Odd!

I checked up on Batch #1 today, and found it had a new bit of krausen going on!  Some bubbles along the top, with the airlock giving out the occasional CO2 bubble.  I found that rather interesting.  I took a gravity reading of 1.020 -- maybe tomorrow's not the time to bottle.  Gotta think about this one.

Further developments.

I checked the gravity of the wort yesterday: around 1.015.  This is exactly where it's supposed to be; I will be bottling it up tomorrow.

I'm debating picking up more equipment.  I found a large ultra-cheap strainer (a flat one, not a curved one like most use) at Big Lots for $3.50.  I'm thinking I might want a fermenting bucket (rather than a second carboy) so I can do dry-hopping easier for this next beer I'm contemplating.

Also, it seems that hop pellets are great to use, but for dry-hopping, I could be better off with actual hops themselves.  I may swing by another homebrew store in Rochester to see what they've got available.

***

Related but not: a friend of mine is hooking me up with a font that I need to start work on my labels/logos for my beer.  Once I get something drawn up via Photoshop, I'll post it.

First Batch!

For my own personal records:

8.8.08: Brewed the first batch -- an IPA made from a True Brew Maestro kit.  Kept the oak chips out.  Didn't take the original gravity.

8.10.08: Checked the gravity and it was at 1.015.  Turns out (in hindsight) that I was too worried, and should have also removed more of the air bubbles in order to get a better reading.

8.15.08: Checked the gravity today -- 1.020.  Shooting for 1.015 before I bottle the beer and let it continue fermenting.  Tasted it -- despite the fact that it was flat and lacking the priming sugar it's going to get later on, it didn't taste all that bad.  I'm on track.