but you are doing a small batch... be sure to post back your thoughts on the recipe, citra pales are my favorite too

and welcome to the obsession!!