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[tikitatt]

Hi Derrin,

I have a hard copy of How to Brew and on chapter 4. It came in just the other day and had already purchased the book before findout the older version is online. I do prefer hardback books anyway so I can mark in them. As far as waiting to read the book first well I guess I jumped the gun on that.

[bwarbiany]

Generally I'm a big "make your *own* recipe" guy, but as a newbie, it takes some time to get to that point.

If you like SNPA, how about a clone recipe? I've brewed the one below, and when it's done right, it's nearly indistinguishable from Sierra Nevada -- I brewed it once and fooled Chico grads into believing it was the real thing.

http://www.brewcommune.com/recipedb/recipe.php?r=207

[tikitatt]

Hi Derrin,

It looks like my last post didn't take. It's time for a new computer! I just bought the book you recommended and on chapter 4. There is no way I can return the book now since I scribbled tons of notes in it and high-lighted parts as well. I brewed my first batch yesterday and have to say I think I did a great job. It's sitting in a room by itself at a temperature of 68 degrees. I have brewed two kegs before at Brewbakers in Huntington Beach but they do all the work. My house still smells awesome from last nights brewing. We poured all of it into the carboy and saved about 8 ounces for us to taste. It was amazing how it came out and look forward to the day I can drink it.

John
Damn, I found my other post. I'll get the hang of this site soon enough.

[tikitatt]

Thank you for the heads up on the recipe. I downloaded it and will buy the ingrediants today. I was told by Eric that this one is a difficult one to brew. What are your thoughts?

Thanks,
John

Generally I'm a big "make your *own* recipe" guy, but as a newbie, it takes some time to get to that point.

If you like SNPA, how about a clone recipe? I've brewed the one below, and when it's done right, it's nearly indistinguishable from Sierra Nevada -- I brewed it once and fooled Chico grads into believing it was the real thing.

http://www.brewcommune.com/recipedb/recipe.php?r=207

[bwarbiany]

I wouldn't think it's a difficult recipe at all. I assume from your prior post that the stout you made included steeping grain in a mesh bag. If you've done that, this won't be any different.

A few points, though:

1) If you're doing partial-boil (i.e. not boiling the entire batch together), you'll need more hops. My recipe assumes you're doing a full boil.

2) This recipe calls for liquid yeast. I think that's unnecessary, and would recommend instead that you use two packs of SafAle US-05 dry yeast. It's easier, and it's a perfect yeast for this beer style (it's actually often called the "Chico" yeast as I believe it was developed based upon Sierra Nevada).

[tikitatt]

We bought the recipe today and look forward to our next batch in a few days. Just bought a couple more carboys and can see my bank account slowy moving over to Eric. The great thing about this is my wife is 100% behind me so there is no hiding my new hobby from her. Now we are waiting for time to get together and brew our next batch. Thanks to all those who helped out. My first batch would have been a bust if I didn't read the post a few times and call Eric several times.

John

I wouldn't think it's a difficult recipe at all. I assume from your prior post that the stout you made included steeping grain in a mesh bag. If you've done that, this won't be any different.

A few points, though:

1) If you're doing partial-boil (i.e. not boiling the entire batch together), you'll need more hops. My recipe assumes you're doing a full boil.

2) This recipe calls for liquid yeast. I think that's unnecessary, and would recommend instead that you use two packs of SafAle US-05 dry yeast. It's easier, and it's a perfect yeast for this beer style (it's actually often called the "Chico" yeast as I believe it was developed based upon Sierra Nevada).

[tikitatt]

Last night I checked on my carboy and noticed that the airlock started to over flow. I spoke with Eric and bought from him a 5" of clear tubing which I sanitized and connected the airlock. The other end of the tube went into a sanitized bucket for overflow. Did I ruin my beer or am I still ok? Either way I am having a lot of fun with this. I also bought two more carboy set ups so I can over lap my brewing.

John

[backyard brewer]

Last night I checked on my carboy and noticed that the airlock started to over flow. I spoke with Eric and bought from him a 5" of clear tubing which I sanitized and connected the airlock. The other end of the tube went into a sanitized bucket for overflow. Did I ruin my beer or am I still ok? Either way I am having a lot of fun with this. I also bought two more carboy set ups so I can over lap my brewing.

John

Should be fine since everything is coming out and not going in..

[tikitatt]

I'm set up for extract brewing. Now that I know what the difference is I think it's best to learn the basics before diving into a more advanced brewing. Wow, I really thought I knew a lot about beer and come to realize I know nothing.

John

Are you set up for all-grain, or extract brewing? What kind of beers do you like to drink?

We have a recipe database at the top of the forums. If any of those look good, you can always PM the brewer for tips & further ideas.. or even a conversion from AG to extract.


--LexusChris

[tikitatt]

Derrin,

Thanks, I have to say this is a lot of fun. I have my next recipe High Sierra Pale Ale along with the ingredients and all the equipment. I should be brewing another batch of beer this weekend. I'm almost done reading John J. Palmer "How to brew" are there any other suggestions on what I should read next? I'm searching the forums to see what other people have posted in the mean time.

Best wishes and thank you for your help,
John

Last night I checked on my carboy and noticed that the airlock started to over flow. I spoke with Eric and bought from him a 5" of clear tubing which I sanitized and connected the airlock. The other end of the tube went into a sanitized bucket for overflow. Did I ruin my beer or am I still ok? Either way I am having a lot of fun with this. I also bought two more carboy set ups so I can over lap my brewing.

John

Should be fine since everything is coming out and not going in..

[brahn]

There's a lot of great books out there, but I'd stick with Palmer and brew a few batches before doing a lot more reading. The best way to learn is by doing. If you really want to read some more I really like Designing Great Beers, Brew Like A Monk and Farmhouse Ales.

If you see any all grain recipes you like in our recipe db or elsewhere post them up here and we can help you convert them to extract.

[JonGoku]

Welcome aboard John! Once you start brewing you never see beer in the same way again.

Cheers!

[tikitatt]

Or my bank account for that matter.

John

Welcome aboard John! Once you start brewing you never see beer in the same way again.

Cheers!

[tikitatt]

That's a great idea and when I get better I'll look into other books or magazines. Thanks for the heads up on the all grain recipe conversion.

John

There's a lot of great books out there, but I'd stick with Palmer and brew a few batches before doing a lot more reading. The best way to learn is by doing. If you really want to read some more I really like Designing Great Beers, Brew Like A Monk and Farmhouse Ales.

If you see any all grain recipes you like in our recipe db or elsewhere post them up here and we can help you convert them to extract.

[bwarbiany]

Also, check out Beersmith or Promash -- both are software utilities that can be used for tracking your brewing, creating (or logging) recipes, etc. I personally tried both and immediately found Beersmith a bit more user-friendly and intuitive, but never spent enough time with Promash to learn it, so perhaps I didn't give it enough of a chance.

Either way, for those of us with a tendency to lose things like notebooks but multiple redundant NAS systems for electronic storage, it's nice to have