http://m.imgur.com/a/Qo5es I finished my first brew and bottling. OG and FG were right on the money and beer does taste lik an Oktoberfest but there is probably more esters than necessary. Either way it was fun and I look forward to the next brew. Is trading of homebrew allowed?
Congrats on the first brew. I don't think homebrew is traded in the Trading forum, but I think some gets traded by homebrewers who arrange trades thru personal messages aka Beer Mail on this site. I have not done it though, so I could be wrong on both counts.
Glad your Ale-toberfest is good. I'm not too surprise about the esters though. As I said in your other thread, I haven't yet tasted an example where someone nailed the style with an ale yeast. Excellent question. Mods?
It is not allowed as part of the BA Trade forum, but users have been known to use the beermail option of the website to exchange shipping information to send homebrew to other users at their own individual risks and beyond the rules and cover of the trade forum. I have sent homebrew to a few others on this site as well as receive some decent sours from another member for feedback... speaking of which, I need to actually get him the feedback...
Congrats! Hope your happy with the experience, looks like you had a blast from the pics. Second the comment that brewing a great lager is likely impossible with ale yeast. But I bet your beer will be even better if you take some time to store it cold. Have fun with the hobby!
It's always so satisfying when a batch turns out OK -- especially your first batch! And an Oktoberfest -- a pretty ambitious beginning. I've never set up a homebrew trade, and as @jbakajust1 indicates, it's not the purpose of the trading forum. That said, I have received homebrews as unexpected bonus bottles during trades and have quite enjoyed them. If your homebrew is tasty and non-poisonous, sending a few bottles out as extras only increases your global beer karma.
Overly worried about infection. Also we had the gloves lying around so we used them. Are you not supposed to strain the hops? That's what my notes vs a I'd. At least I think so. Now I'm doubting myself.
Yes, you do need to keep as much of the trub out that you can, but I think @inchrisin asked that question because you should cool your wort first before doing anything that could scald you. If you boiled a full recipe liquid amount, then cool it by whatever method that you can do the fastest; usually a wort chiller does the best job. If you had a partial boil then adding water to get you your full recipe amount will also help the chilling process. But that's just too risky messing with hot liquids like you are doing.
