Frementation is just about done, probably will wait a few more days, I have Wednesday off, I'll be bottling then. I might be able to have some good carbonation by new years eve.

Make sure you are using a hydrometer to gauge if fermentation is done and not airlock activity. And even if you bottled today, while it may be carbed by New Years, the beer IMHO won't be as good as if you let it bottle condition a bit.

I know it's hard to not rush things and stay out of that first batch, but it is worth it.

Yeah, I have a hydrometer, came with the kit. Is there some sort of adjustment for altitude when taking readings? As of 2 days ago, there was about a minute between air bubbles coming off the top, so I know I'm close.

It will be hard to wait, but I know it will be better the longer it sits in the bottle.

There is a correction factor for your hydrometer reading based on temperature. When you first put your wort in the fermenter, you should have taken a gravity reading to find your starting gravity and then you use that against your final gravity to find your alcohol content. http://www.homebrewzone.com/hydrometer.htm

Another reason to use a hydrometer is make sure fermentation is done is to avoid "bottle bombs".

And I'm back.... I've linked in some of the images that went away, and I'll see what I can do about linking in some more later. For now, though, it's past pumpkin time, so here are a couple lables for brews I want to do at some point:
http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/phot...172478_989.jpg

This next one is an example of the utility of doodling in meetings. I got the main image marking time in a staff meeting, and brought the idea home to flesh out (I also have some lovely drawings of ties with albatrosses on them from other meetings.)
http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/phot...39240_6968.jpg

This is a great thread!

Pffftttt! You should taste the brew.

I finally bottled 2 days ago, here is my first stab at a label. My initials are J.P. so that's where that comes from. I haven't decided on what exactly to call my "brewery" yet, so I'll add that later.

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8...utlabelqt0.jpg

Nice. I like the use of gradient and the stroke around Ireland. Really makes it pop out.

BTW Tophat, I didn't mean to hijack the topic. It just seems to be the only active Homebrew topic on the TFP.

I see you want to do a Milk Stout? Sounds good. I drank a milk stout for the first time the day I bought all my homebrew equipment. (They have a microbrewery and tasting room called the Dry Dock Brewery) That stuff is really good, and I had never heard of it until that day.

Milk stout, cream stout, lactose stout, and sweet stout are all the same. Will and I did a sweet cherry stout once, with sweet black cherries in a cream stout base. They can be really good. I am a big fan of Mackesons, but that is sweetened with Sucrose and pastuerized, so you can only force carbonate it.

For shits and giggles, Here's the 2007 incarnations of the Purple Peril and the Up All Night Stout. (I used Shannon Wheeler's art straight out - hope he's OK with that).

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y24...ePeril2007.jpghttp://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y24...Stout2007a.jpg

I suppose this was already asked and answered earlier in the topic, but I'm lazy. Do you have an all-grain setup, or do you only go from extracts? If you have some good extract recipes (which is all I'm able to do right now) please point me in the right direction.

I currently have another boxed kit for a German Altbier, which is going to be next for me. But I'd live to follow a good extract recipe for a Strong Ale.

OK... after reading this thread, I am very interested in making some home brew. I wonder if I can get what I need to do this here.

If you can get UPS, FedEX or the like and the things you are having shipped are legal, then sure. I'd assume you are living in an apartment there so you would likely want to stick with extract brewing, but that still makes good beer.

Google is your friend: http://www.homebrew.com.sg/home.htm

I've been doing all grain for a couple of years now, but some of the best are still extract. The Up All Night and Purple Peril are. I'll see if I can revive the recipe thread tomorrow. Getting too late in the evening for me to be digging up recipes and formatting them for public consumption just now.

I'll be dipped. A homebrew store in Singapore.

Don't forget the license. I wonder what that runs?

I'm happy to report that my first batch of homebrew is a success! I tried a few last night and it was pretty good. It's not as black as a stout should be, more like a really dark brown, also has a very similar charicter and taste as a brown ale. It's nice, rich and malty, just what I was hoping for. I don't know the alcohol percent because I never got an accurate starting gravity reading. I assume it's around 4-5% because thats where these boxed kits usually end up.

Brewing again tomorrow... a German Altbier

Good for you. As for the color, what grains did you use? If you used an extract kit, steeping the specialty grains should have got you to the color you wanted. Nevertheless, even when a batch doesn't turn out 100% as you hoped, it is still better than anything you can buy IMHO.

I need to get to the lhbs and get some supplies. I haven't brewed for weeks, my fermenters are empty and one keg is dry.

I steeped the grains according to the directions, maybe longer? Agitate water more? I dunno. Either way, I'm happy with the result.

Steeping by the directions is the way to go. Steeping too long or too hot will release tanins that will ruin the flavor. One thing you can do when steeping is keep the grain bag active by gently swirling or dipping like a teabag. I'll also sparge the grain bag after steeping to release as much color or wort that I can.

http://photos-700.ll.facebook.com/ph...64040_9723.jpg
The Duck of Death. This was an all grain brew for an English Ale competition. I thought about calling it English ob, and I remembered the English Bob Charachter in Unforgiven who was dragging his biographer around with a bunch of copies of "The Duke of Death" in his rucksack. Gene Hackman picks one of them up and says "The Duck of Death?" and proceeds to beat him like a Mexican Rocker thumping an Emo Niño.

http://photos-700.ll.facebook.com/ph...64041_5157.jpg
And the other one we brewed this weekend, sixth incarnation of Weisse Squad hefeweizen.

We racked the Cleopatra Schwartz Mocha Stout too, but I don't have the label done up for that one yet.

Good stuff, Tophat!

I too have been brewing away, and have 4 batches under my belt...
You know about the Stout
Next was a German Alt (another boxed beer)
Then an English Old Ale / Strong ale (followed a recipe from my homebrew store)
And 4th was a Belgian Double (another homebrew store recipe)

I have label art for the Alt and English Ale, the Belgian art is done, but resides on another machine, I'll post later.

Here is the German Alt:
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/2...tartweble3.jpg

Here's the English Strong Ale:
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/7...kalewebbz2.jpg

Both batches turned out very well, I really enjoy the hobby.

Kickass Labels. I really like the Jack, but they both have really good balance.

Thanks!

Here's the label for the Belgian Double. So far, I think its the best one.
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/7...atorwebcr4.jpg

Mister Coaster, that is hilarious.

You have both made me thirsty for homebrew.

Nice! Not often I actually get a laugh out of a Homebrew label.
Now, did you put that together from Clip Art and Photoshop it, or did you draw that one yourself? It's a great piece of work either way.

Those are great labels guys. I'd post mine, but they suck greatly in comparison. I also lost interest in the labels after I started kegging. Although I still bottle two from every batch to drink a year or thereabouts after brewing.

Love the "Duck of Death" - saw that movie last week for the first time and I cracked up when I first read the label.
Pantocrator is a wonderful label. "He'll be the judge of that." If only that simple statement on a homebrew label was taken to heart by intolerant folk of any ilk.
You guys gave me my morning smile.

Thanks everyone for the comments, I had fun making that one. (both the beer and the label)

Ever since I was in school, there was that particular image of Christ as Pantocrator that always struck me as haunting. That particular original is a mosaic in a church circa ~1100 by Greek artist Meister von Daphni. I found a really nice large photo of it online and used Adobe Illustrator to trace out the image in vector format. I used the preset color palate "Byzantine" for most of the colors, the font choice and text was my doing.

The "what would Jesus brew?" quote comes from a shirt I saw at my local homebrew store. The shirt was just the quote, but I figured some imagery was needed.