OT: Are you thinking of making your own beer?

Smokey

This is a cool way to give it a try!!


http://www.woot.com/

Lawn Ranger

Got one for Christmas, but haven't tried it yet. Did you ever watch Lonesome Dove. I've been patiently waiting for a report.

Mike

PWise

I am!

But I was thinking of using these guy's kit:

http://www.beer-wine.com/beer-brewing-kit.html

cheers!

Roudy

As a matter of fact, I helped a fellow Egger (not active on this forum) to make 5 gallons of a Pale Ale on March 15. I'll be helping him bottle the batch this week. As a chemist who loves to concoct recipes, beer is a natural next step for me. The Germans refer to it as "liquid bread". I'll be visiting my local home brew supply store in the coming weeks. :woohoo:

fishlessman

unless you go all out with the keg package, look for bigger bottles, you lose about an ounce and a half to sediment sludge during the pour. quart bottles are the way to go and alot less work

Gator Bait

I could really get into making beer but have to stay away from the carbs. :(
When I was a kid our family used to make homemade root beer. LOL, on a hot summers day you could hear the tops blowing, Oops, there goes another one! That's why we stored it in the garage. :laugh:

Gator

Smokey

brewing Root Beer is something I want to try!

Smokey

I have ordered a kit, but I am not expecting much. Maybe I will be surprised!

It is like ehat my wife and I talk about (she bakes).

I tell her "Baking is chemistry. If the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of baking powder, you better use 1/4 cup of baking powder. In comparison, cooking is a creative art"!

Smokey

That looks very serious (and a bit more exspensive).

If you go down that road, good luck!!

Smokey

OK, I "rented" it, but did not have a chance to watch it (family stuff came up ... I know, bad excuse). :unsure:

I will make a pledge to watch it over the next few weeks ... I promise! :woohoo:

And how about my handle for my large??? You said you would refinish it. Oh crap, I have to send it, don't I!! :evil:

PWise

I'm still thnking about it hahaha....

I'm talking to the local brewer to see if I can get malt off of them...

cheers!

Lawn Ranger

Uh, yeah. I think that's the first step in the process. Or I can just start from scratch. Let's talk.

PWise

That's a usefull tip!

I'm still thinking about and will definetly will not go with the keg package at first...

thanks!
cheers!

stike

use a real kit, with a glass carboy (sp?). the big glass 5-gallon bottle works great. there will be a lot of activity, and you can run a hose out the top which will allow a lot of funky foam to blow off during the fermentation. that's the best way to go for the home brewer. that other mini kit looks like it's self contained. beer isn't pretty when it makes a foaming mess, and all that stuff is bitter. better to get rid of it. when the heavy activity dies down, you can put in a ten cent CO2 lock. all takes place in the big glass bottle.

good times, man. i haven't made it in a long while.

best beer you can have is the fresh stuff you make yourself.

fishlessman

you dont need a whole kit, you can start with basics, like you probably have a big stainless pot already. this kit will make a good ale porter or stout. if you want to make more than a batch at a time or one a week add some carboys and locks to this setup.
http://www.homebrewers.com/product/1000/Beer_Making_Starter_Kit_with_Ingredients.html

TomM24

I used to brew beer all the time ten years ago I have all the equipment did 100% grain batches. And as it was I just had a bottle of stout last night that is ten years old. It was still very good. I guess I was very good with the beers hygiene. I also have some bottles of mead that are older than the stout every new years I try a bottle to see if its any good and to date they have been less than tasty.

deepsouth

funny this thread came up.... i just posted this in another forum i frequent....

after being into craft beer for quite some time and being in a homebrew club for over a year, i think it's finally time i jump in. i'm going to start out with exctract brewing and will probably stick with that for a while.

i'm getting my gear from a homebrew store in mobile, al before homebrew meeting this thursday!

i've ordered three books and plan on reading them in this order....

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Third Edition by Charlie Papazian

How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time by John J Palmer

Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew by by Jamil Zainasheff

deepsouth

when i order my ingredients, i plan on using...

www.northernbrewer.com

and for hops...


www.freshhops.com

mkc

DH does. He likes Northern Brewer and More Beer for supplies.

Sparging some full-grain
(the Ducane gasser hasn't been used in over 2 years, except as a brewing stand)




Bottling said full-grain

fishlessman

"The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" is the bible

stike

if you have a recycling center, get them there. i got cases of 22oz brown glass bottles. they are perfect. lot less bottling and the caps are the same size, so there's no difficulty bottling them.

my next step would have been the 5-gallon "syrup" containers (like for draft carbonated beverages). i think you did that, right? instead of bottling you just filled the soda syrup kegs and set up your own draft system? best way to go... no bottle cleaning, no capping.

stike

papazian's book is great.

you will find that it is no big jump at all from extract brewing into the next step. in fact, half papazian's recipes involve extracts augmented with other grains anyway. it's no big deal to do grain, and it is a little more satisfying, because you aren't just dumping malt/sugar from a can.

Gator Bait

Hi Smokey,

As I recall it was pretty simple, we just didn't have good temperature control and the summer heat would get the yeast working overtime.

Gator

fishlessman

i didnt get to the kegging stage, i got the big bottles from a distribution center with new bottles in nice boxes. was on a dart team with a guy that owned a brew store, people would walk in with samples of their stuff while we practiced in the store. pretty convieneint, free beer and darts

Knauf

I tried this same kit about 6-7 years ago. The beer looked fantastic (great color, clarity, head...) but had absolutely no taste. I spoke with a master brewer friend and he suggested a few weeks soak with some hops. Tried that but no dice. If I ever try again I would go with a more "professional" home brew kit.

PineyWoodsBrewer

I have been brewing all-grain beer for years now. It is very easy once you have your equipment in place. I usually have 30-40 gallons on tap. Pale Ale is my favorite, but I brew other styles as well.

stike

over in haverhill? bought my darts and my malt there. hahaha

fishlessman

i used to play at the one in plaistow, but the guy in haverhill played on my brothers team. thats the store i bought my discounted guinness kegs years ago. :laugh:

AZRP

I made 2 cases of root beer years ago, came home one day to glass and root beer all over the house. Never had beer do that. -RP

stike

man. i loved that shop. they had weihenstephan yeast in stock (for TRUE weisbier). i haven't brewed in a loooooong time.

i have a case or two of imperial stout aging under my workbench. 22oz bottles. it is EASILY 15 years old. that stuff doesn't go bad. i'm hoping for a second fermentation in the bottle. hahaha

it's got so much malt in it that it needs a loong time to mellow

deepsouth

stike wrote:

man. i loved that shop. they had weihenstephan yeast in stock (for TRUE weisbier). i haven't brewed in a loooooong time.

i have a case or two of imperial stout aging under my workbench. 22oz bottles. it is EASILY 15 years old. that stuff doesn't go bad. i'm hoping for a second fermentation in the bottle. hahaha

it's got so much malt in it that it needs a loong time to mellow

when is the last time you popped one open? what were the predominant flavors?