Finally, i brew the amber kit i had mentioned earlier! i was like a kid, brewing it up, the only thing i did different from the directions was to hydrate the yeast (as suggested by Mike i think). my wife did not find the smell offensive, as some suggested she might! she thought it smelled good she preferred the smell of the cascade hops over the Kent Golding's though. i stuck it in the closet at about 5:00 pm last night, i hope it will be bubbling away sometime tonight, haven't noticed anything yet.
if interested, their was about 1/2 lbs of grains, a 6lbs bag of malt syrup, Nottingham yeast (one packet), bittering hops cooked for a total of 60 min, were Kent Golding's pellet hops (alpha acid 4.9%, 1oz) the finishing hops were cooked only the last 5 min, were cascade pellet hops (alpha acid 7.5%, 1 oz.)
the closet seems to be maintaining about 68 degrees. i am stoked i just pray it turns out well! color was great, smeld awesome.
ps. i must admit, i need a idiot's guide to the terminology used in beer making. i need to understand the hydrometer a bit more, or i would have given those numbers (i wrote down all 3 that were on my hydrometer). i have no idea as of yet what alpha acid is, and why i used a lower acid for a longer time than i did the finishing. at this point i am just trusting those who put the kit together, but i really need to learn more on this stuff if i want to make my own personal brew! all help is appreciated!
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