Technically it all began when I was in Wisconsin for Christmas. I decided I wanted to start brewing my own beer. When I got back to Austin, Texas one of the first places I stopped was Austin Home Brew who gave me a free copy of Zymurgy Magazine which turned me on to the American Home Brewers Association I quicky signed up to become a card carrying member.
Today my journey continued when I went back to Austin Home Brew Supply where I picked up my first ever home brewing kit.
I also made sure to pick up what they recommended as a first recipe to get started. Something they called “Texas Blond Ale”
I read somewhere that it’s important you do a little yeast farming, while you’re brewing. As a result I enjoyed the last of my Real Ale Brewers Cut Black Quadrupal which did a good job of getting me motivated to learn how to brew great beer!
I won’t bore you all with the rest of the details since I’m sure you’ve all done this yourselves a bunch of times, but I’m excited.
Now begins what will likely be the longest month and a half of my life.
I’m a big computer geek. Specifically I work with Unix like operating systems. As a result I’ve decided to call my first batch “PID 1” which is the Init process, or first process. Of course if I managed to screw this up somehow I can always rename it /dev/null (the bit bucket)
Second, I doubt it will take 6 weeks to go from boil to bottle. Just guessing that it is a reasonably low gravity blonde ale. I would say 2 weeks in primary and 2 weeks in the bottle would be fine, but check your gravity a couple times as you near that 2 week spot, and make sure it is stable.
Just remember, Relax, don’t worry, and have a homebrew (or a commercial beer in your case). Also, I would recommend planning your next batch, it will make the waiting easier.
Congrats and welcome! Your life will never be the same.
Some advice: Beware of advice and get multiple opinions. Experiment and learn from your own experiences. I say this after reading garc_mall’s post. I agree that 2 weeks in the primary should be fine. As for the bottles, well, after bottle conditioning my beers for 19 years, I’ve learned that it’s never ready after only 2 weeks. But, taste it at different periods and decide for yourself. For me, 4-5 weeks in the bottles and the beer tastes finished.
+1. There is always, always, more than one ‘correct’ way to accomplish any particular aspect of homebrewing. Anybody who tells you that “you have to do xyz this way” really doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Get multiple opinions and experiment for yourself.
Ask a lot of questions, especially on this forum. Read How to Brew by John Palmer. Listen to the Basic Brewing Radio podcast. And just keep brewing. Welcome!
I agree that a bit longer than 2 weeks in the bottles is better. “The last bottle is always the best” and all that, however IME the carbonation is usually about done at 2 weeks, and I know with my first batch I was racing to drink the first bottle of beer. I found about 4 weeks to generally be the peak for my IPA’s and Pales.
Also, my guess was that the AHS kit directions recommended 2 weeks in primary, 2 weeks in secondary, and 2 weeks in bottles. I was recommending that he could cut out secondary and get to drinking it quicker.
