Prebrew Update

Okay. So I've got everything I think I need for the first brew. Most of it is arriving tomorrow with the starter kit I ordered from Colorado, and I picked up the rest from Ballast Point Brewery and various Target/BedBath&Beyond/Home Depot type stores.

As I've mentioned earlier, the first beer will be an Oatmeal Stout that is loosely based off of Wolaver's. I got the recipe from the back of Microbrewed Adventures by Charlie Papazian.

WHAT INGREDIENTS I HAVE!

4 lbs Amber Malt Extract (Dry)
1 lbs Wheat Malt Extract (Dry)
7 lbs Domestic 2 Row Pale Malt
1.5 lbs Roasted Barley
12 oz Cracked Oats
10 oz Crystal Malt (120 L)
6 oz Red Wheat Malt
1 oz Pacifica Pellet Hops
1 oz Centennial Pellet Hops
1 oz Northern Brewer Pellet Hops
1 oz Irish Moss
English Ale Yeast

Now keep in mind, I said those are the ingredients I purchased, not necessarily the quantity that will actually be used.

Heres the thing. The guys at Ballast Point were definitely helpful and willing to answer my questions when I asked them, but I got the feeling none of them had as unqualified of a start to brewing as I'm having. For instances, I showed one of them the recipe in the book and he essentially pointed to a few of the things listed and said "Go for it...". It was the type of situation where I had already asked a bunch of questions, and my n00bieness had caught him off guard so he didn't really give me an opportunity to ask anything else before he left to ring up another customer. I think this may be part of the whole "experiment and learn as you go" attitude that is cherished in the home brewing community. Seriously though, it took me a long long time to pick out and measure out the right, or as close as was available to the right, stuff.

Which leads me to my next kind of weird, but whatever, issue. I was specifically instructed to mix everything I was going to get into one paper bag. That means

1.5 lbs Roasted Barley
12 oz Cracked Oats
10 oz Crystal Malt (120 L)
6 oz Red Wheat Malt

are all cracked and mixed together in a bag on my kitchen counter. I used another bag for the 7 lbs of the Domestic 2 Row Malt.

I weighed the bag after each different grain was added though, so we should be all set.

SO... That's where I am right now, just twiddling my thumbs and waiting for the hardware to arrive. If all goes to plan we'll be fermenting by Saturday afternoon!