glad to here we have another get the brewing bug.. can't help with recipes. never fealt ready for that level. process, note taking, repeatability, new equip after 4 years and ~150gals still gives me plenty more to improve on first. my shotty process/taste notes alone make anything but single malt single hop (SMaSH) an underutilized experience.

You will probably never get a chance to try this beer firsthand but trust me and the brewcasters when I say this; Tradewinds Tripel by The Bruery is fantastic. I bring this up because this much respected brewery in California called "The Bruery" happens to have a Belgian Tripel that uses Thai Basil and Rice and along with a base malt to make an amazing 8.1% belgian style beverage. Check out the Sunday Session with Patrick Rue from the Bruery and if you get a chance brew this since you have access to Thai ingredients.

But I'm sure you have noticed from your first brew that everything doesn't go as smoothly as you would hope, especially on your first time brewing solo. To be honest my first brew session was rather comical, sloppy, uncoordinated, not well documented and a lot longer than expected.

Long story short you will learn a ton from this and have a ton of valid questions you would never have thought of before you actually. Feel free to ask questions and we can help you brew better beer soon rather than later. Cheers!

Don, in an attemp to be proactive regarding your very first batch, I want to mention this to you. On bottling day, pour your priming solution into the bottling bucket first, then have the end of your racking hose below the surface of the solution as to prevent splashing. Be sure to swirl your priming solution in your botttling bucket very gently, creating a gentle whirlpool. Also, make sure you don't accumutale any air bubbles in your racking hose while filling your bottles. I have learned the hard way that introducing any o2 into your beer at this point is a bad deal. Don't sweat it though, just keep these points in mind and have fun.

Excellent tip. I was actually going to ask for bottling advice.

Thanks!

Agree with the forum threads thing... I've got threads on three forums and I've gotten great responses. I also love to read everybody else's "first time" and "brewday" threads, I have learned a whole lot from those.

I'm a beer trader (person to person only, not ebay), PM me if you want advice on how to ship beer. Maybe we can exchange a few bottles of homebrew in the future too!

More questions...

I'll be bottling this first batch on Sunday. I am going to transfer the beer to my bottling bucket the night before and allow it to settle. I assume I should put the lid and air lock on the bottling bucket as well, correct?

Regarding the bottles, I have been collecting them over the past few weeks and rinsing them out with water before I store them away. Before I sanitize them properly should I wash them thoroughly with regular liquid dish soap, rinse them well and then let them dry completely overnight? I have Star San liquid sanitizer which is no-rinse. Should I skip the liquid dish soap and just wash the bottles real well with that?

Once I am finished bottling how should I store the beer while it carbonates for a few weeks? The average temperature of my house is 85+ F when I am not home or don't have the A/C on. Will this be a problem for the beer while it is carbonating? Is there an ideal temperature to store it (Outmeal Stout)?

You shouldn't need to transfer to the bottling bucket the night before, if there is stuff still churning around and up in solution, the beer needs to sit longer.

For your bottles, cleaning them well first will help ensure that your sanitizer is able to do its job. Clean them, rinse them then you can go ahead and sanitize, no need to dry between cleaning and sanitizing if you rinse first.

For bottling conditioning, 85 is definitely on the warm side. You typically want to bottle condition at a more moderate temp, say around 70ish. I can't say from personal experience that 85 is going to be a problem for bottle conditioning, but definitely hotter than I'd like to keep them. Once they are carbed, most brewers will move the beer to a cooler spot and store the beer at 'cellar' temperatures (55 ish). Doesn't sound like that will be possible for you though... perhaps you need to dig yourself a fermentation cave! Hotter storage temps can speed up any staling reactions that might occur, I think your best bet in general is going to be be to drink your beer fairly quickly... let it carbonate, then put a bunch in the fridge.

Noted.

What if I just buy a small fridge to store the beer in while it carbs (and then for general storage as well)? If I turn the temperature up to it's warmest level will that still be too cold you think (under 55 F), or is there even such thing as "too cold" for carbing?

I don't plan on drinking this batch, or any batch for that matter, very quickly. I'd like to make sure that I can keep the beer for quite a while before it goes stale. If I keep it cool then how long can I expect it to stay fresh?