I would think you would have to use alot of cucumbers in a 5gallon batch in order to get much flavor out of them.
This is the funpart about brewing! Good luck!!!
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Just set up a time to meet a guy on Craig's List selling a bunch of label-free empties for $4/case - he said he's got 10 cases. Apparently he moved to kegging and doesn't need the bottles anymore.
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Well there it is... my first one. Wanted to take a sec to thank you guys for your input. I can almost guarantee you it's infected as there were multiple opportunities for that to happen, but I'm not really concerned about it. Just happy I got it under my belt and already thinking about the next one.

Again, thanks guys, much appreciated.
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Great job! I wouldn't worry too much about whether it's infected. Beer is pretty resilient, and as long as you were "passably clean," you'll probably be fine. :-)
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Nice!!
You'll be fine. Especially with first time use equipment... it's hard to infect.
Is that the Brown Ale you talked about? Should be good for a Christmas drink!
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It sure is Tim! I think I'll be alright, I was pretty anal about sanitizing. Only problem I encountered resulted from the fact I couldn't find the lid to the pot and so some of the tin foil I had covering it in the ice bath plopped in a bit for a minute (but it was still around 125 degrees at that point anyway).

Already on Midwest's site trying to figure out what to brew next. And SERIOUSLY considering a wort chiller... it was excrutiating waiting for it to cool.
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The two best kits from Midwest that I have done are Hanks Hefe and the HopHead IPA.
I use mostly Austin Homebrew supply now. You cant beat their selection!
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I hear you there Mason. When I would finish my boil, I would then transfer the pot into a large utility sink in the wash room and pack a couple of bags of ice around it. Then fill up the basin with some cold water. This would reduce the wait time down a bit prior to transferring into my 6 gallon glass fermenter.

When we moved to another house that didn't have a utility sink, I brought out my daughters wading pool, placed a couple of bricks in the bottom and filled with water. At the end of the boil, I would transfer the pot onto the bricks and then turn on the hose, causing circulation within the wading pool. 60 degree water circulating again brought down the temperature inside the pot.

A good wort chiller is key though:-)
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I brewed an Alaskan Amber clone last night
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I work about 5 minutes from Midwest Supply, which can be dangerous. I've made several of their kits and have been pleased. If you like big IPA's you should try their Ferocious, which is a clone of Surly Furious, and was made with the help of Surly's head brewer, Todd Haug.

FWIW, I used to cool my wort in an ice bath (20 lbs ice) mixed with water softener salt. That brings the temp down below 32 degrees to help cool the wort faster.

I recently bought a wort chiller from these guys. As much as I like Midwest, I need to stretch my dollars like most people do these days. Even with shipping it was $15 cheaper than MW. I received it withiin a few days, got regular UPS shipment updates, and it's just great. I got the "basic" 3/8" 25' copper model. http://www.nybrewsupply.com/products...-immersion.php
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Those are good prices, thanks!
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Cooling IS a PITA... you especially want to look into a chiller if you decide to make some IPA or AIPAs... cooling the wort quickly is critical in saving late hop addition aromas.

Glad everything worked out well. Cheers, heres to speeding head first down another slope!:-)
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LOL, thanks a lot Warren, how was I NOT supposed to order that once you put it up. Wort chiller: check. Next up, a new fermenter and kit.
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Quick word of advice on immersion chillers... moderate your flow through the chiller. Allow the cool water to work, don't just turn it on full bore.
I've always had much better/quicker results by running mine at about 1/4 throttle.
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I racked over two beers to carboys tonight. First is a Belgian raspberry ale, and the second is a nut brown ale. The colors in the picture aren't so great. The raspeberry ale is quite red, and the nut brown isn't so dark. They both taste really good.
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Thanks Tim, good to know.
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Yea, but I like the way my outflow tube whips around the driveway when I have my spigot cranked all the way open :-)
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I felt like brewing today, but only had a smack pack of Wyeast 1968 London ESB that I hadn't made a starter with. So I used Mr. Malty's pitch calculator to back into the quantity that I could make of a 1.045 beer. Three gallons worked out about perfect. I used 3 lbs of golden light DME, and steeped a large handful of some grain that I lost the grain bill for, and don't remember what it is. For sure there is some oat malt and some dark crytal, and probably either chocolate or brown, or both, but I don't remember. I hopped it to 25 ibu's with Magnum and Willamette. It's cooling now, and I'll pitch the yeast when it gets down to about 62 degrees.

Who knows, maybe I'll invent something wonderful and have no idea how to reproduce it. That would be my luck. :-)
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That Belgian raspberry ale looks and sounds awesome Warren!:-)
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I saw this on BA and wanted to pass it along.

*****************

Hops Poisonous to Dogs

I had no idea about this. An email got forwarded to me about a guy's dog who ate some hops during a homebrewing event and died that day.

I've never seen this discussed before, but thought I'd pass it on for the many dog owners out there.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison...ants/hops.html

Canine Toxin Alert-Hops:

As more people start to brew beer in their homes, veterinarians have seen an increase in cases of hops toxicity in dogs. Unfortunately, not much is known about this toxin, although one study as well as anecdotal evidence has confirmed that hops consumption, even in small amounts, can, in some dogs, cause malignant hyperthermia (severe, rapid overheating), panting, vomiting, abdominal pain and seizures followed by death. Some breeds and individuals seem to be particularly sensitive, including, most notably, Greyhounds and Labradors.

This is a severe condition that can cause death within a very short time period. There is no effective treatment available at this time, and it appears that only a couple of ounces of hops can kill a medium to large dog. Although not all dogs are predisposed to this condition, and may not be affected at all, home brewers should be aware of the possibility of poisoning and keep hops pellets and spent hops in sealed containers, high up and out of reach. Do not compost spent hops anywhere that a dog might have access to, as hops flavored with malt may be particularly attractive to dogs. By the time overheating begins and symptoms manifest, progression to death is rapid and untreatable. Be aware: hops can kill dogs quickly and painfully.
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