Beer #1 = Almost Done & Extract Kit #2 = Frustrating

 Recap on beer #1, Brewer's Best European Bock.

1 liter Hacke-Pschorr mug and a gusher on the right.

Nate drinking a birthday gift.

Working on my part.

Filled these mugs from a 2-liter Blue & Gray growler.

Had nothing important to do yesterday, so it turned into a brew day with Brewer's Best Dortmunder extract kit.

Paperweight.

Steeping grains.

It was really cold outside.

This time the brewing was frustrating. Everything that I should have learned from the 1st batch, well, I didn't. I boiled with the lid on most of the time, which you're not supposed to do to prevent DMS (dimethyl sulfide) buildup. It also took forever to cool the wort in the ice bath (or maybe my thermometer is busted). Oh, and I added too much water to the wort so it falls outside of the original gravity range. It's at 1.04 instead of the 1.05-1.054 range in which it should lie. I think all of this stems from weak preparation and impatience. Also, I don't think it helps that I have to run through every room of the apartment to brew either. I store my equipment in the utility room, sanitize it in the bathroom, boil the wort on the patio, chill it in the kitchen sink, pitch yeast in the kitchen, move to lager fridge in the utility room. I swear I can see an LME (liquid malt extract) trail on the carpet.

RDWHAHB
relax,
don't
worry
have
a
home
brew!