Post-Bottle-Day Questions from a first time brewer

[TheTodd]

With a bucket, I definitely prefer to pour back and forth between my kettle and bucket a couple of times. Do you have "How to Brew"? If not, it's a must have and John talks about aerating in a bucket without a pump or O2.

[mikebiewer]

How much priming sugar or malt did you use when you bottled?

I personally believe you could just put them in a place that is around 60 ish and just let what happens happen. If you can put them in a plastic lined box or something and some explode, no big deal. I'd really hate for you to drink them all up before they are matured because you could be passing up on a very nice beer, especially since it is your first.

I've got a bad practice though. I measure my FG and usually still bottle because I never know what it is suppose to be. My directions from Northern Brewer never have an approximate FG on them. Plus, if anyone here has listened to the Brew Strong "Attenuation" episode there are so many factors that attribute to the final attenuation of your yeast and therefore your FG that you may actually be at your FG.

I would just relax, take the proper precautions against a bottle bomb and its mess, and wait it out. You worked hard for that first brew, don't go and rush drinking it over a few possible broken bottles.

Just my two cents.

[beer4myhorses]

Thanks everyone. I have waited it out, and can probably taste it in a week or 2 after 2-3 weeks of conditioning. So far, no bottle bombs.
Thanks for all of your advice. This is fun!