How Did Your First Brew Taste?

[Spork]

First one ever was over 20 years ago. Can of goop and some white sugar. No temp control, but late spring (IIRC) or early summer in my mates spare room, in Tassie, so prob wasn't as awful as it could have been. Bottled and drunk too soon, but we were unemployed so we drank it.
Back then there was a "sheltered workshop" nearby where we could buy bottles already cleaned. From memory we didn't bother to clean / sanitise ourselves...

We did 2-3 brews. I didn't brew again for about 24 years.

 

[QldKev]

Mine was like lady juice.

Didn't taste that great, but I kept going back for more

 

[Liam_snorkel]

My first brew was a coopers stout when I was 16, for schooles.
brewed in the back yard shed (no ventilation) in oct/nov so it would have got pretty hot. Pretty sure the krausen shot through the air lock.
Bottled it in 1.25 and 2 litre coke bottles because that's all I had.

I remember dad being all "shh shh don't let mum find out, we'll both be in shit". she did, and predictably went off her nut.

Rocking up to schoolies with 20 odd litres of stout was wicked, can't remember what it tasted like but I didn't care, it was booze.

I remember one of the girls thought it was coke and tried to mix it with bacardi hahaha.

 

[nzefactor]

I Think it was a lager goop tin fermented in a 28C garage for 2 weeks. Chilled to sub-arctic temperatures the end result was drinkable...I think.

Some of these posts are fantastic. Qldkev's is going to be hard to beat :lol:

 

[nzefactor]

My first brew was a coopers stout when I was 16, for schooles.
brewed in the back yard shed (no ventilation) in oct/nov so it would have got pretty hot. Pretty sure the krausen shot through the air lock.
Bottled it in 1.25 and 2 litre coke bottles because that's all I had.

I remember dad being all "shh shh don't let mum find out, we'll both be in shit". she did, and predictably went off her nut.

Rocking up to schoolies with 20 odd litres of stout was wicked, can't remember what it tasted like but I didn't care, it was booze.

I remember one of the girls thought it was coke and tried to mix it with bacardi hahaha.

kudos for being a young bloke at schoolies drinking stout! Pretty sure 99% of the kids along the coast these days would think a stout was a breed of dog.

 

[rehab]

No awesome story in terms of disaster *apart from almost frying it in my blanket near the end which only served to finish the yeast clean up and maybe flatten the beer a little*
My first was September this year.
Muntons IPA with nothing else apart from a useless blend of #20 (which added dextrose and f all malt so thin ass beer for me) but in terms of beer it tasted like a beer just not one I would enjoy.
It didn't really change too much for the better as it went on and I have 3 bottles left and may serve them to drunk people who run out at mine whilst OTP.
I really shouldn't complain as I have read the previous pages and am glad I didn't infect or end up with K+K gasoline! All I can say is the Toucan that has followed (with a hint of Amarillo) is much more impressive and if I can keep improving *with the help of people on this site* I will be a happy man.

Can't say I will stop buying beers as the good ones give me something to aim at.

Great stories though.

Cheers all B)

 

[Truman42]

My first brew was about 8 years ago when I was living in Broome.
The local radio station had a competition and if you phoned up at the right time you won a Coopers home brew kit, but you had to brew a batch and it was to be judged at Matsos brewery a month later.

I did a Canadian blonde (from memory) and added honey to it. It was mid October, the start of the build up to the wet season and bloody hot.

The judging was done by local identities and I remember the look on his face when he took a sip of mine. It was like he had just drank cats piss.

After that I put the kit away and didnt attempt another brew. The heartache of losing was just to much to bear. :icon_drool2:

Until 3 months ago and now Im hooked again, especially with BIAB.

 

[Bigbrownrosie]

Just drinking stubby number 3 from first brew now, 3 weeks after bottling. I thought it was Cascade, supplied with the fermenter kit, followed the instruction pretty closely....what is it with the apple flavour?
Tried the first one last week, after 2 weeks in the bottle...pretty ordinary, not much taste, and not much bubbles...
The ones tonight are much better - a bit more fizz, and lots more flavour, even if it is quite 'apple-y'.

 

[DUANNE]

my first home brew was back when i was fifteen or sixteen and i learnt of a mates old man. i had an old dead fridge and a light globe as temp control. the thing is though back then temp controll meant keep it over 20 degrees or else it would fail. by god i made some awfull beer. i done about five or so batches that no one could drink and threw it in.

 

[bruce86]

If you used the kit yeast, expect a sour apple twang taste. If you're a student/unemployed it is still drinkable.

My first one being the lager that came with the kit tasted like equal parts apple juice, Tooheys New and camel piss. This was due to the temp being around 26.

hahahah cheers. yeah next brew will be a lot cooler and have some hops etc in it.

 

[PhilipB]

looking to bottle my first bre 2 morrow, so will let you know at christmas.

 

[nzefactor]

My first brew was about 8 years ago when I was living in Broome.
The local radio station had a competition and if you phoned up at the right time you won a Coopers home brew kit, but you had to brew a batch and it was to be judged at Matsos brewery a month later.

I did a Canadian blonde (from memory) and added honey to it. It was mid October, the start of the build up to the wet season and bloody hot.

The judging was done by local identities and I remember the look on his face when he took a sip of mine. It was like he had just drank cats piss.

After that I put the kit away and didnt attempt another brew. The heartache of losing was just to much to bear. :icon_drool2:

Until 3 months ago and now Im hooked again, especially with BIAB.

Being publicly shamed for your first kit brew. That's harsh.

 

[Wimmig]

I first pitched one of the FWK's. Some cans, now extracts & partials. Honestly, if i had of started with bottles i think i would have quit long ago.

 

[Braumoasta]

My first brew only about a year ago. Luckily I had read up on this site and others about appropriate temperatures and brewing techniques. It was a Coopers Australian Pale Ale, to which I added some dried malt extract. I loved it, as did everyone else who tried it.

kudos for being a young bloke at schoolies drinking stout! Pretty sure 99% of the kids along the coast these days would think a stout was a breed of dog.

+1 I was thinking the same thing myself. :icon_cheers:

 

[1975sandman]

First brew was a few years ago when living in Wagga Wagga. It was SWMBO's idea to buy a Coopers homebrew kit! And she doesn't even like beer! :lol: Pretty sure it was a Coopers lager kit, fermented as per instructions. Thought it tasted okay at the time. Did just come off years of drinking XXXX though.

 

[J Grimmer]

My first one was cascade porter in 2007 i bough my home brew kit from a hbs and they let me pick a kit etc, I remember thinking this will be like JS porter the end result was nothing like it but was hooked on the process and still brewing today.

 

[Samuel Adams]

My first brew was absolute swans piss !!

Got my Dad's kit off him after he hadn't used it in years to try and make some cheap beer & save some money after just buying a house.
He had a few cans leftover and one of them was a Tooheys Lager (IIRC) which I used with 1kg dex, kit yeast and temps in the high 20's .
Bottled it in TEDs bottles screwing on old caps and filled them without a little bottler ie turning tapp on & off for every bottle, man my hands were sore !!
Brewed on and off for a few years making some drinkable beer most of the time.

After finding this website my beer is at least twice as good and hence I'm brewing like a bat out of hell & loving it !

 

[Ryan WABC]

My first brew tasted like a combination of apple cider and sparkling white.

I distinctly remember a part of my soul dying after a friend of mine tasted one and said he had to lick a cat's arsehole to get the taste out of his mouth.

 

[drtomc]

First brew was the Cascade Porter kit. Bottled perhaps a bit early. No explosions, but they had to be opened very slowly and carefully.

About my 5th, was classic "what? you mean if I put more sugar in, I get more alcohol out?". 10.6% rocket fuel. Fortunately, I recovered....

T.

 

[Pennywise]

Yaeh I remember the revelation about adding more dex to up the alc, within 3 hours I was throwing it back up on the mates lawn, being molestered by his dog, apparently...

I was not my finest moment