Home Brew Beer - Does anyone make their own - Where to start?

Stoater · July 2012

Hi Guys,

Me and my neighbour have been talking about starting home brewing beer, does anyone have any pointers as to where to start, now that I am egging very night I consume more beer and never seem to have enough on hand, also here in canada booze is so expensive, your looking at $14 for a six pack of import, I cross the border once a week and can get a 12 pack for $11-15 bucks. If you know of any tutorials or starter kits or what not I would appreciate it.

Cheers!

BYS1981 · July 2012

There is a place by me that sells homebrewing stuff, more beer. They have a website and forum.

fishlessman · July 2012

cant go wrong getting this book, its pretty simple. get a simple kit with a white bucket and carbouy to make your first few batches

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Edition/dp/0060531053/ref=pd_sim_b_2

AleBrewer · July 2012

Oh boy.....Well for starters, you can head over to homebrewtalk.com.

Northern Brewer has decent prices on equipment, and there are many other places to buy from. I try to buy local when I can. Check out your local Home Brew Shop (or LBS).....they usually have classes for beginners.

I'm an all grain brewer, but did start out with extract kits. Starting out will cost you some cash, but once you have all the equipment, it's a bit cheaper to brew your own.....it all depends on how "big" a beer you are brewing. And yeast selection and amount of hops also play a big role in price.

Good luck!....

hopkinsusmc87 · July 2012

I've been home brewing for five years and it is great! Trust me having some great home brew while cooking on the egg! it doesn't get any better than that. But I went to Midwest Supplies http://www.midwestsupplies.com/ They have decent prices and a good selection for home brews. They cater to the newbie and the advanced brewer. I started with extract kits and now I am all grain brewing. It is pricy to start but once you have everything, it's a heck of a lot cheaper to make your beer than buying it. Like the egg, home brewing takes time and a lot of trial and error to master a good home brew. Also remember its not plug and chug! brewing your own beer can take months, from boil to bottle, but so worth the wait. Just have to brew multiple batches. Good luck

stike · July 2012

+1 on everything everyone said....

it's great fun, and i miss not being able to do it, now that life has filled uop with way more than what i had going on while an unmarried 24 year old. hahaha

it will be the freshest best beer you can have, and for me the reward was a chance toi finally learn/understand what goes into food (in this case beer) and what comes out, and how ingredients and attention make all the difference.

when you pick one type of hops over another, and then a month or so later taste that very hops in the beer, and smell THAT particular hops, it can be a lightbulb moment. was for me.

there was a time when I had to ask the guys at specialty wine shops "Do you carry any Weissbier?" and got nothing but blank looks. fast-forward a few months and I was making my own Weissbier from a 500 year old culture of Weihenstephan yeast. and it was as good or better than i'd hoped. all by just following directions.

if not for that, i'd probably have never realized there was more to food than a gas grill and microwave. and would not have ended up with a BGE.

investment is minimal, compared to your BGE. start with extracts, then when you 'get' it, try brewing from grains. it's easy.

hopkinsusmc87 · July 2012

+1 on everything everyone said....

it's great fun, and i miss not being able to do it, now that life has filled uop with way more than what i had going on while an unmarried 24 year old. hahaha

it will be the freshest best beer you can have, and for me the reward was a chance toi finally learn/understand what goes into food (in this case beer) and what comes out, and how ingredients and attention make all the difference.

when you pick one type of hops over another, and then a month or so later taste that very hops in the beer, and smell THAT particular hops, it can be a lightbulb moment. was for me.

there was a time when I had to ask the guys at specialty wine shops "Do you carry any Weissbier?" and got nothing but blank looks. fast-forward a few months and I was making my own Weissbier from a 500 year old culture of Weihenstephan yeast. and it was as good or better than i'd hoped. all by just following directions.

if not for that, i'd probably have never realized there was more to food than a gas grill and microwave. and would not have ended up with a BGE.

investment is minimal, compared to your BGE. start with extracts, then when you 'get' it, try brewing from grains. it's easy.

It is just like that! Lightbulb. Nothing is better than making your own beer and enjoying it. The BGE, Home Brewing, and Harley's they all cost a lot of money but worth every penny.

Stoater · July 2012

+1 on everything everyone said....

it's great fun, and i miss not being able to do it, now that life has filled uop with way more than what i had going on while an unmarried 24 year old. hahaha

it will be the freshest best beer you can have, and for me the reward was a chance toi finally learn/understand what goes into food (in this case beer) and what comes out, and how ingredients and attention make all the difference.

when you pick one type of hops over another, and then a month or so later taste that very hops in the beer, and smell THAT particular hops, it can be a lightbulb moment. was for me.

there was a time when I had to ask the guys at specialty wine shops "Do you carry any Weissbier?" and got nothing but blank looks. fast-forward a few months and I was making my own Weissbier from a 500 year old culture of Weihenstephan yeast. and it was as good or better than i'd hoped. all by just following directions.

if not for that, i'd probably have never realized there was more to food than a gas grill and microwave. and would not have ended up with a BGE.

investment is minimal, compared to your BGE. start with extracts, then when you 'get' it, try brewing from grains. it's easy.

Thanks for the tips guys, I am a real lover of weissbier, thats good to know it can be done at home start with extracts and then on to grains got it, I don't know if this is a silly question or not or if it is doable but can you also make cider at home too, by that I mean the hard stuff, scrumpy jack, magners, strongbow etc.

hopkinsusmc87 · July 2012

Yes you can! Its great! Go to Midwest Supplies and they have good selection of yeast and some books on it as well. But they also sell wine making items and mead as well. But Cider it very, very simple and you can buy the stuff from your local store. Tons of video on you tube.

AleBrewer · July 2012

Cider is very easy to make.....much simpler than brewing beer.

I've made it a few times, and I like to carbonate mine a little bit.

Stoater · July 2012

Great, the cider I am used to, is also carbonated, I guess it would carbonate while it is fermenting, like a wheat beer, well thanks again for the tips I will check out the local suppliers as well as Midwest supplies, might be cheaper buying everything in the States.

fishlessman · July 2012

one tip,most start with bottling, you dont want to waste your time with 12 ounce bottles, find bigger bottles. quicker bottleing time, less washing, 12 ounce bottles dont yeild 12 ounces with the yeast sediment. if you cant drink your way into a collection of bottles buy them, i picked mine up at a recycling center years ago when i was brewing

AleBrewer · July 2012

No, cider does not get carbonated when it's fermenting. You would have to add a simple syrup solution made from priming sugar and water.....very easy to make. It gets added at bottling time.

AleBrewer · July 2012

I too picked up a couple hundred bottles from the local recycling center. I use both 12oz and 22oz bombers. Oxy-Clean works wonders for removing labels and cleaning the bottles, but you have to rinse them thoroughly.

COegger · July 2012

My husband and son-in-law are brewers. They do all grain and rarely bottle. They use kegs (like soda kegs) and have "beer fridges". They mainly support the local brew shop but will order on morebeer.com. SIL has grown his own hops the last few years. We have a freezer full of those. Brewing is like egging - you can do it with the basic equipment but all of the (many) toys make it easier and yield better results.

But here's the good story - a couple of years ago SIL and husband were brewing beer in our backyard on a Sunday morning. Around the corner of the house appears a police officer with his hand on his gun. They were a bit startled but continued to brew as they were in a "critical" phase. The officer asked them what they were doing. They said "brewing beer" and continued to work. Apparently a neighbor called in to report they were making meth. The officer approached and continued to ask them brewing questions which they answered as they could. They were very busy. Eventually he left. SIL (and daughter) just moved to Louisiana where there is apparently no good beer. He is anxiously awaiting arrival of the moving van so he can start brewing again.

MeAndTheDog · July 2012

I pick up all of my supplies from midwest also. I dont know how into it you want to get but I keg mine. Find a soda person with the "corny" kegs and regulators, it keeps you from having to wash and sanitize so much. you can also force carboniate "drink it faster". I dont have $100 in my whole setup

Stoater · July 2012

Around the corner of the house appears a police officer with his hand on his gun.

That's hilarious, looking forward to getting into it.

bjkdlr · July 2012

cant go wrong getting this book, its pretty simple. get a simple kit with a white bucket and carbouy to make your first few batches

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Edition/dp/0060531053/ref=pd_sim_b_2

+1 on this book. Its the bible for homebrewing. Good recipes in it too. I get my supplies from

http://austinhomebrew.com/

they have flat rate shipping which seems to save quite a bit over other sites. And in my humble opinion, glass is the way to go for your carboys. I have a 6 gallon for primary fermentation, and a 5 for secondary. If you plan to do it for a long time, you will not be disappointed you got good equipment from the beginning. And the last of my 2 cents is that sanitizing everything well (along with a good recipe) is the key to good homebrew. Anything not sanitized can lead to wild yeasts, or other problems which lead to bad tasting beer. Trust me on that, nothing worse than waiting for the beer to carbonate, and have to dump the whole batch. Good Luck and as always "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew"

mwraulst · July 2012

i've been brewing for about 8 years now and i second austinhomebrew.com as mentioned above. You can read all the books you want but your not going to feel comfortable knowing what you are doing until you see someone do it. It's super easy, you just gotta keep everything clean and food grade stainless.

I started like most, brewing is a 5 gallon stainless steel pot over a turkey fryer burner, tossing into a plastic food grade fermentation bucket, and then moving it into a glass carbouy. After the glass i've always kegged mine. If any of you all have an old fridge or kegerator i highly recommend the kegging route. Rinsing bottles is a real pain. You can buy a fridge conversion kit and everything you need to keg for about $150 bucks. It's well worth every penny.

My advice: watch someone, buy a bucket, brewpot, carbouy, and wiremesh strainer. Get on austinhomebrew and pick out a non-lager recipe and give it a shot.

smoloney · July 2012

Here is a good site, comes professionally packed. very nice kits.

http://homebrew.com/index.shtml

bvanma28 · July 2012

http://morebeer.com/. Everything you need to actually brew beer. Pretty good prices also.

Stoater · July 2012

Wow thanks guys I have some reading to do!

joe317 · July 2012

Do you cook it up outside or inside? My wife got me a homebrew kit, but said no way am I cooking it inside. She hates the smell. I've been thinking of getting a turkey fryer and just cooking it up outside with the LP tank from my old gas grill that is no longer used.

AleBrewer · July 2012

I brew in the garage. It would be too much to try and do it inside. If you try to do a full 5 gallon boil, most kitchen range tops couldn't handle it. I use a 10 gallon pot, with a LP burner on a base that I welded up.

AleBrewer · July 2012

Forgot to add.....a turkey fryer works well for brewing.....just don't plan on frying turkeys and brewing in the same pot.

bvanma28 · July 2012

Inside on my result gas range no problem. 5 gallons

bvanma28 · July 2012

Regular

AleBrewer · July 2012

That's why I said....most, not all. Especially electric range tops. I brew 6 gallon batches, and it would just take too long to reach a full, roiling boil. I have a powerful gas range, but can get to a full boil much faster on my burner outside. Yes, there are plenty of people who brew successfully in the kitchen, it's just easier for me to do it outside.

AleBrewer · July 2012

I actually start with about 8.25 gallons of wort for my boils to get 6 gallon of finished product.

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