Home Kegging

I purchased some CO2 from Bevco yesterday, and I set up my keg system. The first beer on is an amber, and it tastes great! I am having some problems balancing the system though. Basically that means there is a lot of foam on the beer and I'm not sure if it is super carbonated. We'll get the balance figured out, there are a lot of equations to calculate the propper pressure, but I think trial and error will be better in the end.I ended up drinking enough last night to give me a headache today though. The alcohol content on the amber ended up being almost exactly 5% abv.
The Raspberry Wheat is looking really good so far. I think my goal is to brew a batch a week, I think that is very doable

Bottled: Brown Ale
Keg 1: Amber Ale
Keg 2: empty
Keg 3: empty
Secondary: empty
Primary: Raspberry Wheat
On deck: Cream Ale

Kegs

I have ordered some cornelius kegs online. They won't be as nice as the one pictured above, they are used. I just found out they arrived today. Basically they are containers that probably had soda syrup in them previously. I am excited, it will be easier than bottling and cuts out several steps of the brewing process. I purchased a separate refrigerator to house these kegs, eventually I intend to make this fridge into a kegerator. The first batch that I will keg is an Amber Ale, I think I am going to try a raspberry wheat ale next. Hopefully I can get it pitched this weekend.

My first beer...

I cracked open the first of the first beer that I brewed this past weekend, I've actually drank three of them at this point. They are 24 oz. bottles so it is quite a bit to drink once the bottle is opened. The overall impression of how it looks is very cloudy. It does however have a similar color to any other brown ale so that is good. I really enjoy the smell.

The first one kind of had a soapy aftertaste. I think that will go away as I get better at brewing, it is likely that some chlorinated water got into the beer after it was pitched. That is what I am attributing it to anyways.

The second one was probably my favorite, it tasted just right. It had just the right amount of hoppiness and you could definately taste the caramel and chocolate undertones.

The third one, which I drank last night, was tasty, but it tasted a little more bitter. One thing that I am noticing is that beer taste different depending on different conditions. My mood plays a major role in how much I enjoy a home brew. Kevin H from RedRock said I should keg the beers so they all taste the same.

I sent one beer to work with Hollie so the brewers at RedRock could try it. We'll see what they have to say. My brother did try it, he seemed to like it just fine. In fact, he went back for seconds without being prompted.

I have an amber ale in my secondary fermentor right now. I think it is ready to bottle, but I have ordered some kegs so I am not going to bottle the next batches, I am going to keg them. I even bought a refrigerator last week to put the kegs in, it cleaned up really nice. Eventually I am going to turn the refrigerator into a kegerator.

that is all for now

Brewing Update

Bottled my first batch of beer on Sunday or Monday, I can't remember. The yield was just over twenty four 22oz. bottles. They should be ready in ten to fourteen days. It tastes decent so far, and the dog liked it. It should be about 5% abv.

I started a new batch last night. We went with an amber this time. I feel much more confident about this batch, I'm not sure why, it just seemed to go smoother. It was recommended to me to taste the beer often, but I hate the taste of Wort (that is the beer before it is fermented). It tastes like soap I think.

Three things that I will be exploring: kegging, a kegerator, and a wort chiller. Those should be some fun projects.

Home Brewing

I got a home brew kit from the Beer Nut in SLC today. I'm going to try and brew my own beer. Wish me luck.