[Lazarus Long]

Greeting from NC. Just stopped by to say hello.

Started my first batch 3 weeks ago. It is a DME kit of Willamette Valley Golden Ale from Homebrew Adventures - Same guys as Homebrew.com. I'm kind of lucky considering I'm only 20 minutes from the store. I bought their two stage brewing system. Also obtained 2 used 6.5 gal carboys for cheap through a friend. I found that I needed several additional items. Second bottling bucket, a sanitizing bucket and Star-san were high on my list.

First batch tasted rather green after 1 week in the bottle. Very hoppy and very sweet; not many bubbles. Hopefully it will age well. I'm going to let it bottle condition until around Christmas. A total of 5 weeks.

I'm really disappointed in my second batch. Read about a recipe that was very similar to the English Pale Ale recipe I was brewing. They added 1# of molasses to change the color and get more alcohol. I tried it. It's a week in the secondary and you can taste the alcohol. Oh well, live and learn.

Laz

[wild]

Welcome to the forum. I've found that the higher the OG, the longer the beer will need to age so to mellow the alcohol taste. Most will take at least 3 weeks from kettle to mug.

Wild

[jason]

Greetings and salutations. How are things in NC treating you?

[Lazarus Long]

Jason,

Everyting is doing great. Bottled my English Pale Ale this evening. I was expecting a much greater loss and had to scramble to get a few more bottles sanitized. I had a half bottle left over and I drank it. Considering it was flat and room temp it tasted pretty good.

I just cracked open my 1st test bottle of Willamette Valley Golden Ale. Boy, I was suprised! Smooth and good. Nice very clean citrus hop flavor. Wicked chill haze but don't mind one bit. It almost tastes like a well hopped lager.

This is the best hobby ever!