Yay! My first batch is done and fermenting! It is an Irish Red Ale. The color looks good. The OG turned out to be 1.042, lower than the anticipated OG of 1.044. I think I added a bit too much top off water. Two things I learned. 1: I need a better thermometer, and 2: Make sure I have propane. (2 tanks and both were empty) ???
Fermenting at 66F. Have 6 weeks elapsed yet? 
Have a great day!
Dano
Congratulations! Two things…
One: Sounds like you’re using the 1-2-3 method to come up with six weeks. With just a 1.042 OG, you should be able to cut the first three weeks down considerably.
Two: Get your second batch started as soon as you can. The hardest part about brewing is patience. Having multiple batches in the pipeline makes things much more bearable.
+1 on brewing again soon… as you have just experienced, making beer is easy and fun!!!
However, most brew days have a few “aw shucks” moments, where something happens… however, the more often you brew, the better your routine will get, and the more consistent your beer will be… reducing those moments.
For instance, this is the time of year that I usually brew once or twice a week for 6 weeks to stock up beer for the Holliday season. The first few batches, always have glitches that come up… but after that I seem to get back into the routine and everything goes quicker, easier, and the beer I am producing at the end of the 6 weeks, is much better than the beers I am pushing out at the beginning.
So take what you have learned, brew another beer. This time perhaps with a different style so that when you open up the fridge, not only is there more quantity, but more variety.
Also, one thing that you will find, is that some beers test best 4 weeks after brewing, some take 6 weeks to peak, some a few months… by having a couple batches of beer around, it will let you experience and learn when your beers peak. Once you have that info, in future batches, you will be able to predict when the beer is at its best, and serve accordingly, (In other words, if you know your beer is going to be better in two weeks than it is today, you may chose to not drink the whole batch before its “best by date”.
Brew early, brew happy, and brew often!
Congrats!
Jump back on the horse and do it again. If you’re into it you’ll regret not brewing sooner when the current batch runs out!
Welcome to the obsession…
I plan on brewing an Oatmeal Stout within the next two weekends.
Thanks for the advice! Patience is not one of my virtues. ;D
Dano