Fermenters are all empty now!
Bottled a Lager Saturday and an AIPA tonight.
Both tasted great un-carbonated. It's always a good sign when flat beer tastes good!
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I had a great mentor!:-)
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Just placed my order for this: http://www.groupon.com/deals/midwest-homebrewing for $42.


Figure it will be a better way to test the beer-brewing waters than some of the other options I've seen for similar prices (Mr Beer, etc ...)
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Dang, that looks like a purdy good deal right thur.
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I couldn't see what equipment was included in that kit, Chris?
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Didn't momma tell ya that you'd go blind from that? :-)

Brewing Basics Equipment List:

• Instructional Homebrewing DVD
• 71 page instructional book
• 6.5 Gallon Fermenter and Lid
• 6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot
• 8 Oz. of Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser
• Airlock (Keeps air out of the fermenter)
• Hydrometer (Determines alcohol content)
• Bottle Brush
• Twin Lever Red Baron Bottle Capper
• Bottle Caps
• Liquid Crystal Thermometer
• Bottle Filler
• Racking Tube with Bucket Clip
• Siphon Tubing
• Recipe kit (included). Choose between Irish Red Ale, Amber Ale and Irish Stout.
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That IS a purty good deal right thur!


Tim, I wonder if I can get a braille LCD display?
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Sorry 'bout that. I wasn't thinking, but it would make sense that a deal-a-day link may change when the deal's over :-)
I can't even find that list now Tim was nice enough to post, but did find a pic I attempted to post below.

I do have a question, though -- I can order it anytime through mid-May, and it comes with an ingredient kit (I can choose from three: a stout, an Irish red ale, or an autumn ale, I think).

I am going to save up bottles for a while, so should I wait to order everything until I'm ready to brew? Or will the ingredient kit be OK sitting around for a while?

Image
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Hit up your friends for some bottles. Its going to take a little over a month for your beer to ferment then carb up, so you should have enough bottles in no time.
If you do want to wait to brew, just put the ingredient kit in the fridge
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Awesome. Thanks! I'll be able to collect more than enough bottles in a month:-)
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It will be ok to leave your beer in Primary for up to 3 weeks
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Also... give the local breweries a call.
Schlafly, here in STL, will allow you to come in and pick through their bad bottle bin. I am clueless as to why they are considered bad. You can walk out with cases and cases.

You'd be surprised how few bottles you can come up with by your own consumption and still hold down a job. :-)
Figure you need 50-60 per batch, 3 weeks to carb. So... if you brew 3 weekends in a row, you'd need 180 bottles before you could crack any of the stuff you have bottled open. Once you get rolling (if you decide to stick with bottling rather than kegging) you'd have about 300 bottles on hand (empty or full) at any given time.

I love bottling!
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I brewed up a simple little Blonde Ale yesterday.
#10 2-Row (60 min. mash @154.5°F) (~80% eff., OG to boiler 1.054, fermenter 1.043)(7.33 gallons into kettle, 5.25 into fermenter)
5 drops fermcap @ start of boil
1oz Cascade 60 min.
.5oz Cascade 15 min
1 Whirlfloc tab @ 5 min.
1oz Cascade 2 min.
WLP007
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Looks like that will turn out to be a nice Blonde Ale Tim:-)
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On Sunday I dry hopped "Winston's Lot" IIPA with Simcoe, Cascades & Willamette. :-) Will probably bottle this weekend.
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Tonight I am brewing a clone of Deschutes Black Butte Porter
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YUMMY:-)
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A smoked porter, boosted with Shiraz wine juice and spiced with juniper, black peppercorns, coriander & cucumbers, then aged in brandy barrels.

Not mine, but sounds interesting. It's from these guys, of course:

http://www.dogfish.com/community/blo...ction-brew.htm
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You are making this or drinking it?
If you are homebrewing it, Im curious how you do the cucumbers???
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I think I may concoct a recipe like the one I linked. For the spice & cucumber blend, I think it's probably something that goes in the secondary? I'd think the cucumbers would have to be juiced.
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