My First Batch

Last week, I brewed up my first batch of beer. I used a recipe from John Palmer's "How to Brew" for an American Pale Ale. I think I remember reading somewhere in the book that it should take about 3 hours or so to brew a batch. It took me 6.

This is my boiling wort, made from malt extract. From my rudimentary understanding of the process, the photo shows the beginning of the hot break (my wife loves some of this brewing jargon).

I used Nugget hops (13% AA) for bittering, and Cascade hops (6.4% AA) for finishing. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed that my local home brew shop (LHBS) only had a couple of varieties of leaf hops. They just look so cool. These look a little like rabbit turds.  

Bottling day should be sometime next week, with another couple of weeks before I can actually enjoy it. If all goes well, I'll have beers to share.


(Photos courtesy of my wife.  Check out her blog at Carissa With a Camera)