First post, and relatively new brewer here - hailing from the Pacific NW. Heard about this forum while listening to Brad Smith's BeerSmith podcast, and so I'm checking it out!
I brewed my first two batches about three weeks ago, both extract, and just this last weekend bottled them. I stuck to single fermentation after doing some reading over at
http://www.homebrewtalk.com (as I was originally planning on using a secondary). The very first batch was an American Hefeweizen (so called, "Humble Homebrewer's Hef"), and the recipe was taken and adjusted by a local HB supplier from Jamil Z's "Brewing Classic Styles" Book - this stayed in primary for three weeks(food grade plastic 6.5 gallon bucket). My second batch was an American IPA, again taken from Jamil Z's book, and was rightfully named "Rainy Day IPA" as the brew day included tons of rain, leaves blowing (including into my boiling wort), as well as some hail towards the end of the boil. This again stayed in primary for three weeks (same food grade plastic bucket), and was just bottled three days ago. I used BeerSmith throughout the process, and while I was not able to get a Hydrometer reading for my Hef (the poor thing fell off the table and broke!), I was able to get an O.G. reading for my IPA (1.052) which was within .002 of what BeerSmith had predicted, and a F.G. of 1.010. I used BeerSmith to estimate the O.G. of the Hef (which was 1.050) and my F.G. was 1.011 (again within range of the estimated F.G. in BeerSmith) - so all in all, I think my fermentation went well! I tried to maintain the temperature range, which varied ever so slightly over the first few days of fermentation (assuming due to the activity of the fermentation) and which steadied out over the last two weeks. Cleaning/Sanitizing products used were PBW and StarSan.
Looking forward I'm interested in getting into All-Grain (AG) - and after listening to the podcast (BeerSmith Episode 10 - "Brew in a Bag (BIAB) Down Under") BIAB seems like the way to go for me. I'm interested in AG for a number of reasons; 1) I'm the type of person who doesn't mind upfront investments that can allow for more cost-savings over the long haul (which AG seems to promote in regards to ingredients) 2) I'm interested in having a bit more control over what goes into my beer 3) I thoroughly enjoyed both brew days, and am not opposed to making them longer/more involved 4) There are some beer styles that I'm interested in that seem to require grains that can not be as easily incooperated into extract batches (Oatmeal Stouts/etc) - I understand partial mashes can be done in conjunction with the normal extract method, but am still interested in moving away from DME/LME. I already have a propane burner, propane tank, 10 gal kettle (though an contemplating getting a converted keg to use as a kettle should I go BIAB), and a wife that is a competent sewer (for making the bag).
,
