As my first year as a homebrewer draws to a close, I thought I’d look back at what I’ve done this year. I feel like I’ve really advanced my skill and I’ve had a blast, but I also feel like there is alot more to learn.
I brewed my first batch of beer on April 12, 2008. It was a porter and was of course an extract beer. Looking back at my notes, I made tons of mistakes. I transferred to secondary before it was done fermenting, I bottled it too early, and I’m sure there were tons of other mistakes. Heck, I tasted my first bottle about 3 weeks after I brewed it. Talk about drinking green beer. It’s not in my notes, but I distinctly remember this beer being better after another month. Despite all these mistakes, this beer was wonderful and I was so excited to brew my next batch. Here’s a quick rundown of my beers brewed since then and when I brewed them:
- Porter – April 12
- Pale Ale – May 7
- Hefeweizen – May 19
- Rye IPA – June 12
- Coffee Brown Ale – July 4
- Pale Ale 2 – August 3
- Irish Red Ale – August 31
- Amarillo SMaSH – November 7
- Apfelwein – November 15
- Cranberry Zinger – November 21
- CBC Nut Brown Ale Clone – December 7
- Stone Ruination IPA Clone – December 12
- Apfelwein – December 26
I’ve also upgraded my equipment. When I started, I basically had a scratched up bottling bucket (which I fermented in!!) and a 5 gallon carboy. I cooled my first batches in ice water, didn’t control fermentation temperatures, and barely had enough bottles for that one batch.
Now, I have 2-6 gallon Better Bottles, 3-5 gallon carboy’s, a 7 gallon fermentation bucket and 2 bottling buckets. I have a 50′ dual copper coil immersion chiller, a 10 gallon MLT and a 15 gallon boil kettle. I control fermentation temperatures with a dedicated mini fridge that can be heated or cooled as necessary and is controlled with a Ranco temperature controller. The newest addition to my collection of toys is a five tap kegerator made from a converted freezer. I have eight kegs and two 20# CO2 tanks to keep this baby running. It’s still never even had five beers in it yet, but I expect that to change soon.
Anyway, it’s definitely been an addictive hobby for me and I get great enjoyment out of creating something that me and my friends enjoy as much as we do. I’m still four months shy of my one year anniversary but I’m sure that 2009 will be a great year for brewing. Cheers and Happy New Year!
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