Welcome, new myself. These other ppl are great though.

Just racked my first brew today. The trub smelt very good, yeasty but expected, is this an indicator of a good brew or am I just projecting?

We would use this type of cooler in Iraq, works wonders. Thanks for the low tech, I am all about that.

Thank you all for the welcomes. I look forward to learning my new hobby/obsession. Then helping other newbs like me.

Texas is taking a whopping, they are predicting up to 50 inches of rain in Houston when it is all said and done. All we are dealing with is this little tick TS Irma. I can't imagine that much rainfall in such a short period of time.

The aluminum pan was put there just for the occasion of a blowout, so my hardwoods wouldn't smell like me. I do feel like this big pan is leaching off any heat and keeping my temp constant. A constant heat, is this good or should your wort be allowed to rise during fermentation?

Im using a 6.5 glass carboy, my Krauesen is about 3 inches thick and pretty settled. I was more wondering if the aluminum maintaining a steady 72 -74 was a problem, don't know if the temp has to rise or not. I also don't want to call the wife a genius prematurely.

I am worried about my first brew blowing out. I thought I would get something to protect my floors. My wife, being the pragmatist, pointed out a piece of aluminum about 2 and a half by about 4 and a half feet long to put in the closet floor. I keep my house around 72 degrees F and I know that...

That's a lot of lost loves, not sure I want what he is drinking.

My first question is, My wort started burping before 12 hours and I had a nice Krausen before 12 hours. I have looked everywhere and nothing really states when fermentation should start. Is this good or bad?

I appreciate the feedback and the welcomes, you wont have to worry about the questions cause I will be asking.

I'm a retired Marine and have been wanting to home brew for years. I have finally taken that leap and have my first Irish Red burping and growing in my closet. Looking forward to learning and discussing ideas and recipes when I get to that level.