One thing to keep in mind is that the first one you open will always taste less than ideal, if you try to open them as soon as they’re done carbonating in a couple weeks. So adjust your expectation accordingly and enjoy experiencing how it improves with time!!

[–] mattclassic 3 points 1 year ago

Yes! It’s gotten much better even just a few days in.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Be careful, brewing is just as much about collecting gear as it is making tasty beverages.

Welcome!

[–] mattclassic 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yea. This is going to be a problem. I am a guitar player and that hobby has a ver similar problem. 😅

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Haha, my niece, who just started learning guitar, told me I have too many guitars. I said, no, I don't, you just don't understand. Yet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I bet that first thing you will upgrade will be your bottles/bottling method. From all my friends I know how much difficult is dealing with these.

Bottling is always tedious but some are better than others. Cheers

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Totally agree about the bottles, but honestly I still use the bottle filler and capper from the original northern brewer kit I got 5 years ago or something. Am I missing out on some magic filling method? It always seemed to work really well for me, but perhaps there's a better way!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I mean the bottles. Don't change what isn't broken. These "crown caps" are difficult to deal with.

[–] FatherOfHoodoo 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nothing better than your first brew....

[–] mattclassic 2 points 1 year ago

❤️

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I got started with a Northern Brewer kit myself back in 2008. Welcome to the hobby!

[–] mattclassic 2 points 1 year ago

Thank you!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Congrats! Hope it turns out great!

[–] mattclassic 3 points 1 year ago

It did!! (I was skeptical)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Congratulations, looks great! That's exactly how I started out. It makes a good first beer.

Best thing I ever upgraded was to get a fridge in freecycle and use it to control the temperature for fermenting. Made everything better :)

Enjoy!

[–] mattclassic 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh yeah. That’s a good idea. Regular old small fridge or something specific?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah, just one of those under counter fridges. Check you can remove all the shelves and fit the bucket first is my top tip, not all of them fit. Then a heat belt and a couple of temperature triggered plugs (they've got a proper name, but dammed if I can remember it), and every brew is fermented to within a degree or so of perfect!