My Plan for Starting Homebrewing

OK... It has been one day shy of a full two weeks in the fermentor. I took a refractometer reading tonight and with the help of Sean Terril's spread sheet I get 1.013 with an OG of 1.061 and an ABV of 6.3%.

I'll take another reading on Sunday to see if it is stable.

I did take out about an ounce for a taste... didn't taste that good. Maybe a bit sour? But hard to tell with such a small amount and no carb. I'll charge onward and see what happens. And even if it does end up sour I will try again!

 

OK... Bottling Done! Refractometer reading was the same so we bottled it. We ended up with 8 full bottles (decent yield in my view...). We had one 1/3 bottle left so I drank that - does NOT seem to be sour!!! But maybe not the greatest tasting... but I know that will change with the bottle conditioning so maybe all will turn out good.

So... now where do I put these for bottle conditioning? I know it should be dark. Can it go back in the same place I fermented, which was at 65 degrees???

 

OK.... After my band rehearsal tonight I'll have to clear out part of my guitar case closet and put it in there!

Thanks for the fast response!!!

 

So it is one day shy of one week since bottling and all seems to be going well - no bottles have exploded!!

So... I'm turning my attention to plans for my next batch: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/my-plan-for-second-batch.383775/

I appreciate all the help you folks have provided and hope you can hop on over to this new thread because I've got more questions!

 

It has been 2.5 weeks since bottling. No bottles have exploded!

This weekend, when it will be 3 weeks in the bottles, I plan chill one bottle in the fridge and give it a try. Could I keep them in the same place for a 4th week? Will that help or not? Or after 3 weeks should I move them to cellar temp or into the fridge?

 

I saw that book in my public library and made a mental note to check it out when/if I get to the point of going to all-grain. Right now I'm planning to focus on extract for awhile to hone my skills at that level first.

 

Thanks for the advice (as always!). I don't think there will be an issue with inconsistent carb because I used those little sugar "cough drops" for carbonation.

 

Success!! Chilled my first bottle this evening and just popped it open... beautiful Ffffssssttt sound.... no gush.... nice substantial head. Actually pretty damn good tasting porter!!! Nice roasty taste balanced by a bit of sweetness and not too hoppy but a little bit of hops (I'm not a big fan of overly hoppy porters). Compared to my first attempts in my other hobbies: better than the first song I learned to play on guitar and at least as good as my first scratch-built tube guitar amp!

Yes, my underage daughter (co-brewer) got to try some but I didn't want to share too much. She has a good sense of taste from sampling virtually every beer I try at home and she declared that it was very good. Even my wife - who pretty much dislikes beer - thought it was good: "It was just as tolerable as the commercial beers you drink".

Much thanks to all who provided guidance but special thanks to @Mothergoose03 and @VikeMan who were like my guardian angels throughout the process: Cheers to you!

Here is a photo of the co-brewers in mid high-5 with beer in hand:

 

Have fun! The folks here will answer any question you have - an excellent resource and friendly place!

 

I've now had three bottles of my first brew... don't want to rip through them too fast! Overall the taste is quite good. The one thing that I think is lacking is its head retention. When I pour it straight down into the glass I get a big head but there are two concerns: (i) the head is made up of big bubbles rather than being more creamy like the commercial porters I drink and (ii) the head subsides VERY quickly with no lacing and leaves just the faintest bit of foam around the edge of the surface.

So... can someone suggest things I might have done wrong to make this happen? Are there things I should do differently next time to focus on getting a better head?

I know how to care for my glassware so that is not a problem.

Thanks in advance!